Unreal-Systems has added 48 L-Acoustics CS1 subwoofers to its rental inventory — the first CS1 stock to land in the United States, taken in March as part of the manufacturer's pilot program, two months before the cabinet was shown publicly.

Delivered before the announcement

CS1 arrived in Miami in March 2026 under the L-Acoustics pilot program, which places pre-launch systems with a short list of operators to prove them out on real productions. The subwoofer was not shown publicly until the L-Acoustics keynote at the Hollywood Bowl on May 21, where it was unveiled alongside the L1 line source.

First U.S. deployment: Ultra main stage

The first American deployment of CS1 was the Ultra Music Festival main stage, where Unreal-Systems designed and ran the system. An Ultra main stage is an honest test for a subwoofer: high sustained output, a long throw across an open field, and neighbors in every direction who care about what happens behind the stacks.

That last point is what CS1 is built for. Its cardioid behavior is native to the box rather than something achieved by turning cabinets around, so rear rejection holds up without spending inventory on reverse-facing boxes.

What the CS1 is

CS1 is a four-by-21-inch cardioid subwoofer. Two drivers face forward, two cancel to the rear, all in one enclosure with four-point captive rigging. It reaches down to 25 Hz and puts out up to 150 dB.

Three directivity modes — Cardioid, Supercardioid and Side Rejection — are selectable at the amplifier, so the same hang can be re-tuned for a field, an arena or a tight urban site without re-rigging. Up to eight fly per array.

The boxes are in stock now and available for rental across the U.S. and Canada.