Ratings

FEATURES Definitive’s Mythos STs are tall, slender floorstanders housed in solid aluminum enclosures (available in silky- smooth satin silver or black finishes) that attach to polished granite floor plates. Despite their pencil-slim appearance the STs are fullrange speakers with built-in powered subwoofers. Internally, the STs are subdivided into two sections. The top supports a two-way,

“the STs are fullrange speakers with built-in powered subwoofers”

midrange-tweeter-midrange D’Appolito array that handles all frequencies from the mid-bass region on up, while the bottom houses a 300-watt sub based on an unortho- dox “racetrack-shaped” woofer flanked by a pair of oblong passive radiators. The sub delivers potent bass that extends down to a claimed 14 Hz.

The matching Mythos Ten center channel essentially takes the top section of the ST, flips it on its side, and stretches the chassis

(compared with $5.5k surround systems)

Transparency and Focus

Imaging and Soundstaging

Tonal Balance

Dynamics
Bass Extension
Bass Pitch Definition
Bass Dynamics
Value
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just enough to fit in a pair of oblong passive radiators similar to, but smaller than, those in the ST. The Mythos Ten’s bass doesn’t go as low as the floorstander’s does, but its voicing is identical to the ST’s, meaning you’ll enjoy seamless speaker-to-speaker transitions when sound effects pan across the front channels.

Completing the system is a pair of Mythos Gem XL surround speakers, also based on two-way, three-driver D’Appolito arrays. The speakers are an earlier-generation design so their drivers are not quite as sophisticated as those used in the STs and the Ten. Even so, the compact Gem XLs could easily qualify as main speakers in most systems, meaning they’re more than adequate as surround speakers.

“power, detail, and refinement ...

sheer realism that is captivating”

MOVIE PERFORMANCE The Mythos ST surround system draws together three essential sonic qualities — power, detail, and refinement — that add up to a fourth: a touch of pure magic. Let me explain what this means.

On movie soundtracks, the ST system produces an articulate, neutrally voiced and decidedly muscular sound that absolutely takes command of most listening rooms.

In the initial chase seen from Terminator III: Rise of the Machines, a deadly robotic Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) drives a motorized crane, pursuing John Conor (Nick Stahl) and his spouse-to-be (Claire Danes) through crowded city streets. The ST system reproduced the ensuing mayhem of the crane ripping through phone poles, cars and even buildings with terrific vigor and dynamic impact. Yet at the same time the ST rig never lost sight of two key qualities that many systems lack: overarching clarity and low-level detail.