Definitive Technology DV-98OH User Manual

Mainstream

MULTICHANNEL

Chris Martens

Definitive Mythos ST

5.1-Channel Speaker System

bout a year ago Definitive Technology
President Sandy Gross called me,

A

Tower speaker that will use a variation on those
mid/bass drivers you liked so much in our
ProCinema 1000 system. We’re going to call it the
Mythos ST.”

reviewed in Issue 168, featured mid/bass drivers
so sophisticated they would not have seemed out
of place in costly high-end stereo speakers. I had
often wondered what would happen if Definitive
used those drivers in a more ambitious speaker.

Tower and a Mythos model at the same time?”

floorstander with an aluminum enclosur
and deeper than past Mythos models, but styled
to have the traditional Mythos look. Each ST will
have a forward-firing D'Appolito array on top,
and a powered subwoofer on the bottom. And
each one will have the same bass output as one
of our SuperCube subwoofers.”

a Mythos enclosure?”

is too narrow for traditional round woofers.
Instead, we’ve designed ‘racetrack-shaped’ woofers and passive
radiators just for this speaker, and we’ll drive them with built-in
300-watt amps.”

Definitive’s past aluminum dome tweeters, though good, were not in
the same league as its superb mid/bass drivers.

“the Mythos ST struck me as being hands-down

the best-sounding speaker Definitive had yet
made — and one that arguably established
performance benchmarks in its price class.”

design elements to cut non-linear distortions in half. I think the new one
sounds much better, but you can judge for yourself when you hear them.”

impressed me from the outset. First, the speaker offered terrific amounts
of low-level detail and high-frequency “air” coupled with an underlying
treble smoothness. Second, it reproduced depth and imaging cues in an
effortless way, so that images broke free from the speaker cabinets.
Third, it delivered bass that was powerful, tightly controlled, and fast.
In short, the Mythos ST struck me as being hands-down the best-

sounding excited. “I wanted to tell you
we’re working on a new kind of Super

The $1649 ProCinema 1000 rig, which I

“So the new speaker is going to be a Super

“Yes,” Sandy replied. “It will be a slender

e, taller

“How will SuperCube drivers fit inside

“Oh, they won’t,” said Sandy. “The ST cabinet

“Are you doing a new tweeter, too?” I asked the question because

“Sort of,” Sandy said. “We’ve revamped our tweeter, tweaking lots of

I first heard the Mythos ST ($3798/pair) at CES 2007 and three things

for audiophile surround applications.

The Mythos ST system draws together three essential sonic qualities
— resolution, dynamics, and 3-D imaging — that add up to a fourth: a
t

o

uch of pure magic. Let me explain that comment in practical terms.

On film soundtracks, the ST system produces an articulate, neutrally
voiced and decidedly muscular sound that simply takes command of
most listening rooms. In the initial chase scene from Terminator III: Rise
of the Machines, a deadly robotic Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) drives
a motorized crane, pursuing John Connor (Nick Stahl) and his spouse­t

o

-be (Claire Danes) through crowded city streets. The ST system repro­duced the ensuing mayhem of the crane ripping through phone poles,
cars, and even buildings with terrific dynamic impact. Yet even through
the thickest action-film soundtracks, the ST system never lost sight of
two essential qualities: overarching clarity and low-level detail. In the
final shootout scene from Open Range, for example, the ST system
displayed both raw power (delivering the ear
individual gun shots) as well as impressive textural subtlety. You can
hear the ratcheting “clicks” of Colt revolvers being cocked, the sharp
“whir” of shards of wood sizzling through the air as shots go astray, or
the gently modulated moan of the prairie wind in the background. The
point is that the Definitive system weaves together small, seemingly
inconsequential details to create a fabric of sheer realism.

“Pure Magic”

sounding speaker Definitive had yet made — and
one that arguably established performance bench­marks in its price class. I considered doing an imme­diate review, but decided to wait until the compan­ion Mythos Ten center channel came out, so that I
could test a complete Mythos ST surround-sound
system. And now that I’ve heard that system, I can
confidently say its performance puts many higher­priced rigs to shame.

The Mythos Ten essentially takes the D’Appolito
array section of the ST, flips it on its side, then
stretches the chassis just enough to fit in a pair of
oblong passive radiators similar to, but smaller
than those used in the ST. The Ten’s bass doesn’t
reach as low as the ST’s, but its voicing is otherwise
identical to its bigger brother. Completing the

“I can confidently say its

performance puts many higher­priced rigs to shame.”

system is a pair of compact Mythos Gem XL
surround speakers, also based on two-way
D’Appolito arrays. Because the XLs are an earlier-gen­eration design, their drivers aren’t quite as sophisticat­ed as those in the ST and the Ten. Nevertheless, the
Gem XLs would easily qualify as main speakers in
most systems, meaning they’re more than adequate

-

splitting “craakkKK” of

MAINSTREAM MULTICHANNEL

But superb though the Mythos ST system is in a home-theater con­text, it is at its best when reproducing music — and the higher the res­olution the better. In fact, the biggest “problem” you might encounter
with the Mythos ST system could be finding electronics, source compo­nents, or recor

dings g

ood enough to tap its full potential.

“smooth neutral tonal balance; delicate and
extended highs; deep, powerful, and lightning­fast bass response; and the ability to capture
very fine levels of detail.”

Let’s start with the basics. The ST system is sensitive and easy to
drive, in part because its built-in power
lion’s share of the bass workload. (Definitive’s Sandy Gross, for exam­ple, drives his personal pair of Mythos STs with a modest 17Wpc tube
amplifier.) Further, the ST system offers smooth neutral tonal balance;
delicate and extended highs; deep, powerful, and lightning-fast bass
response; and the ability to capture very fine levels of detail. And there­in lies the genius, but also the only potential drawback, of this system.

The good news is that the ST system r
dynamic details more effectively than other systems at its price. For
instance, the ST shows how subliminal outdoor sounds — birds and
insects chirping or the rustle of a soft passing breeze — contribute
tremendously to the pastoral vibe of “The Park” from Feist’s The
Reminder [Cherrytree/Interscope]. But the not-always-good news is that
the Definitive rig sometimes exposes shortcomings in associated equip
m

ent or recordings. For example, the ST system shows how Feist’s

ed subwoofers shoulder the

e

solves subtle textural and

-

SPECS & PRICING

MYTHOS ST

Type: Three-way floorstanding

speaker with built-in powered
subwoofer

Drivers: One 1" aluminum

dome tweeter, two 5.25"
mid/bass drivers, one 6" x
10" “racetrack-shaped” woofer,
two 6" x 10" passive radiators

Frequency response:

14 Hz – 30 kHz

Built-in subwoofer amp:

300 watts

Sensitivity: 93 dB
Impedance: 4 – 8 ohms
Dimensions: 6.75" x 51.5"

x 9.5"

Weight: 70 lbs.

MYTHOS TEN

Type: Two-way center-channel

speaker

Drivers: Same tweeter and

mid/bass drivers as ST, but
with two 5" x 8" passive
radiators

Fr

equency response:

31 Hz – 30 kHz

Sensitivity: 92 dB
Impedance: 4 – 8 ohms
Dimensions: 6" x 34.5"

x 4.375"

Weight: 16.7 lbs.

MYTHOS GEM XL

Type: Two-way surr

speaker

Drivers: One 1" aluminum

dome tweeter, two 4.5" mid/
bass drivers

Frequency response:

50 Hz – 30 kHz

Sensitivity: 89 dB
Impedance: 4 – 8 ohms
Dimensions: 4.5" x 12.625"

x 5.5"

Weight: 7.25 lbs.
Price: $5395

DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY

11433 Cronridge Drive
Owings Mills, MD 21117
[phone]
definitivetech.com

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT

Oppo DV-98OH and NAD M55
universal players, Panasonic
DMP-BD10 Blu-ray disc
player, Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD
player, Arcam Solo Movie 5.1
universal player-A/V receiver,
Anthem Statement D2 A/V
controller and Statement P5
multichannel amplifier, JVC
HD-70FH96 70-inch HD RPTV,
RGPC 1200 power condition,
Ultralink/XLO cable system

ound

vocals vary in sound quality from track to track, ranging from dreamy
smoothness on “How My Heart Behaves” to a raw, hard-edged sound
on the closing chorus of “The Park.” For better or worse, the ST system
faithfully reports whatever it “hears.”

When recording quality is high, as on Sara Hickman’s luminous
vocals on “In the Fields” from Shortstop [Elektra], the ST system
becomes downright holographic, its rich details and overall sense of
“air” bringing vocals, instruments, and even the r
in a vivid way. And thanks to Definitive revamped tweeters, treble
details always remain smooth (a step forward from past Definitive
tweeters, which occasionally became a bit rough or coarse).

cording space to life

e

“downright holographic, its rich details
and overall sense of “air” bringing vocals,
instruments, and even the recording space to life
in a vivid way.”

Bass textures and transients likewise exhibit clarity, punch, and
speed. Listen to a recording that showcases acoustic bass, such as the
Blue Chamber Quartet’s arrangement of the Astor Piazzolla composition
“Kicho” (First Impressions [Stockfisch SACD]), and you’ll be floored to
hear how this system captur
growl of the instrument. The STs simply don’t do bass boominess, and
the longer you listen, the mor
end. The system has few drawbacks, and those that do arise almost
always result from excessive volume settings (a serious temptation,
given how gracefully the system plays at loud levels). On loud pro­longed pipe organ passages and the like, the subwoofer can be over­driven, resulting in momentary, atonal “chuffing” sounds. Similarly, at
very high levels the mid/bass drivers can exhibit hints of upper­midrange forwardness that bespeak strain. But at sane volumes, the
system rarely breaks a sweat.

Let me also offer two small perf
periodically to make sure the speakers’ metal floor spikes remain
firmly tightened into the speakers’ granite floorplates; the spikes can
“buzz” a bit if they work loose. Second, when using the STs in home­theater systems, run speaker cables to the STs as you normally would,
but also route line-level subwoofer signals to the speakers’ dedicated
LFE inputs. This subtle set-up touch gives the system fuller, better
balanced bass on movie soundtracks.

“

Definitive’s Mythos ST system is one of the

es the size, weight, and tightly focused

e you’ll appr

eciate their lithe, accurate low

o

rmance tips. First, check

rare few that sounds great on movies, but even
greater on music playback ... hear the ST system
expose rich new layers of information you’ve
never heard before.

Definitive’s Mythos ST system is one of the rare few that sounds great
on movies, but even greater on music playback. Exceptionally revealing,
the ST package will show you how your system components and favorite
films or tunes really sound. Don’t be surprised to hear the ST system
expose rich new layers of information you’ve never heard before — even
on materials you think you know well. In simple terms, the Mythos ST sys­tem places you in the performance ballpark of speaker systems
carrying five-figure price tags for about half the cost.

11433 Cronridge Dr. • Owings Mills, MD 21117 [phone]

Visit us at www.definitivetech.com

The Absolute Sound magazine, January 2008

”

TAS