Test Report: Artison Portrait DualMono Speaker System

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By:  Geoffrey Morrison
soundandvisionmag.com
April 2011

Physics is an unforgiving beast. I mean, everyone knows what an unforgiving jerk that gravity is. Besides the heated Einstein/Newton debates, physics bends all aspects of A/V to its will as well. The biggest loser? Sound. No matter how cool some new audio technology seems, it’s just not going to be able to overcome the basic physics of sound creation.

How so? Take the speakers in TVs for example. As TVs become thinner and thinner, there is less space to put the drivers needed to create audio. Smaller, lighter, cheaper drivers are going to result in worse and worse sound quality.

As much as we here at S+V would love for everyone to have an elaborate 7.1 audio system, the reality is most people can’t (or won’t) fit big speakers in their rooms.

Fortunately, Artison has a solution: high quality speakers that mount to a flat-panel TV.

Seems simple, right? I mean lots of companies make in-wall and on-wall speakers. Those are fine, but no matter what, they don’t really “blend” with the TV. They still look like add-on speakers, and for some that’s a deal breaker.

The Artison method is to custom-build grilles so its speakers appear as if they came with the TV from the factory. And if you mount your TV on an articulating arm, the speakers move forward with the TV so you can always get correct sound. (Click here for our review of the company’s original Portrait speaker solution, now updated for ultra-thin TVs.)

SETUP

Artison’s Portrait LCR DualMono speakers come with a mounting kit, though it’s unlikely you’ll have to deal with it. The intention is for a custom installer to mount the speakers for you. Installation, though, is rather simple. Heavy-duty metal brackets bolt to the back of the TV where a wall mount would normally attach (you can then connect a wall mount to it). The speakers mount to the ends of the brackets. After making sure everything is even and level, the custom-sized speaker grilles attach to the front of the speakers. These match perfectly with the height of your TV, regardless of make, model, or age.

Each Portrait speaker actually combines two speakers in a single cabinet. The bottom driver/woofer combo conveys the left or right channel, while the top driver/woofer comprises one-half of Artison’s “DualMono” center-channel design. (This functions as an additional speaker by creating a “phantom center” image emanating from the middle of the TV.)

The 4.5-inch Kevlar woofers feature an inverted magnet. That big cylinder in the center of the driver that looks like a phase plug is actually the magnet. This is clever on any number of levels, but the two most pressing are that it allows a thinner cabinet design (2.1-inches total with grille) without forcing the use of cheap drivers, and it is a perfect place to put Velcro for the grille to secure to.

The tweeters are “1-inch Vifa Super Audio Tweeters with Phase Plug in Pivot Mount.” I’ll admit to a bit of bias here, as every time I’ve heard speakers that use this tweeter, I’ve loved them. The pivot mount is another clever bit, letting you or the installer fine-tune where to direct the high frequencies.

On the back of each Portrait is another 1-inch tweeter, called the “Stage Tweeter.” This selectable tweeter bounces sound off the wall behind the TV, widening the soundstage and making the system sound bigger (and wider) than it really is.

There’s enough clever design and high-quality parts that you’d think Cary Christie, the guy who designed them, has had experience doing this before. I mean, other than being President and Principal Designer for Acoustic Research. And co-Founding Infinity. So, you know, other than that.

Overall the build quality is rock-solid, installation is easy, and looking at the installed product, you’d never know the TV didn’t come that way out of the box.

Looking, that is. Listening on the other hand...

PERFORMANCE

My first thought, given there’s no physical center channel speaker, was to test out a scene that has a lot of sound, including dialog. If the dialog got buried, this great-looking idea would remain just that. I put in Part 7 of the Band of Brothers box set on Blu-ray, chapter 7. This scene, which involves an attack on the town of Foy, is a fantastic test for an audio system. There’s a lot going on — gunshots, mortar explosions, artillery fire, and most important for our demo, voices. (Okay, shouting.) The Portraits performed brilliantly. The soundstage was impressively wide, seeming to come from an area about a foot or two to either side of the television. Voices strongly emanated from the center of the screen. When all hell was breaking loose in the clip, the Portraits never faltered, with detailed metallic pings of the empty M1 clips sounding realistic without ringing or other annoying coloration.

My next selection was chapter 13 from the Kick-Ass Blu-ray. Here, the tiny Hit-Girl juggernauts her way down a narrow hallway and creates a bit of a mess. Even with all the gunfire, music, and ruckus, the Portraits never compressed or muddled the soundtrack, letting one hear everything that was going on.

I moved on to music, as in my mind speakers should be able to handle whatever you throw at them. My first selection was the Fleetwood Mac Live at the BBC DVD-Audio disc. This pre-Stevie Nicks blues band featured (and was indeed founded by) the amazing Peter Green. The Portraits impressed me with their prowess when playing the atmospheric and moody “Jumpin’ at Shadows.” This was in large part to the excellent detail and smoothness of the Vifa tweeter. This tweeter has a natural sound that, as I said above, I’m a big fan of. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Portraits could easily replace some big bookshelf or tower speakers, but they do hold their own when it comes to music.

One drawback of the system’s “phantom center” was revealed on track 21 of this 5.1-channel music disc, "Baby Please Set a Date." In the main listening position, you get a rock-solid center image. If you’re off to the side, the image pulls towards that side. This can be alleviated somewhat by aiming the tweeters more straight on (in my initial setup, the center channel pair was aimed toward the listening position), but then you lose some of the sharp focus.

My last selection was the last track on The Airborne Toxic Event’s self-titled album, played in stereo. When this track gets going, it’s awash with guitars, synths, drums and vocals. The Portraits handled the track fine, though I have heard it a little less muddled (admittedly, this track will never be “unmuddled”). The big sound inherent in this track came through though. Turning off the rear Stage tweeters helped make the sound more focused — as you’d expect — though the soundstage was decidedly smaller.

PERFORMANCE, CONTINUED

Surround speakers for the system I reviewed were the small LRS Surrounds. Like other Artison speakers, these two contain a clever piece of technology. Below 3,000 Hz, the LRS speakers act as a monopole, giving slightly directional sound, along with decent bass for a small speaker. Above that point, they work as a dipole, making high frequencies more open and diffuse. This design works surprisingly well, making the speakers sound significantly bigger than their small size would suggest, yet allowing you to locate surround effects. They’re great surround speakers, though personally I’d love a slightly larger version, as they were slightly underwhelming when listening to music on 5-channel stereo going full blast. In all other situations, they were fantastic.

With the Portraits and LRS Surrounds, Artison shipped its RCC 600 FS subwoofer. There’s a word for this sub: awesome. It looks nothing like other subwoofers, and as you inspect further, it gets even weirder. At full chat, you can feel the bass in your chest. You cannot, however, feel it in the subwoofer: Put your hand on the sub while it’s going, and remarkably, there is absolutely no vibration. This is possible thanks to its "Reactance Canceling" design. Four 5 x 8-inch woofers oppose each other in two pairs. As one driver moves up, its opposite moves down to cancel out any vibration. This is especially useful in Artison’s in-wall version of the design so you don’t rattle the paint of your walls. In the freestanding version, it helps keep floor rattle to a minimum. BG Radia has a sub based on a similar concept, though its design uses smaller drivers.

The RCC 600 FS, which uses an external 600-watt (1,000-watt peak) amplifier, played both deep and loud, easily filling my house with bass. I say house because one wall of my theater is open to the living room, which opens to the hall and kitchen. Most subs would struggle to fill that space, but not the RCC 600 FS. It was one of the best subs I’ve heard in a long time, notable more for its ability to blend with the overall sound and effortlessly create deep bass. Further enhancing its performance is a built-in room EQ that ensures the flattest possible frequency response.

Bottom Line

For some, “regular” speakers just aren’t an option. With that in mind, Artison has created speakers that offer more than just a viable alternative to in-wall/on-wall speakers. With their clever design and high-quality parts, the Portrait DualMono Speakers actually outperform most in-wall/on-walls. For me, the biggest take away from this review is that it’s possible to get great home theater sound without using “regular” speakers. Also, that Artison’s RCC 600 FS sub is one mean piece of kit.