RBH Sound CinemaSITE

There were several products that jumped out and grabbed you by the eyeballs, and RBH Sound's new CinemaSITE is an example of one of our show favorites. It dazzled us at CEDIA and was even more impressive in its refined state. RBH Sound used CES to officially introduce its new Cinema Signature In-wall Theater Environment (CinemaSITE). CinemaSITE combines RBH's award-winning Signature In-wall series speakers with furniture-grade cabinetry to bring quality to the home theater room without the costly expense of a custom cabinet maker. The idea is that now custom installers can offer an elegant solution to their customers without having to hire an outside contractor or learn woodworking.

A plasma hung on the wall flanked by on-wall speakers may be fine for some, but many décor-conscience enthusiasts want a more customized home theater environment. Inexpensive armoires which accommodate large screen TVs and bookshelf speakers have been the norm, while those seeking a more customized look have had to turn to expensive custom cabinet makers to hand craft a piece of furniture. CinemaSITE changes all this by combining furniture-grade quality wood and RBH's Signature Series In-wall speakers to create an elegant home theater environment.

The key to the simplicity of the CinemaSITE cabinetry is its modularity. Pieces can be interchanged to accommodate front projection screen sizes from 92 to 110-inches, while the front left and right, as well as the surround columns can be outfitted with one of three different Signature In-wall speaker models. This modularity not only helps adapt CinemaSITE to varying room sizes, but varying budgets as well. At the high-end of the price spectrum the columns can be outfitted with RBH's SI-6100 - a two-way in-wall giant featuring four 6.5-inch aluminum woofers mated with three 1-inch tweeters. More budget-minded enthusiasts can chose to outfit the columns with the SI-740 - a two-way in-wall featuring a 6.5-inch aluminum woofer and a 1-inch tweeter.

While custom cabinetry can take weeks or months to be completed, CinemaSITE can be installed and fully functional in less than four hours . The left and right columns mount to the lower panel and top valance via sturdy cam-lock type connectors which can be tightened with a simple screwdriver. Elegant trim work completes the furniture look and feel of the cabinetry and hides any visible seams making CinemaSITE appear as one solid piece of furniture.

The speakers mount from the back side into the columns and slide snugly into a routed groove which locks the speaker in place. Two subwoofer choices are available - each front column accommodates RBH's single 12-inch or dual 10-inch subwoofers. Rear surround speakers are housed in matching columns, or customers can choose to forgo the columns and install matching Signature In-wall speakers in their walls instead.

CinemaSITE is available in natural or mahogany-stained maple, or can even be ordered in unfinished maple that can be stained to match any décor.

The MSRP of the CinemaSITE starts at $18,500 for a 5.1 configuration and will be available late Q1 2005. For additional information, please visit www.rbhsound.com .