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DB Dynamics Polaris 5.1 Speaker Package
Overview DB Dynamics are an Australian-owned company and a speaker brand that we have stocked for a number of years. They have consistently produced competent, entry-level speakers that provide fantastic ‘bang for the buck’. However, their new Polaris 5.1 speaker package demonstrates just how serious DB Dynamics are in terms of running with the big boys.
This is a big speaker package. The front floorstanding speakers are a three way design standing 1150mm tall, 260mm wide and 330mm deep. They incorporate a silk dome tweeter, a 4” moulded silk dome midrange and three 8” polypropylene bass drivers. They are 8 ohm rated and rear ported, with a power handling of 250 Watts, and weigh 32kg each. Frequency response is a claimed 40-20k Hz.
The centre speaker is a little less intimidating but still large: 540mm wide, 200mm high and 230mm deep. It uses the same silk dome tweeter as the floorstanders and twin 6.5” bass drivers. Power handling is up to 120 Watts. Weight is 10.5kg, it has dual rear ports and frequency response is a claimed 60-20k Hz.
The surround/rear speakers are a dipole design (DB Dynamics use dipoles in several of their speaker packages) and utilise the same 6.5” midrange drivers and silk dome
The subwoofer consists of a 200 Watt A/B class amplifier partnered with a single forward firing 12” bass driver. On the front of the unit is an LCD display showing frequency cut-off and volume level. Three large ports can be found on the rear of the subwoofer, and connections extend to line level inputs and speaker level input/output. There is also a rocker switch to adjust phase (0 or 180o). Frequency response is rated at 40-150 Hz. A remote control comes supplied allowing power, volume and frequency cut-off adjustment. Dimensions: 540mm high, 400mm wide and 420mm deep. Weight: 31kg
All speakers are magnetically shielded and are finished in a black ash veneer.
Besides its size, the other thing you notice about the Polaris pack is its bullet-proof build quality. The enclosures are made from surprisingly thick MDF (exact cabinet details were not available at time of writing) and are well braced. The build quality of these speakers is a big step up in comparison to previous DB Dynamics products, and is comparable to B&W and Paradigm.
For this review the Polaris speaker pack was placed in a room measuring approximately 4m x 6m, with 2.7m ceilings. The subwoofer was placed in the front left corner of the room, approximately 40cm out from each wall. Surround speakers were placed on 900mm stands approximately 1.5m behind and to the side of the listener. They were not toed in.
Performance: First up, these speakers need some room to perform their best. A room of at least 4m x 4m is needed to accommodate the Polaris package. If your listening area is smaller than this, but is part of a larger open-living area, this package will still be suitable.
For stereo music performance the Polaris floorstanding speakers give a forward and punchy performance. A wide selection of music was used for this review, including Joss Stone, U2, Keith Urban, Billy Joel, Martina McBride, Justin Timberlake, James Blunt, Live, Missy Elliot, Billie Holiday and Fleetwood Mac. The Polaris floorstanders are not as laid back as Paradigm’s Phantom floorstander, instead exhibiting a more prominent midrange kick, especially with contemporary and classic rock, as well as pop-chart music and hip-hop. If this is the type of music you listen to you will be very impressed by these Polaris floorstanders.
Crank the volume up and the midrange stays forceful and clear, thanks in part maybe to the silk dome midrange, which is a design very rarely seen in speaker manufacturing these days. High frequency performance is better than expected at this price point, and while the bass delivery is tight, I was expecting a bit more depth considering the size of the cabinet and the number of bass drivers. Turning the Polaris subwoofer on will fix this, and the bass it produces is surprisingly tight and unobtrusive for music, considering the size of the driver and the three large ports at the rear of the unit (that in most cases will fire straight back into the wall).
While we are impressed by the musical performance of the Polaris speakers, the presentation they provide with movies is way beyond what we expected. One word folks: awesome! This level of performance is basically achieved through multiple, large speaker drivers moving a lot of air within well-constructed speaker cabinets. The amount of sound that this speaker package is capable of pushing towards you is phenomenal. It makes watching a well recorded action movie like Master and Commander or Mr and Mrs Smith not just a visual/aural experience, but a physically moving one as well. Skip to Chapter 18 (around the 55:00 minute mark) on Terminator 3 to see what I mean.
But it’s not all noise and fireworks with the Polaris speaker package. It also relays the quieter moments of a movie soundtrack very effectively. The tonal match between the speakers is spot-on, and the centre channel provides clear vocals and decent depth to male voices and effects-heavy movie scenes. The Polaris surrounds integrate well into the system and their dipole design provides a seamless panning of sound behind the listener when the movie calls for it. Their placement in the room is not as critical as a forward-firing speaker so you can still enjoy fine surround sound performance if you have to compromise in positioning.
One reservation prior to auditioning the Polaris speaker pack was that the front floorstanders would drown out the considerably smaller centre speaker, but we are glad to report this is not the case. All we had to do was turn up the centre speaker +2dB through the A/V receiver to balance speaker volume levels.
The icing on the cake is the Polaris subwoofer. While it is a decent performer with music, where it really excels is movie soundtracks. It will play low and loud and has a hell of a kick. Want to shake the pictures off the wall? No problem. Just crank this baby up and enjoy! It is conservatively rated at a lower frequency response of 40Hz, and although I had no way of measuring it at the time, I’m confident this sub will gladly crank out bass as low as 25Hz at a decent volume level. The supplied remote control is also handy, allowing you to adjust volume and frequency cut-off without leaving your seat.
Last Words As clichéd as it may sound, we believe the Polaris package is a standout speaker system. If you have the space for this system you would be hard pressed to find a rival speaker package for less than $3,500 that offers the Polaris’ combination large-scale dynamics for movies and competence with stereo music. No, they are not going to worry Paradigm Studio Reference Series speakers in terms of clarity or high end detail, but they provide a performance that the vast majority of people would be more than happy with. Highly, highly recommended.
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Product: DB Dynamics Polaris 5.1 Speaker Package Price: $2,999 Warranty: 5 years Availability: now
Components used in this review:
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