CES & THE Show 2010 • Hot Product

"Ribbed for your aural pleasure." That could be the slogan used to promote the corrugated surround Paradigm has added to its bass drivers. This is not merely for looks. It increases the drivers' sensitivity by 3-6dB, which allows for the midrange and tweeter to be used to their full capabilities, instead of their output being tailored to match that of the woofers.

Speakers such as the Signature S8 v3 are not the only products to feature the corrugated surround. Paradigm's new SUB 1 subwoofer ($3499) also makes use of it, along with 3000 watts of amplifier power.

The SUB 1 uses six 8" drivers arrayed in a hexagonal cabinet. As you might expect, this configuration can produce prodigious output levels, but the cabinet is not rattled to pieces, because the pressure waves generated by the drivers inside the cabinet effectively cancel each other.

The SUB 2 ($7499), which has six 10" woofers with corrugated surrounds, was used in Paradigm's impressive music-and-movie demo.