GoldenEar Technology is now shipping its new SuperCenter XXL center-channel speaker.
The SuperCenter XXL’s unique balanced topology reduces stray capacitance in the magnetic circuit, among other things, with the result of dramatically improved clarity. The new SuperCenter XXL features a svelte 35-inch-wide by 5.75-inch-high by 11-inch-deep cabinet, with four 5.25-inch drivers, a High Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter, two 6.7-inch by 8-inch and one 7-inch by 10-inch planar passive radiators, and a unique linear-phase crossover, with fully balanced technology. The unique balanced topology reduces stray capacitance in the magnetic circuit, among other things, with the result of dramatically improved clarity.
The cabinet itself, as well as the way the drivers are utilized, is also rather complex, with exceptional sonic results. The outer two 5.25-inch drivers are actually different than the inner two. They have been optimized for low-frequency reproduction, and are housed in their own separate chambers, where they are each coupled to one of the smaller passive radiators. They are rolled off at the high end, at 500Hz. The two inner 5.25-inch drivers are coupled to the larger passive radiator, and run all the way up to blend with the tweeter.
All four 5.25-inch drivers operate together in the bass range, for tremendous impact. A huge amount of development time was spent both in our anechoic chamber (which is an exact duplicate of the world-famous chamber at the NRC), and in our listening room, to get everything properly blended together and sounding right. Some subtleties, like the different mounting depth of the drivers, were necessary to get the phase response optimally aligned. It is also important to note that since the pressure wave coming off the top-mounted passives is very low in frequency, only 1–2 inches of clearance above the speaker is necessary. And, of course, careful attention was paid to minimizing deleterious diffraction effects.
Retail price in the U.S. is $1,249 each and availability is now.
