July 20, 2009
Boston Acoustics Debuts Ultra-Slim VS 344 High Performance Floorstanding Loudspeaker

Newest Addition to Company’s Flagship VS Series Offers a Super-Slender Elegant Solution for Great Room-Filling Sound

By Gary Reber


Boston Acoustics®, Inc., world-renowned manufacturer of high-performance loudspeakers, today announced the latest addition to its critically acclaimed flagship VS Series, the VS 344 floorstanding loudspeaker (SRP: $1,250.00). By combining Boston Acoustics engineering and innovative loudspeaker technologies, with a super-slender cabinet design, the VS 344 delivers the same powerful room-filling audio as much larger speakers in an elegant and surprisingly unobtrusive package.  

Noted Joe Stinziano, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Boston Acoustics: “This is a very exciting loudspeaker for us, and an important addition to our VS Series. Thanks to its quadruple 4-1/2” driver design and ultra-slim curved cabinet, the VS 344 is able to deliver a remarkable three-dimensional soundstage in virtually any room. With its significantly smaller footprint and elegantly curved cosmetic design, the VS 344 is a slender alternative to traditional towers.”

Superior Sound, Sophisticated Design
Boston Acoustics brought all of its expertise, engineering, and design skill to bear in creating the VS loudspeakers, which feature the highest quality build materials,
innovative acoustic and transducer technologies, and meticulous craftsmanship.

The VS 344’s driver configuration and cabinet design bring together the power and performance of four 4 ½” Organic Composite Cone Material (OCCM) bass drivers with a 4 ½” OCCM midrange driver and a 1” Super Wide Bandwidth (SWB) tweeter.  Standing only 44 inches high and a mere 5-3/8 inches wide, the compact size belies its room-filling audio power, with bass frequencies extending down to 42Hz.  This new VS Series model has all the power and the sensitivity to faithfully reproduce any source material under any listening condition.  Designed for both home theater and 2-channel audio applications, the VS 344 is voiced to blend seamlessly with all other VS Series models – allowing users to create the perfect combination of VS Series speakers.

Like all VS Series speakers, the VS 344’s striking piano lacquer finish and high-gloss furniture-grade end panels cover a cabinet that literally dispels all notions of the familiar “rectangular box” loudspeaker. The structural elements of the cabinets are made of high-frequency-molded MDF, which feature curved
surfaces that reduce internal standing waves and panel resonances, and substantial internal braces enhance the strength of the cabinets to provide an ideal environment for the high performance drivers.  A rear-firing acoustically tuned port provides improved bass extension and output with virtually no distortion. 

Key Audio Innovations:

•    Exclusive Super Wide Bandwidth (SWB) Tweeters featuring a Coupled Dual Concentric Diaphragm (CDCD) – At high frequencies (i.e. above 10-12 kHz) the center of a traditional dome-shaped diaphragm gradually decouples, moving out of phase with the remaining structure and causing cancellation of higher frequencies and a loss of radiating surface area. By terminating the center of the diaphragm to a brass plug, the CDCD continues to work more like a piston –significantly lowering the ”noise floor.” The result is greater transparency and micro dynamics with a low frequency resonance point that allows for lower crossover points resulting in a more full-bodied sound character at high output levels.

•    Organic Composite Cone Material (OCCM) for Mid-Range & Woofers – The
OCCM cones featured in all VS Series woofers and midrange drivers, were developed for the purpose of maintaining rigidity with minimal sacrifice to sensitivity. This new composite cone uses a mix of select natural fibers to reduce resonance and improve sonic accuracy.

These new acoustical innovations, in conjunction with the “resonant free” enclosures provide incredibly pure sonic performance. The Boston Acoustics VS 344 is available now at select retailers. More information is available at bostonacoustics.com.




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