Phase Technology Premier PC 9.1 Brochure page 2

liked the Teatro 7.5s, it's very likely
you'll love the PC 9.1s.
Design and Technology
Cutting to the chase: The PC 9.1
is a three-way system that is 45
inches tall, uses five drivers, has a
narrow front baffle, and is ported in
the front. The pair provided for
review were finished in black ash
(other wood finishes are available)
and all feature robust, internally
braced MDF cabinetry. A sharp
knuckle rap to the cabinet
reveals little vibration that
might color acoustic perfor-
mance nor did I detect signif-
icant cabinet resonances at
normal to elevated listening
levels. The cabinets are taste-
fully designed with rounded
edges, and the stylish black
grills and bases are finished off with
tapered one-inch skirts which add a
sense of style and refinement. All
are quite pleasing to the eye and
they should easily meld into the
audio or A/V room without fanfare.
The PC 9.1's driver compliment
includes a single one-inch, soft-
dome tweeter (patent #3328537)
and one 1-inch, soft-dome
midrange driver. The tweeter is
termed to have a "variable axis" as
the firing angle is user adjustable.
Both drivers are surrounded with
Unicell, which is Phase Tech's pro-
prietary, uniform-density anti-dif-
fraction foam treatment. This stuff is
a directional-pore foam, comprised
of a heavily compressed, race car
oil-filter type material that has been
adapted for audio. This material
goes beyond traditional felt or foam
materials typically applied for
acoustic radiation control. Phase
Tech applies a higher level of mate-
rials engineering by using the pores
to direct the acoustic waves in a
uniform pattern away from the
tweeter and midrange drivers and
off the cabinet face or baffle, thus
limiting "stray" reflections.
The three six-inch Kevlar-lami-
nated mid/woofer drivers feature
patented (#4,566,178) rigid polymer
foam (RPF), solid flat-piston radia-
tors. Two of these drivers serve as
deep bass radiators for frequencies
below 100 Hz and are positioned
near the floor for bass reinforcement
(as is the large front-exiting port).
The third 6-inch driver is positioned
higher on the cabinet, close to and
augmenting the midrange; it oper-
ates up to 800 Hz, where it also
augments the tweeter. The use of
RPF is said to inhibit driver breakup.
Other quality features used by
Phase Tech include butyl rubber
surrounds and cast aluminum-alloy
baskets.
Sound radiates from these
mid/woofers as if it were coming
from a vertical line-source array. To
this listener, the drivers presented a
coherent planar-like acoustic field,
free from lobing, hot-spots and
other aberrations that are usually
You're not likely to
encounter a sweeter,
more-neutral top end.
noticeable when sitting off-axis or if
you're using less well-thought out
loudspeakers. The stand-up, sit-
down test, plus moving around the
room, reveals an above-average off-
axis listening experience. This loud-
speaker does not demand a head-in-
vice listening position to achieve a
sweet spot, so several guests can
enjoy the experience from an audio-
only setup or from home theater
system. Sensitivity is stated at 92 dB
SPL, and the nominal impedance is
4 ohms, which allows use of moder-
ate power tube or solid-state gear.
The crossover points are at 800 Hz
and 3000 Hz, with the 3-dB low-
frequency rolloff point occurring at
a respectable 32 Hz with bass that
maintains its tightness all the way
down.
An amazing amount of additional
low bass was projected when the
system supported by room bound-
aries. Due to this extended response
and even when playing in a home
theater system, the PC 9.1 does not
demand a subwoofer. Unless you're
interested in shakin' up some distant
neighbors or dry cleaning your
pants, I don't think you'll find that
the PC 9.1s demand a subwoofer.
The system features "absolute
phase" crossovers, which Phase
Tech says maintain precise balance
and insure the system is acoustically
and electronically in phase. The PC
9.1's extremely smooth response
confirms something positive is going
on inside the electro-acoustical net-
works. These systems are provided
with removable spikes, are bi-wire-
able with medium quality, standard-
spaced, five-way binding posts and
the audiophile voice
weigh-in, unboxed, at about 80
pounds each.
The Sound
Right out of the box, you'll not
likely encounter a sweeter, more
neutral or more refined top end than
this loudspeaker presents, all while
exhibiting substantial detail and
nuance. Another outstanding feature
is that they also maintain top-to-bot-
tom balance and fine detail while
playing at low levels.
The spacious multi-
dimensional imaging is
among the finest I have
heard at this or any price
point. The better the amplifi-
cation or program content,
the better they apparently
perform. Pour on high-test
recordings and these loud-
speakers leap to the task. This loud-
speaker appears to offer this
attribute due to the low distortion, a
characteristic especially attributed
to the 1-inch, soft-dome tweeter.
Co-designer Ken Hecht indicates
that many hours were expended
during development and testing to
eliminate distortion from all of the
drivers, but especially the midrange
and tweeters. When you build 'em
in house, you can control the results
instead of modifying or fixing the
work of others. The smooth disper-
sion characteristics are also aided
by the aforementioned Unicell anti-
diffraction treatment surrounding
the tweeter and midrange drivers.
The tweeter's variable-axis geome-
try also provides a reasonable
amount of steering into the listening
area and the subsequent soundstage
control helps a good deal in opti-
mizing the presented musical event.
The 9.1s are likely to be one of
the very best-mannered loudspeak-
ers you'll encounter any time soon
and are especially appealing at their
mid-level price point of $2000.00
for the pair. I can attest the PC 9.1s
will appear at home with any good-
quality power amplification,
whether solid-state or vacuum tube.
The same is true for program con-
tent; I found them extremely flexible
and they were able to handle most
any material with aplomb, rarely if
ever losing their composure.
Voices are especially well delin-
eated and devoid of coloration or
"chestiness." Piano transient attacks
and harmonic content were equally
well recreated, chimes and bells
were crystalline and string
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