The Audiophiliac

Can little woofers make high-quality bass?

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Bass, really high-quality bass, is something I associate with large speakers and subwoofers. Smaller models generate significantly less bass output, but thanks to clever design it is possible to eek out more bass than little boxes used to make. But trust me, you can't predict bass performance by reading speaker specifications. Listening is the only way to learn what a speaker sounds like.

Speaker designers use all sorts of tricks involving bass ports and equalization techniques to boost bass, but bass quality, if not quantity, suffers in direct comparison to larger designs. Right, size still matters.

That may change: Atlantic Technology and Solus/Clements, two American speaker manufacturers, announced that they have joined forces to develop, market, and license a revolutionary new loudspeaker design protocol capable of delivering deep, low-distortion bass at high volume levels. This technology, dubbed H-PAS, (hybrid pressure acceleration system) will allow smaller cabinets and small drivers to achieve levels of performance "...normally associated with much larger speaker systems."

The new patent-pending system combines elements of several technologies: bass reflex, inverse horn, and transmission line in a unique cabinet design. H-PAS does not require the use of special drivers, any kind of onboard electronics or outboard equalization--it is a purely passive system, completely compatible with all amplifiers and receivers.

Some of today's DVD and Blu-ray soundtracks are so densely mixed that dialogue can be hard to understand.

When actors' lines are obscured by onscreen mayhem, you may miss important plot details. The dialogue intelligibility problem is even worse for people who are hard of hearing.

Here's a simple fix to improve intelligibility that also works like a charm for quiet, late-night movie watching.

Onkyo's TX-SR805's remote offers direct access to center channel volume.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Turn up the center channel volume level. Please understand, that's not the same thing as cranking up your receiver's volume control. Raising the center channel volume relative to the left/right and surround channels makes dialogue louder than the music and sound effects, so it's easier to understand what the actors are saying.

The easiest way to make the adjustment is with your receiver or home theater-in-a-box system's remote control. Check and see if your remote has a button marked "Channel Select." My Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver's remote has such a control, marked "CH SEL". It toggles through left, right, center, etc., and once I got to the center I used the "Level -" and "Level +" buttons to adjust the center channel volume.

Experiment to figure out how much louder you want the center channel speaker to be, but start with turning it up by three decibels. That might be enough, but don't hesitate to turn it up higher if that's what you need.

Of course, you can also use the CH SEL feature to boost subwoofer volume to taste whenever you switch movies or CDs. Or adjust the surround channels volume.

Atlantic Technology's new 1400 SR-z speaker was designed with Dolby's Pro Logic IIz "height" surround processor in mind

The new speaker's compact size and shallow profile allow it to be unobtrusively mounted high on the wall above the system's front left and right main speakers. The 1400 SR-z sells for $425/pair MSRP.

(Credit: Atlantic Technology)

The company claims that the 1400 SR-z's "voicing" and timbre will match all of Atlantic Technology's speaker systems.

Each 1400 SR-z uses a pair of 3.5-inch full-range polymer-treated cone drivers. The wedge-shaped speaker disperses sound laterally and allows the user to select dipole or bipole operation to deliver an enveloping surround soundfield. The speaker measures 12.25 x 8 x 5.375 inches, weighs 7 pounds, and comes in an attractive satin black finish.

The 1400 SR-z will be available in May 2009.

Samsung's state of the art home theater in a box.

(Credit: Samsung)

Samsung's brand spanking new HT-BD2 home theater in a box put me through some changes. It's the world's first Blu-ray HTIB, so sure, it's got picture quality to die for, and even boasts state of the art Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio surround 7.1 channel processing. The HT-BD2 also looks pretty hot, the Blu-ray player/A/V receiver's curvaceous, high gloss style is drop-dead gorgeous, and the super-model thin tower speakers and chunky subwoofer are likewise designed for eye appeal.

But just that, the HT-BD2's sonic splendors are in short supply, or to put it another way, it's all show and no go. I'll get into more detail about the sound in my CNET review that will appear early next month.

But the HT-BD2's hefty price tag, $1,500, put me off. The Samsung sounds merely OK, not bad, just painfully average for a HTIB--clearly the product designers know that features and looks sell, and sound is a low priority. I'm sure Samsung will sell a ton of these things, but if you care about sound you can do a lot better for your $1,500. How good, let's see.

I didn't want to forfeit Blu-ray for this $1,500 dream system, so I selected Samsung's BD-P1400 Blu-ray Player (street price, $350). It duplicates the HT-BD2's video capabilities. Pioneer's VSX-817 receiver typically goes for around $200-250, and would be a good match for our $900 speaker/subwoofer package.

Speakers? I have two favorites in this price range, Atlantic Technology's sweet sounding System 920; you can read my CNET review here. PSB Speakers' Alpha Series is a little pricier, but truly excellent. Four B1 bookshelf monitors, the Alpha C1 center speaker, and SubSeries 1 subwoofer would bring us in on budget. OK, maybe a little over, depending on the deals you score.

The shootout between this separates based system and the Samsung HT-BD2 wouldn't take very long. The Samsung sounds like a home theater in a box--dynamically undernourished, with boomy, poorly defined bass, and no actual treble detail. Yes, the Samsung can play pretty loud, but sound quality isn't a happening concept. It sounds like a very large table radio.

The Samsung Blu-ray, Pioneer receiver, and Atlantic Technology or PSB Speakers based system will sound awfully nice on music and movies. Bass will be deeper and tighter, with freewheeling dynamics, an open sounding midrange and yes, actual treble extension.

We're talking big differences here, but it's your money and you get to choose--slick style or good sound. Don't say I didn't warn you.