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In Good Company MyfirstexperiencewithPhaseTechnologywasatmylocalhighaudioboutiqueinbackBuffalo,NY,around15yearsago,atimewhenmyaudiojour-neyhadbegun.PhaseTechhadjustcomeoutwiththe3.1modelwhichusedtwoRigidPolymerFoamwoof-ers,apredecessorofthecurrentspeakersystemunderreview.Impressedwiththeiraudiosoundscapethen,the3.1swereatthetopofmylistbutmybudgetdidn’tallowforapurchaseoffivematched3.1stocompleteahometheatre.Havingrecentlyvisitedoneofthelo-calhi-endbrickandmortarstores,InoticedthePre-mierCollection(PC)PC-3.5inthemaindemoroomwhichhadlookedfamiliar.ImmediatelyfollowingmyfirstauditionIhadtohearthePC-3.5inmysystemsoimmediatelycontactedthecompanyandrequestedareviewsamplewiththatbeingthebasisoftheevalua-tion.
PhaseTechnology,asubsidiaryofUnitedSpeakerSystems®,hasbeenintheloudspeakerbusi-nessforover50years.PhaseTechnologyisoneofthefewloudspeakercompaniesthatarefullyintegrated,buildingalmostallspeakercomponentsinhousein-cludingthedrivers,crossovers,andcabinets.Tomain-tainthehighestqualitystandardsinthemanufacturingprocess,eachspeakersystemundergoestwelvequalitycontrolandstringentfrequencyresponsetestspriortoshipment.PhaseTechisalsoaleaderinspeakertechnologywiththefollowingspeakerdesignpatentstotheircredit:
•Softdometweeter•Flatpistonwoofer•Self-dampingwoofervoicecoil•Manufacturingprocessforsolid,flatpistondrivers•Silicone-injecteddriversforresonancedamping•Basket-lesswoofer/midrangedrivermounting system•Speakerframehousingandclampassemblyforwallorceilingmountsandmethod•Wallmountedspeakerenclosure
PhaseTechnologyPC-3.5LoudspeakersListeninginAbsolutePhase
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MusicianIIIMk2amplifier,EscalanteDesignPinyonsmonitorswiththeEscalanteDesignUintasubwoofer(repletewiththematchingEscalanteDesignHoodoostands¾filledwithStarSoundMicro-Bearingcon-ductiveSteelFill)CablesareallOmegaMikroMa-casserEbonyDigitalActivebetweentheNoaPhys-icsMPandTacT2.2x,OmegaMikroPlanarAnalogPlanarbetweentheTact2.2xandSpectronMusicianIIIMk2,OmegaMikroPlanarAnalogVIbetweentheTacT2.2xandUintasubwoofer,andOmegaMikroPlanarActivepowercablespoweringallcomponents.Forthereview,theTacT2.2xpreampwasruninthe2.0modeandtheUintasubwooferwasdisconnectedfromthesystemallowingthePC-3.5andtheEscalanteDesignPinyonstorunfullrange.Ihaveoneofthemorechallengingroomstypicalofafamilyroomwithacouch,loveseatandcoffeetablearearugcenteredonahardwoodfloor.Mylisteningareais14.5’wide,hasa9’ceiling,andanopenbackwallto1500sqftoflivingarea.
Forthereview,Iusedthe24”tallEscalanteDesignHoodoostandstocomparemyreferencestandmountedloudspeakertothestandmountedPhaseTechPC-3.5s.Iremovedthefrontspeakergrilleonbothspeakerstoyieldthemostcoherentsound.Aftersomeexperimentation,IfoundthatthePC-3.5ssoundedtheirbestinthesamelocationthatthePinyonresided.PC-3.5srequiredatleast100hourbreak-inperiodtosoundtheirbest.
Results
Letmestartbysayingthisisthemostdif-ficultreviewIhavecompletedsofar;thePC-3.5sunexpectedlybestedmyreferenceinsomeimportantperformanceareas.Iwasimpressedatfirstbythespeaker’sabilitytoimagewithinthetightsoundspaceofmyfamilyroom.Onthe3rdcutofNorahJones’ComeAwaywithMeCDentitledColdColdHeart(BlueNoteRecords),thesizeandimageofthepianowasaccuratelyportrayedwithinthesoundstage.Incomparisontootherbookshelvespeakerswhichtendtosoftentheimagebycomparison,thePC-3.5offeredrazorsharpimaging.Formostrecordingsonthisal-bum,itwaseasytooutlinetheacousticspaceinwhichtherecordingsessionwasconducted.
ThePC-3.5isoneofsixspeakerswithinthePremierCollectionline.Consistingoftwo6.5”flatpistonwoofers,softdomemidrange,softdometweeter,andrearport,thePC-3.5operatesasathreewayspeakerwiththewoofers/midrangecrossedoverat800Hzandthemidrange/tweetercrossedoverat3kHz.MidrangeandtweeteraremountedontheirownseparatebaffleallowingeitherverticalorhorizontalplacementwithjustthelooseningfourAllenheadscrewsandrotatingthebaffleassembly.ThemostuniquedesignfeaturesofthePC-3.5includetheAbso-lutePhase™crossoverandsolidpistondriverwhichbothworktogethertoenhanceperformance.TheAbsolutePhasecrossoverdesignensuresthattheinte-grationoftwomatingdriversandcrossoverfilterareacousticallyandelectronicallyphasecoherent.Wow…IthoughtIwasphasecoherent.Theotherproprie-tarydesignfeatureisthesolidpistonflatdriversmadefromRigidPolymerFoam®(RPF®).Beinglessthanhalfthemassofaconventionalconical-shapeddia-phragm,theRPFdriverisacousticallyopaqueinthatinternalreflectionswithinthespeakerenclosurearenottransmittedtofrontconewaveandnon-resonantthroughoutthedriver’soperatingfrequencyrange.TheflatsurfaceRPFdriverissaidtoallowthesoundwavestobeginatthesamesurfaceasthemidrangeandtweeterresultinginthebesttimealignment.Thepartsqualityofthecrossoverisalsonotable:consist-ingofair-coreinductorsandelectrolyticcapacitorswithmultiplesizebypasscaps.Validationofthesedesignfeaturesinmyreviewingsystemwillbecom-ingshortly.
Removingthespeakersfromtheirboxeswasdifficult.Thespeakerswerewellpackedwiththefoamfittingextremelytightinthebox.Ithoughttomyselfifthespeakersaremadetosuchatighttoleranceasthefitofthefoamtotheboxthenwemighthaveareallyhighqualityspeakerhere.AfterremovingthePC-3.5fromtheirwellpackagedboxes,IfoundtheglossblackfitandfinishofthePC-3.5tobetopnotchandnotconsistentwithcompetingspeakersinthispricedrange.Thewifelovedthem.
SystemSet-up
MyreviewingsystemincludestheNovaPhys-icsMemoryPlayertransport,PioneerBDP-09FDBlu-rayplayer,TacTAudio2.2xRoomCorrectionpreampwithMauimodsfullenchiladamodification,Spectron 2
Listeningtotheopeningtrack,ThatLone-someSongbyJamieJohnson(MercuryNashville),thesoundofthebellextendedwellpastthebackwallofmylisteningareaandwithneverendingdecay.SoundstagingofthePC-3.5sascomparedtomyrefer-encewasmorebehindandtothesides.However,myreferencespeakersystemwhichlistedoverthreetimesthecost(backin2004),disappearedbetterandmoreaccuratelylocatedJamieJohnson’svoiceintheverti-calplane.Inshort,theyperformedmorelikeasinglepointsource.ComparingwhatIheardinmylisteningroomtothatofmylocalhi-endshopwhichwasnearlytwiceaswide,thePC-3.5sdon’tsoundquiteasgoodasmyreferencebuttheymostcertainlyimageandsoundstagebetterinalargerroom.
IwasalsoimpressedwiththelowermidrangeperformanceofthePC-3.5;inparticularthefrequencyrangeofmalevocalsandthelowerfrequenciesofwoodwindsandbrass.HavingasoninhighschoolbandandcomparingthesoundofhissaxophonetothePC-3.5playingwoodwindinstrumentsallowedmetoappreciatetheclarity,tone,andsenseofbloominthisspectrumonthePC-3.5.Comparedtomyreference,Ifoundtheclarityofthetrebleanduppermidrangetobemoreresolvingandhavinggreaterfrequencyexten-sionbutlessforgivingofbrightrecordings.Therewasalsoconsiderablecontentinthelowend(below100Hz)exhibitedonthePC-3.5atthestartofcut4onJackJohnson,In Between Dreams(UniversalRecords)whichwasmuchmorethanonewouldexpectfromamonitorofitssize.IntermsofshearlowerbassoutputthePC-3.5bestedmyreferencehandsdown.Truemusicalbassdefinitionwasnotable,thoughnot
quitetotheextentIhaveexperiencedfrommyTalonKhorusXMKII(12”wooferx2)Iownedafewyearsago. Ididcomparebothspeakerswhileviewingthemovie,TheCuriousCaseofBenjaminButton(WarnerBrothersPictures)usingmyPioneerBDP-09FDBlu-rayplayerasthesource.Theclarityandspatialchar-acterofthemidrangewasshowninspadesmakingthePC-3.5myfirstchoiceforhometheatre.ThevoiceofBenjaminButtonasplayedbyBradPitthadalifelikepresencewhichwasmorebelievableandcaptivatingonthePC-3.5.
BottomLine
InmydiscussionwithKenHecht,thePremierCol-lectionlineisaimedattheaudiophilewhowantsthe“biggestbangforthebuck”whereeveryounceofperformanceissqueezedoutofthedesignforarea-sonableprice.ThePhaseTechnologyPC-3.5deliveredonthispromise,noquestion.Ifyou’relookingforaspeakersystemupto$4000,IwouldhavethePC-3.5onyourshortlistforaudition.Insomeways,itoutperformedmyreferenceandcertainlycompareswithspeakersystemscostingtwotothreetimesmore.
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Specifications:
Tweeter:1”softdome,variableaxisMidrange:1.5”softdomemidrangeWoofer:Two6.5”RPFflat-pistons,midbassFrequencyResponse:36Hz-22kHzCrossoverFrequencies:800Hz(24dB/Octave)and3.5kHz(24dB/Octave)NominalImpedance:4OhmsRecommendedAmplifierPower:20-250WattsInputs:bi-wireableSensivity:91dBCabinetDesign:BassReflexFinishes:Blackgloss,NaturalcherryDimensions:22”(L)x77/8”(W)x125/16”(D)Weight(InPounds):38lbseachWarranty:10yeartransferablePrice:$1,000each
Address:Website:www.Phasetech.com
PhaseTechnology6400YoungermanCircleJacksonville,[email protected]
Phone:(888)742-7385
4www.stereotimes.comJanuary2010 218-2092