Klipsch to Illuminate Audio Industry with New LightSpeaker

"Today's consumers are overloaded with complex technologies, and the LightSpeaker is designed to enrich their lives without complication," said Klipsch president Paul Jacobs. It offers brilliant light, reduces energy costs and creates a multi-room ambient music system in mere minutes. There's no wiring, no retrofitting and no software to deal with."

The LightSpeaker, which comes complete with a dimmable LED bulb and full-range speaker, fits 5- and 6-inch recessed light fixtures with a standard Edison socket. Upcoming accessories will allow the LightSpeaker to accommodate hanging light fixtures as well as floor and table lamps.

The speaker uses a 20 watt high-performance, low-distortion digital amplifier to deliver energy efficient sound. Furthermore, the LightSpeaker's 2.5-inch wide dispersion driver uses digital signal processing to optimize high- and low-frequency output for a full spectrum of sound.

In order to deliver music wirelessly, the LightSpeaker relies on a standalone transmitter. A music source, such as a laptop, iPod or CD player, connects to the transmitter and it wirelessly sends the sound to the LightSpeaker. The transmitter's 2.4GHz wireless technology accommodates up to eight LightSpeakers, equaling stereo sound in multiple rooms. You can connect two music sources to the transmitter, as well as establish two separate listening zones. The transmitter or remote will control the sources, zones, lighting levels and volume.

The LED bulb is rated for 40,000 hours of use and can last over 15 years. It also reduces daily lighting expenses by 80 percent, using 10 watts to produce light that's bright enough to replace up to a 65 watt bulb. Unlike incandescent bulbs, the LightSpeaker LED bulb contains no mercury or halogen gases and produces almost no heat.

A bundled package, consisting of two LightSpeakers, a transmitter, radio frequency remote, mini jack to RCA plug cable, lenses and trim, retails for $599. Single LightSpeakers are also available for $249 each. Klipsch will begin selling the LightSpeaker on klipsch.com later this month, with broader distribution slated for March.

"A LightSpeaker package eventually pays for itself, through savings on professional installation, separate audio components and energy consumption," concluded Jacobs. "Plus you can take it with you if you move."

LightSpeakers are for background music and not intended to replace home theater speakers.

LED Light:
• 10W super bright LED provides a sharp crisp light that is easy on the eyes.
• LED outputs the light suitable to replace up to a 60W incandescent bulb
• Long Lasting LED is rated for over 25,000 to 40,000 hours of use (15 to 20 years average use)
• LED Light is fully dimmable and is controlled from either the remote or the light button on the transmitter

Wireless Receiver:
Receives a 2.4 GHz wireless stereo signal broadcast from the Transmitter and depending on the zone assigned to the speaker and the left or right audio channel selected, the receiver sends the correct signal to each LightSpeakers® on-board digital amplifier

Digital Amplifier & Switch Mode Power Supply:
• The E26 standard Edison Screw allows the unit to attach to any standard light fixture socket.
• The high efficiency switch mode power supply delivers power to the LED and the digital amplifier without generating a lot of heat.
• 20W high performance low distortion digital amplifier provides energy efficient sound
• The on-board Digital Signal Processing delivers customized audio to each LightSpeaker® giving big speaker sound in a small speaker.

Loud Speaker:
• 2.5" high performance custom engineered woofer with Micro Cellulose Polymer treated cone material provides even coverage and smooth natural sounding audio reproduction
• Integrated high frequency disperser.

Accessories:
• Optional flange allows LightSpeaker® to fit into either 5" (R30) or 6" (R40) recessed lighting fixtures.
• Frosted Lens is acoustically transparent

Transmitter:
• 2 sets of RCA or 3.5mm stereo jack line level audio inputs allows 2 separate sources to be used
• Wireless simultaneous transmission to two separate zones of loudspeakers
• Controls LED light in each zone independently
• Controls Audio level and source in each zone independently
• Simple front panel controls allow easy adjustment of the speakers' sound
• Wireless transmitter can send audio to loudspeakers 50 to 100 feet in any direction depending on the environment

Accessories:
• RF remote allows control of sound 50 to100 feet away from transmitter depending on the environment.
• RF Remote allows selection of zone and source which allows you to adjust audio in each zone
• DC power supply for transmitter

5" LightSpeaker® Specifications:
Woofer 2.5" Micro Cellulose
Light Brightness 10W LED
Wireless Reception 2.4 GHz proprietary signal
Frequency Response (+/- 3 dB) 90 Hz - 20 kHz
Amplifier Power 20W
Max SPL 93 dB SPL

Dimensions:
LightSpeaker® depth (w/out Edison Screw) 5.3" (135.3 mm)
LightSpeaker® diameter (without Flange) 5.1" (130.0 mm)
LightSpeaker® diameter (with Flange) 7.2" (182.8 mm)
Depth without socket - no lens 5.5" (140.0 mm)
Depth with Socket - no lens 6.6" (167.2 mm)
Depth without socket with lens 6.1" (153.8 mm)
Depth with Socket with lens 7.1" (181.0 mm)
OD of 6" Flange 7.6" (192.0 mm)
OD of 5" Flange 6.7" (171.2 mm)
Weight 2.51 lbs (1.14 kg)

Transmitter & Remote Specifications:
Transmitter Sources 2
Discrete Transmitter Zones 2
Audio Transmission Frequency 2.4 GHz proprietary
RF Remote Transmission Freqeuency 908 Mhz
Audio Transmitter range (omni-directional) 50 to 100 feet depending on environment
RF Remote range (omni-directional) 50 to 100 feet depending on environment
AC Power 90 VAC to 240 VAC

Dimensions:
Transmitter 5.9" (151.0 mm) W x 7.0" (177.0 mm) L x 2.4" (60.0 mm) H
Remote: 2" (52.0 mm) W x 5.1" (130.0 mm) L x 1.2" (30.0mm)