Is the Phantom still bad for a home theater?

[kmjy]

Think it all depends on your reference. 

But saying you can compare them to 17 inch drivers you find in subwoofers, only gives unrealistic expectations. 

Yes, when you compare them to ''subwoofers'' you get with a samsung home cinema set, then yes, they sound better. But once you have a proper subwoofer set up, they don't compare. For instance the golds drop off to about 45-50 hz at 108db. Also I've tested my Phantom Golds with a SPL meter to see what DB they could produce in the 20-30hz range. The highest output I got in that range ( running test tones) was about 90 db. Even with the (in)''famous'' bassotronics track, they don't produce that much impact when I compared them to my subwoofers. But once again, you can't compare them, while they do ''sound'' low, they don't have the visceral impact of a decent subwoofer.

They are a compromise in the bass department for home cinema, but I think the target audience for the Phantoms, are willing to make this  compromise for the form factor you get in return. There simply is no alternative this small.

Hmm... I’ve gotten much better results from them in the past. But that’s definitely interesting info. But I don’t expect many people blasting two Gold’s past 108dB in their home. That’s absolutely crazy volume for that space. I’m certain the Gold’s have a better output at those volumes. They increased the excursions of the Gold’s considerably compared to the White’s and Silvers and they actually did drop off at those frequencies at their max volume.

In my experience they do stack up to a real subwoofer. 100%. And 20-30Hz at 90dB is way better than the older Phantom’s. That was my disappointment with them, but now we can have actually decent volume with the whole range.

And I have also felt the impact of the 16Hz output in the past too. I feel like it’s dependent on the environment because I’ve certainly gotten some incredible performance out of the really low end range even at maximum volume. Definitely felt it. Definitely heard it.


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In my situation they were not corner loaded though. I'am sure you get more bass output when you put them in a corner. However, for the sound quality, the sound was much better when I had them more in the room. 

Also, sound is subjective, what might be good ''subwoofer'' performance for one person, someone else might be a bit disappointed.

Yeah absolutely, I’ve tried them in all kinds of places. I much prefer them close to a wall or somewhat cornered. But I agree it’s more open when they’re placed correctly. But you’ll achieve different bass output depending on the stand you pick and how big the bottom is that the Phantom sits on. I’ve noticed a beefier stand (surface that the unit sits on) allows for more thickening of the bass. But some may not like that. Personally I like as much bass as I can get so I don’t mind placing it near a wall to amplify that.

But I agree. But I think they perform very comparable to proper subwoofers. Especially in a pair. Although I have occasionally heard of a pair cancelling each other out depending on positioning. They should be placed facing outwards. Left facing out to the left. And right to the right. Only a little bit. But it helps counter bass cancelling from the two woofers facing each other.


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