Frequency response (at 2 meters)
front left/right 739 Hz to 17.6 kHz ±4.8 dB
center 739 Hz to 17.6 kHz ±4.8 dB
surround 739 Hz to 16.9 kHz ±3.6 dB
subwoofer 36 Hz to 218 Hz ±4.1 dB
Sensitivity (SPL at 1 meter with 2.8 volts of pink-noise input)
front left/right/center/surround 90 dB.
Impedance (minimum/nominal)
front left/right/center/surround 3.7/8 ohm
Bass limits (lowest frequency and maximum SPL with limit of 10% distortion at 2 meters in a large room)
front left/right/center/surround 160 Hz at 75 dB
subwoofer 32 Hz at 90 dB SPL
96 dB average SPL from 32 to 62 Hz
99 dB maximum SPL at 50 Hz
bandwidth uniformity 97%
All of the curves in the frequency-response graph are weighted to reflect how sound arrives at a listener's ears with normal speaker placement. All measurements were made at a full 2 meters with the Alcyone on a 6-foot stand, which gives anechoic results to 200 Hz including full effects of cabinet diffraction and front panel reflections.
The Alcyone has very uniform directivity, which means that all listeners will receive basically identical sound no matter which channel an individual satellite is assigned. However, the speaker has very limited low frequency capability. It's basic response falls fairly rapidly (approximately 3 dB per octave) below 1.7 kHz; there is also a 3-4 dB elevation between 1.7 and 3.5 kHz followed by a depression of 2-3 dB between 4 and 8.6 kHz, and a sharp, narrow peak at 11 kHz. When used as a surround channel there is also a 1.5 dB reduction of very high frequencies.
The Santorin 17 subwoofer's bass limits were measured with it set to maximum bandwidth and placed in the optimal corner of a 7,500-cubic-foot room. In a smaller room users can expect 2 to 3 Hz deeper extension and up to 3 dB higher sound-pressure level (SPL).
Like it's upper channel brethren this compact subwoofer has limited low frequency dynamic capability, but to its' credit low frequency capability is reasonably uniform in distribution even if the static frequency response slopes downward on either side of 50 Hz. Its low frequency limit within our maximum 10% distortion standard was 32 Hz, at which it achieved 90 dB output. Average SPL from 32 to 62 Hz was 96 dB.
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