Titan
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| Five Blue Notes
For ACI's Titan Subwoofer! "Therefore, for the first
time, I award five Blue Notes, for Excellent Value!
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| Titan Review: Bound For Sound #139.
October 2001
"There are subs that go deeper, but where the Titan excels is up in the audible range, above 20Hz, where its agility and accuracy give it a feeling of immense power while adding that something extra to the upper bass (60-100Hz), that opens up the entire soundfield. This is a quick sounding sub; quick enough not to intrude at higher frequencies and powerful enough to rattle your backside. Understand, any ordinary sub can shake walls, floors and the hinges on a cabinet (66Hz) . . .the Titan can rattle the dishes two rooms away if I'm dumb enough to set it up that way, but that's stupid (except for certain movies, but that 's probably stupid too). This is a machine that one can expect music from! A rarity these days in an affordable product. I highly recommend the Titans, and unless I find something better soon (which I doubt), I'm keeping these. Mike, you can label the Titans" "Exceptional Merit" right now. Martin DeWulf
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| John Potis writes a Titan rave at SMR Home-Theater
Magazine
"It was then that I began to notice something in the quality of the bass I was hearing. It was something special. Real special. Never, in any of my systems, with either of my subs, had I heard the articulation I was hearing. As a matter of fact, extremely rarely, with any system I had ever heard, was I made aware of such outstanding bass. When properly adjusted, the sub never added unwanted artifacts to the music, but I had never heard such solidity when called for. Bass lines were more in evidence than I had recalled before do to its eloquence. Weight and slam were also outstanding. Next, I hoisted it upstairs and into my dedicated listening room. I used the same 85hz filter between my Classé pre and power amps and used "Y" connectors to hook the Titan up at the pre-amp level. After some trial and error, I achieved what I thought to be excellent matching with my Sonus Faber Concertos. Once again, I wasn’t prepared for what I heard. This little sub just kicked my reference sub’s butt from one end of the room to the other. For articulation, this Titan wouldn’t be beat. Among many other discs I tried was my bass torture disc, Telarc’s "The Very Best of Eric Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Top 20" (CD-80401). Up first was Lloyd Webber’s "Overture of the Phantom of the Opera". The opening thunder crack was fantastic. Ive heard this on much more expensive systems which didn’t do as well. If the speakers aren’t up to the task of handling the transients, the thunder is rounded off and sounds as if it is off in the distance. If the system is up to it, it’s got the sharp "CRACK!" that tells you that your neighbors house has been reduced to a pile of cinders. The Organ music that follows had more weight than I was used to hearing too. Track #20, "Jurassic Lunch" is a killer track. A speaker killer that is. It’s loaded with infrasonics extending down to 5hz. The CD box has a warning with regard to play back levels and speaker damage. The Titan didn’t read those warnings. It didn’t care. It handled the T-Rex with all his stomping, growling, chewing and belching with aplomb. It loved it and begged for more. So out came my Wilson Audiophile recording of "Winds of War and Peace" (WCD-8823), with Lowell Graham conducting the National Symphonic Winds. Track #1, "Liberty Fanfare" features a HUGE drum the dimensions of which I can’t remember anymore. . When it’s struck, walls shake. Or, should anyway. The Titan didn’t let me down. Both walls and floor were set in motion and I couldn’t control the big smile in my face. After that, it was time to put down the pen. There was lots more
listening to be done, not for review or reporting purposes, but for
pleasure!
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| Greg Smith falls in love with the Titan at Soundstage
"At $799 direct from the factory, the Titan is a bargain.
Subwoofers with comparable retail prices aren't nearly as impressive,
but that's one of the things you get when you cut distributors and
dealers out....For those willing to take the
20Hz challenge, the ACI Titan is the least expensive way I know of to
become equipped with real bass that goes as deep as any reasonable
person would want. With it's three inputs and array of
crossover controls, it should be flexible enough for almost any music or
home theater system..... Considering how good it sounds for what you
pay, I suspect most complaints about the ACI Titan come from the
neighbors of those who own one."
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| Tom Norton at Stereophile gives the
Titan high marks
"Recommended Component," Stereophile Magazine The ACI Titan is the least costly subwoofer in Class C. The other four subwoofers that made Class C sell for $850, $1495, $1599 and $2395. "Does not extend as low as the Velodyne 2W. TJN observes, but the quality of the bass makes up for it." "The final system did a smashing job on home
theater duties. Particularly notable was the blending of the Titan subs
with the Apogee Slant 6es. I used the crossover in the Proceed PAV
surround-sound processor. The Titans also have their own internal low-pass
filter which I tweaked to produce the smoothest blend. While not
necessarily the deepest-reaching or most powerful of subwoofers, the
Titans were much more than adequate for cinematic shaking and quaking.
They made a positive impression with all the big stuff I could throw at
them. But they could be remarkably subtle and poised as well, calling
attention to themselves only when required. The lack of mid and upperbass
boom in the Apogee/Titan combination often unmasked a wealth of detail
deeper down."
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