What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Never mind the quality – feel the width. Big-screen soundtracks don’t come bigger than this at the money
Pros
- +
Big, big sound from a big, big system
Cons
- -
Gives away low-end authority and some fine detail
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In terms of raw materials, the Teufel Theater 200 seems excellent value: £805 buys you a whacking great subwoofer, equally imposing standmounting front speakers, a centre channel with what looks like a kitchen drawer handle attached, and rear speakers of a switchable dipole design.
Finish is of the high-gloss type and build quality is good.
The 25mm tweeters on the front three speakers sit further back than the 17cm mid/bass drivers on the vertical plane.
This is in a bid to aid time alignment – though where the left and right T200F speakers feature a curved baffle to help the tweeters' dispersal, the T200C centre channel's tweeter fires partially at the top edge of the cabinet.
The T100D rear speakers can fire forward in the traditional manner or be switched to dipole operation, which maximises efficiency and gives more positioning options.
Extensive, smooth soundstage
Delivering the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack to Zombieland, the Theater 200 makes good on its visual promise.
The soundstage is extensive in all directions, and it's smoothly integrated, too. Effects are steered assuredly and sited securely, and there's enough dynamic headroom to make the most of the film's many surprises.
The T2000SW subwoofer offers extension and drive, but there's a degree of system-wide subtlety on display, too. Yet for all its low-end presence, it doesn't have unopposed control over the leading edge of bass sound, and what ought to be straight-edged punch is rendered a little hazy as a result.
There's also a touch of sibilance to dialogue through the centre channel, and a relative shortage of fine detail that makes the entire presentation seem in need of a slight polish.
But in terms of sheer scale, both aural and visual, the Teufel Theater 200 is hard to criticise. If quantity is as important as quality to you, you won't go far wrong with this package.
