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FALL 2005 PHASE TECHNOLOGY PRESS COVERAGE
Excerpt from Audioholics
Phase Technology dARTS Speaker System by Gene DellaSala
Working closely with two other American manufacturers, D2 Audio and Audyssey Laboratories, Phase
Technology has engineered their ultimate expression for a music and theater with un-compromised
performance. Whether your needs are for stereo reproduction or any of the many surround sound
implementations, and whether the room is large or small, Phase Technology’s Digital Audio Reference Theater
System (dARTS) can provide a solution. The system will be available in several different form factors, to
accommodate virtually any room’s aesthetics or other installation challenges.
Phase Technology’s philosophy with dARTS is to elegantly design an entire purpose-built system from the
ground up, allowing speaker design, amplifier design, and room acoustic measurement and correction
parameters to all work together as a seamless whole. According to them, this allows all speakers to be
matched to each other in frequency response, dispersion and sensitivity, yielding a (theoretically) perfect blend
as sound moves from one channel to another. Each speaker driver can be specifically engineered to do
exactly what’s needed, instead of relying on a “one size fits all” approach. The multi-channel amplifiers can be
designed to precisely meet the needs of the speakers, with the proper amount of power applied to each
individual driver, and frequency contouring to offset the natural response of each. The subwoofer can be
designed to provide not only ample output, but to match the speed and articulation of the other speakers, and
blend perfectly as it crosses over.
With dARTS all you need is pre-amp/processor, a DVD player, Display and some seating and you’re ready to
go. Expect a full-fledged system to set you back about $15k. The price of admission is relatively cheap
considering the amount of technology this system packs. The dARTS system is definitely on our list for most
wanted review of 2006. We welcome the opportunity to personally put it through its paces.
Excerpt from Audioholics
Phase Technology New Arté On-Wall Speakers by Gene DellaSala
Phase Technology showed a new on-wall speaker designed to complement the look of flat-screen video
displays. The new Arté on-wall speaker features a slim, crescent-shaped design that makes a spectacular
accent when installed around wall-mounted displays.
The new Arté on-wall speaker will be introduced in soon at a retail price of $1,400 a pair. Just one pair creates
three front channels of sound with a slim, crescent-shaped design that makes a spectacular accent when
installed around wall-mounted flat panel displays. Featuring dual 5-1/4" woofers as well as the company's own
1" soft dome tweeter, Arté will come in both a black finish and metallic silver to let installers create a seamless
look for the entire entertainment system no matter which model flat panel display is used.
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Excerpt from Stereophile.com
Phase Technology and Audyssey play dARTS! By Kalman Rubinson
August 15, 2005 — In this, it’s 50th year of company operations, Phase Technology
demonstrated a new type of loudspeaker system. The series, named dARTS for Digital Audio Reference
Theater System, is obviously aimed at the custom-install, home-theater market, but the components and
concepts are applicable to music reproduction in any number of channels. As described by PT's director of
sales and marketing, Tony Weber, the dARTS system is (1) modular and (2) actively powered and equalized
by DSP, incorporating Audyssey
The modular speaker elements consist of a two-way main (DCB1.0-LR), a three-way center (DCB5.0-C), a
two-way dipole/bipole surround (DCB-SURR), and a subwoofer (DCB210-S) with 2 10" drivers and a 500W
BASH amplifier. All but the subwoofer are composed of various combinations of the same 6.5"
glass/honeycomb-cone woofer/midrange and 1" soft-dome tweeter. (The soft-dome tweeter, by the way, was
invented by PT's founder, Bill Hecht.) All speakers are being made available for custom (in-wall) installation,
for on-wall installation, or as freestanding cabinets and, in an effort to permit maximum flexibility, are identically
voiced, at the factory, so that the different versions can be mixed as needed.
This is accomplished via the DP-2000 digital amp/controller, which is factory-set for the specific speaker
system that it is shipped with, so that every element is completely balanced (±0.1%!) as well as phase- and
time-aligned with the others. The data are also stored at the factory, so that, in the event that a speaker or
driver is replaced, the DP-2000 can be updated to perfectly integrate the new element into the system. The
DP-2000 box is simplicity itself with 16 single-ended analog inputs and 16 D2Audio digital amps (each with onboard DSP and memory, and capable of 125Wpc into 8ohms, 250Wpc into 4ohms), as well as an obligatory
USB jack for communication with the PC. The 16 channels of amplification permit the multi-amping of all the
speakers in a 7.1 or 7.2 system. (Remember the center is a three-way!)
After the dARTS system is physically installed in a listening/viewing location, the installer then finalizes the
system with a new and more flexible version of the Audyssey MultiEQ XT. Unlike prior appearances of this
system in home theater receivers, the measurement and programming is accomplished in a separate PC and
then downloaded into the DP-2000. The advantages of this include a more flexible user interface, the capacity
for more measurement locations in each room (up to 16), faster calculations, and easier software updates.
Unfortunately, this means that the measurement and programming is not user accessible, as PT places this in
the hands of custom installers. Still, the cost of the install kit is less than $500 and I can see a demand for it
from many hands-on users, especially since Audyssey suggests re-equalizing when any element in the system
or the listening room is changed. Otherwise, call your installer when you get new drapes.
The demo system was the custom-install black-box renditions, but prototypes of the snazzy freestanding units
were on display as well. Demos were mostly movies but the system was powerful and clean. As in past
Audyssey demos, Chris Kyriakakis provided several A/B comparisons, and the improvements wrought by
adding MultiEQ XT were apparent. Chris also pointed out that, since the system "knows" the capabilities of the
amps and the speakers, it is possible to run them to, but not beyond, their limits with security. Perhaps this
hotel ballroom had fewer and different characteristics than more familiar listening rooms or, as PT president
Ken Hecht suggested, the dARTS system comes from the factory better balanced and integrated than typical
systems. Nonetheless, the effect of MultiEQ XT was quantitatively less than I have experienced with more
modest systems.
Pricing for complete systems ranges from $14,500 (5.1) to $17,500 (7.2) with the user's choice of dipole/bipole
or direct-radiator surround speakers, all including the DP-2000 amp/controller. Clearly, the technology is
widely applicable and, I think, a harbinger of future domestically compatible sound systems with outstanding
performance.
's MultiEQ XT for digital room correction.
announced and
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Excerpt from the CE Home Pro Weblog
CEDIA Brims with Cool New Products by Robert Archer
Phase Technology: The company's dARTS speaker system employs room-correction DSP technologies to
provide homeowners with a multi-channel speaker system that's capable of dealing with the problems of smallroom acoustics. To give you an idea of how impressive this system is I heard this system in a hotel conference
room that featured a drop ceiling, as well as reflective walls and ceilings. In a 15-minute demo this system
sounded smooth and balanced, it also filled the room up with audio with no hint of strain.
Excerpt from AVGuide Monthly
Phase Technology dARTS – Best of CEDIA 2005, Loudspeakers
by Chris Martens
For decades Phase Technology has been a behind-the-scenes loudspeaker-manufacturing powerhouse,
acting quietly as the OEM producer of speaker systems that carry the logos of some of the most respected
high-end firms in our industry. But now, with the advent of the firm's new digital audio reference theater system
(dARTS), we think Phase Technology will achieve broader recognition in its own right—and rightfully so.
dARTS is an extremely high performance, audiophile-grade, DSP-controlled, multi-channel loudspeaker
system that comes with its own Class D amplifiers. To create dARTS, Phase Technology teamed with two
technology partners: D2Audio, developers of the dARTS amplifier, and Audyssey Laboratories, developers of
the DSP control system. Many speakers use DSP to manage loudspeaker crossover points and to set voicing,
equalization, and time alignment parameters, and Audyssey's MultEQ XT system does all this and more.
Specifically, MultEQ XT measures and models room acoustics and room-speaker interactions, then applies
advanced, "fuzzy logic" algorithms to generate individualized, DSP-driven speaker compensation curves that—
get this—enable the system to optimize frequency response at multiple locations within the listening space at
once. Almost unbelievably, the system works like a charm! In fact, the MultEQ XT system works with such
speed and precision that Phase Technology needed to develop faster-responding driver units to tap the
system's full potential. The result: A landmark speaker system that is chockfull of purist-grade audiophile
virtues and that sounds good not just in one central "sweet spot" but virtually everywhere in the room.
Excerpt from Widescreen Review
Most Astonishing Audio, CEDIA 2005
by Danny Richelieu & John Kotches
The demonstration of Phase Technology’s dARTS system was really enjoyable. This active loudspeaker
system features digital crossovers, equalization with room correction, boundary compensation and
amplification, all in one package at a price that will seriously turn heads when available for sale. Sonics were
very good in an overly large hotel conference room and I can only imagine they would be even better when
moved into an acoustically treated more modestly sized home theater.
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