Outdoor AV is a very hot market for both the residential and commercial electronics industries. Homes are taking their whole-house entertainment systems beyond the parameters of their four walls, and businesses are adding audio to enhance their festive environments.
Helping dealers to service both of these markets is the Park City, Utah-based manufacturer SoundTube, announced its 31 Series of 3-inch speakers have achieved IP64 and IP54 ratings.
IP ratings, or Ingress Protection, measure a speaker’s ability to withstand particulate and water exposure. The ratings are important to help clarify a product’s ability to perform in outdoor environments.
“The IP rating consists of two numbers,” says David Staley, MSE Audio vice president of engineering & operations, SoundTube. “The first one ranges from 0 to 6 and signifies the level of particle protection [primarily dust]; the second number ranges from 0-9 and is for water protection.”
Staley adds the products are subjected to two sets of tests as part of the process. The 31 Series of products matches the performance of other SoundTube products that also carry IP certification.
“We’re happy to report that the RS31-EZ, our pendant model and the SM31-EZ, the surface-mount model both passed testing at an IP64 level. This means there was no dust ingress in the speaker enclosure and these both can withstand water spray and splashes from all directions at low pressure levels,” he says. “Our in-ceiling CM31-EZ and in-wall IW31-EZ both passed the IP54 tests meaning there was limited dust ingress, but not enough to affect the speaker’s performance, and they [also] had the same level of water protection as the RS and SM31 models.”
