PSI Audio AVAA C225: the active bass trap now handles 135 dB SPL

The C20 and then the C214 put the AVAA on the map in studios and high-end listening rooms: an active absorber the size of a small column doing the job of a far bulkier passive bass trap, with no tuning and no measurement required. One area kept pushing both models to their limit, though: rooms that really play loud. That is exactly the gap the AVAA C225 fills, announced by PSI Audio in early September after more than two years of development.

Two 10-inch drivers and 300 W to hold the level

Where the C20 and the C214 start limiting around 115 dB SPL, the C225 keeps absorbing up to 135 dB SPL. That jump is not a matter of settings: PSI Audio fitted two 10-inch drivers, developed a new sensor able to work under very high pressure, and powered the whole thing with a 300 W class G/H amplifier. The useful band shifts as well: the C225 reaches down to 12 Hz and stops at 130 Hz, whereas the C214 covers 15 to 160 Hz. In other words, it digs deeper, where the room modes of larger spaces sit, and leaves the upper bass to more conventional treatment.

An absorber that emits nothing and needs no tuning

The underlying principle is the one that built the range's reputation. The AVAA does not use phase cancellation and injects no signal into the room: it changes the acoustic impedance of the air in front of it, behaving like a hole in the wall that swallows the energy of a room mode before a standing wave can settle. A pressure sensor monitors the low end continuously, the electronics respond in real time, and the absorption happens below the threshold at which the ear would notice anything. In practice, you place it in a rigid corner where pressure is highest, switch it on, and that is it: no measurement microphone, no simulation, no target frequency. PSI Audio claims efficiency comparable to a porous absorber forty times its volume, still the strongest argument for the technology when you cannot sacrifice four cubic metres of mineral wool in a living room.

Home cinemas, clubs and studios that play loud

PSI Audio is clear that the C225 sits somewhere else than the C214. It targets high-end home cinema installations, small clubs, demonstration rooms and studios working at elevated levels. That makes sense: in a private cinema, the low end has to stay tight and readable while the system pushes considerable energy below 50 Hz, and that is precisely when the room starts misbehaving. A room mode turns an impact into a lingering hum and the scene loses its edge. The C225 goes after that at the source, with a footprint that stays reasonable next to what a passive equivalent would require. The manufacturer also states that it is controlled from an app, like the C214.

Technical specifications

• Active absorption from 12 to 130 Hz
• Maximum operating level: 135 dB SPL
• Two 10-inch drivers
• 300 W class G/H amplifier
• Standby power consumption: 12 W
• Dimensions: 78 cm (H) x 57 cm (W) x 57 cm (D)
• Weight: 33 kg
• Black finish
• No calibration required, app control

Price and availability

PSI Audio has not announced a public price or a release date yet, and no dealer lists the product as we write this. We will update this article as soon as we have that information. Like everything the brand makes, the C225 is developed and built in Yverdon-les-Bains, and every unit is calibrated in the factory's own anechoic chamber before it ships. In the meantime, the AVAA C214 remains available from us for studios and listening rooms that do not need to take 135 dB.