A Smarter Soundbar
SOUND & VISION readers will know Savant as one of two upstarts that, along with Control4, arrived in the early 2000s to challenge Crestron and AMX in the emerging home automation market. Today, some 15 years after its founding by tech entrepreneur/billionaire Bob Madonna, Savant continues to expand its Mac-based smarthome solution, and with some recent acquisitions, to broaden its market reach. Most notable is the high-profile purchase this year of GE Lighting. Lighting is an obvious element of home automation, but there are less visible benefits for Savant, starting with the strengthening of its position in lightingcontrol. More critically, GE is a respected consumer brand with strong retail distribution (including for its own “C by GE” connectedhome products), and its technical expertise runs deep. Craig Spinner, Savant’s senior VP, explained that “the Savant brand will remain steadfastly committed to the professional installation channel,” but he added that the acquisition “creates an opportunity to reach millions of homes and drive the mass adoption of smart home technologies via the do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me/electrical contractor, and dealer/professional installation channels.”
The acquisition in 2017 of premium loudspeaker manufacturer Artison is more directly relevant to this soundbar review. Savant has long been a proponent of audioover-IP solutions for distributing wholehouse audio. Absorbing Artison, and giving the company access to the expertise of speakerindustry legend Cary Christie (a co-founder of Infinity) plus the product family he developed, allows for an obvious expansion of Savant’s network-controlled audio lineup while delivering true audiophile sound quality.
The three products reviewed here are an outgrowth of that effort. The Savant Smart Audio WiSA Soundbar 55 ($1,500) is based on Artison’s earlier passive soundbar designs, with modifications that add amplification, WiSA wireless capabilities, and smarthome technology that I’ll describe in more detail below. Savant’s Smart Series WiSA Nano Subwoofer ($1,000) is similarly based on Artison’s late-generation micro-subwoofer design but is outfitted with WiSA wireless, while the Smart Series WiSA Surround Speaker ($1000/pair) is a powered
