SLIM YET POWERFUL AF?! 🤯 | SuperCinema 3D Array XL Review | Goldenear

[@robertrothman8351]

Had to lose my floor standing left/ right speakers when my wife redecorated. All other speakers are wall or ceiling mounted, so front 3 had to go. Mounted the Goldenear and have a happy wife and life. I am amazed that a sound bar could sound this good--thanks for the video.

[@ealanosborne]

I know how it is! 😁🎉

[@alandawson9419]

I have the super cinema x. Should I not use the Sony 1080 room correction? How then do you set it up? Manual measurements?

[@ealanosborne]

Correct. Manual measurements. REW + Umik-1 from MiniDSP is such a great combo. 🎉

[@constantinoskatodrytis542]

The reason for sending back the soundbar did not sound very convincing to me....apologies but had to say it. How was speech intelligibility ? How was the highs? Was it good with music? Stereo imaging? come on....

[@robsay24]

How much difference would sound quality be between this and a top of the line all in soundbar system i.e. Samsung 990D?

[@ealanosborne]

What sets this system apart is the dynamics. The Q990D (and any soundbar system, for that matter) has such a small footprint and such a confined space to put components, that the processing power can only do so well. When dealing with an AVR and external amps like in this video, it’s basically unlimited amounts of headroom and dynamics (unless you want to blow your eardrums). True cinematic experience. But for what it’s worth, the Q990D is a beast. 👍

[@MattyDaddy14]

I am soooooo glad you were able to do a review on this type of tech!!!! Thank you!! 🎉

[@ealanosborne]

You’re welcome! 🎉

[@ubacow7109]

I feel like it doesnt make sense that they say you dont need a room eq or avr/processor?

[@juleocan]

Ealan love you camera...its so cool that it can track your movements...excellent video

[@ealanosborne]

I know, right?! Game changer for my content! 😁🎉

[@charlesking678]

So would you go with this or the nakamichi dragon?

[@ealanosborne]

I still prefer a traditional setup. I like to get nerdy with it, planning out how to hide speaker wire, I can use any amp and subwoofer I want, Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay 2 support, and as many manual room corrections as I want, which the Dragon just can’t do. To each their own.

[@mikemmikem2758]

Have you thought about 2 Soundbars placed vertically next to the tv?

[@ealanosborne]

Yes, but it wouldn’t look all that nice, and they would barely fit. Just like below the TV, there’s only ~5 inch gap on either side of the TV as well. Stay tuned for Part III… 😁

[@rickykim85]

This idea had been exactly done by Harman Kardon. Radiance 2400.

[@Sky-8646]

How is it compares to nakamichi dragon?

[@ealanosborne]

I still prefer a traditional home theater system, so yes, I liked it better since I have more control over room correction, I can use any sub I want, and it’s slimmer than the Dragon. It was the same power-wise, since I had a monster Emotiva XPA-3 amp connected to the Cinema 70S, but I did enjoy the surround aspect better with the Dragon, having speakers behind me. But since I had it connected to the Marantz, I was able to have Wi-Fi support and Apple AirPlay, which the Dragon doesn’t have, so I prefer that as well. 🤷‍♂️ To each their own.

[@Sky-8646]

@@ealanosborne 👍

[@Mr21scott]

Isn't this soundbar a few years old now? Also, not ideal but why not put the TV where that record shelf is?

[@ealanosborne]

I’ve tried contacting Goldenear for years now to no avail. So yeah, it’s new to me, but a lot of people still aren’t all too familiar with that brand. And no, I considered having a TV where the record player is at one point, but just proved to be kinda weird. 🤷‍♂️

[@mikeylikesit702]

@Ealan Osborne Why didn't you include the ELAC Muro MSB41L ? 6 ohms, frequency response 70-35,000 Hz, 60-1/2"W x 5-15/16"H x 3-7/16"D ? Was it too tall? Thanks! Keep up the great content, i'm working on a 5.1.4 setup in a similar ish room.

[@ealanosborne]

Just a tiny bit too tall, yeah. Again, such a uniquely specific situation I’m in with my setup. But I also wanted to just stick to the rule of threes and give 3 other examples to keep the flow of the video going. 😁🎉

[@rickykim85]

I was so attempting Harman Kardon’s Radiance 2400 few years ago. 2 vertical array speakers with subwoofer. Simply beautiful and powerful gear but have none of surround effect support…

[@TheFrugalAudiophile]

Frequency response down to 80 Hz is the THS standard. I think setting the crossover to 90 Hz would work just fine, especially in a living room space where you’re not going to have an acoustically treated room and The highest Fidelity sound possible anyway.

[@audiodynamicsmaxsolutions]

So, as per the Goldenear website: Sensitivity: 91dB 1W/1M @ 4Ω (2.83V/1M) Nominal Impedance 4Ω 80Hz-25kHz typical (-6dB on axis @ 140Hz, anechoic bass response) better to use 150hz crossover point. It doesn't hurt nor sound odd because of such high crossover. When this crossover point is time and phase aligned. You still feel a lots of bass. Here's my take: 1. Even though Sensitivity is mentioned as 91dB but thats incorrect, as it always happen to be incorrect, so we must deduct about 3-6dB. I assume here it might be 87dB. 2. It has a peak power of 300W peak. So since it's an 4ohm nominal and it's minimum impedence should be 3.2Ohm load. ( not sure how much frequency range it operates that low) thats 80% of it (as per the standard). We need to consider 2Watts at 1meter instead of 1W thats for 8ohm nominal. It means at 1Meter, it can output at maximum : 108.75dB. Since you sit at 13ft away from the soundbar. There's a SPL output loss at that distance which is: 11.95dB. So, at your listening position this soundbar was able to produce max SPL : 96.79dB. 3. You marantz cinema 70s built in Amplifier for 2ch driven full frequency range 20hz-20khz rated power is:85w at 4ohm . So,I expect for 3 channel driven would be 68.5w. At your listening position you get 90.38dB of spl max. Just wanted to let you know. That's all. Would like to see how this soundbar measured (frequency response) at your listening position in order to get to some extent of an idea of how it sounds and how it responsed at such environment. Also, a question was your sound quality impressions based on after running room correction? If so, did you make any adjustments to make it calibrated as much as you can? It's great to hear that with just 68.5watts of power your soundbar rocked. 👏🏻👏🏻 assuming your master volume was at -5dBFS reference level. If you are lower than that master volume then your peak spl is reduced by that as well as the power from your cinema 70s.

[@ealanosborne]

Did you see the part where I said I had an Emotiva XPA-5 external amp connected? That’s the whole reason I chose the Cinema 70S. Its slim form factor and full set of pre outs was key for me in this living room setup.

[@audiodynamicsmaxsolutions]

@ealanosborne oh yeah. I missed that out. Thanks for pointing it out. Also, I would like to know whether have you reviewed this soundbar with Room correction enabled or not. Just know whats your opinion was based off. Sure Room character plays huge role. But still would like to know. Also, try to put up a frequency response of products you review in the room your test also so mention if you reviewed with Room correction enabled or not.

[@ealanosborne]

@@audiodynamicsmaxsolutions Again, this was mentioned in the video that auto room correction like Audyssey should not be performed due to the unique proprietary cross-talk cancelling tech within the soundbar itself. For review purposes, I always perform the standard level matching and distance calibration, but didn’t go so far as to apply any EQ-ing, since I wanted to see what the bar itself sounded like. I typically don’t go as far as showing charts and graphs in my reviews since my own personal research with my core audience has shown that the majority don’t care whatsoever. It’s only a very small percentage like yourself that need hard data shown on the screen. If my style isn’t your favorite, no one is forcing you to watch, honestly. I’m just a fellow consumer providing information to those who just want to know if it’s a good buy or not. I am very good friends with Joe n Tell and Erin’s Audio Corner, and I totally respect their objective reviews with REW measurements and the like. I feel like their reviews are more up your alley, if you aren’t already subscribed to them. 👍

[@audiodynamicsmaxsolutions]

@ealanosborne sure. I completely understand. Measurements doesn't totally explain how imaging, dynamic, etc will the speaker be. It's our hearing. I'm totally fine with your review style. Keep going with your well made reviews.

[@ARIN4UK]

Where did you come up with 4 ohms at?

[@jebo4jc]

I am planning to get a passive soundbar for my living room at some point as well. I currently use a deftech W Studio soundbar + wireless sub. It sounds pretty good. At some point, I will upgrade my basement home theater AVR to separates, so I will move my Denon AVR to the living room upstairs along with a passive soundbar and a reasonable sub. What are you going to do next? In/on wall speakers? In wall speakers would allow you to paint the grills for hopefully higher WAF. Next Level Acoustics makes sound bars they claim dip down to 65hz in a 5" tall cabinet. Never heard one in person, and they don't list prices on their site, which is usually a bad sign. Dreamedia sells them.

[@ealanosborne]

Thanks for the heads up! Yeah, in Part III I’ll discuss the woes and pitfalls I ran into even with in-ceiling speakers. But it was mainly stupid mistakes on my part, not because of the speakers. That process is still ongoing, so it might be awhile before Part III comes out. 🤷‍♂️

[@smilyle]

Thank you for this review. I'm about to move into my new house, and I've been looking at this bar for a while for my living room

[@ealanosborne]

If I didn’t have such a unique circumstance, I’d keep it in a heartbeat.

[@smilyle]

@@ealanosborne Did you try it with surround sound?

[@mvfury8561]

Great video. I really like Goldenear. I have all Goldenear speakers in my theater. Three Invisa SPS in wall for my LCRs, supersat 50s for my surrounds, supersat 30C’s for my back surrounds (ceiling mounted so wanted horizontal), six invisa htr 7000 in-ceiling for my atmos, and at the moment just one forcefield 40. Gotta keep it somewhat wife and kid friendly.

[@ealanosborne]

WHOA! Wish I could hear a complete monster Goldenear system like that! 🎉🤘

[@diuran1919]

ask them to send you their small wall mounted 3 speakers. One small under tv connect to the wall and your wife should be happy that she can put decoration at front at special days, and left/right speaker in vertical position on the site of the TV. Really try like that, maybe not super powerful like this one behemoth but still should be enough. Or simply try and record for youtube with your review, please.

[@JeffreyFrye]

Definitely one of the sleekest looking (and longest) soundbars I've seen. And first I've heard of passive soundbars since you've started teasing this review

[@MattyDaddy14]

Just saw the part about the wife not liking the bar on the fireplace. Ugh.. but ok, what if you were able to walk mount or mount the soundbar to the bottom of the tv? I’ve done this once before and there was almost zero gap between tv and soundbar. Perhaps she might like that better. I hope you do more reviews of this type of tech in the future! Thank you! 🎉

[@riley6723]

I’m patiently impatiently waiting for the Q990D review and comparison

[@ealanosborne]

Still trying to get that soundbar in house 😭

[@TopperDude]

Had a chance to try out the new Deftech Mythos 3C passive soundbar with matching Descend subwoofer and all powered by Marantz and it was surprisingly good. So much more performance than you'd think it capable of :)

[@ealanosborne]

After reviewing this, I’m a fan of passive soundbars in general. I like the idea of its slim form factor, yet flexibility by being able to incorporate it into a traditional HT system. 👏

[@S1mmz]

Need a mount where you can move it away from the wall and drop it down to eye height with the bar mounted at the top. Otherwise just hide the new Sony quad speakers behind the TV. Might not be the best but it would work 😅

[@ealanosborne]

😄🤘

[@jason_mc77]

Ha! I was going to ask on your Livestream when you were going to review this! I have a Klipsch Heritage Theater Bar with a Pioneer Elite VSX-LX 305 and I like it but it's very directional. I was wondering how the GoldenEar would be with the AMT tweeters and if it sounded spacious. The Klipsch bar will dip lower than what it's showing, using the Spatial Audio Calibration disc from Joe and Tell and TechnoDad. And talk about Bluey all you want, it's a fantastic show!!! It's got some subtle jokes for adults, like they don't wear clothes but are almost always doing laundry lol

[@ealanosborne]

Haha! Yeah, man! The sound seemed gigantic, even when sitting at the dining table way back from the TV. And Bluey is literally the best show ever, right? 😄

[@jason_mc77]

​@@ealanosbornedespite GoldenEar saying not to run room correction, I'm betting you did, for science lol. I know I would've run Dirac from my VSX-LX 505 to see how it sounded

[@nathanclaspell6003]

The main listening and TV room in my house is about as far from ideal as you can get. Everything is at an angle, and it's impossible to set anything up in a perpendicular fashion.

[@Hi-levels]

Long means better sound stage. Possibly making satelitte 5.1 systems obsolote (imean stuff like z905 logitech 5.1)

[@ealanosborne]

Exactly. That’s why I wanted it to span pretty much the length of the TV to better represent the LCR channel separation. 🤘

[@mickblast5794]

great video as always, I watch with interest as i'm fed up with all these speakers in my room. As soon as I find a sound bar which gives me at least 90% what I get now with 5 bed layer & 5 heights, these are getting dumped.

[@BornIn82]

My like is specifically for you gushing over Bluey 🙂. Also, the fire place gotta go, lol

[@ealanosborne]

😄🤘

[@craigosterberg5045]

Thanks

[@ealanosborne]

Have a great weekend, Craig! 🎉

[@joshuad3]

good job, e.

[@ealanosborne]

Thanks! 🎉

[@davidrivera2165]

Welcome Ealan to the world of Legendary speaker designer Sandy Gross. Sandy has passed on to the great eternal listening room, but here's some of his resume: co-founder of Polk audio speakers i972, Founder, chief designer and owner of Definitive Technology; thereafter Founder, owner and chief designer of Goldenear. Sandy was the innovator who brought to market bi-polar tower speakers, built in powered sub speakers in bi-polar tower speakers, and hi end hi-fi direct driver towers. His philosophy was innovation, top level sound quality at affordable (for hi-end hi-fi) prices. Modern day full built in amp powered speakers, and built in dsp speakers with wi-fi connection all owe their existence to ground breaking work of OG Sandy Gross.

[@ealanosborne]

Whooooaaaa! 🤯 Thanks for that history lesson! 🎉🙌♥️

[@khurram88]

When did he pass away?

[@ecoustics]

Ummm. I saw Sandy a few months ago at an audio event in NYC. And he was still very much alive. Do you know something I don't know? He did sell his interests in Golden Ear a few years ago, but last I saw him (in late 2023) he was looking quite well.

[@michaelwyckoff7593]

Hey Ealan

[@ealanosborne]

Heyyyyy! 👋

[@daboundy]

it's called a 'stand' .. and you could put it in front of a freestanding small half wall between the kitchen and the living room .. and if you're too think to work that out ... I fail to see why your opinions on anything else are valid

[@ealanosborne]

😂😂😂😍😍😍👍

[@peppersmith]

AWEsome....

[@FrostyDog9186]

I’ve heard the same weird Bluey audio on my more than a decade old Bose Cinemate and my desktop computer speakers-even in the Australian versions streamed straight from the ABC so it’s not you.

[@ealanosborne]

Whew! Thanks for that. Thought I was going crazy for a minute there. Interesting artistic choice then? 😄

[@truwarrior22]

Mount that puppy up high for some height channels :)

[@ealanosborne]

😄🤘

[@AtlantaJonny]

#bluey4eva

[@ealanosborne]

😆🙌

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

#tvtoohigh 😂

[@ealanosborne]

HA! 😄

[@tomcavanaugh5237]

I'm so glad I no longer have a wife.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Soundbars are acceptable to boost regular tv programmes only! Stop using them as a one stop solution for music and films as they become trash compared to proper separates.

[@ARIN4UK]

Not really a “sound bar” it’s $2,100 and if you made 2 cuts it’s basically 3 separates..

[@trauma50disaster1]

bet you don't get much use out of that propane fireplace, neither does our family. Yes it looks nice but it fks up the boys ht hobby doesn't it. After a wife thing happened I said fk it and put the 86 inch tv right in front of that friggin fireplace, works perfect for my room, I have windows flanking it and I can see out if I want or close the blinds for movies. Heck with the fireplace and the wife...