Audio Products Australia are set to start selling new Control 4 speakers made by Current Audio after the US IP automation company decided to drop their own speakers.Control4 said that they will phase out its own speakers, according to a company statement. For a limited time some of the existing speakers will remain available to dealers, in addition to the newly available Current Audio line.
Control4 originally added a limited speaker line at the request of dealers who were looking for an in-ceiling or in-wall speaker that was competitively priced and not widely available on the internet. Seven SKUs are currently in the Control4-branded product line. While there are 5.25″, 6.5″ and 8″ model form factors, there is only one quality level of each. Dealers have clearly told us that a much broader speaker line was desired with multiple quality levels in the various form factors.
In its quest to be the HomeOS, Control4 has long maintained that it does not want to be a hardware manufacturer; rather, it prefers to focus on software and partner with hardware vendors. Where third party products don’t fit the bill, Control4 makes its own or co-markets products from third parties.
Besides Current Audio, Control4 “definitely” is looking to add more vendors to its line card, senior VP marketing Susan Cashen tells CE Pro.
“It’s a good value for partners, and it simplifies things for dealers,” she says, noting that Control4 already markets switchers from Zektor, ZigBee devices from Card Access and automated door locks from Black & Decker and Yale. “We’re continuing that tradition.”
