If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
In summary, I believe the Definitive Technology ProMonitor 800 is a decent speaker that performs adequately in terms of sound quality, connectivity, and user profiles. It has balanced sound with acceptable highs, mids, and lows, and it is compatible with various audio sources and amplifiers.
However, I don’t think the ProMonitor 800 is the best choice for those who are looking for a powerful speaker for intense listening. Additionally, there is a lack of HDMI and Wi-Fi connectivity that I think should be addressed.
Overall, I think the ProMonitor 800 is a satisfactory product, but it is not overly impressive. It is decent for those who are looking for a budget-friendly speaker for background music, but there are better options for those who are looking for a more powerful and immersive listening experience.
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Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Definitive Technology ProMonitor 800 Review: Sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
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The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.