around 50 pounds, and it can accept
floor spikes. All four models are
available in natural cherry, honey
oak, and black ash.
As you might expect from
speakers this size with adjustable
tweeters and crossovers that are
designed for large windows of con-
sistent sound, setup couldn’t be
much easier. I started my listen-
ing tests with the PC Sub and two
PC 1.1IIs, backed by a solid, mid-
priced electronics combo from
Anthem (the AVM 20 pre/pro
and PVA 7 amp) and a couple of
Sony decks (the DVP-C650D DVD
player and SCD-CE775 SACD
player). Out of the gate, the stereo
imaging was dead-on with little
toe-in (naturally, toeing-in your
speakers helps, but it wasn’t
entirely neces-
sary here). These
little guys will go
lower than you’d
expect and, even
on their own,
won’t leave you
thinking that
you’re missing
100 hertz or so of information, as
most sats do. With the sub chipping
in, the PC 1.1IIs start to sound
more like a well-executed pair of
full-range towers, with a deep,
powerful bottom end, a big stage,
and a rich, full sound from the top
of the spectrum to the bottom.
As with any sub/sat system,
blending is a critical issue. Phase
Tech has always taken their cross-
over design very seriously, and it
shows here. In my opinion, the
PC 1.1II and PC Sub blend better
than many single-cabinet speakers.
The sub’s quick, musical nature
let me open up its crossover a little
more with music (usually between
100 and 120 Hz), and the blending
was no less effective here than it
was at 80 Hz with movies.
The Phase Techs’ surprisingly
big, full sound carried over nicely
into my multichannel demo, for
which I added the PC 3.1II and
two PC 6.1S surrounds. I eased in
with some Roy Orbison and Eagles
off of the ubiquitous DTS sampler,
listening for resolution, voicing,
and detail—all of which were first-
rate. These less-crowded tracks
allowed me to focus on individual
sounds and analyze how they
shifted as I moved around the
room. True to their legacy, these
Phase Techs are rock-solid off-
axis in both planes. Eventually, I
had to go after these little guys, so
right to “ The Generals” from the
Film Music of
Jerry Goldsmith
SACD I went.
Phase Tech
invited me to
push these
speakers all I
wanted, and now
I know why. My
ears would probably have given
out before these drivers did—and
I got close to the former. Needless
to say, these speakers will play as
loud as you’d likely ever need
them to in a realistically sized
area. Playing loud, of course, isn’t
the real trick: Maintaining compo-
sure while doing so is, and the
Phase Techs did exactly that, espe-
cially in the upper frequencies. If
brighter, aggressive tweeters
are your thing—and they are for
some—you may not get what
you’re looking for, especially at
lower volumes. These tweeters
lean far more toward the mellow,
silky side, which I personally
favor. The upper frequencies (of
SACD especially) were superb,
and even brighter CDs sounded
smoother and less fatiguing.
For me, the two primary ques-
tions for a sub/sat system are, does
it have the accuracy and tonal bal-
ance to do music right and does
it have the dynamics and oomph
to do movies right. The PC Series
system answered the former
quickly, and the multichannel
music demos hinted that the latter
wouldn’t be a problem, either. So
Phase Technology PC Series Speaker System
G E A R G U I D E
E.
The PC Sub has
phase, gain, and
crossover controls,
as well as line- and
speaker-level inputs.
2 0 F r e q u e n c y 1 0 0 5 0 0 1 k H z 5 k 1 0 k 2 0 k
C
dB spl
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
Deg
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
-0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
-0.20
< M a g n i t u d e > S o u n d P r e s s u r e L e v e l < P h a s e >
HT Labs Measures: Phase Technology PC Series Speaker System
This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all
woofers) frequency response of the PC 1.1II L/R (purple trace), PC Sub
subwoofer (blue trace), PC 3.1II center channel (green trace), and PC 6.1S
surround (red trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured at a distance
of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.
The PC 1.1II’s listening-window response (a five-point average of
axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures
+1.51/–2.59 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3dB point is at
61 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 50 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of
3.22 ohms at 186 Hz and a phase angle of –62.03 degrees at 98 Hz.
Sensitivity averages 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.
The PC 3.1II’s listening-window response me1.34/–2.88 dB
from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal
responses me1.68/–2.84 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB
point is at 57 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 46 Hz. Impedance reaches a
minimum of 2.80 ohms at 156 Hz and a phase angle of –62.07 degrees
at 84 Hz. Sensitivity averages 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.
The PC 6.1S’s listening-window response me0.86/–3.48 dB
from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB point is at 88 Hz, and the –6dB point
is at 73 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.28 ohms at 216 Hz
and a phase angle of –58.91 degrees at 123 Hz. Sensitivity averages
90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.
The PC Sub’s close-miked response, normalized to the average
level from 40 to 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3dB point is at 35 Hz
and the –6dB point is at 28 Hz. The upper –3dB point is at 111 Hz with
the LFE-mode switch set to on.—
AJ
Phase Technology PC Series Speaker System
E
