One of the most powerful things about a speaker, aside from its performance, is its ability to conjure up memories from the past. A single note from a familiar tune can trigger a wave of nostalgia, and it is in moments such as these that we are reminded of why we love music & movie soundtracks. In his Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity review, writer Piero Gabucci speaks of this feeling when discussing PSB’s Imagine XA Dolby Atmos® enabled speaker.
In the review, Gabucci writes about the first time he experienced Dolby Stereo, which would eventually evolve into Dolby Atmos. “It was immersive, even in stereo and I was getting the same enjoyment from movies at home, as I was from my hifi system,” says Gabucci. Now a few decades later, Gabucci is re-experiencing those same feelings all over again with PSB’s Imagine XA. “The XA performs remarkably; exacting sound, controlled, and natural.”
Beginning with Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 film Gravity, Gabucci describes the sensations he felt as he watched one of the movie’s many action sequences. “I did find the XA delivered some eye-brow raising pin-point accuracy when debris flew over your head,” says Gabucci. Gabucci also goes into detail when describing the film’s more intimate moments. “Hearing [Sandra Bullock’s] heartbeat in space is provocative, intensifies as she comes from a distance towards the camera while she is out of sight.”
Switching to George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, Gabucci piles on even more praise for the XA and its ability to bring the film’s soundtrack to life. “The XA performed the task, bringing clean articulate life to the soundtrack.” Gabucci concludes his review by stating the Imagine XA “is not merely an ‘add’ but an integral part to the overall performance to the system.”
As PSB’s first Dolby Atmos enabled speaker, the Imagine XA was specifically designed to be used as the “elevation” or “height” speaker in a Dolby Atmos system from 5.1.2 to 7.1.4 or higher. The end result is a captivating layer of sound above the listener, delivering the excitement of Dolby Atmos-encoded soundtracks with 3D realism.
Read the full Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity review here