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The ones in question are the new additions to the Performance Series from Colin Whatmough, the
brand’s penultimate range. Apart from their somewhat impressive physical stature, the new
designs are also very impressively finished. There’s no vinyl here, just lots and lots of
sumptuous-looking and smoothly curved Bubinga exotic real wood veneer. I did a quick search to
find out more on Bubinga and from what I could gather, it’s a native American tropical forest
timber that means ‘African Rose’ in its native tongue, due to its reddish colouring.
It’s a nice departure from the more common Australian timber veneers and I know I always
hark on about how well Whatmough’s are finished, but these new veneers look as good as any
timber veneer I’ve come across.
Collectively, these new designs make a full 5.1 channel home theatre speaker system. The complete
package costs a little under $8,700, which when you consider just how much loudspeaker you’re
actually getting, doesn’t seem like too much to ask. And once you’ve heard what they
are capable of, it really isn’t too much money at all. It took me quite a while to unpack
the system, then hooking it up and let it run-in for a day or two before proper listening.
The combined weight of all six speakers is a staggering 119kg, so it’s a genuine work-out
just getting them out of the boxes and into the living room.
In situ, the system looks superb, although like I said, you’ve got to have the room to accommodate
them. The P32 towers stand well over a metre high and behind the removable grilles, twin 170mm
cellulose drivers are placed in Whatmough’s preferred driver layout, above and below a 35mm
dual concentric diaphragm tweeter with a distinctive centre wave guide plug.
Sharing a similar driver configuration, although in a horizontal array, the massive P7 centre
channel speaker employs the same tweeter and two 170mm Aerogel bass/mid drivers. This isn’t the largest
centre channel I’ve come across, but it’s certainly up there and it isn’t the
sort of speaker you can perch on top of the TV. Its size means a dedicated shelf on an equipment
rack, or the other mounting alternative is a glass fibre reinforced resin bracket that Whatmough
makes for the speaker.
In fact, the drivers are the same in the new Performance models as in the existing P31, P06 and
FX2 speakers. The cabinets, crossovers and the all new Hurricane subwoofer are the main changes.
The Hurricane joins the other storm-themed Whatmough subwoofers, and is the largest unit of them
all. The enclosure is a huge curved box, made of 25mm thick cabinet walls and heavy internal
bracing. It uses a single long-throw 12-inch (300mm) woofer, driven by a 240 watt amplifier.
There are both
line-level and speaker-level inputs and outputs and the Hurricane boasts useable bass well below
20Hz.
The rest of the speaker’s specs mean capable partnering equipment is a must, especially the
amplification. As more and more home theatre receivers state they need partnering with 8 ohm loudspeakers,
Colin Whatmough explains it well, why this shouldn’t be the case. The P32s and P7 are rated
at 4 ohms nominal impedance, while the PFX are 8 ohms. He believes that if an amplifier cannot
drive a 4 ohm loudspeaker it should not be on the market. And he goes on to quite rightly state
that home theatre receiver manufacturers are being overly cautious with their impedance recommendations,
primarily to cover themselves in case any problems arise.
Efficiency ties in with an amp’s ability to drive a speaker and the PFX rate at 85dB, 91DB
for the P7 and the P32s are rated at 92dB. Neither of the two home theatre amplifiers I used showed
any signs of trouble driving the Whatmoughs, even at pretty high volume. For the majority of the
time I used the Sony TADA9000ES to drive them, an amplifier delivering 7 x 200 watts and certainly
not phased by a 4 or lower ohm load.
Music first, and the delightful Back To Mine CD by DJ Talvin Singh. Full of ethnic grooves, Dance
by Michael Brook and U. Shrinivas sounds divine, with an eclectic mix of traditional Indian instruments
and modern dance break beats. The track has a heavy bass riff throughout and it sounds great – low,
fast and meaty. The Hurricane lends its weight with a gutsy and musical performance, integrating
seamlessly with the P32s in direct 2-channel mode. Continuing with the dance, but something a bit
heavier, the new Performance designs clearly don’t mind dishing it out either. Rarely have
I heard Faithless’ God Is A DJ sound as sublime, pumped, fast and tuneful as this.
Switching to movie use, that ‘big is better’ adage definitely applies here. These Whatmoughs
took all the usual bass torture tests like U-571, Star Wars Trilogy and Independence Day in their
very extended stride. There’s bags of weight and ample extension, coupled to spot-on timing
and agility. And that’s just the bass. Moving up, the Whatmough’s display the sort
of finesse and insight that makes the most of even very subtle soundtrack effects. The system delivers
wholly convincing panning effects, while the big centre maintains crystal clear dialogue.
Film after film, this speaker system handles all sorts of cinematic styles and does so in a highly
accomplished manner. They can do it all – from the big-sounding rough stuff, to the delicacy
of a piano recital. The new curved look is both aesthetic and sonically derived and in this finish,
looks terrific.
I’ve no hesitation in recommending this system if you’re looking for a quality, handmade
Australian home theatre speaker system. If you’ve got the room, then these gorgeous Whatmoughs
will certainly do a very fine job of filling it.
Closing Comment
One of the biggest misconceptions amongst first-time (and sometimes even reasonably experienced)
home theatre equipment buyers is that ‘big is best’ – but only when it applies
to large screen TVs and huge Plasma screens. Obviously misinformed, these buyers often match these
enormous screens with small, inappropriate electronics (AV amplifiers and receivers), cheap-‘n’-nasty
DVD players, and small, next to useless home theatre loudspeaker systems.
The fact is, and it’s a fact known and appreciated by the more knowledgeable of home theatre
enthusiasts, that Hollywood’s leading film makers actually place more emphasis on the quality
of the movie’s sound first, and then on the film’s screen image. So, when the movie
makes it to DVD all this surround sound effort often goes to waste. So too, in the loungeroom – remember,
it’s sound first, and image second!
With a few bucks change from $8,700 this Award winning Performance series AV system from Whatmough
Monitors is big physically and offers big performance. Match these with high quality electronics
and yes, a monster Plasma if you wish, and you’ll have ‘real’ home theatre at
your place.
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