Luxury Home-Theater Speakers

If price is no object, high-end speakers deliver the best sound

Some experts suggest spending nearly as much on your home theater speakers as you do on your TV. While that might be overkill for many, if your home theater will also double as a primary spot for serious music listening, that might not seem so unreasonable. Music demands much more from speakers, since they need to be able to handle anything from delicate string instruments to driving percussion to deep bass equally well and without adding coloration or distortion.

Many of the best-regarded options in this category are actually assembled from speakers that are sold separately, but are sonically matched to create a seamless home theater system. The Definitive Technology ProCinema 800 (*Est. $1,200) system -- big brother to the ProCinema 600 system profiled earlier -- is one example. The system is made up of a quartet of Definitive Technology ProMonitor 800 bookshelf speakers (*Est. $145 each), the Definitive Technology ProCenter 1000 center-channel speaker (*Est. $220) and the Definitive Technology ProSub 800 subwoofer (*Est. $400). This configuration has proven so popular that the company is now also marketing it as a complete system.

The ProCinema 800 home theater speaker system has captured a Recommended award from Playback magazine and a Certified and Recommended tag from Sound & Vision magazine. It also earns a strong rating at CNET, with reviewer Steven Guttenberg saying it "redefined our expectations of what a small surround speaker system can do." Chris Martens at Playback gushes, "If you heard the system blindfolded, my guess is that you'd instinctively tack an extra grand (or more) on its imagined asking price."

One reason is that ProCinema 800 speakers can play surprisingly loudly, with bass response that extends lower than most systems in this class -- though of course not as low as higher-priced, more massively sized options. Satellites that on their own deliver better bass than their small cabinet size might suggest are what's largely responsible. Martens and others say that's thanks to some design enhancements that help the satellites' mid bass drivers sound "astonishing clear and refined." However, Martens adds that the sound can get "a bit thin" if things are pushed to the extreme.

Performance is great with a variety of material. Movies sound wonderful, and the system handles everything ranging from booming special effects to soft, low-level dialog with great aplomb. "Male and female voices sounded natural, without a hint of the 'boxiness' we sometimes hear from small center speakers," Guttenberg writes. Music, if anything, is even better, with Martens saying that the ProCinema 800 sounds more like a high-end audiophile system than he thought a system in its price range could.

Surround-sound imaging is also accurate, with Martens saying "In terms of 3-D imaging, the ProCinema system has few if any peers in this price class." However, Sound & Vision magazine notes that it takes a little bit of work to get the speakers precisely located for the best surround-sound performance.

Though it's been around for quite some time, the PSB Alpha series is another well-rated option in this price class. Speakers in the series form the basis of a $1,200 system that's made up of two PSB Alpha B1 bookshelf speakers (*Est. $250/pair), two smaller PSB Alpha LR speakers (*Est. $200/pair), a PSB Alpha C1 center channel (*Est. $250) and the PSB SubSeries 5i subwoofer (*Est. $500).

That configuration, which is sometimes called the Alpha Studio Theater System, is a Recommended pick at AVGuide.com and earns a high rating at CNET, where Guttenberg describes it as a "modestly sized, audiophile quality" surround-sound system. While the PSB Alpha speakers aren't the best match for a cavernous space or for blasting out audio that's loud enough to annoy the people on the next block, they should more than serve the needs of most looking to but together a top-performing home theater.

Reports say that the system is equally adept at delivering sonic excellence for movies and music, with Playback's Martens calling it "a beautifully balanced all-rounder, serving music and movie lovers at a level I wouldn't have thought possible at this price." Movie audio is delivered with clarity and accuracy, and special effects hit with their intended impact. Lows are particularly impressive, aided in no small measure by larger-than-usual front-channel speakers that can deliver decent low frequencies in their own right, instead of dumping those duties completely on the sub. Guttenberg adds that when listening to music, the speakers are equally impressive, and the blend between the satellites and the subwoofer is excellent. PSB strongly discourages Internet sales and won't honor the warranty of speakers bought from unauthorized dealers.

If you are looking for a high-end speaker system that can be heard but not seen, the Mirage MX 5.1 (*Est. $1,200) should be on your short list, reports say. This speaker system uses the same Omnipolar technology as the Mirage Nanosat 5.1 speakers profiled earlier but have even smaller satellite speakers -- each measuring just a bit over four inches high. You'll need to look twice to find the powered subwoofer as well. At just 8-inches high, it is smaller than the satellite speakers in even some compact home-theater speaker systems.

Reviews say that you shouldn't expect the MX 5.1 to fill even a moderately large space with audio, but for small or midsize rooms (CNET recommends no more than 300 square feet), these tiny powerhouses can do a remarkably good job of surrounding you with sound. Home Theater magazine says that while the tiny sub "(wisely) makes no attempt to rattle the windows," it does the job of providing the bass frequencies that lie out of reach of the satellites. CNET notes that the satellites work well together to provide seamless sound.

Audio quality is largely excellent with music and movies. The diffused sound stage is different than what might be expected from other speaker systems, but is effective, especially with more atmospheric material. Sound is also much larger than the small speaker would suggest -- as long as you don't ask for too much. If you need speakers that simply disappear in a room, few systems are better than the MX 5.1, though CNET does suggest that Mirage's own Nanosat 5.1 and Energy's RC-Micro 5.1 are in the same league. Given that, we -- and some other reviewers -- wonder if the MX 5.1 is a good value at its notably higher price tag.