Sony has launched the SA-Z1 powered near-field speaker system at IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The company says that users will feel as though they'll be able to reach out and touch the sound.
Designed to be connected to a computer, portable music player or hi-fi setups, the drivers inside the housing are arranged in a special order, and controlled by Sony's FPGA processor, "so that the leading edge of the sound waves align." This is reported to result in top notch audio resolution in pretty much any space.
"Gone are the days of narrow and flat sound where you only feel the front side of the speaker system," said Sony. "Now you can feel the height and depth of the music thanks to the 'Tsuzumi' layout with side ducts. The horizontally opposed layout of two woofers cancel out each other’s vibrations. Sound from the assist woofer, is radiated through side ducts, re-creating a spatial acoustic field."
To the front of each speaker is an array of three tweeters that work together to disperse the highs across a wide area. And the system is driven by the same DA Hybrid Amplifier Circuit at the heart of the TA-ZH1ES Signature Series headphones, with the addition of a Gallium Nitride power semiconductor to nip distortion in the bud.
Four unique tuning settings are offered, but there is the option for further fine-tuning if desired – including altering the blending ratio of the digital and analog amp, taking control of the assist woofer motion and adjusting the assist tweeter time alignment.
"Ultimate resolution and spatial representation" doesn't come cheap though. The SA-Z1 will be available early next year for around €7,000 (approx. US$7,700). The video below has more.
Source: Sony
