#SONANCE IS4 DRIVERS#

To help them withstand shipping from California to New York, they were made of 1/2-inch plywood instead of wallboard. To simplify testing the Sonance Model IV speakers, the manufacturer supplied them to us in simulated wall sections measuring 79 inches high, 32 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. Extra grilles are available for $60 a pair. Price: $650 a pair, including installation brackets. According to Sonance, the Model IV speakers are designed to be operated in (and are specified for) an enclosure of 2 to 3 cubic feet, assuming there is some degree of damping from internal insulation and that the enclosure is bounded by drywall materialâ€'in other words, in a typical home wall. Given the standard 8-foot home ceiling height and typical wall construction, however, the volume of a wall enclosure would be about 2-1/2 cubic feet.

The low-frequency performance of a speaker is a function of its enclosure volume, and it might seem that a wall installation in an undefined volume could negate much of the original design of a speaker like the Sonance Model IV. On the front of the speakerboard is a three-position tweeter-level switch that can provide some compensation for the absorption of high frequencies in the cloth grille or in the foam insert of the metal grille. The metal grille and the plastic rim of the speaker mounting can be customized by painting, and the fabric grille can be replaced by another fabric of the userâ€™s choice. The metal grille comes with a removable foam insert to conceal the drivers, which are otherwise visible through the grille perforations.

#SONANCE IS4 DRIVERS#

The cloth grille, which completely hides the drivers from view, has two layers of double-knit fabric. Two types of grilles are available, cloth or perforated metal. Mounting brackets are available for installation in new construction or in existing walls. The entire speaker unit, only 3-3/8 inches deep, is designed to be installed between wall studs spaced on standard 16-inch centers. The drivers, together with their high-quality crossover network, are mounted on a rigid, molded white-plastic frame that is ribbed for strength. The 8-1/2-inch woofer crosses over to a 1-inch polycarbonate-dome tweeter at 2,500 Hz. The Sonance Model IV, which heads the Sonance speaker lineup, is a two-way system using imported Scandinavian drivers. The company currently manufactures several models, including a subwoofer, and markets a complete line of accessory products such as mounting hardware, brackets, volume controls, and switches.

According to Sonance, it developed the first high-fidelity in-wall speaker system back in 1981. Sonance, a division of Dana Innovations, evolved from a company specializing in the design and installation of custom audio systems, and it has applied established hi-fi standards to the design of its line of inwall speakers. Loudspeakers designed for permanent installation in a roomâ€™s walls used to be limited to providing background music in commercial locations such as restaurants and stores, but home hi-fi versions have appeared over the past few years and are now available from several reputable speaker manufacturers.

Sonance is4