Phase Technology Premier PC 9.1 Brochure
the audiophile voice
60
HE
PC 9.1 THREE-
WAY
tower loudspeaker is a component of Phase
Technology’s Premier Collection,
the company’s official entrant into
the high-end marketplace. The manufacturer, Phase Technology’s parent, United Speaker Systems of
Jacksonville, FL, was established by
industry legend and audio inventor
Bill Hecht over 47 years ago. The
company has enjoyed continuous
family ownership ever since, which
should be rather gratifying to audiophiles who have any sense of history, considering a raft of buyouts,
mergers and bankruptcies in audio
over the last several years. [Editor’s
Snide Aside: Why, Bruce-ster, my
man, whatever firms are you referring to? If you instead meant to
write about hi-fi magazines, well,
then I could easily chime in. But
seriously, this batch of hi-fi and
audio pioneers leaving us is getting
serious. I wrote about Henry Kloss
last issue, and I ought to have mentioned Craig Stark, who was the
long-time tape guy at Stereo Review
who went on ahead last November
1st, as well as Bob Long, the longtime Technical Editor at High
Fidelity who led the way last August
.— Gene Pitts.]
Observing this company for a
number of years, it appears Phase
Technology is ever addressing consumer preferences, developing technical solutions and offering new
products. Creation of the now ubiquitous soft-dome tweeter over 30
years ago is just one of many inno-
vations attributable to Bill Hecht
and company. Son Ken Hecht
serves as president of the company
which is an all-USA establishment
offering various models of twochannel, home theater, in-wall, onwall and all-weather loudspeaker
lines. The company conducts its
own in-house engineering, development, manufacturing and testing
and is the OEM past and present for
numerous well-known loudspeaker
brands. A casual observer may perceive the company focusing on the
mid-market, yet with modern, innovative engineering and manufacturing efforts, the output of the patentholding design staff looks beyond a
single market niche.
A couple of years past I was
afforded the opportunity to review
Phase Technology’s remarkable
Teatro 7.5 loudspeaker, a modestsized, two-way tower which offers
value and performance well beyond
its $650.00 price (see TAV Vol. VI,
No. 2). Therefore, when I first heard
the Premier PC 9.1 prototype early
in 2001, I was immediately
intrigued by the possibilities and
their $2000.00 per pair pricing. The
PC 9.1s are one of six models in
Phase Tech’s Premier Collection,
each of which features cutting-edge
driver design and innovative diffraction control. The PC 9.1s are not
Teatro 7.5s on steroids; instead,
they represent Phase Technology’s
latest developments and a firm
statement in the high-end without
budget-breaking pricing. If you
T
Chuck Bruce
Phase TTechnology
Premier PPC 99.1 SSpeaker
Reprinted from:
“...by audiophiles for audiophiles.”
liked the Teatro 7.5s, it’s very likely
you’ll love the PC 9.1s.
Design and Technology
Cutting to the chase: The PC 9.1
is a three-way system that is 45
inches tall, uses five drivers, has a
narrow front baffle, and is ported in
the front. The pair provided for
review were finished in black ash
(other wood finishes are available)
and all feature robust, internally
braced MDF cabinetry. A sharp
knuckle rap to the cabinet
reveals little vibration that
might color acoustic performance nor did I detect significant cabinet resonances at
normal to elevated listening
levels. The cabinets are tastefully designed with rounded
edges, and the stylish black
grills and bases are finished off with
tapered one-inch skirts which add a
sense of style and refinement. All
are quite pleasing to the eye and
they should easily meld into the
audio or A/V room without fanfare.
The PC 9.1’s driver compliment
includes a single one-inch, softdome tweeter (patent #3328537)
and one 1-inch, soft-dome
midrange driver. The tweeter is
termed to have a “variable axis” as
the firing angle is user adjustable.
Both drivers are surrounded with
Unicell, which is Phase Tech’s proprietary, uniform-density anti-diffraction foam treatment. This stuff is
a directional-pore foam, comprised
of a heavily compressed, race car
oil-filter type material that has been
adapted for audio. This material
goes beyond traditional felt or foam
materials typically applied for
acoustic radiation control. Phase
Tech applies a higher level of materials engineering by using the pores
to direct the acoustic waves in a
uniform pattern away from the
tweeter and midrange drivers and
off the cabinet face or baffle, thus
limiting “stray” reflections.
The three six-inch Kevlar-laminated mid/woofer drivers feature
patented (#4,566,178) rigid polymer
foam (RPF), solid flat-piston radiators. Two of these drivers serve as
deep bass radiators for frequencies
below 100 Hz and are positioned
near the floor for bass reinforcement
(as is the large front-exiting port).
The third 6-inch driver is positioned
higher on the cabinet, close to and
augmenting the midrange; it operates up to 800 Hz, where it also
augments the tweeter. The use of
RPF is said to inhibit driver breakup.
Other quality features used by
Phase Tech include butyl rubber
surrounds and cast aluminum-alloy
baskets.
Sound radiates from these
mid/woofers as if it were coming
from a vertical line-source array. To
this listener, the drivers presented a
coherent planar-like acoustic field,
free from lobing, hot-spots and
other aberrations that are usually
noticeable when sitting off-axis or if
you’re using less well-thought out
loudspeakers. The stand-up, sitdown test, plus moving around the
room, reveals an above-average offaxis listening experience. This loudspeaker does not demand a head-invice listening position to achieve a
sweet spot, so several guests can
enjoy the experience from an audioonly setup or from home theater
system. Sensitivity is stated at 92 dB
SPL, and the nominal impedance is
4 ohms, which allows use of moderate power tube or solid-state gear.
The crossover points are at 800 Hz
and 3000 Hz, with the 3-dB lowfrequency rolloff point occurring at
a respectable 32 Hz with bass that
maintains its tightness all the way
down.
An amazing amount of additional
low bass was projected when the
system supported by room boundaries. Due to this extended response
and even when playing in a home
theater system, the PC 9.1 does not
demand a subwoofer. Unless you’re
interested in shakin’ up some distant
neighbors or dry cleaning your
pants, I don’t think you’ll find that
the PC 9.1s demand a subwoofer.
The system features “absolute
phase” crossovers, which Phase
Tech says maintain precise balance
and insure the system is acoustically
and electronically in phase. The PC
9.1’s extremely smooth response
confirms something positive is going
on inside the electro-acoustical networks. These systems are provided
with removable spikes, are bi-wireable with medium quality, standardspaced, five-way binding posts and
weigh-in, unboxed, at about 80
pounds each.
The Sound
Right out of the box, you’ll not
likely encounter a sweeter, more
neutral or more refined top end than
this loudspeaker presents, all while
exhibiting substantial detail and
nuance. Another outstanding feature
is that they also maintain top-to-bottom balance and fine detail while
playing at low levels.
The spacious multidimensional imaging is
among the finest I have
heard at this or any price
point. The better the amplification or program content,
the better they apparently
perform. Pour on high-test
recordings and these loud-
speakers leap to the task. This loudspeaker appears to offer this
attribute due to the low distortion, a
characteristic especially attributed
to the 1-inch, soft-dome tweeter.
Co-designer Ken Hecht indicates
that many hours were expended
during development and testing to
eliminate distortion from all of the
drivers, but especially the midrange
and tweeters. When you build ‘em
in house, you can control the results
instead of modifying or fixing the
work of others. The smooth dispersion characteristics are also aided
by the aforementioned Unicell antidiffraction treatment surrounding
the tweeter and midrange drivers.
The tweeter’s variable-axis geometry also provides a reasonable
amount of steering into the listening
area and the subsequent soundstage
control helps a good deal in optimizing the presented musical event.
The 9.1s are likely to be one of
the very best-mannered loudspeakers you’ll encounter any time soon
and are especially appealing at their
mid-level price point of $2000.00
for the pair. I can attest the PC 9.1s
will appear at home with any goodquality power amplification,
whether solid-state or vacuum tube.
The same is true for program content; I found them extremely flexible
and they were able to handle most
any material with aplomb, rarely if
ever losing their composure.
Voices are especially well delineated and devoid of coloration or
“chestiness.” Piano transient attacks
and harmonic content were equally
well recreated, chimes and bells
were crystalline and string
the audiophile voice
61
You’re not likely to
encounter a sweeter,
more-neutral top end.
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