Speaker manufacturer Eclipse has announced that it has partnered with AV retailer Richer Sounds to bring permanent 5.1 system demos to a select stores in the south of England.
Stores to make the shortlist from Richer Sound’s 53-strong nationwide retail network include its Chelsea branch in London, in addition to its Southampton (Hampshire) and its Plymouth (Devon) stores.
Visitors to the retailers’ Chelsea branch will able to listen to a 5.1 system incorporating TD307MK2A speakers accompanied by a TD520SW subwoofer. The Plymouth store has five TD307MK2As and Southampton, the flagship store for the partnership has seven TD508MK3s in its Dolby Atmos-enabled system.
All three stores have TD508MK3 demonstration pairs available for those interesting in two-channel listening.
Manufacturer Eclipse says it is collaborating with Richer Sounds to expand the AV demonstration scheme beyond the southern region of England for 2019, with firm plans in place to take the demo to the north in targeted geographic areas.
“With Richer Sounds’ long-standing reputation for high quality AV installations we are delighted that these stores have chosen to feature Eclipse speakers in their demo rooms,” commented Paul Burnip, sales manager for Eclipse.
“As a result, a much wider audience of film and multi-channel music lovers can experience how speakers like these can deliver the full benefits of an Atmos-based system.”
Although a retail move, the partnership and wider focus on making experiences of 5.1 systems more broadly available on the UK high street can only be positive for product awareness and customers hopefully making the upgrade to a professionally-installed system later down the line – after all, once you go surround, you never go back…