We were so intrigued to hear how much bass Atlantic Technology could squeeze from a small speaker with its
H-PAS technology that we overlooked the company's passive FS-7.0 soundbar. That's right -- passive -- for the person who needs the compact footprint of a soundbar, but can't let go of the processing, signal switching and performance of a separate AV receiver. Atlantic Technology managed to squeeze enough drivers (and we assume speaker taps) into the 40-inch soundbar to handle all 7 audio channels; which might explain why there was no room left for a built-in amplifier. LCR audio is handled by three 1-inch tweets and a pair of 4x6-inch woofers along the front face, and the surround and rear surround audio is handled by the triple voice coil, 3.25-inch drivers on each side of the cabinet. The company PR assures that this arrangement creates spacious audio, and with all the surround audio coming from the front of the room, we're sure that's true -- but not necessarily good. More channels
isn't necessarily better, but anyone with FS-7.0's $800 asking price (and maybe even $300 for the companion SB-800 sub) and an open mind is free to give us their impressions below.
posted Sep 17th 2009 3:38PM
I don't get it. For $800 you could buy all sorts of real 5.1 or even 7.1 systems. Hsu has two 7.1 systems for under $600. You could get get an Energy take 5 classic. A Klipsch Quintet system. Plus many more that I'm probably forgetting.
I agree ... $800 is a lot, but I guess this is for people that don't have space for other speakers or for people who just don't want to have many speakers around a room.
I don't know how well this thing works, but it seems like it would only work for certain rooms, so that the sound can bounce off walls evenly.
Most rooms aren't well suited for the placement of 5+ speakers, not to mention wiring. A lot of people want a simple, one step, solution.
I don't know if these soundbars are any good. If they do what they claim to do, they might be a good solution for a lot of people.
Wait, just from looking at it, shouldn't that be 5.2? I see three speakers in the front, two on the side, and two subs.
Only if each sub is getting a distinct signal.
It is 7.0.... you need to add a sub for your LFE. People in the market for these types of soundbars don't have other options, so these are nice additions to a system that would otherwise just be using the tv speakers. They are also not for those of you who hook up your own systems. They are for custom installers like myself to install for clients that can easily spend $800 on a speaker bar and don't want to know why or how it works, just that it does.
I had one of the Yamaha soundbars in an apartment for a while. They are not the best solution for surround, but actually do an admirable job for what they claim. The surround effect is real, and much better than just living with your TV speakers if you don't have the room (or ability) to run wires.