Out of The Box – IAS Loudspeakers Ltd

Our ‘Out of the Box’ Series features companies who might slip through the net from time to time. Companies with something more than hot air, who make loudspeakers but make them with a rare passion that drives them and shapes the products they design and build.

When did you start the company?

Post lockdown, though research began just before this time.

Is making a loudspeaker an ‘art’ or a ‘science’?

Science is key, but variables inevitably influence and define what is reproduced across a room from a given loudspeaker design. Therefore, a designer has to assume certain skill sets as artisan in sound as adjunct to scientific measurement parameters

where accomplishing the shaping of such influences toward a perceptibly realistic reference level can assume as near lifelike representations of a given recorded performance.

What makes your loudspeakers different to other brands?

From original horn loading concepts derived from efficient cinema-theatre loudspeaker systems of the 1930’s and the subsequent experiments in home high-fidelity from the 1950’s onward, the Beaulieu 40R has deployed, with some subtleties of re-design, the

acoustical benefits of these earlier concepts, but from a more size-efficient enclosure. This, in combination with the use of critically matched speaker units and a clever minimalist series crossover, tailors the presentation to a more neutral and transparent purpose than colored sounding horn designs found elsewhere. Additionally, with bare minimum critical enclosure damping, this not only affords the loudspeaker system the widest possible dynamic range envelope, it also achieves the lowest bass extension of any standmount loudspeaker made, and with speed, thanks to a low resonant frequency bass/mid-range unit that increases the soundstage to levels normally associated with floorstanding designs of much larger proportions. The crossover design also affords a far more open and expressive treble response, giving realism that influences the system as a whole to more dynamically realistic levels that assimilate real-life sounds. Further considerations such as the attention to wiring and the connections deployed, standards of crossover components used and system isolation, all contributing to heighten the performance still further through judicious tailoring.

What challenges do you face in making and selling loudspeakers?

Reaching musically attuned people who seek heightened musical experiences in the home in an age of compressed media, convenience and time-constrained lifestyles.

Where do you hope the company will be in five or ten years?

To merely continue with a base of clients, equally sharing a love of music, with an engaging product that acquits itself more than admirably.

Where can consumers hear about your products and find out more?

Full details on the Beaulieu 40R loudspeaker system can be found at www.iasloudspeakers.co.uk or by contacting Carl Beckwith on +44-(0)7947-122806 (weekday business hours only).

The Beaulieu 40R is on permanent demonstration (by appointment) in the historic North Dorset Saxon town of Shaftesbury, just south of the A303.

IAS Loudspeakers Website