I used to be anticipating SuperWide would make dialog tougher to grasp, however the Stage Professional has distinctive vocal readability for each Far and Close to, even in Music and Film modes. I discovered the additional increase to upper-mids and highs in Vocal mode pointless.
As a music speaker, the Stage Professional is geared towards decrease volumes and brief distances. Not that it could actually’t get loud—it could actually get absurdly loud—it simply doesn’t sound good at these ranges. Screechiness within the highs begins to creep in round 50 p.c and by the point you’re at 75 p.c it simply looks like noise.
You’ll get the perfect constancy in common stereo mode, however even on this mode, I wanted to drop the treble adjustment to its lowest setting to compensate for the closely boosted highs. Music within the two SuperWide modes generally is a blended expertise. Midrange definition is partially sacrificed (that dilution of particulars I described earlier), inflicting an overemphasis of the highs. On some tracks, like Sabriba Carpenter’s “Taste”, it leaves a gulf between the bass notes and vocals. Some songs fared higher. “We Are” by Jon Batiste, with its gospel-infused refrain, really benefited from each the vast soundstage and vocal-forward tuning, however this was an outlier.
The soundbar sits on rubber ft that angle the unit barely upward to intention the drivers at your head when seated. For my mixture of desk, seat, and physique heights, it wasn’t sufficient. I ended up sticking an AA battery beneath every foot to get a extra aggressive angle. Whereas I don’t suggest this explicit hack, I encourage you to discover a answer that does the identical factor. When sitting shut, each Close to and Far SuperWide modes will sound a lot better should you get this angle proper.
A Stable Bar
{Photograph}: Simon Cohen
Utilizing the Stage Professional with a 32-inch TV in our bed room was a special expertise. Not like the mattress, our TV isn’t centered within the room. From my spouse’s aspect, the viewing angle is off by about 10 levels; from my aspect, it’s extra like 30. We are able to angle the TV barely to compensate, however the tiny electrical hearth that serves as a speaker stand doesn’t afford us the identical degree of flexibility for the soundbar. When utilizing our traditional speaker, a Sonos Beam, I don’t discover this in any respect. With the Stage Professional in Far mode, nevertheless, my spouse’s aspect was clearly within the candy spot, whereas mine obtained a much less immersive expertise. Switching to Close to mode elevated this hole.
As an experiment, I arrange the Stage Professional in our bigger TV room. The soundbar stunned me, particularly in Far SuperWide mode, with an expansive sound that felt prefer it was coming from a a lot larger speaker. Sadly, the subwoofer couldn’t transfer sufficient air to match the primary bar, and the bass efficiency was too weak to be satisfying. Lesson discovered: The Stage Professional prefers a smaller stage.
For the worth, the Artistic Stage Professional is a enjoyable and versatile speaker system that excels at offering immersive, cinematic sound, with glorious dialog readability. Its SuperWide processing isn’t simply hype, however you’ll solely recognize the impact at brief distances with the drivers aimed straight at your listening place. Don’t ask it to fill greater than a small bed room or workplace, and also you gained’t be disenchanted.
