At the the CEDIA Expo earlier this month, Lenbrook had a substantial launch of multiple new models from their collection of brands. Firmly positioned in the mid- to high-end technology market, the new products from Bluesound, Dali, NAD, and PSB continued to forge a path into the new digital audiophile market with high-quality streaming models and high-end in-wall and on-wall speaker and subwoofer solutions.
And in the case of one model, it was an award-winning presentation…
See more on Lenbrook’s new products…
I met with Lenbrook Senior Director of Sales Stephen Baker who showed me a few of the highlights from Lenbrook’s significant product launch at the 2019 CEDIA Expo. He started by showing me that Lenbrook had won a CEDIA Best New Product award for their recently launched NAD M10 high-res streaming amplifier. (You can see all the details on the M10 in my report from the model’s launch event this past June in New York City.)
Clearly proud of the award, Baker talked about how significant the M10 is to NAD and Lenbrook. It symbolizes a fundamental shift in specialty audio in terms of consumer preferences. The M10, he says, is completely in line with the way consumers wish to consume their music today – via streaming…but in this case with an extremely high-quality streamer/amplifier solution.
A Theme Emerges
And that thought, it seems, was the theme for my entire visit to the Lenbrook booth – as the company surely seems committed to updating their brands in ways consistent with emerging trends – and in line with their philosophy of the new more digitally savvy music enthusiast/specialty consumer.
“We demo’d the M10 at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fair, streaming Qobuz and Tidal/MQA – and it was really well received. This is how people listen to music now. And we have more experience with high-res audio than anyone else.”
Stephen Baker, Lenbrook America
A Cool New Bluesound Model
From here we moved to a new Bluesound model, the Powernode 2i. This is a new wireless multi-room music streaming amplifier. The Powernode 2i features 60 watts x 2 of distortion-free Hybrid Digital power, HDMI (ARC & eARC) connectivity, uses the BluOS app and integrates with the entire Bluesound multi-room music ecosystem. The Powernode 2i sells for $899 MSRP and is now shipping.
Lenbrook America is the U.S. distributor for high-end speaker brand Dali. On display in the Lenbrook booth was a full line of Dali in-wall speakers. Let’s just say, these are not your grandfathers Dali’s!
Hello Dali
Huge in-wall designs, they are meant to take in-wall performance to new heights. Called their Phantom S series, Baker told me that these in-walls deliver Epicon level performance from an in-wall design. I saw the S 280 ($4,900ea) with a special hybrid electrostatic planar tweeter, the M 375 ($1,179 ea), and the M 250 ($899ea). While they take up a fair amount of wall space, you get floor standing tower speaker performance…and get your floor back.
From here we moved to PSB, the brand founded by Paul S. Barton, who still works for Lenbrook creating new and innovative speaker solutions. I saw one new in-wall speaker solution, the PSB AIC 860 and a couple of interesting subwoofer options.
PSB In-Ceiling Speakers & In-Wall Subwoofers
The AIC 860 is a 6.5″ angled in-ceiling model that incorporates a 15-degree slope in the woofer for better dispersion and three-dimensionality. The woofer is a carbon infused polypropylene material and the speaker has a 1″ titanium tweeter with wave guide. The AIC 860 sells for $649ea MSRP.
The new PSB subwoofers also looked interesting and we started with the CSIW SUB28. The SUB28, Baker says, is designed to be used in both new construction and retrofit installations. It features dual passive 8″ woofers for an in-wall mounting. The SUB28 sells for $999ea MSRP.
I also saw the CSIW SUB10 which is designed specifically for new construction installations with a unique mounting design. Basically, the goal is to decouple the subwoofer from the surrounding drywall. The subwoofer is securely screwed into the surrounding studs and the grill can accommodate different wall thicknesses. The SUB10 utilizes a 10″ high excursion shallow subwoofer design for deep bass performance. The SUB10 sells for $1,199 ea MSRP.
Also in Lenbrook’s Booth:
- A PSB on-wall speaker system for those situations where you can not penetrate the walls. PSB quality in an easily installed on-wall box.
- A new NAD T 778 CI grade AV receiver – 9 x 100watts, touchscreen operable, Hybrid Digital Amplifier technology, rack mountable (3RU) for $2,999 MSRP
All-in-all an impressive showing. On top of all of this, Baker noted that the company has begun hiring manufacturer sales representatives (as we noted in a story here…) and they’ve hired their first few.
While the company interviewed quite a few rep firms at the show, they still have several open territories. For those interested in representing the brand in their territory, reach out to:
For rep firms located in the East: Jim Price jprice@lenbrook.com
For rep firms located in the West: David Carr dcarr@lenbrook.com
See more on Lenbrook by visiting: lenbrook.com.
NOTE: Click here to see more photos from my visit to the Lenbrook booth
Stephen Baker the touchdown maker!