Another good hide-the-speakers technology

June 10, 2005 In keeping with Gizmag’s quest to keep readers informed on how to make technology ubiquitous and invisible, meet the ELAC Imago picture panels with DML technology (Distributed Mode Loudspeaker Technology).

They hang on the wall and look like normal pictures but they are hi-fi loudspeakers and the bonus is that you decide what they will look like – a Monet, a Duret, a Lombarte, or a Van Gogh.

For stereo listening, all you have to do is connect two ELAC flat panel speakers and the matching subwoofer to your hi-fi. For home theatre systems, two, three or four of the five speakers can be easily integrated into every living-room environment.

Inside each picture frame are two ELAC NXT exciters which produce sound by exciting large surfaces (panels) as membranes with their special transducers. Compared to conventional loudspeakers, the panel speakers are claimed to radiate sound at a wider angle, thus enlarging the optimum listening area. ELAC Imago picture panels come in two sizes: 50 x 40 cm and 70 x 50 cm.