Unlike traditional speaker technology that relies on a moving coil, the F-Drive is powered by an exceptionally powerful magnetostrictive smart material that when placed on a resonant surface - such as a table top, glass, plasterboard or metal sheeting - causes the whole surface to vibrate, thereby turning it into a high quality loudspeaker with omni-directional, evenly distributed output, say FeONIC.The performance stats for the F-Series are likewise significant, it being able to range from 80Hz to 20Khz allowing it, for example, to match the performance typically experienced through a high-end home entertainment surround sound system.
However, the company says that the real market advantage of the F-Series technology can only be fully appreciated in larger public spaces and public address system situations where high levels of intelligibility are required. Because the F-Drive causes the whole surface to vibrate simultaneously, the sound delay/echo associated with traditional speakers is completely removed.
Brian Smith, managing director of FeONIC Plc, comments: "Our latest product range builds on our nine years experience in developing this technology for the residential and commercial market-places. We are delighted with the strong support we are now receiving from the architectural and audio communities who understand the building design and audio issues our technology overcomes."
Paul Nicholson, of Red Square Audio, FeONIC's distribution partner in the UK pro-audio installer market, said: "The boundaries for FeONIC devices are practically limitless as they can be completely hidden from view and offer an additional creative dimension to any audio design project. Judging by the incredible reactions to our initial product demonstrations, we are expecting the technology to become widely accepted and specified in a very short space of time."
To date the F-Series has been deployed in a broad range of situations from home entertainment use and museums/galleries through to public address systems in the transport sector. Typically, each F-Drive will power up to a two to three square metre surface of a resonant material to high Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) at full bandwidth, the company says.
(Lee Baldock)
