These days soundbars are among hottest products in the AV market. In recent research from GfK, they indicated that the soundbars market in the UK has more than tripled, growing by an awesome 238% in volume, while showing declining prices, with growth in value of 185%, when comparing May 2012/April 2013 to May 2011/April 2012. As TVs get thinner and thinner their internal speakers just cannot give that quality of sound that we would like to enjoy. For their first soundbar, Monitor Audio has designed the ASB-2 to be a quality sound solution while incorporating the features so it can also be an audio hub as well. Soundbars are not to be compared to a true, classical 5.1 (no less 7.1!) system, but are an alternative for those who want a simple, yet quality solution at an attractive price point to get more out of their TV while enjoying their music.
Monitor Audio ASB-2 wall mounted
The Monitor Audio ASB-2 operates as a quality soundbar beneath a TV but features included enable it to be an audio hub for your music which is a plus compared to many other products. With Apple AirPlay®, DLNA® and UPnP, the ASB-2 can deliver uncompressed music stored on PC or Mac, iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, Android or Windows phone, or streamed from Internet services. In addition to iTunes and DNLA compatible Apps, Airplay Direct allows you to connect and play music directly to the ASB-2 without network access.
Monitor Audio ASB-2
The three HDMI inputs offer excellent flexibility to connect sound sources and there are multiple other, more traditional connection possibilities as well. In addition, the HDMI 1.4’s Audio Return Channel (ARC) allows for the two way transfer of information between the ASB-2 and a compatible device, creating an additional input from the HDMI output.
Quality sound is provided by a total six of Monitor Audio proprietary C-CAM drivers including two 140mm sub-woofers, two 100mm mid-range units and two 25mm gold dome tweeters which are powered by 5 discrete power amplifier stages, with fully digital amp technology (class D), combining to provide 160 watts of total power.
Monitor Audio ASB-2
The C-CAM drivers are made of Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium, thus their name, which is a material originally developed by the aerospace industry. Its properties are ideal for loudspeaker cones as it is extremely rigid, yet light enough to yield high overall efficiency.
The gold dome tweeters are made using a Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium alloy but are, in addition, then gold anodised to a specific thickness for ideal stiffness and damping characteristics. The tweeters are thinner, lighter, more rigid and therefore more efficient and exhibit greater fidelity over their entire operating rang, thus producing less audible distortion than domes using other materials.
Monitor Audio ASB- tabletop standalone
Monitor Audio ASB-2
Furthermore, the Monitor Audio ASB-2 can replicate multichannel movie soundtracks using Monitor Audio’s own 3D audio software to give a surround effect. The DSP (Digital Signal Processing) allows fine tuning of all aspects of sound with complete control of the audio stream at high resolution. Advanced features include adaptive bass extension, highly accurate loudspeaker crossover and filtering as well as APC (Automatic Position Correction), in addition to the aforementioned 3D audio processing. Last but not least, the polymer cabinet construction offers rigidity and acoustic damping.
If you are in the market for a soundbar, the new Monitor Audio ASB-2 clearly has some very attractive features that would make it worth a visit to your local store for a demonstration.