Houston, TX – (August 15, 2024) – ASCENDO Immersive Audio GmbH will debut its DIRECTOR LED Wall Loudspeaker System at the CEDIA Expo, September 5–7, at the Colorado Convention Center in ASCENDO Sound Room 3. LED walls, increasingly popular in residential media systems, pose audio challenges because speakers can’t be placed directly behind the acoustically transparent screen as in many home theater setups. ASCENDO’s DIRECTOR is a transformative, patent-pending solution that offers exceptional audio from a flush-mount, in-ceiling speaker used as part of a larger ASCENDO immersive audio system.

The DIRECTOR was developed based on ASCENDO’s research that found engineering shortcomings in competing LED wall speaker systems. Some use a mix of line and point source speakers, yet line source speakers require audience members to sit in select seats for optimal sound. Others reflect frequencies off the wall itself, introducing timing and phase issues. LED wall audio systems that deploy smaller speakers suffer from poor performance and inadequate sound pressure levels.

ASCENDO’s DIRECTOR direct-radiating point source speaker tackles engineering hurdles to provide consistent, captivating, and powerful sound to every seat. Its flush-mount in-ceiling design integrates invisibly for more elegant home theater and media room designs that keep the focus on the LED wall or non-acoustically transparent video screen.

“Our design approach, as always, is using a point source. In this case, we are using an asymmetrical, controlled-dispersion pattern waveguide to achieve our goals,” says Geoffrey Heinzel, ASCENDO co-managing partner. “Only point source speakers can deliver the desired seat-to-seat performance consistency in multi-seat home theater environments, and only a direct-radiating system is capable of the highest-performance results.”

The company designed, developed, and tested 3D-printed special waveguides for the DIRECTOR’s tweeter and woofer to find the best coupling between them without significant lobing or cancellations. The speaker’s AMT-driven waveguide has asymmetrical horizontal and vertical sound dispersion and HF dispersion lens. Its performance is scalable and can easily exceed 130dB SPL. 

In rooms with high ceilings where steep listening angles exist, ASCENDO uses psychoacoustics through a time-aligned, equalized, and level-matched balancing speaker positioned below the LED wall to lower the perceived phantom sound source.

“ASCENDO continues to innovate with application-specific solutions for challenges like this one,” says Todd Sutherland, owner of Sutherland AV Marketing, distributor for ASCENDO in the United States and Canada. “The DIRECTOR is unlike anything available, giving the audience a realistic and exciting LED wall audio experience from an in-ceiling system that lives up to ASCENDO’s reputation for sublime sound.” 

Experience the Future of LED Wall Sound in CEDIA Expo Sound Room 3

CEDIA Expo attendees are invited to experience The DIRECTOR in ASCENDO’s Sound Room 3, in combination with StormAudio’s ISP Evo20 processor for audio. For video, Seymour-Screen Excellence’s Ambient Visionaire Black screen is brought to life by the incredible Christie M 4K15 Pure Laser projector and madVR’s Envy Mk2 video processor. Other demo partners include German-made moovia bespoke seating, which will show its ultra-luxurious, one-of-a-kind LYON media sofa inspired by the French countryside. Kaleidescape will hold hourly demonstration comparisons between video streaming and their unparalleled video and audio performance for source material.

About ASCENDO Immersive Audio GmbH

ASCENDO was founded in 1999 in Stuttgart by Norbert Heinz, Stefan Köpf, and Jürgen Scheuring. Initially focused on DSP, audio networking, and measurement systems, ASCENDO evolved into ASCENDO Immersive Audio GmbH with Geoffrey Heinzel as co-managing partner. ASCENDO specializes in state-of-the-art home theater systems, including its infrasonic subwoofers, leveraging decades of research into human sound perception. Learn more at www.aia-cinema.com.

About Sutherland AV Marketing

Sutherland AV Marketing is an AV distribution company founded by Todd Sutherland, whose career in the AV industry spans more than 20 years. Todd has worked with some of the finest luxury and high-performance manufacturers in sales, marketing, and operations roles. He brings his expertise and relationships to Sutherland AV Marketing to form partnerships with top-tier brands that offer performance and design differentiation, such as Quantum Media Systems, Lode Audio, ASCENDO Immersive Audio, and luxury bespoke seating manufacturer moovia. Learn more at www.sutherlandavmarketing.com.