Soundbars were borne of necessity.
As TVs became thinner, their speakers became smaller, with less room to operate. Their enclosures lacked the rigidity of the old CRT mountings. And they just didn’t deliver the kind of heavy-hitting experience their accompanying high-def screens deserved. But not everyone had the space or desire for a full-on surround-sound speaker package in their living room to compensate.
Soundbars took the sonic burden off the TV – which could then get even thinner – and put all the audio-processing tech into a dedicated unit. The advantage? More drivers, more powerful amplification, and far less compromise. But why limit them to just that one task? They’re full of processing power, and technology specifically designed to deliver better-quality sound. Why not use them for more?
Bluesound – which has dedicated considerable NAD-backed research and development resources to delivering spot-on wireless hi-res audio – has decided the soundbar should do more.
The Bluesound PULSE SOUNDBAR is proper hi-fi
Of course, it can make your action movies louder – especially with 120W of DirectDigital horsepower on tap, plus all the connections you need to hook it up to your TV and sources – but it’s capable of much more than that. Each of its six dedicated amplifiers powers its own driver, while two passive radiators provide extra weight. Each speaker is housed in its own precision-extruded aluminium chamber – isolated for even more finesse and control. And that means flat response, even through the bass frequencies.
In English, it translates to a more engaging sound experience; one that’s not just designed to go louder, but also better.
It handles hi-res music – and MQA
Like the other products in the Bluesound family, the PULSE SOUNDBAR can handle hi-res audio files up to 24-bit/192kHz, while the onboard BluOS operating system is primed to take advantage of the industry-changing MQA format.
It’s the first soundbar in the world to be able to bring MQA music to the living room – which means you’ll get to access rare studio masters from your favourite artists, in compatible files. It’s streets ahead of CD quality, and within a hair of what the engineers heard in the studio during the recording.
Wireless multi-room is a stream come true
Integration with Tidal, Spotify, HDTracks and Qobuz (among others) – plus internet radio and the ability to access NAS devices on your home network – means you’ll never be short of stuff to listen to. And because the PULSE SOUNDBAR is a member of the award-winning Bluesound multiroom family of products, it integrates with the rest of the range (and, indeed, any NAD products running BluOS). This means it can either be the hub of your home entertainment system or part of a larger wireless multi-room system – liberating your music library from the listening room and streaming it throughout your home.
It’s all controlled from the free BluOS Controller app for smartphone, tablet and desktop: a world’s worth of music, literally at your fingertips.
You can make it dig deeper
The great thing about soundbars is that they’re self-contained – but there are times where you might want that extra bit of trouser-flappage for epic blockbuster moments or bass-heavy tracks. The PULSE SOUNDBAR has been designed to give enough of that punch by itself, but if you do want an extra push, there’s also the compact PULSE SUB. It connects wirelessly (the BluOS Controller app provides volume, crossover and phase control) and serves up 100W of low-end oompf from its class-D amplifier.
Music power without the bulk
Quite a proposition, then. Wireless, multiroom, hi-res audio and MQA compatibility – all in a slim, powerful system. Still think you want a bulky speaker package and cables everywhere?
For more information on the Bluesound PULSE SOUNDBAR, click here >>
