Coastal Source Celebrates 15 years with New Bollard 1000 Series Speakers

Living in Florida does have its advantages. Yes, it can be hot in the summer, but the rest of the year more than makes up for it. I’ll take three months of brutally hot summers over three months of bitterly cold winters any day. On days when the weather is cool and the humidity is lower than normal, I’m always looking for ways to bring my home theater outdoors. Last year, Focal released their Littora line of marine-grade speakers, which piqued my curiosity. One of the downsides of being near the coast is the corrosive effects of salt air. Products labeled ‘for outdoor use’ will often corrode within a year.  We’ve dealt with and had great success with companies like Theory Audio, JBL, RBH Sound and Coastal Source in the past for my outdoor speaker installations. 

Coastal Source was founded on the belief that outdoor spaces deserve the same attention, respect, and design considerations as indoor spaces. Our history is rooted in harsh outdoor environments, and our entire focus is on developing rugged, high-performance outdoor audio and lighting products that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at them.

--Coastal Source Co-founder and CEO Franco D’Ascanio

Audioholics President Gene DellaSala talked to Peter Sepesi, Director of Sales for Coastal Source at the Florida Audio Expo in February, 2024 about their Bollard 12.0 speakers and Dante Amp and said that for an outdoor set of speakers,"they had great imaging, rivaling some of the indoor speakers at the show!"

To celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary, Coastal Source is releasing its newest line of outdoor lighting and speakers. Coastal Source promises to deliver ‘coastal quality’ through the protection of 13 patents and three pending patents. The company prides itself on combining innovative products with strong technical support, product training, and free system design services. These qualities have earned Coastal Source numerous awards for customer service, product warranties, and shipping policies. 

The launch of its second-generation Bollard Speaker Series included the new modular Bollard 1000 Series, which builds upon the brand’s 12.0 and 10.0 Bollard speakers. The new design touts improved power handling, clarity, and tonal accuracy while maintaining the exceptional bass response that Coastal speakers are known for. 

Coastal Audio Bollard 1000 Series Design

All models come in a fully sealed cabinet with an acoustic suspension design. Bass drivers have been relocated from below the ground on the 10.0 to above the ground in the Bollard 1000 series and have eliminated the below-ground seam in the bollard cabinet. Flexible mounting allows you to position the 1000 Series Bollard on the hardscape, on the softscape, or buried in the softscape.

A weatherized ribbon tweeter is used in the speakers along with an elliptical driver to maintain the same slim visual profile while increasing the acoustic volume and producing 33% increased power handling over their Bollard 10.0 Series. The new design uses acoustic suspension technology for what Coastal Source says gives the speakers, “tighter bass, smoother vocals, and increased environmental durability.”  

Coastal Source 1000 Series Lineup

The new speakers have 4 speaker modules to choose from and with the different size options, they can be configured into multiple placements - near or far, satellite, subwoofer, or full-range, directional or bi-pole. The speakers also include multiple mounting options include hardscape, landscape, or partially buried. Custom designer wraps and acoustically transparent Sunbrella covers extend the designer's options. I like that the speakers are built with color-through roto mold composite, so if they are scratched or chipped it won’t be as noticeable.  

B1300 and B1500 Subwoofers

Coastal Source offers two subwoofer models in the series. The B1300 Mini Bollard Subwoofer and B1500 Bollard Subwoofer both use a 4 x 6.5” force canceling subwoofer driver configuration. The drivers are coupled to a central aluminum conduit that adds structural integrity and acts as a heatsink. 

B1100 and EB1150 Speakers

Coastal Source also released a new directional “flat-top” Bollard model called the B1100 that uses a 6.5” coaxial driver and 3 x 6.5” passive radiators providing an “all-new” modern look to Coastal Source Bollard family of speakers. 

Pictured below is the EB1150. The EB1150 high-power ellipse Bollard model uses a 7”x10” coaxial for improved output over the existing 10.0 Bollard’s 6.5” two-way.

B1600 Vault

If you want to weatherproof existing electronics into your system, Coastal Source created their ingenious B1600 Vault. The B1600 Vault module allows installers to integrate third-party electronics in a weatherized case that integrates seamlessly into the Bollard 1000 series modules.

Did you say Configurable???

All four speaker models can be designed in different stackable configurations allowing installers the flexibility to assemble directional, bi-pole, 2-way, or 3-way speakers. For instance, the B2600 Directional 3-way Bollard combines a B1100 and B1500 into an all-new modern “flat-top” 3-way design and the EB2650 combines the EB1150 and B1500 as a classic ellipse bollard 3-way with high-power output and long throw for large outdoor spaces.

The Bollard 1000 Series employs a new UniConnect cabling system which is faster to install and works harmoniously with the existing patented Coastal Source Plug+Play ecosystem of cables, amplifiers, and speakers. The all-new 16 AWG means no more Y-cables are needed. Just run one cable from the amplifier to the first speaker and then connect directly from the first to the second and so on. The new 16-ohm design is fully optimized for longer speaker runs with multiple speakers per channel.  

We don't have any prices on any of the new Bollard 1000 series speakers, but considering that the Bollard 12.0 run in excess of $9,000/pair we can guarantee that all of the new products will be available at a premium price. The new Bollard 1000 Series will be released in Q4 of 2024. All Coastal Source speakers are backed by a 5-year limited warranty and are backed by a lifetime care program. Think these new Coastal Source speakers will hold up to YOUR outdoor environment? Let us know in the discussion below, and for more information about Coastal Source, go to: Coastal Source | High-Performance Outdoor Audio & Lighting

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.