British audio company, Ferguson Hill, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the development of a new speaker product, the Ferguson Hill Clear Speaker System. Created for music and TV sound, the system builds upon Ferguson Hill’s trademark horn-loaded loudspeaker technology.

Elliptical horn satellite speakers combine with spherical bass speakers, all fashioned from crystal-clear acrylic, alongside an integrated amplifier with a range of analogue and digital inputs, plus wireless audio streaming from Bluetooth-compatible devices. The Clear Speaker System comes in three configurations: the Primary System (two horn speakers and one bass sphere); the Deluxe System (two horn speakers and two bass spheres); and the Deluxe Surround Sound System (four horn speakers and two bass spheres).

The Kickstarter project aims to raise £149,500 by Monday 10^th March. People who contribute to the fund before the deadline stand to receive a range of benefits, including the various configurations of the Clear Speaker System at significantly discounted prices.

The Clear Speaker System features the latest generation of Ferguson Hill’s ‘front-loaded horn dipole’ loudspeaker design, which the company pioneered in 2003 with its first product, the 160cm high, floorstanding FHOO1. Essentially, this involves a drive unit assembly that radiates sound waves fore and aft, mounted in the centre of an elliptical cone made from clear polycarbonate.

The three available system configurations deliver flexibility according to the user’s requirements and budget, from two-channel stereo to surround sound, with either two or four horn speakers augmented by one or two bass speakers .

The horn speakers measure 42x27x19cm (HxWxD) and can be wall mounted using the supplied brackets, or secured to tall, elegant floor stands, also supplied. The bass speaker features a 20cm drive unit housed within a ported polycarbonate sphere with a diameter of 35cm, supported by three spiked aluminium feet.

The principal reason for Ferguson Hill’s Kickstarter campaign is to help fund the development of a compact, fully integrated amplifier that will be supplied with all three Clear Speaker System configurations. Already in the advanced stages of development, the amp is small enough to be secreted away on a shelf, rack or TV stand and contains six amp modules to enable each drive unit in the Deluxe Surround System to be driven by its own amplifier.

The amp delivers a total of 180W (the split per channel depending on the number of speakers in the system), incorporates a DAC and 5.1/7.1-channel surround sound processing, plus a range of analogue and digital inputs including USB and HDMI. Bluetooth connectivity is also supported, allowing music to be streamed wirelessly from compatible devices like smartphones and tablets.

All three Clear Speaker System configurations are scheduled to launch in September 2014. Prices are expected to be around £895 for the Primary System, £1,125 for the Deluxe System and £1,395 for the Deluxe Surround Sound System.