Early Official Definitive Technology Mythos ST review

[mantis]

I am in a writing mood so I figured I will talk about my new speakers a bit. I know it's a bit early and I'm probably rushing things but I wanted to tell you about my experience in my own system so far.

First off they have now about 10 hours on them. that might even be a little high. I feel asleep listening last night and they where on the entire time.

So here it goes,
last night I decided it was music night with them. I wanted to hear what they can do right out of the box and judge them against my all time love my Dynaudio Audience 82's. My 82's are still by far the most musical speakers I have ever owned including my new so far Mythos ST's. There I said it and I mean it. I might even be disappointed in them. I think I'm to early and maybe to excited to have new speakers but I just didn't connect with them. I didn't sit there and lose myself in the music. Diana Krall was sitting there on the Piano playing and I was not feeling her. I called upon Norah Jones to whisper to me and sing me a song but she didn't sweep me off of my feel. So with all guns blazing I had to go all the way and call out Loreena McKennitt. She is the one voice I call "heaven" . She is a Angel on earth. She had a hard time making me escape my day, my week and help me start my weekend. So I left the room for a bit ,decided it's not time to judge , put away the Audiophile collection which I didn't really get deep into and decided it's time to just have some fun , connect up the Ipod and just listen to that.
I have 2 ways of connecting my Ipod. First is the direct connect on the front of the SC-07 which is the best sounding. Then I also have the Univeral Rmote Ipod server dock. This dock is the best acting dock I have ever used. I can make party mixes right on the dock and talk to my ipod from my computer and send it updates music just like if it was connected to the computer. It does all of this over IP. The dock is Ip which makes it unique. I love it but it's not the best sounding. I don't care as I use it more for house music and room control. it sounds good enough.
So I plugged my 30g in and since Alice In Chains got a new CD coming , I have the 2 new songs and I decided to jam them. So without any expectations , I listened and enjoyed the music. One thing that distracted me was my speaker placement. My first position sucks. I kept hearing the voice float over to the left channel. But if I moved myself to the right. I could get some kind of center image. So I got up off my ass and repositioned the speakers a little further apart. This make a difference and got me a little more to what I'm used to hearing. Rock music isn't all about detail and clarity especially when your using a ipod dock in analog. but I have done tis very same setup with my Audience 82's and never had to figure out where I wanted to sit and listen.
Ok so for music I'm not or they are or we are not ready yet. More hours and more placement seems to be in order. If I had to judge them right now , They would be out for music but....

Theater effing rocks. O my god they are just dynamic and clear. I don't get why music is so flat and theater is so exciting. I'm fully happy with my theater performance . I don't have my Dynaudio sub connected , it just sits off to the side. I use the ST's as subs. They are great. I didn't go Depth charge scene on them yet as I want to break them in before I torture them but so far so good.

More to come maybe on Sunday. Sunday I like to spend some time with some good music. Run some Al Di Meola , YES , all my my women , and maybe some Steely Dan . Depending on my mood some metal may hit the surface.

[BB3]

Thanks for taking the to report Dan(mantis). I 'm sure you are happy as can be in getting your new speakers.

Enjoy your weekend.-------Bill(BB3)

[blueboxer]

Dan, give them about 60 hrs or so to become a little less bright and smooth out a bit. I guess I was the opposite, in that I never anticipated loving them for music, but knew for HT they would be incredible and be great for party music and gatherings. However, I am happy with them acoustically, they won't ever be as defined and airy as the Dyns or IMO the Paradigms, but for their cost, size, and efficiency they are still extremely hard to beat.

[Barefoot]

Excellent review thanks. The speakers sure do look incredible.

[thuffman03]

Good review. I think they will come alive once they are broken in. I really like Definitive Technology speakers.

[blueboxer]

Excellent review thanks. The speakers sure do look incredible.

They look awesome with the grills off, but the WAF factor with them on seems to have won in my household. I just wished I really thought out the surrounds and went with 10's all around instead of going for the overkill of all ST's. LOL

[smglbrth]

Nice "pre" review Dan. Hopefully they will get better over the weekend for your taste in listening. Seems like (most) speakers are directly connected to HT first and music second anymore.

[Monster Jam]

Any update?

[antheo]

I have Dynaudios as well as studio monitors and love them.
I am wondering if the ST got any better for music?

[mantis]

I have Dynaudios as well as studio monitors and love them.
I am wondering if the ST got any better for music?

After Hundreds of hours I can honestly say my Dynaudio Audience 82's are a better speakers for music. For theater the Def Tech's destroy .

The ST's are a fantastic music speaker as I have grown to like them. We carry Totem Acoustic's and I can see them replacing all of my Def techs. But I have yet to put the Totems into a theater so I have to travel that path before I move anything.
B&W seem to be the one speaker that can play a dual roll and do it well. They shine for both areas just about equal. Music they may favor but they still have that explosive exciting theater like sound.
Klipsch also has this quality but they can be slightly in your face if not matched perfectly with electronics driving them.

I'm one who loves to change my system every so often. I have been planning my next upgrade carefully. Right now I'm still into the ST's so it's difficult to move them.

On a last note , I think most people would fall in love with the ST's for music. They do a lot of things right. They play nice with all kinds of music and what is really nice is the fact that they sound like a passive speaker. The sub section is smooth and very musical with no hint of BOOM or sloppy bass notes like many powered towers I have heard did.

[hoosier21]

why are your reviews official anyway?

[blueboxer]

It took the right amp and transport to get me to where I want to be with my Mythos ST speakers, at least musically. In terms of home theatre, I was impressed and pleased from the start. Pairing them with NAD gear also made them more musically pleasing, especially with the NAD EARS mode selected. They are not warm nor will they ever present that gushing tube sound, but they do an excellent job of fading away and presenting all types of music really well. Acoustic guitars and decay are not their forte, but current music, r&b, techno, etc really shine with them. I still love living to Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Cash and etc... on them so don't let me lead away from that genre. Would I trade up to some Martin Logan Spires or Paradigm Sigs, of course. Would I buy anything else in the same price range in lieu of them? Probably not.

[VR3]

This is not a knock as I like Definitive overall BUT...

If you like them THAT much I can only assume that if you were to remove the ****ty parts inside those speakers and put good ones they would tickle your pickle and more... but hey - what do I know!

Glad you are digging them!

[leroyjr1]

This is not a knock as I like Definitive overall BUT...

If you like them THAT much I can only assume that if you were to remove the ****ty parts inside those speakers and put good ones they would tickle your pickle and more... but hey - what do I know!

Glad you are digging them!

Doesn't seem to matter what speaker it is, you're in love with swapping the xo's.

Still considering replacing mine but I want to make sure I'm keeping them before I drop another $500 into them. Overall I'm very pleased with my Mythos ST setup and just started upgrading some components in my HT setup to improve the 2 channel side. With them being very efficient just a receiver does the trick, but just purchased a new amp to try out.

I've never jumped so much while watching movies, they're very dynamic. It has also fooled me a couple times into believing my phone was ringing, it's very life like.

[VR3]

I wont rehash what I have said before - but anyone who wants to doubt me...

I have two sets of Definitive SM450 speakers - one with different internal parts than the other, one set is unbearable and the other sounds amazing.

The only difference being tweeter crossover parts.

The ST series I am sure is amazing - but it does not change the fact that Definitive uses budget xover parts and I assure you their performance level out of the box is 25% of their capability...

Either way - I would love to experience the ST series as I have heard many positive things about them.

[mantis]

why are your reviews official anyway?

because they are mine

[mantis]

It took the right amp and transport to get me to where I want to be with my Mythos ST speakers, at least musically. In terms of home theatre, I was impressed and pleased from the start. Pairing them with NAD gear also made them more musically pleasing, especially with the NAD EARS mode selected. They are not warm nor will they ever present that gushing tube sound, but they do an excellent job of fading away and presenting all types of music really well. Acoustic guitars and decay are not their forte, but current music, r&b, techno, etc really shine with them. I still love living to Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Cash and etc... on them so don't let me lead away from that genre. Would I trade up to some Martin Logan Spires or Paradigm Sigs, of course. Would I buy anything else in the same price range in lieu of them? Probably not.

I have heard the ST's on NAD and man do they go together well. NAD kinda makes everything sound really good.

[mantis]

This is not a knock as I like Definitive overall BUT...

If you like them THAT much I can only assume that if you were to remove the ****ty parts inside those speakers and put good ones they would tickle your pickle and more... but hey - what do I know!

Glad you are digging them!

I think it's cool you like to dig inside and try to improve a pair of speakers but that kinda project is not for me. I'd rather go buy something else. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to hear the ST's at their best. They are a remarkable sounding speaker and the very best sounding Definitive Technology speaker made. The BP series doesn't hold a candle as I'm not very fond of them for music at all. Overly bright and edgy. I had them on a M25 NAD and I didn't care for them. They where the BP7001's.

[Face]

Mantis beat me to it, they need more than upgraded parts to sound right.

[blueboxer]

I wont rehash what I have said before - but anyone who wants to doubt me...

I have two sets of Definitive SM450 speakers - one with different internal parts than the other, one set is unbearable and the other sounds amazing.

The only difference being tweeter crossover parts.

The ST series I am sure is amazing - but it does not change the fact that Definitive uses budget xover parts and I assure you their performance level out of the box is 25% of their capability...

Either way - I would love to experience the ST series as I have heard many positive things about them.

I actually tried researching this once or twice, any information on upgrading these crossovers would be much appreciated. I am definitely keeping mine, they will always be used as a HT setup and when I find the perfect speakers for music, they will go in another room.