Definitive Technology HT1004 “The SuperCube II trounces most under-$1,000 subwoofers”, Value

Gems (plus the Mythos Twos, which the company sent me before they had a pair of Gems ready for me to listen to) with the intention that there would be a subwoofer in the system, so there’s no midbass peak designed into the speakers. Some manufacturers use this trick to fool the listener into thinking there’s bass where there is none. In addition to detrimentally altering the sonic balance, such a peak makes it more difficult to smoothly integrate the speakers with a subwoofer.

“The SuperCube II trounces most under-$1,000 subwoofers”

That’s a rather bold step because, if you put these speakers on a demo wall in a store and compare them with another speaker that’s been voiced with a peak in the midbass,

your first reaction is likely to be that the Mythos are a little thin and weak, rather than highly accurate and neutral. But, here again, your thinking would be going in the wrong direction. Add a subwoofer, such as the SuperCube II, and– like a rich socialite with a dark past–these mild-mannered, highly refined beauties turn into adrena- line-pumping, take-no-prisoners competitors that will eat for lunch (belch included) just about any other system in the price range.

The system’s blending of bass and beauty is quite astounding. I’ve rarely run into a combination where it was so easy to match the sub- woofer to the speakers–or a combi- nation that sounded so natural together. It’s as if they were made for each other (which, now that I mention it, they were).

If you’ve long been a fan of Def Tech’s bipolar speakers, this Mythos system has a slightly dif-

H I G H L I G H T S

Mythos beauty is more than skin deep

Gems utilize wide-dispersion bipolar array

Music and movies are equally stunning

“worthy of hanging in the Louvre ...

some of the easiest speakers to integrate in a real living room”

ferent sonic character than you might be used to, largely because the Mythos speakers feature a forward-radiating design, not a bipolar one. As a result, the sound- stage isn’t as big as that of the larger bipolar towers. There’s something here that’s equally as

DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY MYTHOS FOUR SPEAKER SYSTEM

Build Quality Value Features Performance Ergonomics

OVERALL RATING

Polystone, non-resonant front baffles

Aircraft-grade aluminum cabi- nets with interal ribbing and camping pads

96

In this price range, you normal- ly get either style or substance; the Mythos gives you both

The SuperCube

IItrounces most under-$1,000 subwoofers

94

Wall-mount brackets are included with the Mythos Three and Mythos Gem

The Mythos Gem has a prethreaded insert for the option pivoting wall mount

93

Pinpoint accu- racy, incredibly intimate detail

Bass is extremely convincing

The subwoofer blends phenome- nally with the other speakers

97

Slender silos and wall-mounting options make these some of the easiest speakers to integrate into a real living room

It’s easy to reach the SuperCube II’s controls

98

96

The Mythos system is not only one of the best sub-$3,500 sys- tems on the market, it’s one of the most

General information

Mythos Four Tower Speaker, $699	Mythos Three Center-Channel Speaker, $499
Mythos Gem Surround Speaker, $249 SuperCube II Subwoofer, $899
Definitive Technology, (410) 363-7148, www.definitivetech.com		Dealer Locator Code DEF

stylish and attractive systems, too.