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Definitive Technology's Studio 3D Mini Sound Bar System Supports Atmos, DTS:X, and AirPlay 2

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Home theater brand Definitive Technology today is announcing a new Studio 3D Mini Sound Bar System that includes a slim sound bar and wireless subwoofer with support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and AirPlay 2.

definitive-studio-3d-mini-lifestyle.jpg

The Studio 3D Mini consists of a 4.1 channel, six-driver array with aluminum tweeters and a compact 8-inch wireless subwoofer. The system can process Dolby Atmos and DTS:X encoded movies via a single HDMI eARC connection, and it offers a number of connectivity options including 4K HDMI in, 4K HDMI with eARC out, optical in, AUX in, and a USB port for music playback.

With AirPlay 2, the Studio 3D Mini will appear in the Home app and Control Center on Apple devices to let you easily beam content from your device and sync among multiple AirPlay 2-compatible speakers, and it can all be controlled via Siri. The system also supports Alexa and Google Assistant for integrating with those ecosystems.

definitive-studio-3d-mini.jpg

Beyond the usual third-party speaker ecosystems, the Studio 3D Mini is Definitive Technology's first product to include support for HEOS Built-in, which similarly allows users to easily link compatible speaker products together in multi-room audio systems and manage them while also streaming from services such as Spotify and Deezer or directly from the user's music library.

The Definitive Technology Studio 3D Mini sound bar system will be available next month and will be priced at $899.

Article Link: Definitive Technology's Studio 3D Mini Sound Bar System Supports Atmos, DTS:X, and AirPlay 2
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/15/definitive-technology-studio-3d-mini-airplay-2/
LFC2020 said:
Who? 🤔
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Definitive Technology is a high end home audio company that puts Bose (and Apple acquired Beats) to shame. Next time in Best Buy, swing by their Magnolia audio store where they stock the line, rather than their regular store, and will typically have DT towers active on their listening display. Historically, one of it's original founders was earlier the founder of Polk Audio, with DT a separate high end company, however now both have been acquired but remain separate entities within their parent company.

It is great to see Apple expanding the functionality of AirPlay 2 into high end systems. Unfortunately, it is a little late for me. DT was on the short list when, along with, Denon, Bower and Wilkins among others, as looking at soundbars and musical, multi room system integration. DT's wireless system fell short and ultimately compromised on Sonus/Alexia based. DT has always had the acoustics, but with the added AirPlay 2 capability, it is a win-win for both DT and Apple.
 
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It is great to see Apple expanding the functionality of AirPlay 2

Agreed the more companies that come onboard with AirPlay 2 the better for all of us. More choices
 
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gplusplus said:
Atmos from a sound bar? Hah! Good joke.
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Yeah, I see "Atmos support" mentioned more and more without any explanation. As far as I can tell, any device that is capable of taking an Atmos input and downmixing it to play through however many speakers it has can claim it 'supports' Atmos. Any actual ability to output sound over a sound stage in anyway representing the Dolby Atmos standard, be it with real or virtual speakers, doesn't seem to come into it. Just because a soundbar can take a Atmos feed and output it to achieve a degree of spatial effect does not mean that output is a Dolby Atmos environment.

It's like when we had all these 720P 'HD ready' TVs a few years ago - they were capable of taking a 1080 signal, downmixing it to 720P and outputting it on a 720P screen, maybe with some processing to make it look sharper than a normal 720P feed, but at the end of the day it wasn't 1080 HD coming out of it, 'HD ready' or not.
 
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LV426 said:
Well, Dolby list a fair few of them on their website. They send and reflect sound all over the shop to produce the desired 3D effect.
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It’s purely just marketing BS. You can’t “send” sound to specific locations; it radiates in all directions from a speaker. The reflective Atmos stuff is 99% pointless; you need point-source audio to make the effect actually work. The home theater community constantly uses this “bouncy house speaker” concept as the punchline of many jokes.

Do you remember when it was fashionable to have “THX Certified” cheap home audio stuff, but it was meaningless and didn’t actually reflect any kind of quality? That’s what we have here with these Atmos Supported or Enabled speakers. Someone else made a great analogy: it’s like the “HD ready” TVs that could accept an HD signal, but the TV itself was still non-HD. It was effectively meaningless, just like Atmos sound bars.
 
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The home theater community also advocate use of oxygen-free directional cable, as well as aligning all the keyholes in your house. What do they know!

Fortunately, there are enough reviews of directional sound on the internet to know that you are reporting nonsense.
 
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LV426 said:
The home theater community also advocate use of oxygen-free directional cable, as well as aligning all the keyholes in your house. What do they know!

Fortunately, there are enough reviews of directional sound on the internet to know that you are reporting nonsense.
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Actually most of the HT community recognizes the speaker cable stuff for what it is, nonsense. Just like with any other large group of people, you do have your nut jobs.

Sound bars with "Atmos capability" are largely garbage though. Particularly the the units like this one that don't even have upfiring drivers. You can't make something sound like it's coming from overhead without the ability to vertically direct sound.
 
Great speakers and great customer service! I've had a Definitive 5:1 setup for sixteen years and they sound great - clear highs and mid-range and crisp bass. About five years ago, one of the speakers had a cone break so I contacted them for a replacement. Eleven years so it's out of warranty, right? Well, they responded quickly and told me to send the speaker back without quoting a price. Less than two weeks after sending the speaker, I received a replacement in pristine condition and an invoice that showed no balance!
 
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dborja said:
Great speakers and great customer service! I've had a Definitive 5:1 setup for sixteen years and they sound great - clear highs and mid-range and crisp bass. About five years ago, one of the speakers had a cone break so I contacted them for a replacement. Eleven years so it's out of warranty, right? Well, they responded quickly and told me to send the speaker back without quoting a price. Less than two weeks after sending the speaker, I received a replacement in pristine condition and an invoice that showed no balance!
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That is incredible. I do appreciate companies with stellar customer service such as Ring. I will keep an eye on this company for their future soundbars.
 
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LegCortex said:
Not sure how you get Atmos without satellite speakers.
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There's a brief introduction here. Things get a lot more complicated when you have high end soundbar like this one with loads of internal speakers. The wizardry is in signal processing that takes account of your room's characteristics.
 
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vipergts2207 said:
Actually most of the HT community recognizes the speaker cable stuff for what it is, nonsense. Just like with any other large group of people, you do have your nut jobs.

Sound bars with "Atmos capability" are largely garbage though. Particularly the the units like this one that don't even have upfiring drivers. You can't make something sound like it's coming from overhead without the ability to vertically direct sound.
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Yes you can. Humans have a 2.0 hearing system, and can however feel sounds coming from multiple directions. That’s because sound is affected by the shape of our ears with in a unique patern of reflexion for each direction, giving our brain the ability to identify an audio source in 360. So it’s not hardware related (number of ears) but software related (brain).
An audio source, with the appropriate processing, can trick our brain by simulating the reflection on our ears. That’s how atmos without directional speaker intend to work!
 
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