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New Phase Tech PC Surround Bipolar Dipolar Switchable Speaker Home Studio USA.
Phase Technology PC Surround Speaker
Getting in phase
Phase Technology PC Surround is a hybrid design. It is a dipolar speaker of the non-THX variety as well as being bipolar in design. How is this possible? Well, the PC Surround features a switch that enables you to alter its radiation pattern from dipolar to bipolar mode depending on your preference. Each PC Surround utilizes five drivers -- two 1" soft-dome tweeters, two 4" polypropelene midranges, and a single 6.5" solid-piston woofer. One tweeter and one midrange are arranged in a vertical array on one of two baffles that are angled slightly inward on either side of the speaker cabinet, and the single woofer fires directly into the room on the side that is opposite the wall. Actually, if you think about it, only the tweeter and midrange sections will have a dipolar or bipolar radiation pattern, and the single woofer will presumably be in phase with one of the pairs of tweeters and midranges. Each speaker is 14 3/4"H by 14 3/4"W by 6"D and weighs in at a hefty 16 pounds. Like most surround loudspeakers, the PC Surround is designed to be placed against a side or rear wall. Because I do not have proper side walls in my room, I mounted the speakers on the rear wall, about a foot behind the couch and approximately two feet above the listener’s position. The PC Surrounds performed well there, and I did not experiment further with positioning. The owner's manual recommends placing the PC Surrounds slightly above the listening position and to the sides or rear of the room, but gives little advice on speaker placement otherwise.
The tweeters feature a "proprietary Unicell acoustic treatment" that looks suspiciously like neoprene foam. Each tweeter is surrounded by a circular piece of this material that is flush-mounted on the baffle to reduce unwanted cabinet diffractions. Other manufacturers utilize strips of foam or pieces of felt to reduce diffraction, and these materials can be purchased as "tweaks" to modify speakers that do not employ them. I can attest to the usefulness of these devices as I use a pair of them on the already excellent NHT Super Zeros and find that the imaging is improved, if only slightly.
The PC Surround speakers are solidly built and have removable end caps and cloth socks that cover the drivers. The end caps are finished in a textured laminate that is quite attractive, and the angled baffles and cloth coverings give the speakers a softer look.
The PC Surrounds are rated with a sensitivity of 89dB, an impedance of 6 ohms, and a frequency response of 55Hz to 22kHz. Minimum amplifier power is recommended at 20 watts. Judging by the specifications, these should not be particularly difficult speakers to drive. This is a good thing considering the sound levels present in the surround channels of many recent digital soundtrack mixes. I informally measured the bass response of these speakers in my two-channel rig, which resides in a different room from my home-theater system. The response was down about 3dB below 55Hz, with usable bass down to 35Hz or so judging from what my trusty old Radio Shack SPL meter was reading and what I could hear and feel.
