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FEATURES Definitive’s Mythos STs are tall,
slender floorstanders housed in solid
aluminum enclosures (available in silky-
smooth satin silver or black finishes) that
attach to polished granite floor plates.
Despite their pencil-slim appearance the STs
are fullrange speakers with built-in powered
subwoofers. Internally, the STs are subdivided
into two sections. The top supports a two-way,
midrange-tweeter-midrange D’Appolito
array that handles all frequencies from the
mid-bass region on up, while the bottom
houses a 300-watt sub based on an unortho-
dox “racetrack-shaped” woofer flanked by
a pair of oblong passive radiators. The sub
delivers potent bass that extends down to
a claimed 14 Hz.
The matching Mythos Ten center channel
essentially takes the top section of the ST,
flips it on its side, and stretches the chassis
just enough to fit in a pair of oblong passive
radiators similar to, but smaller than, those
in the ST. The Mythos Ten’s bass doesn’t go
as low as the floorstander’s does, but its
voicing is identical to the ST’s, meaning
you’ll enjoy seamless speaker-to-speaker
transitions when sound effects pan across
the front channels.
Completing the system is a pair of Mythos
Gem XL surround speakers, also based on
two-way, three-driver D’Appolito arrays. The
speakers are an earlier-generation design
so their drivers are not quite as sophisticated
as those used in the STs and the Ten. Even
so, the compact Gem XLs could easily
qualify as main speakers in most systems,
meaning they’re more than adequate as
surround speakers.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE The Mythos ST
surround system draws together three
essential sonic qualities — power, detail,
and refinement — that add up to a fourth:
a touch of pure magic. Let me explain what
this means.
On movie soundtracks, the ST system
produces an articulate, neutrally voiced and
decidedly muscular sound that absolutely
takes command of most listening rooms.
In the initial chase seen from Terminator III:
Rise of the Machines, a deadly robotic
Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) drives a
motorized crane, pursuing John Conor (Nick
Stahl) and his spouse-to-be (Claire Danes)
through crowded city streets. The ST system
reproduced the ensuing mayhem of the
crane ripping through phone poles, cars
and even buildings with terrific vigor and
dynamic impact. Y
et at the same time the ST
rig never lost sight of two key qualities that
many systems lack: overarching clarity and
low-level detail.
Ratings
(compared with $5.5k surround systems)
Transparency and Focus
Imaging and Soundstaging
Tonal Balance
Dynamics
Bass Extension
Bass Pitch Definition
Bass Dynamics
Value
Poor Good Excellent
“the STs are fullrange speakers with
built-in powered subwoofers”
“power, detail, and refinement ...
sheer realism that is captivating”