Many products on the market offer style or substance. Very rarely do you get both. Some manufacturers focus on appearance and offer little in the way of performance. Others aim for fantastic performance, but allow appearance to suffer. Apple is one of the few companies that melds these two feats together for beautiful industrial design and blazingly fast operation.

Now Definitive Technology has joined those esteemed ranks with their new Mythos line of loudspeakers. These speakers are stunning, designed to match the aesthetics that so many plasma monitors have. However, will the performance match the looks?

Unique Features
Not only was the Mythos system designed to complement a plasma display, it was also designed to be wall or shelf mounted. The Mythos One full-range tower loudspeakers are designed to sit on the floor with their supplied tempered glass bases (very stylish, I might add), but if you don't want to use up valuable floor space, you can easily implement four Mythos Two wall-mount loudspeakers with the Mythos Three center speaker placed on the wall above or below the plasma display. The Mythos Two and Three come with matching stainless steel wall mount brackets. The speakers are finished in hand-polished aluminum with very attractive grille covers. The speakers are also available in black, but I recommend the polished aluminum, especially when mated with a plasma monitor.

Installation/Setup/Ease of Use
The Mythos system I received for evaluation included a pair of the Mythos One tower loudspeakers, a single Mythos Three center speaker, and a pair of Mythos Two speakers for surround duty. I connected the system to my reference Sunfire Ultimate Receiver, with Definitive Technology's own SuperCube 1 subwoofer for the bottom end help.

Connecting this speaker system is very easy, as the five-way binding posts offer flexible connection. The supplied wall mount brackets are fantastic, allowing for installation in minutes. For my evaluation, I installed the Mythos One loudspeakers on either side of the plasma monitor, about eight feet apart, with the Mythos Three center speaker mounted on the wall below the monitor. The Mythos Two surround speakers were mounted towards the back of the room, on the side walls. Tuning the system was very simple, and I was able to achieve a balanced sound after only a few minutes of tweaking. It is important to note that all of the Mythos loudspeakers were designed to work with one of Definitive Technology's wonderful subwoofers, and even though the speakers offer excellent bass response, there is plenty of benefit to having the bass extend even deeper. With my SuperCube 1 subwoofer connected, there was plenty of rumble. The bass was tight and clearly defined. Mated with the Supercube subwoofer, the Mythos One, Two and Three speaker system sounded like a $20,000 home theater speaker package. It only costs a fraction of that price, but possesses the looks and performance expected from such a lofty sum.

While testing multi-channel SACD material, such as Sting's very well-recorded Sacred Love 5.1 mix, I was immediately blown away by the Mythos system's imaging and soundstaging. The lead vocals seemed to be part of the soundstage, rather than being too far forward. The tone of the system was very neutral, which I assure you is a good thing. The all-important midrange of the performance was very pleasing, and the entire 360-degree soundstage was very even and well balanced. On upbeat songs such as "Send Your Love" or "Whenever I Say Your Name," nothing seemed to get lost when there was a lot going on. Instead I heard detail and spaciousness that truly surprised me and put a big wide smile on my face. On more restrained compositions such as "Dead Man's Rope," which is a very solemn song, the guitars show off the midrange tonality of the Mythos speakers. Since all of the speakers get virtually the same drivers, you're sure to get an even sound. On SACD music, I found these speakers to be very exciting and dynamic.

On multi-channel movie material, I was equally impressed. Watching such action films as Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or Bad Boys II, the respective battle scenes were nothing less than thrilling when played on the Mythos system. Mated with the wonderful Sunfire Ultimate Receiver, this system is truly a force to be reckoned with. The evaluation room that I used is fairly large, and the Mythos system was able to fill the space without struggling at all. The Mythos Three center speaker (the speaker that gets the toughest workout in a typical film) was up to the task, and really shined. Side to side pans were very even and refined, never sounding thin or uneven. Altogether, this was a very impressive performance.

On Peter Gabriel's exquisitely recorded DTS 5.1 Growing Up Live music DVD highlighting his 2003 world tour, the soundstage was outstanding. On tracks like "Secret World," where Peter spins around with his tambourine, the effect was mixed to the rear speakers, which is very successful with the Mythos Two surround speakers. Since they match the other speakers in the Mythos line perfectly, the transition was undetectable. To be sure, Definitive Technology's engineers have hit another homerun with the Mythos speaker system.

Final Take
I've been a big fan of many of Definitive Technology's offerings for many years simply because they produce some of my favorite speakers, no matter the price. Add to that the value you get with their pricing, and there's just no excuse for not auditioning a system at your local dealer. I highly recommend the Mythos speaker system, whether you have a plasma monitor or not. They'll look and sound great either way. Undisputed is the fact that the Definitive Technology Mythos system can join the ranks of those that make beautifully designed products perform as well as they look.

Definitive Technology Mythos Speaker System
Mythos One
Dimensions: 6"W x 6"D x 48.5"H
Frequency Response: 20Hz - 30kHz
Rec. Assoc. Amp.: 20 - 250 watts/channel
MSRP: $899/each

Mythos Two
Dimensions: 5.4"W x 4.2"D x 25.1"H
Frequency Response: 45Hz - 30kHz
Rec. Assoc. Amp.: 10 - 200 watts/channel
MSRP: $499/each

Mythos Three
Dimensions: 25.1"W x 4.2"D x 5.4"H
Frequency Response: 45Hz - 30kHz
Rec. Assoc. Amp.: 10 - 200 watts/channel
MSRP: $499/each

SuperCube I Subwoofer
Dimensions: 14 1/4"W x 14 1/4"D x 14 1/10"H
Frequency Response: 13Hz - 200Hz
Warranty: Five years parts and labor
MSRP: $1,199/each

All available in polished aluminum or black