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"Allison
Krauss's Union Station Live concert DVD amply demonstrated
the Soundmatters MainstageHD's pure sound. Ms. Krauss's
vocals and fiddle took our breath away, and her band's
guitars, mandolins, stand-up bass, and drums sounded
big and juicy. Bass definition is well above par for
such a tiny speaker."
"The
bottom line: Soundmatters' fully featured virtual surround
speaker system delivers home-theater thrills in a supercompact
design."
– Steve Guttenberg,
CNET.com
"Regular
readers of the column will remember my recommendation
of the Soundmatters MAINstage last year...a great many
readers purchased them at my recommendation, later writing
to me to express their satisfaction."
"I have always been a fan of the original MAINstage,
but I am even more enthusiastic about the HD model.
The regular MAINstage sounds very good - the HD model
is excellent, sounding full and effortless."
"It's
good enough that I would recommend those with the original
unit to replace it with the HD model and move the original
MAINstage into another room."
"It's
(soundmatters) a great company, and it has great product
and service."
–-Don Lindich, Scripps
Syndicated Columnist, Ventura County Star
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...
an impressive three-dimensional soundfield that did,
in fact,
give the impression of sounds coming from different
directions."
–Joseph Taylor, www.soundstageav.com
“(MAINstage
HD) can bring home theater
to even the closet-size studio apartments
here in New York City.”
“powerful and surprisingly satisfying”
“Here’s the best part: The system measures
only 2.6 x 16.75 x 9.6 in.”
–James Ross, Popular
Mechanics
"We’ve
seen small, high fidelity audio products before. The
most obvious comparison product to the Main Stage HD
would be the Bose Wave Radio. Although the Main Stage
HD doesn’t have the alarm clock features, it does
produce a crisper sound and is far more versatile than
the Wave Radio."
"...it
will give any source you feed into it punch, clarity
and volume. If you don’t have any space to spare
this will do a good job of giving you remarkably high
quality sound in a very small footprint."
Scores a 5 out of 6
– David Field,
Australian PC Authority
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"...surprisingly
potent."
50 Best Gifts – Robb
Report Home Entertainment
"...
a steel enclosure measuring 8 inches high by 16.7 wide
by 4.5 deep with grille. On one side is a 6.5-inch cone
woofer. On the other side are a pair of square 6 by
6 inch passive radiators that are actually steel plates.
I delighted in tapping them with my fingertip—they
let out a small but solid bonking sound. These two steel
walls, coated and suspended in rubber, are set in motion
by neodymium magnets, and together they form a 14-inch
piston. You might stick the unit at the bottom of the
rack, but it might also mount on the wall behind the
display, or mount behind your sofa if it's close to
the wall, or sit under the sofa."
...there's more to it than mere oomph. There's some
real bass extension and a tonal purity absent from most
subwoofers outside the megabucks high end."
Mark Fleishmann – HomeTheater.com
"
soulfully deep bass"
– Daniel Wu
www.atruereview.com
"must
see technology"
– Popular Science
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"Tight,
deep, musical bass in a stealth package.
We
envision the ultimate home theatre setup
where
each chair is outfitted with its own SUBstage.
Now
how cool would that be? "
– Rick Spence
(host of HGTV's Curb Appeal,) editor, Funkyfresh.com
"Sold
individually or with the Soundmatters Mainstage HD,
the Sub Stage 100 is a remarkable little subwoofer.
Its diminutive size simply does not indicate how effectively
it produces bass... It’s
ingenious.. makes the bass tight and responsive, with
no flabby notes within earshot."
"The
sound is very warm, suggesting an even, flat response.
It worked well as part of our Hi-Fi setup and when paired
to the Soundmatters Mainstage HD the difference it made
was phenomenal."
Scores a perfect 6 out of 6
– David Field,
Australian PC Authority
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"The ultimate iPod speaker? The perfect TV speaker upgrade? A better than decent entry-level audio system? The world's simplest near full-range surround rig? The longer I play with it, the more I've come to realize that Soundmatters' $599 two-piece FULLstageHD system is all these things and more."
– Chris Martens, The Perfect Vision
"The
soundmatters FULLstageHD is a brilliant product."
– Mark Fleishmann, HomeTheatermag.com
"We
watched The Fog DVD both with and without
the
Soundmatters Substage 100 connected to the
MainstageHD,
and
the difference wasn't subtle.
The
MainstageHD on its own is
hardly bass shy,
but
adding the sub is like bolting on a turbocharger.
The
movie's bump-in-the-night parts were scarier
and
the film's edgy tension was much more visceral
with
the Substage 100 filling out the bottom end.
And
the improvements weren't limited to bass punch;
the
speaker's soundstage was bigger and deeper
with
the Substage 100 in place."
– Steve Guttenberg,
CNET.com
"I
was gobsmacked by how full and rich the sound
was. Full, rich, and, yes, powerful."
"Whoever
tuned the MAINstage got it right. The top end
rolls off smoothly and doesn't sound shrill or
shouty. The sound is focused in the vocal region,
and the SUBstage adds just enough solidity (if
you tune its crossover intelligently) to support
that. It sounds warm and easy to take. I think
Sam Tellig might say it sounded "tubelike,"
and perhaps even reminisce about the fabulous
Capehart consoles of yore. If
he did, I wouldn't argue. "
–Wes Phillips, Stereophile
e-newsletter
“"The Soundmatters
FULLstageHD is truly a marvel in Hi-Fi audio system
design. While the two units that make up the system
are efficiently compact, their audio performance is
anything but.The MAINstageHD’s pristine sound
output is perfectly complemented by the SUBstage100’s
soulfully deep bass. Because there is only two parts
to the system, setup is very clean and simple. Anyone
looking for big audio performance without the huge speakers
and long setup times cannot go wrong with Soundmatters
FULLstageHD."”
– Daniel Wu, www.atruereview.com
"You
have to hear it to believe it.
This thing sounds awesome."
"Soundmatters really makes some great
stuff..." "
"...far
better than most speaker systems out there
and takes up less space. Your ears will thank
you."
– Terry Mele,
MyPersonalGetaway.com
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“FOR
THOSE OF US WHO DREAD the idea of drilling holes,
running wire and calculating speaker placement,
home theatre has just gotten a whole lot easier.
The answer , in a word, is MAINstage.”
“...sounds remarkable, high fidelity audio without
the need
for satellite speakers, costly amplifiers...
requires just two connections to make it work:
a power cord and an audio connection.”
– Mark Masciarotte, Private
Air Magazine
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“"Amazing,
all-in-one hi-fi system
for computer, games, music & movies.
Perfect for students in dorms.
Get one for every TV in the house."
- Steve Krushen, Mr. Gadget®
- www.mrgadget.com
read the entire Mr. Gadget article
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“"scores
a perfect 10 on the
Wife Acceptance Factor meter."”
– Marc
Horowitz, Sound + Vision
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“.
. . a masterpiece of minimalism.”
“There’s simply no way something so small
and sleek
should be able to pump out clear audio and deep bass
at high volumes, but hearing is believing.”
“. . . crystal-clear high- and midrange while the
integrated subwoofer
pounded out bass that rattled the windows, shook the floor,
and sent the pets running for cover.”
– Smart Computing Learning Series
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“you
won’t believe your ears”
– Michael Fremer, Stereophile
Guide to Home Theatre, Dec 2003
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“A
standout product that fits the needs
of a large number of TV lovers looking for better sound.”
– Don Lindich
Multimedia Answers newspaper column
www.multimediaanswers.com
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“When
our friends listened to the Mainstage, they were knocked
out.
Most of them thought we were using our sub/sat system.
Everyone said something like, Wow, all that sound
is coming from that little thing?”
“The Mainstage maintained the authority of bluesman
R. L. Burnside’s big, booming voice, and the energy
of our Rolling Stones tunes gave us plenty of satisfaction.
Buzzing occurred occasionally at high volumes
but never with bass-heavy CDs. In fact, we didn’t
detect
any problems as we blasted through the Pearl Harbor
DVD.
The Mainstage again surprised us by flattering dialogue
with rich, full sound.”
“. . . potent 4-inch woofer already has enough
oomph
to fill small rooms with bass, so you don’t really
need
bass augmentation, but a sub will also lighten the woofer’s
load,
thus allowing the little Mainstage to play more loudly
without distorting”
– Steve Guttenberg, CNET
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“I
plopped it on top of the television cabinet, made a
few connections,
and voila – the difference was huge. Dialogue intelligibility
with the regular TV programs was much improved,
as was the sense that sound was enveloping the room...
when music was present in the mix, the overall balance
was much better too, as was the sense of high and low
frequency detail... with stereo and surround programming
the spatial presentation was almost eerie...
...one other thing that should be emphasized
is how loudly the MAINstage will play...
...a highly affordable answer to the question
of how to place a bunch of speakers and
a subwoofer in the average room.”
– Wayne Garcia - avguide.com
The official website for The Absolute Sound and The
Perfect Vision magazines
read the entire AV Guide article
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“Plop
this magic box on top of your TV and, with a couple
of connections, your living room will be filled
with 80 watts of crisp, detailed, nearly 360-degree*
surround sound.
No speakers all over the room, no jumble of wires.
Hack it into a DVD player, a satellite, a cable box
or
a video-game system and everything from dialogue to
subwoofer-generated thumps will emanate from various
points around you. For such a compact box,
this thing really drowns out the sounds of our squeals”
*(a note from Soundmatters -- we think 180 degrees
is more accurate, but appreciate their enthusiasm)
– Stuff magazine, Gearotica
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“The
virtual surround mode is nice.
In effect, it expands the soundstage width and height
with amazing depth and clarity. The bass is actually
pretty good
as well. My setup placed the unit on top of a TV in
the corner,
thus giving better extension to lower frequencies.
I was highly impressed by the sound output and
quality from the MAINstage.”
“I couldn’t help but to think that if the
Soundmatters MAINstage
was wearing a Bose logo, it would easily retail
for two or three times the price.
At $300 the MAINstage is a sweet addition
to any simple audio setup.”
– Clint Walker, DVDETC. Magazine
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“.
. .puts out great overall sound with surprisingly strong
bass.”
“The MAINstage performs quite well for gaming.
In stereo mode, it sounds like an excellent pair of speakers
reproducing booming explosions and whizzing bullets.
In surround mode, like watching movies, the background
ambient noises sound wide and dispersed.”
“Whether it is being used with a theatre system,
a computer, or one of those increasing popular network
streaming components like the iCube Play@TV and
Apple’s new AirPort Express, the MAINstage
will bring big sound from a small package.”
– Daniel Wu
www.atruereview.com
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“Great
if you don’t want to spend $1,500
for one of those Bose systems”
“It really works”
“Lots of great features”
– The Computer & Technology Show with Marc and
Mark, KABC, Los Angeles
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– March 2006
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“We hope to see more stealth and stylish products
from soundmatters in the coming years.
For now, the SUBstage 100 earns our respect as
a funkyfresh essential element. ”
– March 6, 2006
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MAINstage was honored during the 2004 International
Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas for its unique
“design
and engineering” and as one of the most innovative
products of the year . |
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