We have some exciting new additions to the Axiom Electronics lineup. As many of you remember, about two years ago we launched a very successful series of amplifiers that are configurable from 2 to 8 different channels.
We've had a lot of requests from customers who are moving back to stereo speaker setups (partially I think because when we introduced the LFR1100, many people started to listen to music in stereo again, and really enjoyed that set up)
3U Zone Control Amp With Customized Wooden Faceplate
First up on the list of new products is our new customizable faceplate that we're going to be going to for all of the new electronics, as well as the existing amplifiers and DSP systems for our LFR omnidirectional speakers. You'll be able to get these fronts in a brushed aluminum look, very similar to what we have been shipping these products in up until now. But the exciting part is that if you want to customize your electronics to match your speakers whether it's a stock vinyl, a custom vinyl, a custom wood veneer, or even a custom match finish, we can now offer that.
Pictured above is a prototype using our standard Boston Cherry finish for a faceplate. (We're still playing with the design, so this is truly a 'sneak peek' into what we have been working on, but it gives you an overall taste of what things are going to look like.)
3U Amplifier in Real Wood, with a 2U Preamp and a 2U DSP in Real Wood.The stand-alone preamps units will come in our slimmer '2U' chassis the same size as our current LFR DSP chassis. The entry-level version has three inputs: RCA in-and-outs only.
The step-up version has five inputs, two of which are balanced. It also has dedicated true balanced outputs on it. So if you run balanced components in your system, or particularly if you are using it with an ADA 1250 or 1500 amp, it's an excellent way to use those LFR inputs on those amplifiers.
As options for the two stand-alone amplifiers, we're going to be offer various modules as we go along in the future. One is our exciting new "Axiom Play" wireless module, which will allow streaming capability built into the preamplifier.
We're also looking at introducing a phono pre-amp module. It's likely going to be both moving coil and moving magnet selectable with selectable loading.
And we're also looking at a USB DAC which will let you take a USB device like a laptop computer, or certain tablets or smartphones, and plug them directly into the amplifier to digitally play back the audio files on the device.
Both of the stand-alone preamps are available in integrated pre-amps as well, so you'll get the same features as the two pre-amps described above, with the addition of a two-channel ADA 1000, which is 125 watts x 2 into 8 ohms, built in all into the same chassis. That has to go into the larger chassis.
So if you wanted to build a very simple two-channel system around a turntable or even something to plug your tablet or smart phone in, that unit with a pair of speakers and your source component makes a complete system.
Zone Control Amp in traditional brushed black aluminumOne other thing that we're going to be offering both as a preamp and an integrated amp is what we call a Zone Preamp or Zone Integrated Amp. By 'Zone' all we mean is it's configurable in anywhere from four to eight channels (in even numbers - so four, six or eight channels) and as a stand-alone pre-amp it will allow to select and channel signals to different amplifiers for whole-home audio. You have the ability with the three inputs to transfer those three main inputs to all of the four, six or eight output channels. You also have the ability to have a separate input for the four, six and eight external channels that are not slaves to the the internal channels.
What that means is if you wanted to have different devices playing on different systems in your house, you could do that. But if you wanted to play the same music in every room of your house, just flip a switch and you're sending the same source to all of the amplifier channels.
It's something we've had quite a bit of call for and it will be exciting to have this product line coming out. It has been an exciting period of development at Axiom.
