Audio Video News

You may have heard of in-wall soundbars but how about an in-ceiling soundbar?

At the recent CEDIA 2017 exhibition, The DaVinci Group (TDG) of Ontario, California, unveiled a new product category: a three-piece soundbar system designed for mounting in the ceiling or a wall. Dubbed Skybar, the system is said to deliver “tremendous seven-channel home theater performance [from] just three diminutive in-ceiling or in-wall boxes” — an LCR module and two satellite modules.

Described as easy to install, the Skybar LCR uses six 3-inch full-range driver and a pivoting 1-inch tweeter in a 6 x 25.25 x 3.75-inch enclosure to cover the front left, center, and right channels in a home theater setup. Each channel has two 3-inch drivers except the center, which adds the tweeter. The drivers are mounted on an angled baffle that directs sound toward the listening area. In an in-wall installation, sound is directed toward listeners from the left and right sides. For added flexibility, the speaker’s multiple drivers can be configured for one-channel operation.

The Skybar Satellite is designed to add flexible configurations for the side and rear surround channels from an enclosure that’s the same size as the Skybar LCR. The module has three 3-inch drivers — two fire forward and one reflects sound off an angled channel to create a diffuse effect for rear surround or height channels. The speaker can be configured to deliver side and rear channel sound or as a single-channel surround speaker.

In a ceiling installation, the LCR and satellite speakers would be set up in a U-shaped configuration, with the LCR at the front of the room and the satellites perpendicular to the LCR and on either side of the room, according to TDG. An equally compelling option would find the satellites mounted horizontally in the side walls to provide surround information, and yet another option would be to mount them vertically in the side walls with the reflecting speaker aimed towards the ceiling to deliver height information in an object-based surround setup.

“TDG’s Skybar System is the result of deep collaboration with TDG dealers, who told us they needed a solution where the aesthetics of the installation require a lower impact design rather than multiple individual component speakers,” said Jeff Francisco, TDG president and CEO.

Estimated pricing is $1,000 per speaker.