AUDIO PRO PM-09 BOWERS & WILKINS MT-20 FOCAL SIB 5.1 PACK QUAD L-ITE 5.1 ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGO T

52 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

J U LY 0 7

HCC144.gt 52

21/5/07 2:26:44 pm

surrounded

Spending around a thousand pounds on a speaker package should get you a spectacular sound and stunning design. Adam Rayner puts five such systems head to head
allows you to experience surround, all the way to huge veneer-finished enclosures capable of emotionally impactful audio. Such gorgeous polished jewels of sonic performance are just as much at home delivering spaceship-throb lows as the tinkly highs of glass breaking. But what can you expect in terms of visual appeal and sonic output from a system that retails for around a grand? Will the sound be a compromise? Can the subwoofer deliver real bass? We called in four new systems, from Audio Pro, Bowers & Wilkins, Focal, and Quad, costing between 800 and 1,000, and revisited the newly revoiced-sub Acoustic Energy Aego T system to see how it stacked up, and tried them all on the same movie. Given the evolutionary theme of this issue, with a respectful nod to our great Jurassic Bass experiment (see page 40), I gured another bout of T-Rex baiting would make for appropriate audio fodder.
ets face it, you can spend practically unlimited
amounts of money on loudspeakers. They range
from small plastic thingies rated as makes noise,

HOME CINEMA CHOICE 53

HCC144.gt 53

21/5/07 2:27:01 pm

Grouptest. Sub/Sat Systems

ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGO T

hen a reviewer criticises a product, the optimum result is that the maker get their point money rather than being a system that sounds like corners have been cut. Aesthetically, this system is now white, rather than the black of the previous set. It comes complete with
800 (approx) www.acoustic-energy.co.uk Overall Rating
and modies the product for the better. In truth it rarely happens, and yet it did
with this set of kit. The original Acoustic Energy Aego-T array was reviewed in HCC a while back. I raved about how good the satellite speakers were but was a tad rude about a certain monotonic quality to the subwoofer. Thankfully, it turned out that an improvement could be done rather simply. Being a sealed design, adding some extra acoustic wadding to the internals of the feature-free subwoofer made the speaker drivers effectively see a greater volume (or cubic) of air. Its an acoustic trick that is used in lots of speakers. Theres even a material called Luxbond that is made just to sell to speaker makers. The good news is that this has literally been the last lick of paint necessary to make AEs package perform. Saving on a lot of clever control of the subwoofer has meant that the engineering involved in the satellite product could be done all the better. So much so, that despite being in the same price bracket as the Sib/Cub, this system out performs the Focals. It represents very good value for
a nicely rubber-damped wall bracket for each satellite that is essential in use, since the speakers have no at base. They exhibit the Acoustic Energy family heritage of low-power compression design through effective use of heatwicking technology (thermally-bonded voice coils, heatsinks on the back of the tweeters magnets), so you use them as though they were large speakers. The subwoofer is ready to rock, with two drivers in the box and the only controls being a phase ip switch, gain and on/off switch. With the extra wadding, it sounds fantastic. nally makes sense to me. Good work Acoustic Energy.
The AE Aego T system, now comes in a shiny white nish

SPECIFICATIONS

Conclusion
This is a tremendous achievement of quality versus cost with the improvement in the sub upgrading the overall sound quality. This system is a peach
Acoustic Energy Aego T satellites Drive units: One 100mm damped fibre cone with 25mm thermally bonded voice coil mid bass unit; 25mm coated textile dome tweeter with neodymium magnet, Ferro fluid cooling and rear heat sink Enclosure type: Sealed hybrid injection moulded & aluminium die cast Frequency response: 100Hz-20kHz Sensitivity: 86dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 100W Dimensions: 202(h) x 124(w) x 146(d)mm

Performance

Fighting the warm and lovely feeling of being so inuential, I let the dinosaurs soar (and run and roar and head-butt jeeps with nine inch thick skull bones!) and paid a visit to Jurassic Park. The speakers have a rich and detailed sound, with plenty of snap and attacking dynamics. But theres far better underpinning with this revoiced version of the system. Bass is no longer monotonic and the specication of the woofer
Acoustic Energy Aego T subwoofer Drive units: 2x 200mm fibre cones with 48mm thermally bonded voice coils Enclosure type: Sealed box with opposed driver Frequency response: -6dB@30Hz; On-board power: 200W RMS Dimensions/Mass: 390(h) x 360(w) x 360(d)mm & 18.5kg
Once turned on, the only controls deal with its gain and phase ip J U LY 0 7

54 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

HCC144.gt 54

21/5/07 2:27:26 pm

Tried&Tested.

AUDIO PRO PM-09

1,000 (approx) www.csesolutions.co.uk Overall Rating
hese speakers from Audio Pro are intended for wall-mounting around a plasma or LCD thin screen.
subwoofer system) is front-ring and downported over a xed plinth. The LFE crossover can be set between 50-100Hz, while you also get a +6dB movie adaptive lter control and a y-lead thats thrown in too. There are even some white gloves thrown in for luck as the subwoofer is a gorgeous piano black and clearly needs treating with care.
They arrive with small, neat wall-
brackets that can be inserted into the rear mating sections of the black anodised Aluminium extrusions (that form the enclosures), looking somehow both trendy and polite. The sats each have two grilles supplied in the box, one silvery and one black fabric, which is nice. For those that dont want to wall-mount, you can purchase tall elegant extruded aluminium stands for 120 a pair, or stumpy stands for 85. The speakers have small connections that require wire to be fed up through the stand to t them, and, although ddly, are secure once sorted. I used stands, rather than custom-installing (my walls would be like Swiss cheese after a few reviews), but those that do wall-mount can expect a moderate improvement in the lowfrequency response of the main ve enclosures by virtue of a boundary effect. The boxes each have a DAppolito array of two 4in midbass units, anking a rather nice fabric dome tweeter that can reach up to bat-frequencies, and so should be theoretically ne for the better digital audio codecs such as DVD-A (moments silence please) and Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. The patented Ace-Bass subwoofer (AceBass technology is all about electronically overcoming small box and woofer constraints to give larger-than-life performance for any given size of

Despite its diminutive size, this TV-centric Audio Pro sub/sat system certainly delivers the goods. My rst impressions here are of a fatter and richer sound than the size of the enclosures might initially suggest. A slight lack of power is perceptible around the lower midbass but the bass is big and deep and grippy with a profundity and control that seems to belie the size of the not-toosmall subwoofer. This gives the impression that it is a bigger item, so Audio Pros Ace-Bass trickery appears to be working well. High-frequency detail is good and the dynamics are powerful as proven by Jurassic Parks chase and capture scene at 37minutes 10 seconds its where you nd the mad stuff in the rear left channel.
Audio Pro PM-09S satellites & PM-09C centre Drive units: Two 100mm (4in) polypropylene cones with one 25mm (1in) coated textile dome tweeter Enclosure type: Aluminium extrusion with dual ports in baffle. Supplied with foam bungs to run sealed if you choose Frequency response: 80Hz-35kHz Sensitivity: 88dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 100W Dimensions: 650(h) x 148(w) x 92(d)mm & 148(h) x 650(w) x 92(d)mm Audio Pro B1.36 active subwoofer Drive unit: One 250mm (10 in) long throw cone with inverted dust dome Enclosure type: Front-firing driver with down firing port over integral baffle board Frequency response: 25-100Hz On-board power: 200W RMS with patented Ace-Bass circuitry Dimensions/Mass: 380+70(h) x 350(w) x 350+35(d)mm & 20kg
These speakers are seriously able items
Amongst the speaker options is a 50-100Hz crossover setting J U LY 0 7
that dont represent much compromise at all. I enjoyed them very much

HOME CINEMA CHOICE 55

HCC144.gt 55

21/5/07 2:27:33 pm

BOWERS & WILKINS MT-20
his systems small M-1 enclosures are really dense wee spuds that Jurassic Parks Donald Gennaro character
975 (approx) www.bwspeakers.com Overall Rating
would doubtless have thought expensive, as they do weigh some for their size.

They are also gorgeous. A gunmetal two-pack car style paint nish on the main body is complemented by a rubber armoured top and bottom, smooth tting xed steel mesh grille and cunning swivelling chromed stand. You t the necessarily skinny speaker wires through the base and the stands shaft actually carries the conductors to the speakers drivers. Supplied is an extra wall-mount that can replace the base and the shaft again connects the power. They can also be angled in all directions. Helpfully, the badge can ip 90 for the one you use as a centre, which is a nice touch. Each has a rubber base plate cover. Allen keys are needed to adjust angle of dangle or vertical/horizontal orientation and open and secure the speaker wire connection points in its base stand. The tweeter is a metal dome, using technology derived from the legendary B&W Nautilus, and the main driver is made from woven glass bre, a wonder material that gives lots of the benets of far fancier bres like Kevlar and carbon, but with apall of the cost. The sealed-box AS-2 subwoofer gets a speaker level input like the Audio Pro that is reviewed earlier although there is no speaker level throughput. However, it has a mono LFE input which I used (and link out phono connection, too). As well as the 40-140Hz crossover selection knob, you get a phase switch and a i/ii/iii position knob which is labelled EQ. This provides less bass extension but more level in position iii and deeper bass but lower sound pressure level in position i. Me being me, I eventually settled on this latter, deeper setting. elsewhere) or the Quads slight highpower congestion (ditto). The subwoofers output is smaller in scale but is so fast and accurate, its fabulous. Quite why the MT-20 sounds this good is a puzzle, it just does. For proof, check this out. Eight minutes and 26 seconds into the movie, Jeff Goldblums mad mathematician talks to Attenboroughs crazed scientist and a piano tinkles way in the background. This is inaudible on most kit, but clear and tinkly-remote on this stuff.
Bowers & Wilkins M-1 satellites/centre Drive units: One 100mm (4in) woven glass fibre cone with one patented 25mm (1in) metal dome Nautilus tweeter Enclosure type: Supplied rear ported, but with a foam bung for running sealed if you choose Frequency response: 80Hz-23kHz Sensitivity: 85dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 100W Dimensions: 243(h) x 114(w) x 172(d)mm Bowers & Wilkins AS2 active subwoofer Drive unit: One 250mm (10in) Mica cone Enclosure type: Sealed box Frequency response: 32-125Hz On-board power: 150W RMS Dimensions/Mass: 325(h) x 325(w) x 393(d)mm &15.5Kg

B&W has an enviable reputation, which this system will not sully. I was stupeed at the sheer power, clarity, detail, dynamics and seamless rich profundity and high-end extension of these superb little atoms. My son has heard a lot of stuff over the years and said they were detailed and Just so clear, Dad. I think Ill have to pay him for his opinions soon. The fact is, the sound is incredibly realistic and those Nautilus-derived tweeters have to be a prime cause for it. They are utterly delicious with no trace whatsoever of the Focal Sibs sibilance (see
Bloody brilliant! An utterly, unreserved recommendation
The sealed box sub has a speaker level input and mono LFE input J U LY 0 7

56 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

HCC144.gt 56

21/5/07 2:27:39 pm

FOCAL SIB 5.1 PACK
800 (approx) 2680 www.focal-uk.com Overall Rating
he Focal Sib is a speaker that dees tradition. Its a strange shape, even when it is compared to the pod-like
B&W M-1. Closest, description-wise, to a bent orange segment, it has an
integral foot like the M-1 and like the M-1, houses its own Allen key in the base this time to adjust the vertical angle. Yet there is no provision for mounting the Sib sideways when used as a centre enclosure. You get one set of bright-plated squeeze post terminals for use with quite thin wire and the front bafe is concave-curved, with the small 19mm tweeter mounted beneath the 125mm midrange driver. The anks bear a beautiful curve of Piano Black, with a satiny nish to the sides and back that feels soft to the touch but is actually good and rm. The subwoofer looks like it might be a bandpass design but is actually downring with a large gas-owed port mouth showing on the front of the box, which is covered in the same rubbery nish. The on board amp is described as 100W RMS and 150W peak in one section of the manual but clearly printed as 150W RMS in another. Either way, it features BASH digital design technology, which Im told is a good thing. You get speaker level in and outputs and a mono LFE phono, as well as stereo phono inputs for use with a regular amp without crossover in it. The whole package looks very matt black and designer-posh. This system was also one of two to be signicantly cheaper than the rest, by a couple of hundred quid. So is the saving worth taking? room soundeld was apparent, so the systems sonic resolution is acceptable. The tweeters are only 19mm and the enclosures are very small, but then so are the B&W M-1s, and they rock.

I would rate this system as good for smaller rooms, where looks matter to the owners. Its not a bad product, its just out-classed in this company
Decent quality speaker terminals are designed for use with thin wire
My blunt answer is no. It might well have been an uneven playing eld, but while the similarly-priced Acoustic Energy Aego T system does incredible things for the money, you feel this Focal system is made to sell at a price. Sadly, you can hear every single pennys difference. Its frankly weedy next to all the others. Drive a Sib hard and you wonder why they didnt simply go the whole hog and call it the Sibilant as it sounds tough and harsh under heavy drive. The woofer is weak and sounds like a little tiny fella, albeit a
Focal Sib satellites/centre Drive units: One 125mm midrange with one 19mm magnetically shielded tweeter Enclosure type: Rear ovoid ported Frequency response: 75Hz-20kHz Sensitivity: 90dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 100W Dimensions: 247(h) x 142(w) x 164(d)mm Focal Cub2 active subwoofer Drive unit: One 210mm (8in) polypropylene cone Enclosure type: Front ported, down-firing woofer driver Frequency response: 40-150Hz On-board power: 150W RMS from BASH amplifier Dimensions/Mass: 333(h) x 300(w) x 300(d)mm & 11kg
Speaker level in and outputs on the sub come with a mono LFE phono J U LY 0 7
musical and fast one. That said, the farbackground Piano in John Hammonds sick

HOME CINEMA CHOICE 57

HCC144.gt 57

21/5/07 2:27:45 pm

QUAD L-ITE 5.1
1,000 (approx) www.quad-hi.co.uk Overall Rating
his package from Quad completely blew me away in terms of sheer

value-for-money.

You get a splendid slice of wood veneer
on each of the speakers, including the subwoofer and the centre, which incidentally is the only centre speaker in the four packages that is signicantly bigger than the rest of the system. The main speakers are all biwirable and have jumper-joined twin sets of banana-plug friendly connectors on their backs. The sealed (not ported) centre houses two of the sexy black Kevlar bre cones, complete with phase plugs at their apex. The other four are rear-ported. The strongly-built grilles can be removed to reveal the drivers beneath them as well as another badge on the front; the only set to feature this, if you like that kind of thing. The subwoofer has a class-leading whacker of a 300W amplier inside and is a sealed design. Connection-wise, you get speaker-level inputs and line-level stereo phono inputs and outputs. Round or pointed feet are supplied to t into the bushings beneath. The subwoofer has a pretty black display panel on the front that shows you the control options selected by the natty remote control again, it is unique in this company. You can see the phase setting, a volume level in digits and the cut-off slope is shown. The crossover choices are from 35-85Hz in 10 cycles per second increments, so theres a choice of six frequency points in all. Like the Audio Pros, the system arrives with a set of white cotton gloves with both the subwoofer and the main speaker package. The whole lot looks ercely impressive and very handsome in a classic woody sort of a way. The lacquer is deep and lustrous and would probably allow a degree of polishing-out of any minor scratches you might accrue. Well, its that time to let the dinos roar just one last time. impressive sense of space and atmosphere. The Quads have great detail retrieval and richness, but they tend to get a tiny bit sibilant and tiring when they are played loud, so are not really t for use with hardware hooligans. The subwoofer has genuine might but lacks the scale managed by the Audio Pro equivalent, and is outclassed by the luscious B&W sub. Still, I loved the BOOMPH when the trap-wagons airbags go off at 35m:57s.

Quad L-ite satellites Drive units: One 100mm black Kevlar fibre cone with phase plug and one 25mm coated textile dome tweeter Enclosure type: Rear ported, bi-wirable Frequency response: 70Hz-24kHz Sensitivity: 86dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 120W Dimensions: 225(h) x 135(w) x 160(d)mm Quad L-ite centre Drive units: Two 100mm black Kevlar fibre cones with phase plugs and one 25mm coated textile dome tweeter Enclosure type: Sealed, bi-wirable Frequency response: 80Hz-24kHz Sensitivity: 87dB/m @ 1W/1m Power handling: 150W Dimensions: 135(h) x 340(w) x 160(d)mm Quad L-ite active subwoofer Drive unit: One 250mm (10in) Tri-lam cone Enclosure type: Sealed Frequency response: 25-95Hz On-board power: 300W RMS Dimensions/Mass: 485(h) x 288(w) x 435(d)mm & 26Kg
Overall though, this is a well-appointed and capable performer. I just cant understand how Quad is able to offer so much for the wedge
When you buy into this system, you get two big, heavy cartons of gorgeous product for your money. The system offers great sound and is capable of delivering an
The subs crossover options range from 35-85Hz at six different point J U LY 0 7

58 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

HCC144.gt 58

21/5/07 2:27:50 pm

CONCLUSION
towards sibilance means it sits in fth place. The Audio Pro set was astonishing in that it sounded like a big system yet is a true plasma-on-the-wall marriage product. It only comes fourth due to the strength of the competition. The Quad L-ite system is a great big package of gorgeous woodwork and a slice of sexy sound, and at 1,000 represents something of a bargain. Its pipped to 2nd place by the re-voiced Acoustic Energy system, which is incredible value-for-money and a great performer, now with a much improved bass presence. But for sheer class, the Bowers & Wilkins system is head and shoulders above the rest. It shows how ltered-down technology benets less costly products
As ever, the choice of a system of speakers is going to have taste in appearance tempered
with performance. The least impressive set although still reasonably competent was the Focal Sib/Cub, a triumph of looks over actual function. Its weak woofer and tendency

RATINGS

1. BOWERS & WILKINS MT-20

975 (approx)

Highs: Power; clarity; detail Lows: Only space for thin speaker wire

Centre N/A

Overall 800 (approx)
2. ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGO T
Highs: Great value; improvement in subwoofer performance; detailed rich sound Lows: Not a lot

Sats 3. QUAD L-ITE 5.1

Overall 1,000 (approx)
Highs: Superb value for money; powerful sub; looks; good detail retrieval Lows: Subwoofer outclassed by top two rivals; satellites can sound sibilant when pushed

Fronts/Rears

Centre

4. AUDIO PRO PM-09

Highs: Full, rich sound; high-frequency detail; powerful dynamics Lows: Fiddly connnections; lacked something in lower mid-bass

5. FOCAL SIB 5.1 PACK

Highs: Price; looks Lows: Weak compared with rivals; tough and harsh when pushed

Overall

HCC144.gt 59

21/5/07 2:27:57 pm

042 EHC 10 sib and co speakers

13/12/04

9:44 am

Page 57

Speaker system
Key Features 5.1 channel sub/sat speaker system Magnetically-shielded Sib satellite speakers 125mm polyflex midrange unit 19mm Mylar dome tweeter Multiway baseplate Cub2 subwoofer 150W BASH amplifier front ported Down firing 210mm polyflex bass driver Connections Sib Single-wired nickel plated speaker connectors Cub2 Single line-level LFE phono input Stereo line-level phono inputs 2x pairs speaker inputs 2x pairs speaker outputs Dimensions Sib 247(h) x 164(d) x 142(w)mm Cub2 333(h) x 300(d) x 300(w)mm

Reviews> >

Focal Sib & Co Pack Sib 5.1
From accross the channel comes this funky-looking sub/sat syatem. Alan Sircom hooks up his home cinema system
HE SIB & CUB BECAME THE SIB & CO WHEN someone changed the tub in the Cub Sub. Perhaps they were down the pub when this happened. The Sib satellites have stayed the same, but are now joined by bigger Sibs, the XL and the XXL. This is the cheapest Focal sub/sat system, comprising five identical Sibs and a single Cub2 subwoofer, all for 750. The Sibs all sit on their Hip stands, but these can be supplanted with a pair of Hop floorstands, for 130 a pair. The Sibs are ported satellites, featuring a 19mm tweeter underneath the 125mm midrange unit. Its claimed to deliver sound from 75Hz to 20kHz, with a 90dB sensitivity and a rated minimum impedance of 4. The look is unconventional not unattractive, but different from the curvy norm. The norm doesnt come with built-in Allen keys in the stand to allow for manoeuvrability, though. The new Cub2 is more conventional looking, with a downward firing
The system has a dry, detailed balance
210mm bass unit, a front port and a 150W BASH amplifier. BASH designs are low-heat, Class D designs but with a sound that is suggested to approach Class AB sweetness. Its full of useful options like both stereo and mono phono connectors
What we like about this speaker system Very fast satellites, aided by new subwoofer Good, tight sound for home cinema Beautifully made package What we dont like about this speaker system Strange looking satellites Not the speaker system for music replay Subwoofer best reinforced by corner placement
and a front-firing aerodynamic port. Ultimately, the sub needs some corner reinforcement, but properly used can fill out a surprisingly large room. Its also a doddle to set-up, as is the rest of the Sib & Co system. If you use the LFE setting, all you adjust is the volume control the roll-off is handled in the amplifier. This is an intelligent design, especially the subwoofer. The Cub2 helps fill out the sound of the Sibs perfectly, making them sound less tinny and brash but does not slow down the sound of the system in the process. Vocal articulation is particularly well-handled with the Sib/Cub set-up. It has the reinforcement needed to add resonance to male voices. The system has a dry, detailed balance ideal for all types of home cinema. It doesnt emphasise the explosions end of the market, nor is it so civilised that it makes Die Hard seem like Amelie. This comes from a sense of precision in the sound produced by each speaker. As a package, the sound is even and accurate, yet manages to keep a sense of fun a balance few systems successfully achieve. Given that the five Sibs are identical, good speaker matching is a given. However, this doesnt mean the sound is seamless; the Sibs make a sound that stays close to the box; very detailed and fast, but not exceptionally open. This is not necessarily a stumbling block; it just means the soundstaging is more wallhugging than room-filling. This does make the speaker system less handy with music, especially stereo music on CD. Here, the lack of projection coupled with the overall balance gives the sound a tinny character. Focal has made intelligent improvements to the Sib & Cub. Leaving alone the parts that work well (the Sib), the company has made the package blend together and turn in a very tasty performance.
Crazy French styling, crazy French name. Nothing crazy about the binding post connections though

Verdict

Sales Web www.focal-fr.com
EASE OF USE LOOKS FEATURES SOUND VALUE
VERDICT Its easy to make a distinctive-looking sub-sat system, but hard to make one sound good. Focal is one of the few exceptions.

Overall

BEST RIVALS
KEF KHT 1005.Mordaunt-Short Genie 800 Scandyna Micropods 500
ESSENTIAL HI-FI & HOME CINEMA