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Atlantic Technology and Solus/Clements Introduce Revolutionary H-PAS Bass Technology (1 Viewer)

RAF

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[COLOR= blue]Atlantic Technology and Solus/Clements Introduce Revolutionary H-PAS Bass Technology [/COLOR]


H-PAS technology allows speaker designers to achieve targeted bass performance with 50 percent smaller cabinets, smaller drivers, and lower costs. Atlantic Technology will be licensing H-PAS to other manufacturers.


NORWOOD, MA (8/24/09) -- Atlantic Technology and Solus/Clements, two highly respected US loudspeaker manufacturers, today announced that they have joined forces to develop, market, and license a revolutionary new loudspeaker design protocol capable of delivering deep, low-distortion bass response at output levels unobtainable through conventional bass-alignment techniques. In particular, this technology will allow speakers with smaller cabinets and drivers to achieve levels of performance normally associated with much larger speaker systems. Proof of concept prototypes will be demonstrated at the CEDIA Expo in Atlanta, Georgia from September 10 through September 13, 2009.


The new patent-pending system, called H-PAS, (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System), combines elements of several speaker technologies: bass reflex, inverse horn, and transmission line. Using a unique cabinet design, these technologies are cascaded one to another to pressurize and accelerate low frequencies. In addition, the signals travel through a passive resonance/harmonic distortion line filter. The final result is the ability of an H-PAS design to deliver extended deep bass with exceptionally low distortion. H-PAS does not require the use of special drivers, any kind of on-board electronics or outboard equalization -- it is a purely passive system, completely compatible with all amplifiers and AV receivers.
The inventor of the technology is Philip Clements of Solus/Clements Loudspeakers, a 30-year plus CE industry veteran and loudspeaker designer. For the past eight months, Clements has worked closely with Atlantic Technology to develop a range of compact designs using H-PAS protocols. Clements has contracted with, and appointed Atlantic Technology as the exclusive licensing agent for the technology, and will now continue its development together with Atlantic.


The H-PAS demonstration model that will be on display at the CEDIA Expo utilizes two 4 ½-inch drivers in an enclosure of approximately 1.4 cubic feet to produce bass that extends to 29 Hz (-3dB) at Sound Pressure Levels that exceed 105dB. Bass harmonic distortion is under 3%. Comparable performance in a conventionally designed loudspeaker system would require bass drivers of at least triple the size in an enclosure at least twice as large.


“Until now, I would have considered it virtually impossible to achieve such high levels of bass performance and quality in such small enclosures," said Peter Tribeman, the president of Atlantic Technology. "With higher performance from smaller cabinets, and hence the potential for lower manufacturing and shipping costs, we believe H-PAS has applications in almost every corner of the loudspeaker business, ranging from large floor standing towers to desk-top computer speakers."


"This new system," Tribeman continues, "is the first ever to break the famous Iron Law of loudspeaker design, which states: 'deep bass extension, compact enclosure, or good efficiency… pick any two at the expense of the third'. For the very first time, due to Phil Clements' breakthrough design we can have them all.”


Atlantic Technology anticipates shipping its first H-PAS product, the H-PAS-1 floor-standing speaker, in the 4th quarter of 2009. Solus/Clements will also deliver an H-PAS 6-1/2-inch tower and bookshelf model to be available early next year. Additionally, Atlantic Technology will be licensing H-PAS technology to other manufacturers. The new system will be demonstrated by appointment to interested parties at Atlantic Technology’s CEDIA Expo booth 3001.


From its inception in 1989, Atlantic Technology's mission has been to produce home entertainment products that exemplify the very best in both performance and value. The company specializes in complete high-performance multi-channel speaker systems, state-of-the-art home theater electronics components, and products for custom audio/video installation. For more information on Atlantic Technology and its many fine products for home theater and custom audio/video installation, visit www.atlantictechnology.com or call 781-762-6300.
 

Joseph DeMartino

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Sounds cool. I've been running set of Atlantic Technology speakers for about the past 10 years, and I love them. They were among the best speakers for the price I could find, and the bookshelf fronts with the powered sub sound better with stereo music from my sources than the big name tower speakers they replaced. (I've honestly forgotten what they were, I just know that they were one of the most respected names around at the time I bought them, and that I paid a pretty penny.) With most speaker systems you have to choose between great theater sound or great music sound. With the movies and music I listen to, and at the volume levels I prefer, I can honestly say I've never felt like I was compromising with AT.

I've been through three receivers in that time (Kenwood to Denon to Onkyo), and would have probably upgraded one more time to get HDMI switching were it not for the economy. I've moved house four times since the UPS man first brought me those speakers (don't ask), changed jobs twice, been through three main TVs, owned four DVD players and two CD changers. The ATs have been the only constants in my system because I could never afford a better AT package and never considered any other speakers.

Maybe in a few years I'll be in a financial position to check out some of the H-PAS speakers. Sure hope so.

Regards,

Joe
 

RAF

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I will be looking closely at this H-PAS technology at CEDIA. It is my understanding that what we will be hearing is a working concept demonstration rather than some final products. According to Peter Tribeman, Atlantic Technology will be licensing the technology to whatever companies want to incorporate H-PAS into their future speakers. In other words, I fully expect to see H-PAS licensed speakers from a variety of manufacturers at future shows. The licensing of a technology is not new by any means and it will be interesting to see what kind of bottom end is produced by 4½ inch drivers. The specs sound intriguing and if H-PAS can pull it off then we may be seeing small speaker systems that can be serious full range models.

Speaking of which, I couldn't help but notice that Peter Tribeman is a principal in both Atlantic Technology and Outlaw Audio. One company is known for its quality speakers (I personally own an 8200e 7.1 system with 6200e Center and four 4200e surrounds) and the other is known for its affordable electronics (I have an Outlaw 200w/c power amp). I note that Outlaw has a line of affordable, nice performing speakers and the only thing currently missing from its catalog (which includes bookshelf speakers, in-wall speakers and sub-woofers) is a full range speaker. I wonder whether Outlaw will be purchasing an H-PAS license to add a small, affordable full range speaker to the Outlaw speaker line. That would be in line with their general philosophy of offering high performing but relatively low cost components to their Internet customers. It will be interesting to see what speakers, if any, Outlaw introduces in the next year or so. We'll keep you posted.
 

RAF

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Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino /forum/thread/292026/atlantic-techn...olutionary-h-pas-bass-technology#post_3599815
 

RAF

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I just finished listening to the H-PAS prototypes at CEDIA 2009 this morning. Philip Clements (the inventor of the technology) and Peter Tribeman (the president of Atlantic Technology and Outlaw Audio) provided the demo at the Atlantic Technology Booth (#3001) at the show. The prototypes consisted of two relatively modest looking towers that showed two 4.5" drivers flanking a small tweeter in a vertical array at the top of an enclosure that looked to be a little less than 3 feet tall and maybe 6-7 inches in width and depth (I didn't bring a tape measure so don't hold me to these dimensions exactly). There appeared to be a bass port at the bottom of each enclosure facing forward. That's it. Nothing huge and not very imposing at all. The speakers were connected to Outlaw's retro 2 channel stereo receiver and a variety of source material (jazz, vocals, classical organ music, content from ET, etc.) was presented to audition. I settled into my chair in the sweet spot to see what H-PAS was all about. All I can say is

[COLOR= #ff0000]WOW![/COLOR]

I couldn't believe the clarity and power of the bass that emanated from this 2.0 system. I thought that Peter was pulling a prank on me and was hiding a powerful sub woofer behind the curtain in a 2.1 array. But my search for this yielded nothing of course. The only wizard here is Phil Clemens who came up with this concept. I could gush on about what I heard, but I don't ask you to take my words as gospel. I was so impressed that I decided to stay for another well attended public demonstration to observe the faces and comments of the audience. And their reactions confirmed what I was hearing. The proof will be when you get to audition H-PAS for yourself and I strongly encourage you to seek out a demo when it reaches your neck of the woods.

The technology, as stated before. is being licensed by Atlantic Technology to a wide variety of manufacturers and should start appearing in at least prototype form by CES. It is my understanding that Outlaw Audio will probably be one of the first companies out of the blocks to offer a full range speaker to take advantage of the technology with Atlantic Technology not far behind. And there will be many others before long. The presence of powerful and tight bass is unmistakable and the upper end of the sonic spectrum will depend on the drivers provided by licensing speaker manufacturers. In other words, not all H-PAS speakers will sound the same in this most subjective of audio categories but it sounds like all of them will produce bass performance never before possible in such relatively small enclosures. There is still a lot of room for choice of your own personal speaker performance and characteristics. You have to hear it to believe it.
 

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