The engineers at Damson Audio are at it again. The Damson Twist speaker vibrates flat surfaces and the company’s Headbones headphones use bone conduction (in your head), each producing quality sound from vibrations. Damson’s newest product, the S-Series, currently in an Indiegogo campaign, combines thoroughly modular speaker components with a proprietary wireless network, claimed to be capable of connecting at distances up to 475 feet.
Damson CEO James Talbot says in his Indiegogo video that he conceived the S-Series when his significant other moved in and banished his wire-laden surround sound setup to the attic, leaving him with only a TV and tinny sound — a common tale among audio enthusiasts. The result is a system that Talbot clearly believes exceeds that of Sonos. No wires, easy setup, and sound just as you like it.
There are three S-Series components: S-Bar; S-Woofer; and S-Cubes. The S-Bar and S-Woofer are sold together and can work on their own or as part of a system involving up to eight S-Cubes. When used without any S-Cubes, the S-Bar and S-Woofer can create virtual surround sound. With connected S-Cubes, the system is said to support Dolby, DTS, and THX surround, though details on this point are scant. We’ve reached out to Talbot to find out more.
The S-Bar, much smaller than conventional soundbars, is compact at 9-inches wide by 3-inches deep and 2.5-inches high. The S-Bar connects wirelessly to the S-Woofer. All electronics, inputs, and controls are located on the S-Woofer to reduce wire clutter in front of your television. According to Damson, the S-Bar’s wide field stereo enables it to push sound levels “normally associated with soundbars three times its size.”
The S-Woofer has two HDMI inputs, an Aux input, and stereo RCA jacks, plus an HDMI output to route video signals to a television. Both the S-Bar and the S-Woofer come with AC power supplies.
The S-Cubes, which can run on internal lithium-ion batteries or with included AC adapters, can be used as single, stand-alone speakers or as part of a multi-speaker system. Each S-Cube has five drivers including an integrated “subwoofer” powered with an 18-watt amplifier. The S-Cubes support Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC) connections and have a 3.5mm aux-in jack.
The “greatest and best-intended use” with the S-Cubes, however, is connection with Damson’s proprietary JetStreamNet wireless network, which is what promises the incredible wireless range, even through walls. Up to eight speakers can be connected via JetStreamNet so you could have four in one room, two in another, and one in each of two other rooms, any or all of which can be connected to an S-Bar and S-Woofer.
Damson’s S-Series components are scheduled to ship in April 2017. The Indiegogo campaign has reached 137 percent of its $40,000 flexible goal at $54,849 with 18 days left. Single S-Cubes are priced $99, a pair of S-Cubes $189, an S-Bar and S-Woofer set at $199, and a “Super System” consisting of an S-Bar and S-Woofer with four S-Cubes for $574.
