Atlantic Technology Announces Downfiring SB-900DF Subwoofer
Much to my wife’s displeasure (especially as we’ve house hunting lately) I refuse to live in a place where we can’t center the main room around the home theater install. For those with a less permissive spouse, Atlantic Technology’s new down-firing might be just the thing to get good room shaking bass into a compromised space – trust me, your neighbors will appreciate it 🙂
PR after the click…
NORWOOD, MA, Feb 28, 2012 — Atlantic Technology has introduced a new down-firing version of one of its most popular subwoofers to provide greater placement flexibility.
By placing the woofer and bass vent on the bottom of the speaker cabinet, the new SB-900DF can be squeezed into tight spots behind furniture with no concern of its output being muffled by the back of furniture as might be the case with the original SB-900 front-firing subwoofer. Atlantic Technology will offer both models going forward at the same $349 suggested retail price.
While the new Atlantic Technology SB-900DF is relatively small, its deep, low distortion bass is fast and muscular. The 8-inch long-excursion woofer has an oversized surround and high-energy magnet. When combined with the tuned bass port and powerful 125-watt power amplifier, the system delivers high output levels and exceptional low-frequency extension down to 32 Hz, -3 dB, which is the lowest fundamental note in the musical spectrum. Proprietary distortion-detection circuitry prevents the system from emitting objectionably-distorted sound no mater how hard it is pushed.
The SB-900DF also has a range of tuning controls that improve the system’s interaction with the room. These controls include an adjustable crossover that allows fine-tuning of the level and crossover frequency, and a phase switch. A built-in crossover bypass allows it to be used with external bass management systems. Auto-on sensing saves power and the need to manually turn it on and off.
The Atlantic Technology SB-900DF has a peak output of 102 dB SPL in a 2000 cubic foot room and a frequency response for 32 to 200 Hz, ±3 dB. The black-finished cabinet measures 10-7/8 wide, 13-1/8 high, and 13-1/16 deep, and weighs 28 lbs.
The SB-900DF and SB-900 are both currently available from Atlantic Technology dealers with a suggested retail price of $349.
About Atlantic Technology
From its inception in 1989, Atlantic Technology’s mission has been to produce home entertainment products that exemplify the very best in both performance and value. The company specializes in complete high-performance multi-channel speaker systems, state-of-the-art home theater electronics components, and products for custom audio/video installation. For more information on Atlantic Technology and its many fine products for home theater and custom audio/video installation, visit www.atlantictechnology.com or call 781-762-6300.# # #
Wait…you mean you don’t
Wait…you mean you don’t want to have your TV hanging above the fireplace? Blasphemy!
LOL – I’ve nixed so many
LOL – I’ve nixed so many places for exactly that reason she started checking for it before asking if we should see a place 🙂
Who ever designed my front
Who ever designed my front room never intended a home theater to be there, it had one wall wasted with a sliding glass door next to the front door; one wall was 1/2 wall, 1/2 open space leading to the dining room, next wall was 1/3 hallway, 1/3 fireplace, 1/3 usable wall. The room was a nightmare to try and put a TV and speakers with seating.
So I recently moved my “living room” into what should be the master bedroom, my bedroom into my old office and my office into the living room just because I got tired of trying to work around the dimensions of the rooms in my condo. It was weird using rooms for purposes other than what they were conventionally designed for, but it’s grown on me over the past month.
It just goes to show how many
It just goes to show how many buyers/renters value absolute form over function. I can think of few circumstances where I would want the display so high up on a wall and over a fireplace, yet a significant number of homes seem to be designed with this in mind.
Regarding small subs, I have been using the Energy ESW-M8 which is a 9″ cube using 8″ woofer in my apartment and I love it. It doesn’t have the extreme low extension, but the bass is tight and accurate. I actually enjoy it much more than the bigger sub it replaced. It also is helpful that it doesn’t disturb the neighbors 🙂
Aaron Ledger wrote:It just
[quote=Aaron Ledger]
It just goes to show how many buyers/renters value absolute form over function. I can think of few circumstances where I would want the display so high up on a wall and over a fireplace, yet a significant number of homes seem to be designed with this in mind.
[/quote]
There are a lot of home that were built in the boom (down here anyway) implementing that that [broken] ideal. Surprisingly enough, many of the home being built now (even the “budget” ones) aren’t, and actually include HT friendly features like Ethernet and built-in surrounds in the main room.
[quote=Aaron Ledger]
Regarding small subs, I have been using the Energy ESW-M8 which is a 9″ cube using 8″ woofer in my apartment and I love it. It doesn’t have the extreme low extension, but the bass is tight and accurate. I actually enjoy it much more than the bigger sub it replaced. It also is helpful that it doesn’t disturb the neighbors 🙂
[/quote]
That’s a very popular sub over at AVS forum, not surprised that you like it.
I dont really think there has
I dont really think there has been any point proven about form triumphing over function.
Let us face it, those of us who care about properly set up home theaters are few and far in between. Just because other people value other functions (and the forms they give rise to) more than yours doesn’t mean that form has triumphed.
Personally my ideal is to have a dedicated home theater room that isn’t in a main/living room. I don’t like the idea of needing to organize my living room around a tv, i’d rather be able to organize it around hosting guests.
But that ideal gets put in competition with other ideals (living within means, living in a densely packed urban neighborhood, etc) and I end up having a living room that is only ok for watching tv and only ok for entertaining.
But hey, I am moving a month and maybe after a 5 year absence, ill have the space and layout for a sub and surrounds.
Selling a home is not unlike
Selling a home is not unlike selling any other product in that sales often happen because an ideal is being sold and not necessarily the actual use case. As Andrew has pointed out, there has been a trend toward designing living rooms that are extremely hostile to the home theater, even modest ones. Perhaps I am in some sort of bubble, but most people I know and most homes I have been in my life, people generally have a television in their living room. From my POV, this is how people live. By not taking this into account (or worse ignoring it), designers are producing homes that may be easier to sell as a staged product, but not something that is nearly as livable.
Of course, having a dedicated media consumption room without compromise is a dream for many of us, myself included. Even if I had one, I still may also want a TV in a less dedicated room for more casual watching and entertaining.