Definitive Technology: Powered Subs in Small Speakers

Powered subwoofers have been used for years in combination with planar radiators and other types of passive loudspeakers to boost overall low-end capabilities. Definitive Technology, however, is the first company to apply the concept to bookshelf loudspeakers.

Def Tech’s new PowerMonitor Series of small loudspeakers is “the first ever with built-in powered subwoofers,” the company claims. Developed in response to dealer and consumer demand for versatile and easily installable high-performance speakers that could be placed virtually anywhere, the PowerMonitors feature built-in powered subs to deliver “killer bass.” Definitive Technology claims the PowerMonitors “dramatically outperform all other bookshelf-sized speaker systems regardless of price.”

The new speakers include three models: the $425/each PowerMonitor 500, with 1" aluminum dome tweeter, 4 1/2" cast-basket upper-bass/midrange and 150-watt powered 8" subwoofer; the $599/each PowerMonitor 700, with 1" aluminum dome tweeter, 5 1/4" cast-basket upper-bass/midrange and 250 watt powered 8" subwoofer; and the $799/each PowerMonitor 900, with 1" aluminum dome tweeter, 6 1/2" cast-basket upper-bass/midrange and a 250 watt powered 10" subwoofer. The subs are driven by Definitive's “Infinite Power Source” amplifier technology.

PowerMonitors have a frequency response from approximately 20Hz to 30kHz, with slight variations from model to model. All three models are finished in glossy piano black with wraparound black grilles, and are designed so that they can be positioned vertically or horizontally, and within one inch of a nearby surface (floor, wall, or panel)---something not possible with either standard speakers or almost all stand-alone subwoofers. PowerMonitors are magnetically shielded for use in close proximity to television sets and computer monitors without the danger of image or color distortion.

Definitive also makes center channel loudspeakers with built-in powered subs, as well as plus matching surround-effects speakers for rear/side applications.

Update: To learn more about the Definitive Technology PowerMonitors, read Darryl Wilkinson's review.

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