July 12, 2011
SuperCinema 50
Speaker System
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The main speakers in GoldenEar’s SuperCinema 50 system are SuperSat 50s. Swung sideways, it’s also the SuperSat 50c
center channel.
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A tweeter is an amazing thing. Adorable name aside, it’s a powerful device
with the widest frequency range of any speaker driver. Most one-inch
tweeters go from 2,500 Hz to more than 20,000 Hz. Beat that, woofer, with
your 20-80 Hz range.
The vast majority of tweeters are of the “metal”
or “fabric” varieties. These domes have shaped our
idea of sound for the better part of a century. True,
some speakers have featured ribbons, or electrostatic
whatevers, and some have ring radiator tweeters. So
if you’re looking for a mid-priced speaker system, for
the most part it’s got domes.
GoldenEar isn’t “most.” It’s founder, Sandy
Gross, co-founded Polk in the 1970s. Later, he
created Definitive Technology. His list of audio
accomplishments is worthy of an article in itself, and
when he retired from Definitive, few really believed
that he was going to slide quietly into the rarefaction.
Instead, last year he launched GoldenEar. Its first
product was a big tower with an interesting tweeter
called a High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR).
It’s a folded film energized by neodymium magnets
and works like the motion of an accordion (though
without the umpa or lumpa). It has a radiating
surface much greater than dome tweeters, thanks to
its multiple folds.
For those of us not partial to huge black monoliths,
GoldenEar has released two satellite speakers that
are effectively the top half of the Triton Two towers.
The main speakers in the SuperCinema 50
system are SuperSat 50s. Swung sideways, it’s
also the SuperSat 50c center channel. These $499
satellites are thin horizontally, shallow in depth,
and at seven pounds, you could probably hang
them with wallpaper paste (don’t use paste). If wall
mounting isn’t your thing, they look slim and slender
on stands. Each 50 has the HVFR tweeter, two 4.5-
inch midrange drivers, and two four-by-seven-inch
quadratic planar low frequency radiators.
The surrounds, or the main
speakers in the SuperCinema
3 system, are the SuperSat
3s ($249 each). These have
the same tweeter and midrange
drivers, but they skip
the bass radiators.
To fill in the bottom end,
GoldenEar sent me the ForceField 4
subwoofer ($699). A relatively small trapezoidal
unit, it packs a beefy 1,200 watts driving a 10-inch
long-throw woofer. There’s also an 11x13-inch
quadratic planar infrasonic radiator, which seems
to be GoldenEar’s name for a passive radiator. The
4 is small and cheap enough that I don’t know why
you’d get its little brother, the ForceField 3.
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To fill in the bottom end, GoldenEar
offers the ForceField 4 subwoofer, a
relatively small trapezoidal unit that
packs a beefy 1,200 watts driving a
10-inch long-throw woofer.
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Wanting to test this special tweeter, my first
selection was Europa Galante’s recording of
Vivaldi’s Mandolin Concerto in C on CD (track
16). The delicate plucking of the instruments was
rich with timbre and ambiance. The two SuperSat
50s had excellent stereo imaging. The 50s are not
big speakers, but sounded larger than they were.
That’s not say they have the apparent size possible
with some big towers, but they don’t sound like thin
satellites. The mid-bass was quite decent, which I
wasn’t expecting, though they
were only about a foot away
from the wall. Farther out into a
room you’d get a bit less (mounted,
a bit more).
Changing gears completely, I put in Justice’s
2007 release, Cross. This album is practically all
treble and bass, which can sound horrific on many
systems. Track six, “Phantom Pt II” is no exception,
but I was able to play this track extremely loud. The
sub produced tight bass, and blended well with the
SuperSats. I’ve heard better subs, honestly, but all
were much higher in price.
Switching to some high resolution, I put in
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms on DVD-Audio.
The surrounds blended with the main speakers
beautifully. The thunder at the beginning of the
eponymous Track nine seamlessly filled the room.
Later in the song, this was replaced by the reverb
from the instruments. Knopfler’s smooth Fender
rang true, and there was more air around his voice
than I’ve heard before. Overall the SuperSats were
extremely neutral, even at loud volumes, and were
never fatiguing. There might be a bit of a tip up in
the really high end, but I doubt most would notice
because it’s so slight.
For a movie I picked Ghost in the Shell 2.0 on
Blu-ray. This DTS-ES track is multi-layered and
atmospheric. Chapter 10, has Kusanagi battling a
tank, and the SuperCinema system handled this big
scene easily; crisp gunfire, heavy explosions, and
lots of action in the surrounds blended perfectly
with the fronts.
I really couldn’t find any fault with the
SuperCinema system. I might add a second sub if
were I to buy this system, but I have a big room. In
all, it’s a fantastic system at a fantastic price.
410.998.9134
www.goldenear.com
Kudos
Outstanding tweeter mated
to attractive satellites. The
entire system blends well
together, and can handle
whatever you throw at it.
Concerns
On stands, the SuperSat
50s are a little wobbly.
Product Specs
■ High-Velocity Folded
Ribbon tweeter
■ SuperSat 50/50C Claimed
Frequency Response:
60 Hz to 35 kHz, 92 dB
Sensitivity
■ SuperSat 3 Claimed
Frequency Response:
80 Hz to 35 kHz, 92 dB
Sensitivity
■ ForceField 4 Claimed
Frequency Response: 14
Hz to 250 Hz
■ Dimensions:
■ SuperSat 50/50C 27 x 4.75
x 2.5 inches (WxHxD); 7
pounds,
■ SuperSat 3 12 x 4.75 x 2.7
inches (WxHxD); 3 pounds,
■ ForceField 4 13-3/8 x
17-7/8 x 12-3/4 inches
(WxHxD); 32 pounds
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