Most people want 5.1-channel sound, but not everyone wants
five speakers and a subwoofer in order to get it. Enter Japan’s Niro speaker products
from Niro Nakamichi -- yes, that Nakamichi. The idea with the company’s
products is to deliver multichannel sound from fewer, smaller boxes, making it quite a bit
more décor friendly than the typical home-theater system.
In Montreal, we heard the Niro 620 system, consisting of
the main speaker that houses five 2.5" full-range drivers, a separate
passive subwoofer with an 8" woofer, and the 620 amplifier/processor that
delivers up to 27W to the five drivers in the main speaker and 45W to the sub. This all
costs $995. There is also available the smaller 420 system priced at $695, as well as 800
and 1000 systems priced at $1195 and $1595 respectively.
The sound was surprisingly big, bold and, yes, enveloping
in a way similar to a true discrete multichannel setup. If you’re space-limited and
style-conscious and don’t want an unsightly group of speakers clogging up your room,
check out what Niro has to offer. We were impressed, and you might be too.
