Most speaker systems are either designed for use with an HDTV or for playing music. HDTV-friendly audio systems often have multiple speakers or a large soundbar, while music systems now tend to be just one prominent device you can access wirelessly.

Mass Fidelity is looking to combine those concepts with its “Core” sound system. It’s the size of a modest AirPlay speaker, but it acts like a home theater soundbar. We got some hands-on time with it.

The Core is smaller than a Nintendo GameCube, a 4-inch tall square with 6-inch sides that sports a 120-watt amplifier, four mid/high drivers, and a downward-firing subwoofer in its small chassis. The demonstration unit was built out of metal and weighed several pounds, but it was still portable enough to move to different rooms and featured a built-in battery that Mass Fidelity claims can last up to 12 hours. While you could use it for a portable speaker, the demo was intended to show how it could replace a soundbar for your HDTV.

The Core uses “wave field synthesis,” an audio-processing technology that Mass Fidelity says creates a sound image that seems to come from separately placed stereo speakers, producing a sort of audio “hologram.” During the demonstration, the little speaker certainly seemed to produce a real stereo sound field, as if it was coming from two separate speakers.

For home theaters, the Core has an optical audio input. However, it’s also capable of handling wireless audio through Bluetooth, and multiple Cores can offer multi-room speaker configurations by setting up their own ad hoc 5GHz Wi-Fi network.

Mass Fidelity has put the Core up for pre-order on Indiegogo(Opens in a new window). The company has stated that its production has been confirmed and the crowdfunding campaign is not to develop the device, but to expand production lines.

The speaker will retail for $599 when it ships in December, but Indiegogo backers can pre-order it for $349.