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Mikael Hagén puts VideoLogic Systems' DigiTheatre DTS speaker system to the test |
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DigiTheatre DTS - Mikael Hagén - August 1, 2000
Introduction The first Dolby Digital 5.1 systems that were targeted to the Home Theater market were really expensive, way out of reach for the average consumer. However, it was not long after the introduction of DVDs in the spring 97 that several inexpensive DD 5.1 system reached the market. With the introduction of Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater 5.1 the $300 price point was reached. It didn’t take long for several other of the speaker companies to release complete DD 5.1 or DD 4.1 systems in the $300-400 price range, VideoLogic being one of them with their original $400 DigiTheatre System. While most reviews found the DigiTheatre system to offer sound quality way ahead of Cambridge SoundWorks DT2500 system there was still many users disappointed that VideoLogic didn’t use the same high quality components you’ll find in their Sirocco speaker series. This spring VideoLogic decided it was time to please those not happy with the original DigiTheatre System sound quality by releasing the $600/£400 DigiTheatre DTS system. It uses the exact same satellites as the Sirocco Crossfire for the rear channels and 2 of the front channels while the center channel uses a 4" driver instead of the 3" you’ll find in the other satellites. The subwoofer uses the same driver as the Sirocco Pro but in a different casing that also integrates the amplifier and DD/DTS decoder. The amplifier is new and while it’s clearly more powerful than the one you’ll find in the Sirocco Crossfire (220 Watts RMS vs 80 Watts RMS) the specs aren’t quite as impressive. The decoder has also changed since the original DigiTheatre System and as the name suggest the major difference is that it now supports DTS in addition to Dolby Digital and Dolby Prologic. One area where the DigiTheatre DTS will disappoint some users even more so than the original DigiTheatre system is the lack of separate rear input, the absence of which means that you cannot connect the rear out of a 4-speaker soundcard. From this brief overview of the specs, the obvious conclusion is that the DigiTheatre DTS is heavily targeted at the living room and should deliver much louder and significantly better sound quality than any of the other DD 5.1 systems we have previously reviewed. In this review will take a more in-depth look at the features and also briefly look at how it compares with PowerDVD 4-speaker down-mixing, the Cambridge Soundworks DTT2500 system and VideoLogic Systems’ DigiTheatre when it comes to sound quality and the Dolby Digital decoding. We will also find out how it compares to the Sirocco Crossfire and if DTS offers an advantage compared to Dolby Digital.
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Speaker Reviews Altec Lansing ADA880 Dolby Digital Cambridge SoundWorks FPS2000 digital Cambridge SoundWorks 2.1 Digital Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2500 Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 510D Diamond Audio Technology ProMedia 3205 Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Initial Review Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100 Philips MMS305 4.1 Initial Review Yamaha TSS1 Dolby Digital / DTS 5.1 Sirocco Crossfire vs ProMedia v.2-400 Evergreen RumbleFX force feedback headphones Jazz Speakers DE-005/DE-006 Digital Audio Decoders Boostaroo Headphone Amplifier / Splitter |
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