Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Phase Technology 7T Speakers by Tuneman

Model:	7T
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$600
Description:	2 way floorstanding speaker with 8
Manufacturer URL:	Phase Technology
Manufacturer URL:	Phase Technology

Review by Tuneman ( A ) on June 16, 2003 at 12:45:45
IP Address: 205.188.209.69

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Having had the 7T’s for about 2 weeks now and putting them through an extensive audition, I figured a review might be in order. It all started when I began my quest for a set of floorstanding speakers for one of my secondary system. Having been familiar with Phase Tech, when I saw the 7T’s in a local shop I figured I would take them home and put them through the paces for a while. My price range was set at no more than 400 dollars, so I would more than likely be buy a used set of speakers, which meant my choices were limited as the only new speaker that I found to be in the running was the Athena AS-F1. So with that said, when I spotted a pair of 7T’s for 170 dollars, I knew that it would be rough to do much better I have long since wanted a set of Teatro 7.5’s, but have never seen a set used locally and I was told that the 7T’s were comparable in performance. I believe this to be false after spending some time listening to the 7T’s, as they seem to slaughter the 7.5’s in bass extension and had a much deeper sound stage. The bass extension was most notable on “I Love You” from Sarah McLachlan and “Welcome to the Machine” from Pink Floyd. The whirling sound of what always has reminded me of a huge industrial fan of some sort in “Welcome to the Machine” came through quite well.
As always my “Brand New Day” CD spent some time in my demo sessions. In, “Fill Her Up”’ the steel guitars had good presence and weight. “Desert Rose” had plenty of punch and chimes came through nicely along with the cymbals as I listened to the song. The title track showed how well the 7T’s can throw out an image, as I continued my listening session.
I drove the 7T’s with my Yamaha CA-1010 integrated amp and used my DIY volume Attenuator. My trusty Sony CE-275 CD player was used as the source. Monster XP and my DIY IC’s were used as well. One test of speakers that I really like to perform is the maximum volume with Celine Dion’s “Power of Love” off of the “Colour of My Love” CD. I was able to hit peaks of around 100Db’s @ 8 feet away without any real signs of strain, which even though I rarely listen that loud, it is nice to know that you could crank it up if you wanted. It is a fairly demanding song; good for testing how well the drum crashes stand out against Cline’s wailing vocals. It took every bit of power the CA-1010 had, but the 7T’s never sounded strained.
Next up was Counting Crows “August and Everything After”, a CD which I know very well. If there was something that I did not like in the 7T’s, this was the album that would reveal it. There were no signs of chestiness or boominess on “Anna Begins”, a fairly demanding song in the midbass department. The cymbals on “Time and Time Again” were a touch mellower than on my Mini Monitors, which just happened to be hooked up on the B channel of the CA-1010. I suspect the soft some tweeters are just a slight bit rolled off.
I seemed to prefer male vocals to female vocals with the 7T’s, as was the case when I listened to Alison Krauss’s “Now That I’ve Found You” and then “Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged” album. “Tears in Heaven” won out over “I Don’t believe You’ve Met My Baby” in the emotion department. In my listening session I really wanted to focus on the accuracy of the vocals and how natural they sounded. I used a Yamaha CR-620 to drive the 7T’s and a Pioneer PD-F605 CD player with a double run of 18-gauge zip cord and a Radio Shack gold IC in the next set up. I wanted to hear how the 7T’s would sound if you just threw a system together. I put on “Hell Freezes Over” from the Eagles. I sat back in my chair and gave it a listen. “The Last Resort” was first up to bat. The tonal balance was quite good, as the piano and synthesizer sounded accurate. The midrange was warm and never showed any graininess. It was most notable was the how well the acoustic guitars on “Hotel California” maintained their presence when the congas kicked in and the maraca like shakers all flowed together, a strong sign that the 7T’s will fair well with most rock music. My trusty Titans which were hooked up to the B channel of the CR-620 sounded downright bright compared to the 7T’s with that song. I paid little attention to the bass extension and focused on the midrange and treble as my test continued.
In keeping with the rock theme, I just had to play “The White Album” from the Beatles. The raunchy guitars on “Happiness is A Warm Gun” seemed to maintain the proper tone. “Why Don’t we do it in the Road” was next up, and all the raw power of everything in that song came through and got my toes tapping. I ended with a recording made from a MP3, “Don’t you want me? From Human League, as I wanted to hear how compressed music from an MP3 would sound. The 7T’s showed how unforgiving they are. The sound was lifeless and bland, a good indication that the 7T’s are fairly accurate.
I began to wonder how well the 7T’s would fair against my Studio 100’s, so I dragged them over the main system for a brief tour of duty. I decided to drive both sets of speakers with an Adcom GFA-5400 and my VSX-36tx as the preamp. The source was my PD-F1039 as a transport and the Pioneer’s processor; Monster XP and Monster 550i’s rounded out the list of test equipment for the demo. From Metallica to Zappa, the 7T’s sounded even better than in my secondary system in terms of treble detail, bass definition and overall clarity, which is to be expected.
I started out with the Dixie Chick’s “Home” CD and began to focus on the imaging and microdynamics. Once I set them in front of the Studio 100’s, I had to sit 1 foot farther away then I normally do, as I was not about to lug the Studio 100’s out of the way just yet. The weight of the electric bass on “Top of the World” was impressive and as far as I remember, sounded on par with the Monitor 9’s which also found their way onto the short list of speakers to audition. Again, having never found a set of them used I had to rely on what I heard in the store on the demo pair. The 7T’s were slightly warm; leaning towards recessed a bit on the vocal harmonies.
The 7T’s did not have the overall slam of the Studio 100’s, but none the less their bass performance was respectable as compared to the Studio 100’s. The Studio 100’s definitely had the edge in transparency, clarity and depth as I switched back and forth between the two. I then tried something completely different from what I normally listen to in an audition; I tossed on my copy of Madonna’s “Immaculate Collection”, a CD which uses “Q-Sound”, pseudo-surround sound software that never really took off. I began to focus on how well the images drifted around the room on “Lucky Star”. I was slightly taken back at how well the 7T’s projected the shimmering synthesizer notes around the room.
The only gripe against the 7T’s is the fact that the binding posts are on the bottom of the speakers like the old Bose 701’s, which makes changing cables a pain. Why Phase Tech decided to do this is anyone’s guess. I also wished they had included 2 sets of binding posts for biwiring and passive biamping. It would have been nice.
The next test would be Cannon in D minor. The soft dome tweeter was a bit too laid back and some detail was lost in the violins and it was also noted that when I played Beethoven’s “Adagio molto expressivo from the 9th symphony in D minor” the 7T’s had some slight congestion and some detail got lost in the crowd, which led me to believe that very detailed classical music just is not one the 7T’s strong suits.
I figured that since the 7T is supposed to be a home theater speaker that I would try a few DVD’s, so I used a Pioneer DV-C503 DVD player for this task. I started out with “The Last Waltz” from “The Band” I did not have a suitable center channel other than my Studio CC, so I set the center to None and let the test begin. I also turned my subwoofer off. I was surprised that the 7T’s had an expansive soundstage and I found that a center channel would improve the overall experience, but I did not miss it all that much. Sting’s “All This Time” DVD spent some time in the DVD player, as it one of the best recorded DVD’s that I have heard in a while. “Brand New Day” in its mellower format is fairly complex and I thought it would be a good test to see how well 2 speakers could recreate what I was used to with 7 speakers and a subwoofer. The details were there, a set of surround speakers and a center channel would have most certainly improve the sound, but everything still sounded great without them.
I ended my Audition with Diana Krall’s “Live in Paris”. “A Case of You” sounded great, but the Studio 100’s faired much better in terms of microdynamics and overall impact.
Overall, the 7T’s proved to be a good speaker at a modest price, with few real flaws. I think they stack up nicely with other 2 way floorstanders in the 500-850 dollar price range. The 7T’s are worth a listen in my opinion. I don’t think the 7T’s will replace my Studio 100’s any time soon, but I also think my search is over for modestly priced floorstander for use in my secondary system.

Product Weakness: 1 set of binding posts and their mounting location!
Product Strengths: Imaging, soundstage and bass extension

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Yamaha CA-1010(90 watts @8 ohms), Adcom GFA-5400 (125 watts @ 8 ohms), Yamaha Cr-620 (35 watts @ 8 ohms)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	DIY volume Attenuator and Pioneer Elite VSX-36tx
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Sony CE-275, Pioneer PD-F605, Pioneer PD-F1039, Pioneer DV-C503
Speakers:	7T,Studio 100 V2, Mini Monitor & Titan
Cables/Interconnects:	Monster XP, 18 guage zip cord DIY, Radio Shack, Monster 550i
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	see review
Room Size (LxWxH):	x x x x x
Room Comments/Treatments:	none
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster HTS1000
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	see tuneman's systems in inmate's systems.

Product Weakness:	1 set of binding posts and their mounting location!
Product Strengths:	Imaging, soundstage and bass extension