Unwittingly inspired by Stuttgart’s ‘Above 5,000 rpm’ ads from back in the day, Porsche Design has just released an exhaust that cuts through the sound of dull, domestic asides. The catch? Instead of being hooked up to a 4.0-litre flat-six, it connects to your home entertainment system – delivering the pure, hair-raising performance that Porsche is known for, albeit in the context of premium sound bars.
The newest speaker in Porsche Design’s burgeoning stable of audio is designated the 911 Soundbar 2.0 Pro: a not-so-subtle allusion to the fact it’s made with the literal exhaust system of a current-gen 911 (992) GT3.
The look alone represents a monstrous departure from what we’ve come to expect of conventional sound bars: almost all of which sport the same generic rubberised build – less a style statement and more of a practical necessity.
Mind you, that’s not to say the 911 Soundbar 2.0 Pro doesn’t deliver on the technical front, but its use of the GT3 exhaust – all tail pipes, heat staining and welded metal – injects a welcome dose of drama into the middle of your living room. And that’s before you even press ‘play’.
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On the spec front, Porsche’s latest high-performance soundbar combines a virtual surround system (2.1.2) with 300 watts of power. It’s compatible with 4K and the broad array of Chromecast/AirPlay-enabled devices; and pairs wirelessly using Bluetooth 5.0 – boasting better range and data transfer speeds in comparison to the previous specification.
Multi-channel streaming also allows it to be connected with Porsche’s other engine component-themed speakers, meaning that well-resourced enthusiasts could theoretically dedicate whole rooms at home to the various formulations of GT3 speaker.
As for the rest of us, Porsche’s eponymous design firm has augmented the release of its exhaust-based sound bar with a portable 911 Speaker that is significantly more ‘affordable’ at a sticker price of £436 (AU$787). At any rate, it’s incontestable that the latter will have more availability – a far cry from the 500-piece run that Porsche Design has specified for the 2.0 Pro.
