(November 2, 2023) Today, we have a block of StormAudio news covering several of the company's recent announcements. To kick things off, let's revisit a breakdown of the company's now-shipping ISR Fusion 20 receiver. Billed as the world's first 20-channel receiver with 16-channels of onboard amplification, the Fusion 20 is designed to deliver an experience similar to Storm's vaunted MK processors with the space-saving advantages of one box. Relying on Edge amplification technology developed by Denmark's ICE Power, the receiver can pump out 150W per channel (8 Ohms) and 500W (8 Ohms) when bridged.
The Fusion 20 has the brains to decode the latest immersive formats up to 11.1.8 (Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X Pro, and IMAX Enhanced) and enable post-processing to optimize any speaker to any room straight out of the box. It also carries Dirac Live's Active Room Treatment correction software, allowing superior bass control and reproduction. And if Dirac's automated processing isn't enough, owners can access up to 20 PEQs per channel.
Unlike Storms Elite MK processors, the ISR Fusion has a fixed architecture. That means physical upgradeability is primarily relegated to future HDMI releases. However, the receiver is shipping with Storm's latest HDMI 2.1 card installed at the factory, so HDMI upgrade concerns should be minimized for the time being.
Speaking of HDMI 2.1, as promised, Storm has officially unleashed its HDMI 2.1 upgrade board before year's end. We've been discussing this particular piece of hardware for the last two years, and, to the benefit of its customers, Storm has worked steadfastly with its partner (CYP) to release a solid-performing, error-free 2.1 solution. The result is a proprietary piece of hardware that offers eight inputs (seven external and one internal) and two outputs, all HDMI 2.1 / HDCP 2.3.
The board can be ordered today as an upgrade for all Storm products and will be rolled out in different product lines in the next few months.
To facilitate the implementation of its HDMI 2.1 board across all models, Storm has released a new firmware revision (V4.5r2). In addition to adding new speaker configurations, including support for 19.x.y.z layouts, V4.5r2 marries all Storm processors under the same software backbone while adding StormEasy setup to the Fusion 20's repertoire of skills.
For full details about all of the enhancements contained within V4.5r2, consult the release notes included with the revision's download pack.
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