Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 Passive Soundbar

Most modern flat-screen TVs have weak speakers that produce lackluster sound. This affects you TV watching experience and makes films and music less enjoyable. To overcome this hurdle, companies have introduced soundbars – a comprehensive all-in-one solution for your TV’s sound system. A soundbar replaces your TV’s speakers, providing far better audio with impressive clarity and detail. It is essentially a box containing specialized speakers designed to handle different frequency bands of the incoming audio signal. This ensures the entire sound spectrum receives the exact treatment it needs so that the resulting audio is not only loud and clear but also highlights all the finer nuances of sound.

The Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 is a top-rated passive sound bar for flat panel TVs. It is a 5-channel surround sound speaker system capable of emulating three-dimensional home theatre sound. Let us do a deep-dive into the technology used by Mythos SSA-50 to create its unique sound.

Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 Passive Soundbar Review :

Sound Quality :

The Mythos SSA-50 is a monstrous 200W passive soundbar with Solo Surround Array Series loudspeakers. It includes five front-firing speakers and four rear channel speakers. The front-firing speakers are 4.5-inch BDSS mid/bass drivers and serve as dedicated left, right and center channel speakers. Three of these front drivers have a 1-inch ferro-magnetic fluid damped pure aluminum dome tweeter directly in front of the corresponding speaker’s cone. These tweeters are specifically meant for high frequencies. Definitive Technology calls this special tweeter-midrange arrangement in the front on the soundbar ‘Axially Arranged.’ It helps produce highly precise sound with surround sound effect. The axially arranged drivers are also tonally very well balanced and capable of excellent sound imaging. The remaining 4 rear speakers are 3.5-inch mid/bass drivers with butyl rubber surrounds. They handle the surround channels and fill the room with full range sound. We will now talk about the technologies used to develop the Mythos SSA-50 soundbar. First up, it has Definitive Technology’s patented Spatial Array technology. Spatial Array is a one of a kind sound technology that optimizes the spatial representation of each of the five channels to create an illusion of being surrounded by five separate high definition speakers in five different corners of the room. The sound you hear emanates from the precise direction depicted on screen. For instance, if the video shows a helicopter hovering overhead, you will hear the chopper’s sound coming from above. If a horse gallops from the left end of the screen to the right, you will also hear the galloping sound moving from left to right in sync with the horse’s movement. This is the beauty of Spatial Array. This technology is based on Definitive Technology’s sister concern, Polk Audio’s patented Stereo Dimensional Array Surround (SDA) technology. Spatial Array does not rely on walls, floors and ceilings to bounce sound waves and create surround sound. Rather it uses its driver’s spacing and crosstalk cancellation to produce immersive surround sound. The benefit of this technology is that you can use the soundbar in any room. The size and layout of the space has no effect on the speaker’s sound. It is completely independent of the room’s structure and can perform brilliantly in all kinds of interior settings. The second technology used to develop the Mythos SSA-50 is the Balanced Double Surround System or BDSS. The five front speakers have BDSS technology. This technology helps improve the speakers’ output without increasing the size of the soundbar’s cabinet. The rubber surrounds of each speaker supports the cone at two points increasing its mechanical stability. The surrounds are placed both along the inner and outer edges of the cone for accurate cone motion. This enhances damping and cancels out invasive cone resonance. It also ensures longer and more linear excursion. The resulting sound is highly nuanced with plenty of detail and impact. The waveguide of the speakers evens out off-axis response to deliver a wide dispersion of sound with better imaging. The cone itself is made of a special mineral-reinforced mono-polymer. It is designed using advanced 3D modeling mechanism for better tonal precision. The soundbar sounds better after a few weeks of use than it does brand new. This is because the material surrounding the woofers becomes loose facilitating free driver movement.

Product Design :

The Mythos SSA-50 has a slender but sturdy frame. It has a heavy-duty aircraft-grade extruded aluminum enclosure with a removable cloth grille. It is black in color and has a smart hand-polished glossy sheen. The Mythos SSA-50 is suitable for flat panel TVs with a screen size of 50 inches or more. It can be mounted on walls or placed on table tops or home theatre consoles. It has a space-efficient design and hardly occupies any room. Once installed, it remains close to the mounting surface blending with the surrounding décor. The soundbar has a frequency range of 50Hz to 30kHz, impendence of 8 ohm and sensitivity of 90 dB. It has five pairs of five-way gold-plated binding posts. They support banana plugs, spades and bare wire ends. However, they are placed very close to each other in the rear pane. You will have to be a little patient while wiring the system. Since the Mythos SSA-50 is a passive system, it has to be paired with a home theatre AV receiver or amplifier. It can also be connected with other speakers. Apart from the soundbar, the package includes all the necessary mounting equipment including mounting feet and wall mounting brackets. Dimensions of the bar are: 4.2” x 46.2” x 5.4”. It weighs 30.9 lbs.

Key features :

  • 200W passive soundbar for flat screen TV.
  • 5-channel surround sound speaker system.
  • Five front-firing mid/bass drivers, four rear channel drivers.
  • Spatial Array technology.
  • Balanced Double Surround System (BDSS) drivers.
  • Aircraft-grade extruded aluminum housing.
  • Wall and shelf mountable.
  • Ideal for flat-screen TVs with 50-inch screens or larger.
  • Five pairs of five-way gold-plated binding posts.
  • Must be supported by an AV receiver or amplifier.

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To know more about whether you need a passive soundbar or active speakerbar, you may understand the underlying technology involved in active vs passive speakerbar.

If you want to have an idea whether a soundbar setup or a complete surround sound installation which is better for your living room, then read the linked article.

If you have a smaller apartment and a space constraint, then we would rather recommend you to try these awesome small soundbars.

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