Press Releases

Polk Audio I-Sonic™ Entertainment System Wins Best of Innovations Award

Polk Audio's I-Sonic Entertainment System has been honored as the winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations award for the Audio Component category in the annual CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program. Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society (IDSA), the International CES Innovations Awards highlight product advancements in technology design and engineering.

The I-Sonic entertainment system is a compact, easy to use stereo, all-digital audio system that includes an AM/FM and digital HD Radio™ tuner, a DVD/CD player and XM Satellite Radio capability. Exclusive 4-speaker I-Sonic and Power Port™ technologies produce sound quality so big and lifelike that for many, the I-Sonic is capable of being the primary home entertainment system.

The International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program provides manufacturers and developers the opportunity to have their products judged by an independent panel of journalists, designers and engineers. The Best of Innovations designation is awarded to products that earned the highest honors from the panel of judges. These "best of the best" products including Polk Audio’s I-Sonic system will be on display during CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the CES and in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center. CES Unveiled will take place Tuesday, January 3, 2006, from 4-7 p.m., in the Bellini Ballroom at the Sands.

The Polk Audio I-Sonic entertainment system measures only 14.5" x 9.75" x 4.75", making it the perfect system to use on a kitchen countertop, on a nightstand, in a TV stand or on the coffee table in a living room. The I-Sonic™ can be used in homes, offices and small businesses to deliver rich, room filling 360-degree stereo sound that rivals or betters that of much larger and costlier audio systems. The I-Sonic™ entertainment system will be available in March/April 2006 for $599 in the USA and $719 in Canada.

HD Radio is digital radio technology that offers static-free, crystal-clear reception with CD-quality sound from FM stations and the richness of FM-analog stereo sound quality from AM stations. HD Radio also allows the ability to multicast program streams over a single FM frequency (e.g. 97.7-1, 97.7-2, etc.) so that broadcasters can offer additional content to serve multiple audiences. A variety of data services that range from text-based information - artist name, weather alerts, school closings, traffic alerts, etc. - can be scrolled across the receiver display. In addition to receiving standard analog AM and FM broadcasts, the Polk Audio I-Sonic™ entertainment system incorporates all the digital HD Radio features listed above. 2500 AM and FM stations nationwide have begun rolling out digital HD Radio technology.

"We are excited to be among the first to deliver an HD Radio product," said Polk Audio Chairman and co-founder Matthew Polk. "We believe consumers will embrace HD Radio's superior sound quality, new content choices through multicasting and rich data services. HD Radio combined with satellite radio ushers in a new Golden Age for radio broadcasting. We're also thrilled to bring to market a truly high performance home entertainment solution to serve consumers for whom traditional audio systems are too costly, large and hard to use. The I-Sonic™ entertainment system marks the first time that HD Radio technology has been combined with advanced audio technologies to produce a truly high performance complete home entertainment solution."

Polk Audio's I-Sonic™ entertainment system is also the first product of its type to incorporate a DVD player. When connected to a TV or monitor, it is a complete, compact, high performance audio/video entertainment system. The single disc DVD player plays DVD video discs, CDs, Picture CD, Video CD, MP3 CD and many other formats. It features S-Video and composite video outputs to facilitate hookup to video displays. The I-Sonic™ entertainment system becomes an XM Satellite Radio receiver with the addition of an XM Connect & Play Antenna (a $49 item) and monthly subscription. XM Satellite Radio is the nation's leading satellite radio provider with over 5 million subscribers and provides listeners with 150 digital channels, including 100% commercial-free music, over 30 channels of news, sports, talk and entertainment, and over 20 dedicated channels of XM Instant Traffic. All XM metadata is displayed on the I-Sonic's front panel display, including full song title and artist name as well as information extras such as stock and sports score tickers.

The Polk Audio I-Sonic is simply the best sounding and most advanced compact home entertainment system. Powerful 4-speaker I-Sonic™ technology delivers a rich, room-filling stereo soundstage 360º around the entertainment center. Listeners will enjoy a big-life-like stereo image wherever they are in the room. Patented Power Port venting technology belts out the kind of rich powerful bass you'd expect from much larger stereo speakers.

Mr. Polk continued, "We have worked hard to deliver a product consistent with the premium performance our customers have come to expect from Polk Audio. Products with similar form factors have been out for some time but customers with a discriminating taste for audio performance would generally not consider them. With the arrival of HD radio technology and the breakthroughs we were able to make in the audio delivery system, the I-Sonic™ system is capable of delighting everyone from casual radio listeners to serious audiophiles for a myriad of uses"

Two sets of auxiliary inputs allow hook up of any stereo audio device such as an iPod or other portable MP3 player or cassette deck. The I-Sonic™ entertainment system is also a full function dual-alarm clock radio that can use the radio or DVD/CD player as the alarm. It also features a headphone jack for private listening at any hour, 30 radio presets and a wireless remote control. On-product controls and an on-display menu system allow the unit to be used should the remote be lost or disabled.

Visit Polk Audio at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall #1, Booth 21740.

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About Polk Audio
Baltimore, Maryland-based Polk Audio is an award-winning manufacturer of high performance audio products. Founded by Chairman Matthew Polk and CEO George Klopfer in 1972, Polk Audio holds over 50 patents for advances in audio design and technology. Polk's products include loudspeakers and electronic components for home, auto and marine applications, the first XM satellite home component tuner, the world's first active IP-addressable high fidelity loudspeaker, and in the winter of 2005-2006 the I-Sonic—the first entertainment system to include HD radio, XM Connect & Play capability and a DVD player. Polk products are available through specialist consumer electronics retailers worldwide. For the location of a Polk retailer or distributor in your area visit the Dealer Locator page of www.polkaudio.com or call us at 1-800-377-7655 (USA and Canada). Outside of North America call +1 (410) 358-3600.

About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry through technology policy, events, research, promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA represents more than 2,000 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of audio, video, mobile electronics, wireless and landline communications, information technology, home networking, multimedia and accessory products, as well as related services that are sold through consumer channels. Combined, CEA's members account for more than $122 billion in annual sales. CEA's resources are available online at www.CE.org, the definitive source for information about the consumer electronics industry. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Defining Tomorrow's Technology. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.