Test Bench | Full lab results at soundandvisionmag.com/deftech800. |
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This system has smooth response blemished primarly by a depression centered just below 1 kHz. The subwoofer’s high-frequency response to 150 Hz mates well with the limited bass of the upper- channel speakers. It has good low-end extension for a small sub, delivering true 25-Hz output, but only at 76 dB, revealing its dynamic limitations. It averaged 95 dB from 25 to 62 Hz, and put out 103.7 dB max SPL at 62 Hz, all at less than 10% distortion. — Tom Nousaine
pectedly loudly and cleanly: The Definitive would become a bit “grumbly” at very high levels, but thanks no doubt to intelligently engineered limiting circuits, I had to push it to ludicrous settings well beyond THX-reference from the overall system to elicit gross rattles or thumps. It had plenty of bottom for thumping of Collateral’s climactic club scene, which indeed the full system delivered in fine, loud- ly enveloping, smoothly claustrophobic fashion. That
“I don’t think you can do very much better.”
said, the ProSub 800 doesn’t have the bottom-octave grunt for fully cinematic deep-bass — the near-infra- sonic content of a T.rex footfall or the underpinnings of the ram’s-horn calls of those War of the World’s thingies — but it does impressively just the same.
“pleasant, easy-to-listen- to ... open and airy ...
plenty of heft”
vocals and a pleasant, easy-to-listen-to treble that was open and fairly airy without excess bit or sizzle. Clean, well-recorded CDs like Ani DiFranco’s Reprieve were very pleasing and surprisingly high- end-sounding, with modest depth, some genuine transparency, and considerable more weight and impact from the below-50-Hz region than I’d expect- ed. The solo acoustic bass was tight and realistically woody, but still had plenty of heft for its occasional ventures below 60 Hz or so. The Definitive system also displayed arresting clarity on stuff like the explo- sively compressed, crystalline Dobro (or whatever that is) that enters, startlingly, a bit later.
The ProMonitors (and ProCenter, for that matter) could play cleanly far louder than expected — about as loud as plenty of much larger small-bookshelf speakers I’ve heard. In fact, their tweeters ran out of headroom (resulting in hardness and “shriekiness”) at about the same time as their woofers (flatulating, and “tup-tuping” on transients), which is quite rare among mini-sats of this size. And since Definitive’s tweeter is no slouch, this was rather loud indeed.
“a tight, well-integrated ‘screenstage’”
MOVIE PERFORMANCE
The little Definitives’ performance on even demand- ing soundtracks was, if anything, even more pleasing. Collateral may be no Citizen Kane, but it’s an expertly made movie in technical terms, and the
ProMonitors handled it with relative ease. From moderate to fairly loud volume — say, about 6 dB below commercial-cinema reference level — I never once came out of the story because of a sonic shortcoming.
The ProCenter did a great job on dialogue, and as the system’s music-and-effects keystone player (the center is always the most important speaker in any movie-surround system). It made an excellent tonal match to the ProMonitors, producing a tight, well- integrated “screenstage.” On the other hand, it demonstrated moderately audible tonal changes when heard from more than about 30° off-axis, becoming slightly muffled and hollow-sounding on many male voices (a common effect of “lobing” response from closely spaced dual woofer/ midranges). And like the ProMonitors, the center proved quite sensitive to vertical aiming: As I’ve mentioned, to keep sounds evenly bright, I had to tilt it up a good bit on my low stand.
“played unexpectedly loudly and cleanly”
I was also very happy with the ProMonitors at the rear corners. When angled well back to reflect sound from the rear wall as I’ve described, the little 800s worked particularly well for plain, non-dipole 2-way surrounds. (Truly small 2-ways like these always seem to work well in this configuration, probably because their small-diameter mid/woofers are suffi- ciently wide-dispersion to avoid the “beaming” that might otherwise help the ear localize them.)
Despite its diminutive, roughly 6-gallon form (smaller than a Texan’s lid!), the ProSub 800 proved a worthy support. This little sub produced ample, rea- sonably even output considerably lower than many inexpensive 8-inchers (about 35 Hz or so), rolling off fairly quickly below that point. And it played unex-
(Reality check: This is a $399 subwoofer. And there’s a 10-inch ProSub 1000 [$499] that might well do bet- ter still.)
Bottom Line
This is a marvelously high-value system for smaller rooms — and even some not-all-that-small ones. If you’ve simply go to have really small and (by serious home theater standards) really cheap speakers, I don’t think you can do much better. S&V
Key Features
ProMonitors 800
::($250/pair) 1-in. dome tweeter; 41/2-in. mid/woofer; 41/2-in. passive radiator; 83/8-in. high; 4 lb.
ProCenter 1000
::($200/pair) 1-in. dome tweeter; (2) 41/2-in. mid/woofers; (2) 41/2-in. passive radiators; 5-in. high; 8 lb.
ProSub 800
::($399) 8-in. driver; 8-in. passive radiator; 300-watt RMS amplifier; 121/2 x 141/4 x 131/2-in.; 41 lb.
::Finish: Gloss-black, matte-white, silver.
Subwoofer: black ash or white vinyl.
DEFINITIVETECH.COM :: 410-363-7148
11433 Cronridge Dr. • Owings Mills, MD 21117
(410) 363-7148
Visit us at www.definitivetech.com
SOUND & VISION | NOVEMBER2006 |
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