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PS Audio Introduces Its Compact, High-Performance aspen FR5 Loudspeaker

– New FR5 stand-mount speaker delivers expansive sound in a room-friendly design

Boulder, Colorado, July 2024 – PS Audio recently announced the introduction of its aspen FR5 loudspeaker, a stand-mounted speaker that delivers the same quality of extraordinary musical realism as the larger aspen Series models, in a compact design that fits easily into smaller and medium-sized rooms.

The new FR5 features a custom-designed PS Audio push-pull planar magnetic high-frequency driver, complemented by a newly-designed midrange/woofer, and a high-excursion passive radiator. Available in satin black or satin white with optional matching stands, the PS Audio FR5 is styled to complement any décor.

Paul McGowan, PS Audio CEO pointed out: “The FR5 was designed to bring the same level of uncompromising sound quality as all aspen Series speakers into any listening environment, and is ideal for living spaces where floorstanding speakers can’t be used. Although it’s small, the FR5 delivers powerful and dynamic sound with extended bass, and will play surprisingly loud even in larger rooms.”

The FR5 measures 14.5 inches high by 8 inches wide by 13 inches deep (28.25 inches high with optional stands). The drivers in the FR5 are purpose-designed by PS Audio and are tuned for optimum performance in a two-way stand-mount configuration. The 2.5-inch planar magnetic ribbon tweeter is the same unit used in all aspen Series loudspeakers. It utilizes a symmetrical push-pull design with a high-strength magnet and a diaphragm made from Teonex^® film, a material that provides exceptional clarity, transient response and resolution.

The aspen FR5 features a newly-designed 6.5-inch cast frame midrange/woofer made from Curv woven polypropylene, a material that is drawn into thin monofilaments and woven and reinforced using a proprietary process. The high-excursion driver employs a split-gap magnet structure with dual Faraday rings and a custom suspension. It’s augmented by a rear-firing 6 by 9-inch passive radiator to achieve in-room low-frequency extension down to 30 Hz. Both FR5 drivers are mounted on a thermoset resin front baffle that adds rigidity and minimizes diffraction effects.

PS Audio’s aspen FR5 utilizes a new enclosure technology, with viscoelastic damping sheets between the bracing and cabinet side walls, and around the woofer. This minimizes unwanted enclosure vibrations and contributes to the FR5’s superb imaging and spaciousness. The crossover uses air-core inductors, metallized poly capacitors, and wirewound resistors to ensure maximum sonic purity and seamless driver integration.

The FR5’s simple, elegant design is complemented by its optional matching stand, which has an integrated wire management system and can be mass-loaded. The FR5 comes with magnetically detachable grilles.

The aspen FR5 will be available in August 2024 at a suggested retail price of US $3,499/ CAD $4,771 per pair. The optional stands will be available at US $500/ CAD $682 per pair.

aspen FR5 Features at a Glance:

Enclosure type: sealed
High-frequency transducer: 2.5-inch planar magnetic ribbon tweeter with Teonex diaphragm
Midrange/low-frequency transducer: 6.5-inch cast-frame, Curv woven polypropylene, split-gap magnet structure with dual copper Faraday rings
Passive radiator: 6 by 9-inch rear-firing
Thermoset resin fiberglass-composite woofer baffle
Magnetically-attached grille
Custom crossover with premium metallized poly capacitors, air-core inductors and wirewound resistors
Frequency Response: 35 Hz – 20 kHz (- 6 dB, half-space; 30 Hz – 6 dB in-room)
Crossover Frequency: 1,750 Hz
Sensitivity: 83.5 dB
Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms (5.6 ohms minimum)
Recommended Amplifier Power: 50 – 150 watts
Dimensions: 14.5 x 8 x 13 inches (speaker only), optional stand, 28.25 x 11.75 x 14 inches
Weight: speaker, 26.6 lbs. (12.1 kg), stand, 13.7 lbs. (6.2 kg)

For the Silo, Frank Doris.

Teonex is a registered trademark of DuPont Teijin Films.

HOLBROOK, New York, June, 2023 At Pacific Audio Fest 2023 Nola Speakers will feature the West Coast debut of its Baby Grand Reference Gold Series 3 loudspeaker. The full-range floor standing speaker offers a number of upgrades from the previous model to deliver an extraordinary quality of musical realism, including a new isolation system that provides greatly improved dynamics, low-level resolution and other benefits.

The Nola Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 loudspeaker will be showcased at Pacific Audio Fest, June 23 – 25, 2023 at the Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport, Seattle, Washington, in Olympic Room 3, Wing 7.

The speaker employs Nola’s hallmark open-baffle dipole design for the midrange drivers and tweeters, which eliminates box enclosure colorations and contributes to the speaker’s spacious soundstage. The Nola Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 features four proprietary true ribbon tweeters along with four newly-designed midrange drivers, and dual 220 mm woofers. The new isolation system is a key element in the speaker’s remarkable performance. The isolation base’s construction features a spiked platform with an improved version of Nola’s ball-bearing isolation technology incorporated into the base.

While the concept may seem simple, the results are profound.

Nola president Carl Marchisotto noted, The idea was inspired by attending a recent live music concert. You can instantly tell live from reproduced music, and I wondered why. I was struck by the fact that with live music, the harmonics decay properly with respect to the fundamental. They’re not lost, or cut off abruptly. I set out to make sure this important aural cue was preserved, by designing the new isolation base, and achieving further improvements in performance with our new low-distortion drivers and upgraded crossovers. Marchisotto continued, For the first time, we will demonstrate our ball bearing isolation system applied to the whole system, including the source, amplification and other components as well as the loudspeakers.

The true ribbon tweeters, which are built with final assembly completed in-house with proprietary components, have a frequency response to 100 kHz, for smooth, effortless high-frequency reproduction.

The midrange drivers incorporate Alnico ring magnets for a more lifelike attack and transient response, and now feature the same gold-plated phase plugs used in the woofers. The 220 mm woofers employ magnesium cones and massive Alnico ring magnets, and are housed in individual rear-ported chambers for deeper, more articulate bass with exceptional dynamic response. The 3-1/2-way crossover network is hand-wired with premium components and no PC boards used, to maintain sonic purity.

These speakers have what designers and reviewers used to call the jump factor, where they can surprise you with their dynamic impact and clarity, Marchisotto said. You don’t realize that certain distortions in a loudspeaker are eliminated until you don’t hear them, in a speaker that brings you closer to musical reality. We invite everyone at Pacific Audio Fest to come by and enjoy a very special listening experience.

The Nola Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 is available in mirror-imaged pairs in a choice of True Piano Black Gloss or True Piano Santos Rosewood finishes, with other finishes and colors available by special order. The Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 is now shipping at a suggested retail price of $150,000USD/ $198,190CAD per pair. For the Silo, Frank Doris.

About Nola Speakers

In 2004 Carl and Marilyn Marchisotto founded Accent Speaker Technology Ltd. and created the Nola product line with the goal of bringing the experience of listening to live music to a wider number of people. President and Chief Engineer Marchisotto has been designing audio equipment since 1973 at Dahlquist, Acarian Systems/Alon and Accent/Nola, which now offers a complete loudspeaker lineup from high-performance bookshelf models to the flagship USD$500,000/ CAD$660,650 pair Nola Grand Reference Gold VII System, designed and built to deliver ultimate musical performance in every aspect. Nola employs a number of key technologies including baffle-less dipole drivers, Alnico magnets, Unison Crossover technology that optimally blends the performance of multiple speaker drivers, and many other refinements.

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