Boston Acoustics A Series
“The Boston Acoustics A Series is a great example of what the art of compromise in engineering and design can do for a speaker when done right.”
Avg
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Big, satisfying midrange
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Lots of sound details
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Highly synergistic
Against
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The subwoofer is not so musical
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The central channel is a bit muffled
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Without threaded inserts
Boston Acoustics is a well-known brand in the audio industry. If you haven’t seen their speaker products at your favorite electronics store, you may have seen their car audio products in a vehicle. So, the brand needs to be introduced a little. On the other hand, you might not have heard of their latest series of speakers yet. The A-Series is the company’s effort to deliver its signature taste of sound in an attractive package with “lasting value”.
 Image used with permission of the copyright holder
Speaker for 25 bookshelves |
To be honest, when we were approached to review some of the A Series speakers and heard that they were “value oriented”, we weren’t exactly jumping up and down in our chairs with excitement. Often, speakers that fit the “value” profile tend not to be that loud. However, we’re pleased to report that after a thorough evaluation of some of Boston Acoustics’ A-Series speakers, we’ve learned that they defy many of the negative stereotypes that plague value-oriented speaker products.
Out of the box
For this review, Boston sent us two A 250 freestanding speakers, an A 225C center channel, two A 25 bookshelf speakers, and an ASW 250 10” down-firing subwoofer. These speakers, in addition to the subwoofer, use some combination of a 5.25″ mid/woofer and a 1″ tweeter. There are larger floor and bookshelf products in the line that use 6.5” woofers, the same tweeter and, in the case of floor stands, an additional 3.25” midrange speaker. A smaller 3.5″ satellite speaker and a more powerful front-facing 10″ subwoofer are also available.
Unpacking the speakers was a more demanding process than we are used to. The speakers were protected by EPS packing materials (aka styrofoam) that disintegrated in transit – an unfortunate byproduct of direct shipping across the country. Once the speakers were pulled out, we noticed that a protective film had been applied to the glossy black surfaces of the speakers. Stripping was a hassle in some areas of the corners and seams. At one point we had to carefully cut some of the film out of the seams with plastic so as not to scratch the finish. After removing the film, we went ahead and installed the included floor spikes on the bottom of the front speakers. For the record, spikes are not necessary though. The bottom of the floor stands are already equipped with rubber disc pads that should prevent them from sliding on wooden or tiled floors.
Features and design
The A series of loudspeakers is available in only one version. The top and bottom surfaces, along with the baffle around the driver, have a textured matte black finish that looks attractive enough and feels like vinyl. Most of the speaker’s surface is made of a resilient, scratch-resistant glossy black material that feels plasticky, but looks attractive and durable enough to withstand some domestic abuse.
And the 250 towers measure 35-1/8 x 12-5/8” x 8-7/8” which puts them in the low but not exactly thin category. The A 250 doesn’t have the more modern, ultra-slim styling of the manufacturer’s RS series, but they’re no space hogs either and have a pleasant, classic feel that can blend well with a variety of decor. Measurements for other speakers are available in the specifications section of this review.
Central channel of 225
As previously mentioned, all of the speakers we received use a 5.25” ceramic/fiberglass polymer woofer with a rubber surround and dust cover with a phase plug. The front and center channels each use two midrange/woofers and one 1” soft dome tweeter. Bookshelf speakers use a single driver and a 5.25-inch tweeter.
The front speakers weigh just under 30 lbs. The center channel A 225 C weighs 15.40 lbs and the bookcase A25 only 10 lbs. The drivers in the speakers seem to make up most of their weight, indicating that the enclosures themselves are very light. Because of this, we were concerned about the sound quality these speakers would deliver, but Boston Acoustics reports that the speakers are well braced internally to stay sturdy.
All speakers have one port on the back of the speaker, one set of clamps and black fabric magnetic grilles. Bookshelf speakers have some basic keyhole mounts on the back, but no threaded inserts to attach wall mounts or speaker stands. The center channel also does not offer threaded inserts.
Performance
We evaluated the Boston Acoustics A-Series in our test room with a Marantz SR6005 A/V Receiver, a Sony 4600ES Receiver, an LG BD 370 Blu-Ray Disc Player, a Pioneer PL-61 Turntable with an Ortofon OM-5E Cartridge, a Bellari Phono Pre-Amplifier , HeadRoom Micro DAC and Kimber Kable speaker wire. To ensure proper break-in, we ran the speakers at low volume for 50 hours before our listening test.
We used the SACD version of Pink Floyd to listen to the material WallDVD-Audio and DTS versions by Donald Fagen Night flyand CD versions of Adele’s Adele 21and Dire Straits’ Love over gold. We used the Blu-Ray version for the video content Avatar and Tron: Legacy.
 Image used with permission of the copyright holder
250 floor speaker |
Before we get into speaker performance, we should mention that this line of speakers benefited more from a break-in period than any speaker we’ve tested recently—especially in the bass department. Out of the box, the speaker sounded good, but the treble was a bit compressed and the bass was quite anemic. After about 30 hours, the speakers already sounded dramatically different. We played them for a good 60 hours before sitting down for some serious listening.
We’ll start with the A 250 in a music listening scenario. A good part of our listening was in stereo without a subwoofer. Bass response for this speaker is adequate but not dramatic. This means they don’t bombard you with bass that seems at odds with their size. Those with an appetite for bass will certainly want a subwoofer, as the A 250 doesn’t quite get the lowest octave of bass. However, the bass they provide is balanced and just a little punchy and didn’t interfere with anything else the speaker was doing.
The midrange attributes of the A 250 came as a big and very pleasant surprise. This is where the speaker’s sound really stands out for its price. Adele’s voice, song after song, is very precisely delivered with so much husk, roughness, air and transparency that we actually just stopped taking notes and marveled at the speakers for a moment. Later, while listening to our Dire Straits disc, we enjoyed the speaker’s realistic rendering of guitar distortion effects and keyboard sounds. A $300.00 speaker has no right to sound as big and alive as the A 250, yet it’s there.
As for the speaker’s high-frequency output, we had mixed feelings. The tweeter seems to be very good in the lower treble area, so there was a lot of clean texture and detail at play. However, at the very top, the speaker could be a bit harsh for our taste. The effect was more noticeable when listening to bright recordings with lots of splashing cymbals or bright brass music. However, what the speaker did well was manage to overcome its occasional aggressiveness at the highest frequencies.
In addition to excellent midrange performance and lower treble performance, the A 250 had a synergistic partnership that resulted in a very wide and deep soundstage. We enjoyed the image of sounds coming far beyond the outer edges of the speakers and every single inch in between. The sound was never muddled or confused. We could easily choose places for certain instruments in the room. In addition to these dazzling effects, the speaker had timing that seemed perfectly aligned, as if the sounds from each speaker were reaching our ears at exactly the right time.
 Image used with permission of the copyright holder
ASW 250 subwoofer |
When integrating the subwoofer into the mix and reviewing some of our earlier music titles, we enjoyed rounding out the bottom end, but found it difficult to get a good balance of the subwoofer with the front left and right speakers. The ASW 250 can certainly deliver some deep, rumbling bass, as well as tonally pleasing musical bass tones, but there was a low-frequency bump that kept “loading” our room with some resonant tones that didn’t quite fit. with an otherwise balanced musical presentation. With the significantly more powerful front-firing 10” ASW650 only $150.00 away, it’s hard for us to imagine not delivering the goods just a bit more capable than the ASW 250 that came with this system. That said, the ASW 250 was a lot of fun watching action-packed movie sequences and is pretty good for a budget sub.
The A 25 bookshelf speakers were almost as impressive as their floor-standing cousins. They delivered a respectable amount of bass for a 5.25-inch bookshelf speaker, and their midrange output was also in line with the towers, though not quite as deep and impressive. However, the center channel didn’t seem to follow the same sound signature as the other speakers. For whatever reason, the dialogue in the movie clips we used didn’t seem to have the clarity or definition we expected. We tried swapping the A 25 bookcase into the center channel position and, frankly, we preferred its performance. The lack of a high frequency center channel seems out of place considering that the same tweeter is used as the other speakers.
Overall, we felt that this combination of A Series products did a very good job as a home theater speaker system. The system worked as a unit and created a very convincing 360 degree sound field. Although we felt that the high frequencies were a little forward when listening to music, their behavior when playing film scores seemed suitably sparkling without sounding compressed or thin. Also, here the ASW 250 did its best to deliver deep, rumbling bass without audibly straining.
Conclusion
Boston Acoustics’ A-Series is a great example of what the art of compromise in engineering and design can do for a speaker when done right. The speakers don’t have super high-quality cabinets or expensive finishes, but they deliver quality sound that’s very musical and several steps ahead of most similarly priced competitors’ offerings. For those looking for a flexible, musical speaker system that looks good and is reasonably priced, the Boston Acoustics A Series is definitely worth considering.
High:
- Big, satisfying midrange
- Lots of sound details
- Highly synergistic
Lowest values:
- The subwoofer is not so musical
- The central channel is a bit muffled
- Without threaded inserts
Editor’s recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn