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Def Tech has wedged the $2,048 Mythos Gem system between a plethora of smaller sub/sat systems and larger, floor-standing systems in its lineup. The Gem joins the company’s full-size Mythos offerings, which are designed to mate cosmetically with flat-panel TVs (reviewed in "Speaker, Speaker on the Wall,” January 2004).
The Gem satellites, used here for both the left/right front and surround channels, are about the size of a standard loaf of white bread. Their contoured, brushed-aluminum enclosures seduce the eye with a fashionable high-tech appearance. Underneath the black fabric grille, dual midrange/bass drivers, with the tweeter in between, point slightly to the left and right rather than straight ahead. That means the Mythos Gems must be used in a vertical orientation, with those drivers firing away from the central tweeter axis, which creates a spacious sound field. The Mythos Seven center speaker is about the size of two Gems end to end. Besides its forward-firing drivers, it has a pair of passive radiators — speaker cones that extend deep bass but are not electrically connected to the system.
You may want to hide the SuperCube III subwoofer that was specifically designed for this system. Why? Because 1) it’s so small that you can, and 2) it’s nice to fool your guests with its big-sound illusion, and seeing the pint-size module too soon would only spoil the fun. At slightly larger than a 10-inch cube, the SuperCube III is one of the smallest subs I’ve used. That doesn’t keep Def Tech from cramming a 650-watt Class D amplifier inside along with a 10-inch woofer and a pair of passive radiators.
SETUP Stands are usually a necessary evil with small satellites. But the optional aluminum pedestals Definitive Technology offers (for $270 a pair!) become an integral part of the Gems’ styling. The heavy, tempered-glass bases give them a classy look while providing stable support. Def Tech provides a wall-mounting bracket with each Mythos Gem or Seven satellite, and optional pivoting wall brackets are $35 a pair. The center speaker also has a built-in stabilizing foot that lets you angle it up or down.
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I put the front left/right satellites on Mythos stands 6 inches to either side of my 42-inch widescreen TV. The surrounds, also on stands, were slightly to the rear and about 3 feet to the sides of my listening position. The center speaker fit perfectly on the narrow bezel of my TV, while the sub occupied my proven spot, a foot from the wall and to the right of the TV.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE To test two-channel stereo playback, I revved up the title song of John Fogerty’s recent CD Déjà Vu All Over Again and immediately received an adrenaline rush from the high-energy production pouring out of the Gems.This song opens with Kenny Aronoff’s ominous kick drum contrasting with percussionist Alex Acuna’s high-end tambourine-like rattles, and it showed that this system can walk and chew gum at the same time. Except for a subtle lack of openness in the upper midrange, there was plenty of everything — all of it delivered without excess. When Fogerty started singing, he came through dead center, and I could understand every word while he raged on the guitar.
The Fogerty tracks were new, so I reached back into the ’70s for the multichannel remix of Chicago on DVD-Audio to test the Gem system’s surround music mettle. Calling what I heard a “wall of sound” would be inaccurate — it was more like an enveloping horseshoe waterfall of sound. “Poem for the People” begins with crisp electric piano up front. The production then swells like a creek after a rainstorm, all the while keeping Robert Lamm’s vocals centered as the harmonies fill in nicely around him. Once again the drums and percussion were tight without being constricted, torrid without sizzling. The Gems conveyed seamless continuity between front and rear, and anchored the sound with convincing bass.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE Computer-animated movies project sight and sound more vivid than life. The Incredibles, which combines James Bond, Superman, Star Wars, and a dash of The Simpsons, piles on the sound like a crazed soda jerk shooting whipped cream on a triple-dip sundae. This movie breaks a lot of glass and shatters a lot of ice. The Mythos Gem system sharply reproduced all those potentially shrill sounds without making anyone’s ears bleed. When the superheroes burst into a burning building, the roaring rumble of the conflagration was so convincing that for a moment I wished I’d installed sprinklers in my home theater.
Then there’s the reality check, the everyday sounds that ring either true or false. The clatter of Mr. Incredible’s typing on his computer keyboard sounded a lot like mine as I write this review. I actually paused the video during the insurance-office scene because I thought the phone chirping in the surrounds was my own phone chirping upstairs. This was proof of the surrounds’ ability to provide a diffuse rear sound field free of localization that could betray the speakers’ positions. Mr. Incredible’s first encounter with the robot monster Omnidroid tested the system’s dynamic range and ability to play at extreme volume. The speakers survived, although given their diminutive size they’ll only rock your room, not lift the house from its foundation.
BOTTOM LINE Every home theater speaker system requires some tradeoffs, usually pitting size, style, and sonic performance against price. In this case, Definitive Technology has managed to minimize the compromises inherent in a $2,000 system (though that price is misleading if you go for the pricey stands). Even the pickiest decorator would probably accept, if not welcome, the Mythos Gems into a room. And while it’s one thing to shrink the satellites, a subwoofer this small thundering this mightily is indeed impressive.
But what ultimately earns my respect for these speakers is that during the movie they seemed to disappear as completely as Violet, the Incredibles’ disappearing teenage daughter, offering big, powerful sound without calling attention to themselves or their size. In speakers, just like some teenagers, that’s a pretty desirable trait.