Frequently asked questions
Where can I listen to XTZ products?
Whe listening to HiFi products it takes a lot of time even for a well experienced person to make a fair evaluation of quality. The absolutely best way is to test in your own home (a listening room in a shop never sounds the same as your own listening room). For this reason we offer Buy & Try with a full refund policy if you are not satisfied (the speakers have to be in mint condition upon arrival to us) within three weeks.
General tips when listening
Prior to doing an A/B test beween letīs say two speakers, itīs very important to set the same listening volume for both speakers. Otherwise, most people tend to prefer the speaker playing the loudest. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the human ear severly changes itīs character as a function of sound pressure. It can be very hard to separate quality from quantity in this matter, and to ensure a fair and accurate comparison the listening level is very important.
The reason that one pair of speakers may sound louder that another pair can be several:
1. The impedance can vary between different speaker makes and models, ie the speaker having a lower impedance draws more current from the amplifier from a given output voltage resulting in a larger average power.
2. The sensitivity can be higher or lower even if the load impedance is the same. This means that a given input power will result in different sound pressure levels.
There is nothing that suggests that a speaker with higher sensitivity would be better. Usually itīs the other way around, and the sensitivity/performance ratio is normally found to be in a opposite relation. The best speakers on the market almost always have a limited sensitivity.
What is Buy & Try and how does it work?
As the first brand, we offer Buy & Try to prove that we only want satisfied customers. Buy & Try means you can buy and test listen the products for three weeks at home, and if you are not satisfied then you can return the product for a full refund. The products have to be returned in mint condition in their original packaging. The return has to be authorised by us in advance, and we will help you find the best shipping qoutes using our contacts and agreements with courier companies. The shipping fee you pay is of course as low as the net price we get. Please remember, always save the original packaging! Buy&Try >
Are the drivers genuine SEAS units?
Of course, we only use genuine SEAS units. If you are in doubt, please feel free to contact SEAS in Norway to confirm. To Seas webiste >
In our top models we use SEAS Excel drivers, normally only found in considerably more expensive High End speakers. To Seas website >
Are the drivers genuine Peerless units?
Of course we only use genuine Peerless units. If you are in doubt, please feel free to contact Tymphany to confirm. To Tymphanyīs webiste >
Why DSP in a subwoofer?
DSP technology is the most cost efficient way to handle different room problems. The ideal would of course be reconstruction the entire room for perfect acoustic properties. This is expensive and time consuming. DSP can solve many of the most common problems relatively cheap and fast. Besides, the most devastating issues can be adressed very effectively to gain performance.
Should I buy a 10" or 12" subwoofer
This depends on how big the room is, what acoustic properties it has got and what bass character you would prefer. The best way is to measure the room using the Room Analyzer, but as a general rule of thumb you can say that the bigger the room is, the bigger subwoofer is needed.
Are your subwoofers more sensitive to placement?
No, not more than any other bass. Itīs the room that determines how sensitive a subwoofer will be to different placements. The room is part of your system, and itīs influence on the sound reproduction is often heavily underestimated. If you experience big differencies when moving around the subwoofer it proves that the room affects the sound and presents severe resonances at different frequencies and positions. Also, in a perfect room placement will not make any difference. Read more >
Why does some subwoofers not reach 20 Hz?
A subwoofer reaching below 20 Hz usually creates a lot of problems in a regular room. Of course, it will work perfectly in a anechoic room that does not affect the signal in any way, but how many of us have such a room at home? We have chosen to adapt our subwoofers for more normal circumstances, and this means that the room introduces a rising gain with falling frequency. We have conducted extensive measurements and research that you can read about in this article. Read more >
Does your speakers spread the sound a lot?
Sound radiation patterns are very frequency dependant. Low frequencies are spread almost 360 degrees, while higher frequencies are much more directed. Our models that use a ribbon tweeter will for example direct sound in a wide horisontal angle, but the vertical radiation is limited. This is an advantage as the energy amount emitted towards the ceiling and floor is reduced. In return, the reflections are also reduced and we get less phase errors from the room. Read more >
What character does XTZ speakers have?
We choose to optimize our speaker for a neutral reproduction. According to our philosophy the only useful reference is a reproduction completely without sound coloration. We aim for a flat frequency response and abscence of phase errors. Read more >
Why is the sensitivity lower on some of your models?
Sensitivity and quality are often found to be in an opposite relation. The very best speakers on the market almost always show a limited sensitivity. This is the price that has to be paid for improved linearity and lower distorsion. In everyday life a 2 dB reduced sensitivity means that the amplifier volume needs to be increased by 2 dB to compensate. Read more >
Are your speakers a heavy load to the amplifier?
Our speakers show very amplifier friendly impedance (load conditions as we have put lots of effort into developing the crossover filters and parameters. For example, the impedance never dips below the specified 4 ohms, something that is very common with lots of other speakers on the market. This enables you to use any amplifier you wish as long as it is rated for 4 ohm loads. Itīs correct that some of our speaker have a lower sensitivity than some other models. Read more about this in the answer above. Read more >
Tonal matching - is it important?
Tonal matching is an advantage, but not essential in most cases. Normally we recommend using the same or at least similar speakers for a front setup and center. The rear channels only reproduce a smaller part of the information - ambience and effects, and the need to match these tonally is limited.
How do I know XTZ speakers will suit me?
We optimize our speaker for a neutral reproduction character. The principle is to produce a non colored sound, as pure and precise as possible. If you donīt prefer this kind of sound our speakers are equipped with several tuning options to let you tweak the sound according to your preference, and also very important the room. This way, our speakers offer greater possibilities to achieve the sound you want compared to many other brands. If you are still not satisfied, there is always our Buy & try concept where you get three weeks of "home demo" with the option to return the speakers for a full refund. Read more >
Isnīt a center speaker supposed to have two midrange/bass drivers?
We have several models with one midrange driver and one tweeter instead of the more common concept using one tweeter and two midrange drivers. Just like all speakers, this is a compromise and both solutions have their advantages and disadvantages. Many people think that a center speaker is some sort of special speaker, but itīs not. A common speaker will in principal work very well as a center. Read more >
Does your subwoofers work for music and movies?
Yes, they do. We think a good subwoofer should be able to reproduce both music and movie sound. Basically there is no difference reproducing music or cinema sound. The subwoofers task is to play whatever info thatīs present in the input signal. If the subwoofer is good it will do this in a natural and accurate way without adding distorsion. Read more >
Where can I buy your products?
In Sweden you can buy our products at www.fyndborsen.se. In other countries we have retailers that sell and service our products. You can study the list of retailers here >
What DAC does the Class A100 D3 use?
The DAC comes from Analog Devices and is a AD1955. Itīs a very highly specified DA converter with external I/V conversion for maximum performance. In early models of the Class A100 DII AD1853 can be found, but as this was eventually discontinued we decided to change to AD1955, that can be found in for example Benchmark DAC1 & Nagra DAC.
Why does my subwoofer hum?
The absolutely most common reason for this is a "ground loop". This can usually be tracked down to a purely shielded signal cable, or a cable that has to much resistance in the ground path. If you experience humming, try replacing the low level cable with a better one, preferrably as short as possible. Hum can also occur when you connect a TV box to your amplifier. This is due to different ground potentials, and can often be corrected by feeding all components from the same wall outlet. Try disconnecting everything from the amplifier except the subwoofer. If it still hums, contact our technical support. Contact >
Who needs the Room Analyzer?
Room Analyzer is a measuring tool to check speakers, room and the combination of speakers and room. It might be considered unnecessary for a "regular" consumer to use this products, but the room and the speakers determine about 95% of the end result. Improving the room and speakers is a sure way to better sound. For example, finding the right placement for the speakers can easily yield much larger sonic gains than buying expensive cables and electronics. Read more >
Are XTZ planing to do an AV-Amplifier in the future?
No, its not possible to try to compete whith the big brands in this area. This is a "djungle" of standards, inputs, formats etc that is impossible to catch up.
If you want AV and good sound you can compine a priceworthy AV receiver whith our Class-A100 D3 or new poweramp AP-100 (the AV receiver must have pre outputs) to use to drive the frontsystem, then you "cost-optimize" your system perfecly because you only need very high quality in frontsystem, for center and surround sound even a cheap AV receiver is good enough.
In this way you have both a good AV sound + good two chanel sound to a much lower price that if you bought a AV receiver that have simular sound quality in 2 chanel listening like Class-A100 D3