Ethereal Home Theater VIBE Speakers

Over at the Ethereal booth, we were surprised to find speakers. The grills (pictured bottom) had artsy pictures on them but we're not sure if this was available or just for CES. According to Ethereal (who is simply distributing the VIBE speakers), the VIBE Home Cinema’s Monolith Shuttle 1 and Shuttle 2 are fabricated from resin and finished in high gloss piano black paintwork. They incorporate four-inch Kevlar drivers, which form the heart of the speaker. The Shuttle 1 can be used as either a center channel in partnership with the Monoliths or purchased as a pair of stereo speakers. The Shuttle 1 comprises two four-inch Kevlar drivers and a single tweeter. The Shuttle 2 can be used either for rear channels as part of the Monolith 5.1 set up or can be bought separately and used as stereo speakers. The Shuttle 2 uses a single main driver unit and a single tweeter.

The VIBE Alpha 1 Subwoofer is the entry-level unit in the VIBE Home Cinema range. The enclosure is fabricated from 10mm thick MDF in a black satin finish. The bass reflex design utilizes a slot style port which helps keep the unit to a small size. With both high and low level inputs, the VIBE Alpha 1 has the flexibility to suit any system.

VIBE Omicron is designed to work with any combination of speakers from the VIBE Home Cinema range, but can also be purchased as a stand alone active subwoofer. The spherical enclosure helps reduce the build up of internal sound waves that can cause sound discrepancies. Integrated onto the bottom of the enclosure are three legs to which screw-in spikes can be added to assist with isolating the unit. The Tripod style feet ensure that the subwoofer is always level. The inbuilt amplifier offers 100w RMS.

Pricing and availability were not known at time of press. They seem to be a very installer-friendly line of speakers. The larger size actually works well with the idea that pictures can be printed on the grills and we hope this is a standard feature. Depending on how tight the fabric is stretched, however, the front ports might cause a problem. We look forward to learning more about these speakers. For more information about Ethereal Home Theater products, visit www.etherealhometheater.com.

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