Audio Video News

GoldenEar Technology 3D Array Ultra High Performance soundbar system

(November 2012)

Soundbars tend to get written off as a low-brow product category — okay as a replacement for your TV’s speakers, but not worthy for music listening. GoldenEar Technology’s 3D Array Ultra High Performance Soundbar System beats down that myth by sounding great on pretty much anything you care to play through it. The system consists of a passive 3-channel bar, a pair of GoldenEar’s SuperSat 3 speakers for surrounds, and the company’s ForceField 3 subwoofer. Both the bar and surrounds share the same HFVR “folded ribbon” tweeter we’ve praised highly in reviews of the company’s other speakers, while the sub features an 8-inch woofer powered by a 1,000-watt Class D amp, along with a passive radiator, to belt out bass.

There’s nothing too complex going on inside GoldenEar’s soundbar aside from interaural crosstalk cancellation to widen the soundfield and improve imaging. But in this case, simple was the right recipe. In his review, Al Griffin characterized the system’s sound as “massive,” with a “soundstage width far exceeding the physical boundaries of the soundbar...” Its performance with movies was equally impressive, with the SuperSat 3s enabling “impressive continuity between the front and rear” with surround-intensive soundtracks, and the ForceField 3 sub conveying “room-shaking LFE.” But it was the system’s ability to switch easily between the worlds of movies and music that clinched the deal, leaving him to wonder if he should “even bother using separate tower speakers” any longer.

goldenear.com