99 W10.16 Review - Part 1
Introduction
XTZ is a Swedish company formed in 2003. They are what's commonly referred to as an ID (Internet Direct) company because they don't have any dealers, nor do they sell through retail chains. Their product line consists of speakers, subwoofers, amplifiers, cables, stands, a room analyzer and a PC multi-media system. For a company that's been in business for only 8 years they offer a rather impressive array of products.
XTZ is well regarded in Europe, but until September of 2011 they had no presence in North America. That's all changed now; they've opened a distribution center in Chicago, and are now selling products in the US and Canada. At the moment they're still ramping up, building their US stock gradually, so the Europeans have twice the number of products available to them. That's constantly changing though, so in the not too distant future the products should be commensurate.
The NA and corporate websites are listed in the first post. Currently, the NA site is a bit rough; prices are listed with a comma instead of a period, there are a few links that go nowhere, some words didn't get translated properly, etc. They're working on those issues now, but I have no ETA for when that will all be rectified.
The subject of this review is the 99 W16.10 subwoofer. It houses a 10" driver in an enclosure that can either be bass reflex or acoustic suspension (how is that possible? read on to find out). The amp is rated at 300 watts RMS, while the frequency response is listed as 25-250Hz (+/-3dB). XTZ offers a 3 year warranty and a 30 day in-home trial, which is pretty standard for ID companies.
Why does this subwoofer have such a unique name? I'm not sure, actually. It seems like most of their speakers come with interesting names, replete with some type of numerical designation. The .10 portion at the end is easy, because it has a 10" driver, but the rest I'm not certain of.
Ordering
Purchasing from XTZ was easy, for me anyway. Since I was the first person to buy something in the US my dealings were directly with the CEO of the company. At the moment payments are done through PayPal. Since PayPal does accept credit cards it's not too much different then how you would pay for something from any other ID company, but I have discussed with the CEO about accepting direct payments as well.
My subwoofer was shipped the day after it was ordered, arriving just three days later. Considering the overall weight the charge for shipping was quite reasonable, about half what I estimated it would be.
Unboxing
It seems most companies double box subwoofers these days, but not XTZ; mine came triple boxed! I have never received a piece of electronic equipment that was in so many boxes. There were styrofoam sheets on all 4 vertical sides, as well as molded styrofoam ends on the top and bottom. The subwoofer was hermetically sealed in a film of plastic, and then it was placed inside a plastic bag. There was even a thin sheet of foam between the grill and cabinet, to ensure no rubbing damage occurred. All-in-all the packaging job was excellent.
I did notice that the inner box had been opened previously. When I inquired as to why that was the CEO told me it was because every subwoofer is checked before it leaves their facility. In essence, that means each of them is verified to be functioning properly before it gets shipped to the customer. I find that level of QC highly unusual, but very impressive. I'm not aware of any other company that goes to that extreme to ensure their products work correctly before they're sent to the customer.
Initial Impressions
Most of the XTZ subwoofers are available in 3 finishes; gloss black, matte black and white. I much prefer the matte black but they were not going to be available in the US until late November, so I opted for the gloss black instead.
One of the first things you notice is the weight; this subwoofer tips the scales at a hefty 56 pounds! For those keeping score that's what an HSU VTF-1 weighs, yet the XTZ is considerably smaller. It's about a dozen pounds heavier than an Emotiva X-Ref 12, and 20 pounds more than an SVS SB12-NSD. Needless to say, this is one stout little subwoofer. The cabinet is made from 1" MDF, which is thicker than the .75" most other subs in this price range use. That's thicker than subs costing far more, to be honest. If you're a person who equates substantial weight to high quality -- which most of us do -- than you'll like this one. It definitely feels solid.
All the screws used to secure the driver and the amp were completely tight, and none were stripped. The construction of the grill was absolutely flawless, even how the fabric was stretched. If you peer into the ports you'll see the cabinet walls are lined with damping material. The bottom has no damping sheets, but it's coated with some type of sprayed on sound deadening with the consistency of sand paper. Also visible is a huge Toroidal transformer on the amp, easily the size of an orange.
The high gloss finish is very nice, but there are some hazy "spider web" like scratches that can be seen if you know what to look for. I should perhaps qualify that statement; for several years I detailed -- not washed and waxed, but detailed -- very expensive cars as a side job. As such, I can spot flaws and imperfections most others probably can't. If you use a camera flash, or place the subwoofer directly under a florescent light, you can see the haze. Sitting in a room that uses normal lighting, or for those with far less discerning eyes, you might not even be able to see them. But I can, so I thought it was worth noting.
There's also a slight blemish on the top panel, in the back right. It's under the paint, as though the cabinet may not have been fully sanded in that one spot before the paint was applied. This is probably another thing that most people would be unable to notice though, because I had to look hard before I saw it.
Overall, the appearance is very appealing. The design doesn't break any new ground, but it's quite pleasant nonetheless. The rounded corners are a nice touch too. Virtually everywhere you look it simply exudes quality. It's evident XTZ takes a lot of pride in how they put things together. The only glaring exception would be the toggle switches on the amp; they look like something you could have gotten at Home Depot. Other than that minor quibble I have no problem with XTZ's quality, or the materials they used.
The driver cone is paper based, which is my preference; I happen to like the "warmth" that a non-metallic subwoofer driver imparts. It's a proprietary XTZ design, as is the amplifier. They do use OEM drivers -- like Peerless -- in some of their other speakers and subs, but this one is a custom design.