Steve Olszewski is the Vice President of Stealth Acoustics. Steve has been an audio / visual systems engineer, musician, installer and business owner. He joined Dimensional Communications in 1976 and has overseen both the growth of Dimensional’s integration business and the creation of Stealth Acoustics. He lives in the coastal Pacific Northwest, near Seattle, WA, in the USA.
Stealth Acoustics, the foremost invisible speaker brand, is seeing a steady growth in European sales. Here, Vice-President Steve Olszewski provides an insight into the evolution of the invisible speaker market and explains why this technology is continuing to gain in popularity with dealers across the continent.
Today’s multi-channel surround sound and whole-house audio systems inevitably require multiple speaker locations. The result can be an ever growing number of speaker grilles, boxes and hardware that compete with the décor of the living space. This competition is a typical source of irritation and, in some cases, downright opposition from interior designers, architects and homeowners who are understandably protective of the home’s aesthetics.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way anymore. The solution is invisible speakers – a product category that is on a distinctly upward trajectory.
This curve is being driven by two fundamentals. On the one hand, we have seen significant technology improvements, helping the product category migrate from an invisible solution with relatively poor sound to today’s genuine audiophile offerings that just happen to be invisible. On the other hand, we have the drive from designers, architects and consumers for speakers which are minimum impact on their interior schemes.
To appreciate where we are now, it’s important to track the evolution of invisible audio. Stealth Acoustics is part of Dimensional Communications, a successful custom integration business for nearly 40 years. Our experience on residential custom installation projects opened our eyes to the business opportunity for invisible speakers, which led directly to the development of the invisible speaker division, Stealth Acoustics.
Our background as an installation company has been a key factor in our growth, helping to inform our product development programme and ensuring that we understand what installers are looking for in terms of quality audio, ease of installation and integration plus a great, aesthetically invisible finish.
Now, we are on our sixth generation of product in less than ten years. Over this period, we have worked really hard to elevate the audio quality available from invisible speakers to rival, and even surpass, many other visible speakers. This product innovation to deliver higher audio quality continues to focus on speaker design and new materials.
For example, the latest invisible speakers on the market, such as, our LRG Series feature a lower profile, high-power woofer for solid bass response down to 30 Hz. We’ve also completely re-designed the speaker face to make it stronger and lighter yet able to provide superior acoustic performance. This proprietary radiating surface, called “Fidelity-Glass™”, generates more delicate highs, a deep and solid bass output and overall better response.
The paintable active diaphragm face is bonded to the frame of the speaker panel, creating an active area surrounded by a stable mounting frame which attaches directly to standard wall structures. This enables installation in either the wall or ceiling with on-site finishing options, including latex paint, light wallpaper, fabrics and selected texture coats.
At the same time, because these speakers are now a full inch thinner than previous models, they can be installed within wall or ceiling cavities as shallow as 65mm (2.5”) depth, helping to expand the potential market for dealers and meet the challenges of different house types found in Europe more easily.
With this improvement in quality, it’s no surprise that invisible speakers have achieved a warranted acceptance on a level with more traditional speakers in custom installation projects. Having reached the quality tipping-point, invisibles now hold a very powerful and credible position for future expansion.
From a dealer’s perspective, invisible technologies, especially invisible speakers, are also a growing and attractive profit centre. For any custom installation business, it’s important that they bring added value to a project beyond the system components they provide. Truly architecturally integrated devices demand installation and high quality integration skills from the dealer. So, invisible speakers not only tap into a growing consumer demand but also offer installers an excellent margin in any project. More and more dealers across Europe recognise this win-win situation and are capitalising upon the opportunity, helping to boost the growth of the product category.
Looking more broadly at the CI sector, it seems to us that innovations come in waves and we are just now passing through a major phase in the equipment, art, and definition of systems integration. Moving forward, at least in the near term, installers will have to take a more nuanced approach to technologies; higher resolution displays, more simplified control and automation systems, deeper relationships with designers, and certainly a firmer understanding of IP technologies and the breakdown of proprietary protocols and systems.
From our perspective, the art of integration will also require more discipline towards delivering a unique and first-quality result to the end user, using best-in-class products from vendors who care about more than just the bottom line.
Great systems inspire passion and we are inspired and passionate about the invisible speaker space, our leadership position and most importantly, helping to add relevance and profitability for the installers in the process.
I’d like to add that the conversations we are having with dealers in the EU are as focused, passionate, intelligent and business-like as any we have elsewhere. It’s also clear to us from this dialogue that integrators are talking more and more about the importance of working alongside interior designers and architects to ensure the best quality sound balanced with aesthetics.
The best invisible speakers on the market allow installers to provide dynamic full range audio from concealed speakers, placed precisely where the customer demands it. As Europe’s economies recover and the CI market continues to expand across the continent, we are confident that the energy and good business-sense we see from installers join together and ensure a bright future ahead for the invisible speaker sector.
