For those of you who read my review of the B&W 705 bookshelves, you might be thinking that this was supposed to be a review of the B&W 803D speakers. Well, I kinda...uhm...ran into a problem at the dealer. He saw through my BS about my budget. When one comes in to demo the 705s, then comes in next week asking about the 803Ds, I guess it does tend to look a tad suspicious. Long story short, I kinda got shuffled around the 803Ds (sorry 8118...I tried...). I really would've liked to hear those speakers.
On the flipside, I was exposed to an
excellent loudspeaker. I was even more amazed after my extended listening session of the awesomely low asking price (which I'll get to at the END of the review...so just ya'll wait). So, as obviously indicated by the title of this thread, that speaker was the Phase Technology PC-9.1 floorstander. For those of you who don't know about Phase Technology (which was me until today), they are the second oldest American speaker manufacturer, right behind Klipsch (and not by much, only a few years). They also invented the soft dome tweeter. Yes, you read that right. This is not the "reinvented" or the "invented" meaning they "revolutionized" a product (marketing speak for marginal improvements in an established design). No, the litereally created the soft dome tweeter. In addition to this accomplishment, Phase Tech makes all of their products in-house. Cabinets, drivers, crossovers, everything. They've been an OEM for companies like Fischer and McIntosh. Alright, I'll stop rambling about background information. I just wanted to make the point that this is not some no-name speaker that buys all of its parts from other manufacturers and pays some grossly underpaid Chinese worker to assemble their speakers. This is a product that you can point to in your room and proudly say, "Made in the U.S.A. Every bit of 'em."
First Impressions
Disclaimer: The PC 9.1 Speakers are 4 Ohm Speakers. You will need a beefy receiver or separate amp to drive them at loud volumes.
These speakers are pretty hefty for their size at 84lbs each (shipping weight, net is probably closer to 70). They're not that big (45-1/2" (H) x 8-1/4" (W) x 14" (D)), but they aren't going to disappear into the room like a cute set of bookshelves or, Heaven forbid, cubes. They're fairly narrow, so their appearance, especially with the grilles on, is quite elegant. The grilles' angled shape is unique and subtle, helping to "de-box" the appearance of the speakers. The finish is also very nice. The speakers are available in real wood veneers of Cherry, Honey Oak, and Black Ash. They aren't the best finish I've seen on a speaker, but they aren't ugly by any stretch. I was listening to a pair with a cherry veneer. It had a very nice, vibrant tone to it that had a nice, understated but still high-quality look to it. The clear coat was also nicely applied, no obvious blemishes or inconsistencies. Lastly, the speakers featured rounded edges, a classy touch that helps to take away the otherwise boxy appearance. Combined, these attributes really invite a caress and help the speakers to fit in nicely to the room.
Listening
I started out my set with a song from one of my favorite albums,
Hey Nineteen off
Gaucho, by my all-time favorite band,
Steely Dan. The last time I listened to this song at the dealer, my ears started to bleed from the insanely bright B&W 705 speakers. The recording was still quite bright on the Phase Techs, but not painful like the B&Ws. The more natural treble was the first thing I noticed about the 9.1s. I was really digging their sound. The midrange was also free of the "compressed" sound that I experienced on the B&Ws. Fagen's voice seemed much more effortless over the Phase techs. The bass was very tight and authoritative. TONS of slam. The soundstage and imaging were also impressive. Fagen was front and center (as he SHOULD be), and the other instruments were spread out across the listening plane. The harmonized section after the main verses, "The Cuervo Gold..." sounded very broad, but without being unnaturally huge. I was
really starting to dig the sound of these Phase Techs. Unlike the 705s that I had auditioned before (on all the same gear, cabling, room, etc.), these speakers were disappearing into the room. I was listening to Steely Dan, not Steely Dan played through speakers into a room. If you've never experienced this, I must say, it is an enlightening experience. This kind of performance is what this whole hobby is about.
Next up was the title track off the same album. The same great soundstage and imaging were again present. The sax sounded somewhat unnatural, but as I would later find out with some other recordings, it was the sound processing used on the album that rendered the sound as it was. Chalk one up for the 9.1s. They let me know that Becker and Fagen (actually, really just Fagen on this album) were processing whores and should've laid off a bit.
I unfortunately only had one jazz album with some quality piano stuff on it to listen to, that being Keith Jarret's recently released
The Out of Towners. The piano seemed out of balance with the rest of the other two band members. As I turned up the volume to get to what I would consider "normal" for a jazz club (yes, I do frequent the club, and I know what this SHOULD sound like), the piano was overpowering the the drums and bass. I'm not sure if this was the fault of the speakers having an over-emphasized midrange, or if the recording just had bad levels. Seeing how I didn't noticed over-emphasized midrange on any of my other stuff, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the recording was at fault and the speakers only showed me what was on the disc.
By this time, I felt the need for some harder stuff. For some loud music (...okay it was all loud, but I REALLY cranked it for this one...). I removed Keith Jarret and dropped in the remastered CD of
Wish You Were Here. I proceeded to listen to the first track,
Shine On You Crazy Diamond. I selected this track for several reasons. First off, I wanted to rock the listening room. Second, I felt the need for some Floyd. 'Nuff said. Thirdly, I wanted to see how huge these speakers could sound when the song really ramps up and climaxes with the chorus, "SHIIIIINE OOOOON YOU CRAAAAAAZY DIIIIIAMOND!" I cranked the Rotel preamp up, sat back, and closed my eyes. The soundstage was wonderful. Very full and wide. I proceeded to go into "Mega-Groove-Mode" as the speakers disappeared into the room. The song really starts to open up when the drums come in. The Phase Techs didn't flinch. I didn't have an SPL meter with me, but I would have to guess that I was pushing well over 100dB on these things. No distortion. Nothing bad going on. Only endless clarity, soundstaging, and headroom.
Then came the chorus.
I'm at a loss for words to describe how awesome it is to listen to Pink Floyd at concert levels on speakers that can give you a "Wall Of Sound" experience (no pun intended...but damn it it's there). I was transported to the Pink Floyd province of Music Land at this point. I was definitely
heading there up to this point (and I'll tell you, it's quite a lovely flight), but at this moment, I was gone. Afterwards I only wished that I had brought
Pulse so I could get the live ambience.
I paused for awhile after my 13 minute Pink Floyd excursion to let my hearing recover. I knew that if I had the money on me, I would be buying those speakers before I left the store. Alas, I was shortfunded.
Next up on the set list was
Desperado by
The Eagles. Selected tracks were
Doolin' Dalton, Tequila Sunrise, and
Desperado. Acoustic guitar sounds marvelous on the Phase Techs. During the opening of
Doolin' Dalton, I could've sworn that my friend Jon was sitting on a stool to my left, strumming away. The guitar was that real. The piano on
Desperado was equally suberb. The piano had good authority and size in the soundstage, but unlike the Keith Jarret recording, it was mixed properly and didn't overshadow the other instruments. The best part about listening to
The Eagles on the Phase Techs was Don Henley's vocals. Amazing. Don Henley was standing in front of me, his voice floating out over the band, smooth like silk. You owe it to yourself as an
Eagles fan to listen to them on these speakers. It's that magical.
Next up was another sampling of
Steely Dan. This time it was one of my all-time favorite tunes,
Deacon Blues off of
Aja. This recording is much less bright than
Gaucho and sounded awesome over the Phase Techs. The soundstage was nice and wide with Fagen and his Rhodes front and center. The sax solo sounded great on this album, reinforcing my belief that Gaucho is overprocessed. I grooved my way through this song, enjoying every second of it. Like the other songs, the 9.1s disappeared into the room and left the music to play.
The review concludes in the next post.
