At this year’s CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center, KENWOOD USA announced the addition of three new Hi-Res Audio speakers that will begin shipping this month. From the eXcelon Reference line, these speakers are designed to deliver accurately detailed, powerful sound, desired by the most critical of listeners. The XR-1801P 7”(18cm) component set (MSRP $449.95), XR-1701P 6-1/2”(17cm) component set (MSRP $399.95) and XR-1701 6.5”(17cm) coax set (MSRP $249.95) all offer higher power handling and more versatile installation options than their predecessors.
With a focus on factory integration and sound quality reproduction, these speakers offer versatile mounting options for most current vehicle demands where space is a premium and complex adapters are required for proper fitment.
The oversized 7” glass fiber cone mid-bass drivers from the XR-1801P components fit nicely into many Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, and Nissan factory speaker locations. With the included direct-fit multi-bracket, this increases the woofer surface area over factory speakers, providing louder and more responsive mid-bass performance, simply utilizing existing hardware and the correct adaptor without the need to modify factory mounts. An all-new 1-3/16”(30mm) Titanium hard dome wide-range super tweeter offers flexible mounting options, including a flush mount for that custom or “factory-like” fitment. Power handling is hard to beat, with an amazing 120 Watts RMS at 3 ohms, while still being able to reproduce frequencies from 35 Hz to 40 kHz(-10dB)!
The XR-1701P component set utilizes 6-1/2” glass giber cone mid bass drivers that fit directly into many standard 6-1/2” speaker openings. They also benefit from an improved surround roll shape and new woofer center cap with tuning rib, of which the XR-1801P shares as well. This component set can reproduce clean detail at a constant 100 Watts RMS at 3 ohms, with a 43 Hz to 40 kHz(-10dB) frequency response. Both sets include a bi-amp crossover network, along with a -3dB tweeter attenuation option, for even more control over this already extremely capable component set!
To complete this trio, the XR-1701 6-1/2” coax speaker set will give you similar performance as the component sets, but with the simplicity of an all-in-one speaker with a center mounted 1-3/16” (30mm) Titanium hard dome wide-range super tweeter and built-in High-quality capacitor. This set can handle a continuous 100 Watts of RMS power at 3 ohms, with a 45 Hz-to 40 kHz(-10dB) response, and will be a great option when a separate tweeter is not required.
“With the importance of bringing high quality, Hi-Res sound to the car, these speakers perfectly balance fitment options and performance.” Said Mike Roberts, VP of Sales and Marketing. “The extremely high power handling and installation versatility will make these some of the most popular eXcelon Reference speakers yet!”
All models will be shipping this month. For detailed information on specific features, please view their respective product pages at www.kenwood.com/usa/car.