This is news of a new Artison 5.1 AV Amplifier, it looks really, really good and I hope to get a closer look soon. The Artison Backpack is an ultra-slim surround sound processor/amplifier that discreetly acts as a powerful home cinema hub. The Backpack is the first of a kind and features multiple digital and analogue inputs for maximum flexibility. Its diminutive dimensions allow for discreet positioning on the back of any display, like a back pack in fact!

There are five internal Class D amplifiers to power any passive system and there is an LFE ouput, presumably for a sub. With ARC and three HDMI inputs, Bluetooth, optical input and WiFi, this looks really interesting. I can’t see a coax input which might have been amazing but I’m looking forward to seeing this box of tricks coming soon.

Artison 5.1 AV Amplifier Specification

Anodised aluminium/satin black ABS chassis, 1.1” H x 11.75” W x11.5” D
Low profile layout for easy installation behind a flat panel display
Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby ProLogic II/IIx Decoding
Internal 2.4/5.8 GHz antennas
On screen display with a Graphical User Interface
IR remote control or IP controllable via RJ45/Wi-Fi
Universal voltage high power internal SMPS

Inputs/Outputs

3 x 75W speaker level outputs (L, C, R) and 2 x 30W speaker level outputs (L & R Surround)
1 x LFE, single RCA output
Wi-Fi (b/g/n) / Bluetooth 4.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, SBC)
3 x HDMI in / 1 x HDMI out (HDMI 2.0b/HDCP 2.2/ARC/CEC/3D/4K@60Hz/4:4:4)
1 x Toslink input
1 x 3.5mm stereo mini jack aux input
1 x 3.5mm IR external sensor input
1 x RJ45 input

Distribution

The Artison 5.1 AV Amplifier RRP is near £1,195.  It will be available from next week in the UK I gather.

It is available here.