Def Tech Mythos XTR-50 Wallspeaker First Look

Flat panels - we're almost sick of talking about them. We love looking at them but they've created a whole new slew of problems. Remember when you bought a TV and set it on a shelf? Oh, the good ol' days. Now you've got to decide if you're going to set it on a shelf (how gauche!) or wall mount it. Heaven forbid you have an ancient cabinet designed with a CRT in mind or your flat panel is going to look ridiculous (or only be supported up to 32-inches in size). No, you're going to need either an open shelf or a wall. But which? And really, who wants to decide now? You're busy trying to pick out a TV - who wants to worry about the mounting method just yet? You don't even know if you can talk the wife into the uber-flat display or if you'll just have to settle for very flat.

The speakers integrated into televisions have never been good. Even those manufacturers that have put effort into their display speakers have only slightly mitigated the magnitude of how much they suck. Honestly, you are buying that flat panel for the picture and the bragging rights - not for the sound. But you know you'll need decent sound eventually and when that day comes you're going to come across a quandary. How is your display mounted? It is on a shelf or on the wall? Will it be that way forever? Are you sure? If you are relatively certain your display will stay in the same orientation for a long time, then you can feel comfortable buying specialized speakers. But if there is a question in your mind, you might want to consider something a bit more flexible.

Definitive Technologies has released their Mythos XTR-50 Wallspeaker. The XTR-50s are on-wall or on-stand speakers that measure a slim 1.5 inches a their widest point. Designed with the latest flat panels in mind, the XTR-50s come with enough mounting and setup options to fill your changing needs. First, let's discuss mounting options.

As you can see, the XTR-50s come with small shelf feet as well as a smoked glass stand for flanking a display on a shelf. For wall mounting you can use the supplied bracket (not shown) which will add .07" to the 1.5 overall depth. If you are looking for the flushest possible solution, the XTR-50s have keyhole cutouts (note the "plus" sign in the picture above). This means that you can position the XTR-50s on a shelf or on the wall vertically or horizontally. A few design notes to point out. First there are the ribs along the edge. For those that know anything about aluminum, you know it is a strong material but not necessarily all that rigid. To add rigidity, Def Tech has added stiffening ribs and channels to the aircraft-grade aluminum. Second, there is a flash of green in the above picture. For professional AV installers, that is a familiar sight. For the average user, it's a wire connection terminal (you can view a short video on how it works here). These supply a secure connection and we understand the space-saving reason for its use, but it is one of our least favorite connections.

Getting to the sonic side of things, the XTR-50s have two 3.5" XTDD technology anodized Aluminum dome drivers flanking a center aluminum dome tweeter. There are two additional anodized aluminum dome bass radiators paired with each of the XTDD drivers for additional bass output (that's why there looks to be six drivers on the front of the speaker). The XTR-50s weigh a respectable 5.1 pounds which is enough to convey the quality of the workmanship for such a small product but not so much that you'll need to hit a stud when mounting (most drywall anchors can easily support 20+ pounds). Def Tech rates the XTR-50s down to 92Hz on-wall but the video linked up above shows them setting the crossover for the subwoofer at 120Hz so take that as an optimistic number. With a speaker this size, that's to be expected.

If you look at the XTR-50 from the top, you'll note that it has a convex shape with the deepest part in the center of the speaker. This works well in future-proofing the speaker for the ever shrinking displays hitting the market. While it's deepest point is 1.5 inches, at the edge it is actually .955 inches. With the thinnest flat panels on the market topping an inch not including the wall mount, Def Tech has some time before the XTR-50s look "fat". The speaker is 30 inches tall on the stand (or 27" on the wall) with a six inch width. The gloss black finish should pair nicely with just about any display on the market today.

Conclusion

You have to remember that speakers made this thin are fighting physics. While we're sure these sound very good, no uber thin speaker is going to stand up against a similarly priced, similar quality component speaker. It should, however, absolutely slay the sound quality coming out from any of today's flat panel televisions. For those that are looking for a speaker to match their flat panel, these might be a very good if slightly pricey (at $699 each) choice. They are far from the most expensive on the market, however, and their variety of mounting options (and the fact that all of the options are included instead of requiring additional purchases) should attract more than a few.

For more information, please visit www.definitivetech.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.