Definitive Technology PowerMonitor 500 speaker system
November 2001
Definitive Technology PowerMonitor 500 speaker system
They've got power and know how to use it
By Mike McGann
All you have to do is look at the ads for audio/video receivers to know it's true. The first thing listed is almost always the power rating. Wacky power rating issues aside, generally the more power you put into your room, the better the sound, but people can sometimes get too hung up on numbers.
Power can make or break how your room sounds, but it depends on how you use it. Definitive Technology, long known for innovative speaker design, has come up with an interesting way to give you all the power you can ever use.
Def Tech's new PowerMonitor 500 speaker (the smallest of three monitor designs in the new lineup) bundles a surprisingly small package crammed with power and performance. Sure, there's the 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter and 4 1/2-inch mid-range driver, which may look kind of similar to what you might find in dozens of mini monitor speakers. The average part of the speakers end there. Definitive adds a side-firing eight-inch woofer, powered by its own 150-watt amplifier to create a package that packs a wallop for just $425.
We were able to get four PowerMonitor 500s, a matching, larger center channel speaker (more on that later) the L/C/R 2300 ($599), a ProSub 200TL 12-inch subwoofer ($549) with a 250-watt amp (probably more subwoofer than this system requires) and a pair of Pro Monitor 80s ($225/pair) to use as rear surrounds in my 7.1 setup.
Make no mistake, these are not large speakers. Next to the MB Quart OLS 1030 tower speakers that have been living in my theater lately, they look positively tiny, until you fire them up.
Cosmetically, they very much look like a member of the Def Tech family, with a wrap-around grill set between piano black gloss tops and bottoms. Without question, it remains a simple and elegant look, fitting nicely into most decors. More importantly, at this size, it can fit easily and subtly as well. The Pro Monitor 50s are rear ported, but can be used on a bookshelf or in a cabinet, as they need only about an inch of room to be effective.
Set up takes a bit more work, as there are more variables to deal with. Each of the speakers, much like a subwoofer, has level controls, forcing you to manually adjust each one to get the perfect sound. It only took me a little time to get the hang of it, setting our reference Onkyo TX-DS989 receiver in a neutral fashion and making the major adjustments at the speakers.
They've got power and know how to use it
By Mike McGann
All you have to do is look at the ads for audio/video receivers to know it's true. The first thing listed is almost always the power rating. Wacky power rating issues aside, generally the more power you put into your room, the better the sound, but people can sometimes get too hung up on numbers.
Power can make or break how your room sounds, but it depends on how you use it. Definitive Technology, long known for innovative speaker design, has come up with an interesting way to give you all the power you can ever use.
Def Tech's new PowerMonitor 500 speaker (the smallest of three monitor designs in the new lineup) bundles a surprisingly small package crammed with power and performance. Sure, there's the 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter and 4 1/2-inch mid-range driver, which may look kind of similar to what you might find in dozens of mini monitor speakers. The average part of the speakers end there. Definitive adds a side-firing eight-inch woofer, powered by its own 150-watt amplifier to create a package that packs a wallop for just $425.
We were able to get four PowerMonitor 500s, a matching, larger center channel speaker (more on that later) the L/C/R 2300 ($599), a ProSub 200TL 12-inch subwoofer ($549) with a 250-watt amp (probably more subwoofer than this system requires) and a pair of Pro Monitor 80s ($225/pair) to use as rear surrounds in my 7.1 setup.
Make no mistake, these are not large speakers. Next to the MB Quart OLS 1030 tower speakers that have been living in my theater lately, they look positively tiny, until you fire them up.
Cosmetically, they very much look like a member of the Def Tech family, with a wrap-around grill set between piano black gloss tops and bottoms. Without question, it remains a simple and elegant look, fitting nicely into most decors. More importantly, at this size, it can fit easily and subtly as well. The Pro Monitor 50s are rear ported, but can be used on a bookshelf or in a cabinet, as they need only about an inch of room to be effective.
Set up takes a bit more work, as there are more variables to deal with. Each of the speakers, much like a subwoofer, has level controls, forcing you to manually adjust each one to get the perfect sound. It only took me a little time to get the hang of it, setting our reference Onkyo TX-DS989 receiver in a neutral fashion and making the major adjustments at the speakers.
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