After over a year of previewing its groundbreaking wireless enclosed subwoofer, Trulli Audio will ship the BASS50 on July 26.
The company calls its BASS50, the world’s first no-installation, no-wiring-needed subwoofer for vehicles, and the first high-output battery-powered subwoofer for portable use.
The BASS50 is not necessarily a discount alternative to a car audio system. It’s intended as a high quality amplified enclosed subwoofer at $3,899 for the carpeted version and $4,099 for the ruggedized model. The system is a sealed enclosure, but there’s a kit to turn it into a ported version, which adds about 10 decibels of output for a total of 122 to 135dB, depending on the type of vehicle. The ported kit price ranges from $1,450 to $1,650.
“We’re creating a new category for subwoofers,” said Trulli’s Jordan Neuhauser.
The subwoofer enclosure stands about as high as an upright hand (7-inches) and measures 20 by 17 inches with a volume of .3 cubic feet. It houses a 10-inch TD10S flat woofer, a lithium-ion battery and an amplifier. It communicates to the car audio system via Bluetooth, SKAA and a smartphone app. A kit is available to connect to the car audio system via a 3.5 mm aux-in. A CarPlay/Android Auto connection kit will be available in the future.
The system’s battery is removable so the subwoofer can charge either in the car or at home.
Since Bluetooth inherently has some time delay, as does a head unit, the BASS50 includes a DSP to handle time alignment.
The looming question is, will a wireless subwoofer siphon off sales from an installing car audio specialist?
Neuhauser said the subwoofer can be used as a sales tool to “drop” bass into a customer’s car so they can hear what a bass upgrade would sound like in their particular vehicle. It can be used for existing customers who may have a second, leased car at home. Or for classic cars.
For complex luxury cars, the BASS50 can provide an audio upgrade without the need to replace a 24-speaker system. It may also bring a new audience to car audio. Once customers experience better bass, they may want better mids and highs, said Neuhauser.
Trulli, which already sells flat, coneless subwoofers (such as the TD10S), said it has a distribution base of about 90 car audio dealers presently.
The BASS50 has been eight years in the making, said Nehauser, with many of its components built in the US.
The built-in TD10S subwoofer itself handles 600 watts, peaking at just over 1,000 watts, said Trulli.
BASS50 Kits and App
Trulli will offer a 3.5mm aux kit available at launch at $369 to be followed later this year by a CarPlay/Android Auto kit.
Trulli claims that once an app is installed on the user’s phone, set up time is 10 minutes. The app creates a test tone and the phone’s mic does a sweep to determine the amount of time delay on the subwoofer. Users then select their vehicle make and model and the app tunes the system to suit the car, including crossovers and equalization settings.
The car kit uses Bluetooth to adjust the volume, and it also uses a proprietary Trulli protocol to offer an independent wireless bass knob.
A launch concert will take place Saturday, July 26 with live music powered by the BASS50 at the LCJC Jeep Invasion, at Richardson Farm in Spring Grove, IL.
Sounds like a ripoff.
Wow, just Wow.