Phase Technology dcb-1.0-lr Verweisanleitung

gistically as I listened to the 
Oue/Minnesota performance 
of the finale of Respighi’s 
Pines of Rome [30th Anni-
versary Sampler, Reference 
Recordings]. This passage 
is famous for the way its 
orchestration and dynam-
ics build in intensity toward 

a thunderous crescendo—a 
crescendo the DARTS sys-
tem captured beautifully.

My only criticisms of the 

system are minor. First, the 
DARTS system is not the last 
word in 3D imaging because 
its main speakers occasion-
ally draw too much attention 
to themselves on hard, 
upper midrange/treble 
transients. Second, the sys-
tem can on some material 
sound a little too bright, 
though I know it measures 
very well. This issue could 
easily be addressed, I 
think, if Phase Technol-
ogy adopts the new upper 
midrange “contour control” 
that Audyssey Laborato-
ries recently developed 
for use in its standalone 
room EQ products. 

Phase Technology’s 

DARTS system is a superb 
performer that offers good 
value for the money and 
provides an eye-opening 
glimpse at what I think will 
prove to be the future of 
loudspeaker system de-

sign. The greatest beauty of 
the system, though, is that 
it works for multiple listen-
ers at once, creating—as 
one Absolute Multimedia 
staff member put, “a gi-
ant sweet-spot that seems 
to be everywhere.”   

    

www.theperfectvision.com   March 2007

Phase Technology   

|   

(888) 742-7385  

|  

 www.phasetech.com

When DARTS 525 systems 
are sold, the dealer sends a 
DARTS-qualified installer to the 
user’s home to calibrate the 
system (the dealer may or may 
not charge for this service). The 
installer brings a calibration 
system consisting of a laptop 
equipped with test/calibra-
tion software, a calibrated 
microphone, and a special 
“umbilical” cord that connects 
the laptop to the DARTS 525 
system amplifier. The installer 
runs a series of laptop-driven 
tests (pulsed sweep tones that 

are played through each speaker 
in succession), taking multiple 
measurements from locations in 
and near every seat in the room.   

Once data gathering is 

complete, the installer runs a 
computation-intensive, Audyssey 
Laboratories-developed com-
puter program that calculates 
frequency and time response 
correction filters for each speaker 
in the system. Phase Technol-
ogy offers users four possible 
EQ tuning curves to allow for 
rooms that are large or small 
and whose acoustics may be 

reverberant or dead. For rever-
berant spaces, the system rolls 
off upper midrange and treble 
response a bit to compensate for 
the fact that “live” rooms tend 
to make speakers sound overly 
bright. Once a preferred EQ tun-
ing curve is selected, the install-
er downloads filter settings to 
the amplifier’s DSP engines via 
a faceplate-mounted USB port. 

As the last step in the set-up 

process, the installer discon-
nects the calibration system 
and configures the system’s 
preamp/multichannel control-

ler to drive the DARTS 525 
amplifier. During the data 
analysis process, DARTS 
calibration software calculates 
recommended speaker distance 
settings (accurate to with a 
tenth of a foot) and channel 
level settings (accurate to with a 
tenth of a dB). The installer then 
connects the controller to the 
DARTS amplifier and loads the 
recommended settings, at which 
point the system is ready to play 
music or movie soundtracks 
in a way most people have 
not experienced before. 

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Bass Dynamics

Bass Pitch Definition

Bass Extension

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Dynamics

Tonal Balance

Imaging and Soundstaging

Transparency and Focus

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Value

216-1033