In the 1960s, home entertainment systems often consisted of large console loudspeakers housed in furniture-style cabinets. While, from the perspective of modern high-end audio, such systems left a lot to be desired sonically, they neverthless allowed people to enjoy "hifi" reproduction without impacting typical living room decor, where windows or artwork required a lowboy presence for the home stereo.
With the advent of high performance audio, the accepted form factor for "serious" loudspeakers became tall and narrow. It was an a priori assumption that ideal sound reproduction required loudspeaker placement in the room to trump all other practical or aesthetic considerations. The resulting potential for domestic discord—gender stereotyping nothwithstanding—became the subject of much rueful consternation and/or humor among (typically male) audiophiles. But suppose the either/or assumption was not so ironclad? What if it were possible to create a "lowboy" loudspeaker that wouldn't obstruct artwork or window views and yet offer the uncompromised performance of a large statement loudspeaker? |
 A 1960 era ad for University Speakers |
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Polaris was conceptually born as a reference center channel, but during it's development, Dave Wilson and the rest of the Wilson team recognized their very success in what they set out to do—design a center channel that could mimic the performance of an Alexandria or MAXX Series 3—logically meant that, in situations where Alexandria or MAXX might negatively impact another aesthetic (or, say, a marriage), Polaris could provide the no-compromise solution. A solution, incidentally, currently offered by no other high-end speaker manufacturer. |
Introduction • Watch Dave Wilson Talk about the Genesis of Polaris • Polaris as a Center Channel • Polaris as a Low Profile Loudspeaker • Technology • Specifications |
