Definitive Technology HT1004 User Manual

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ferent sonic character than you

might be used to, largely because

the Mythos speakers feature a 

forward-radiating design, not a

bipolar one. As a result, the sound-

stage isn’t as big as that of the

larger bipolar towers. There’s

something here that’s equally as

Gems (plus the Mythos Twos,

which the company sent me before

they had a pair of Gems ready for

me to listen to) with the intention

that there would be a subwoofer in

the system, so there’s no midbass

peak designed into the speakers.

Some manufacturers use this trick

to fool the listener into thinking

there’s bass where there is none. 

In addition to detrimentally altering

the sonic balance, such a peak

makes it more difficult to 

smoothly integrate the speakers

with a subwoofer.

That’s a rather bold step because,

if you put these speakers on a demo

wall in a store and compare them

with another speaker that’s been

voiced with a peak in the midbass,

your first reaction is likely to be that

the Mythos are a little thin and

weak, rather than highly accurate

and neutral. But, here again, your

thinking would be going in the

wrong direction. Add a subwoofer,

such as the SuperCube II, and–

like a rich socialite with a dark

past–these mild-mannered, highly

refined beauties turn into adrena-

line-pumping, take-no-prisoners

competitors that will eat for lunch

(belch included) just about any

other system in the price range.

The system’s blending of bass

and beauty is quite astounding. I’ve

rarely run into a combination where

it was so easy to match the sub-

woofer to the speakers–or a combi-

nation that sounded so natural

together. It’s as if they were made

for each other (which, now that I

mention it, they were).

If you’ve long been a fan of 

Def Tech’s bipolar speakers, this

Mythos system has a slightly dif-

Mythos beauty is more than
skin deep

Gems utilize wide-dispersion
bipolar array

Music and movies are equally
stunning

Value

Features

Performance

Ergonomics

General information

Mythos Four Tower Speaker, $699

Mythos Three Center-Channel Speaker, $499

Mythos Gem Surround Speaker, $249

SuperCube II Subwoofer, $899

Definitive Technology, (410) 363-7148, www.definitivetech.com

Dealer Locator Code DEF

96

Build Quality