Memorex Triumph TS-5 Speaker System Review

The Memorex Triumph TS-5 is a three-piece subwoofer/satellite loudspeaker system that differs in several respects from its competition. Although it is like most others in that it consists of two small satellite speakers and a separate bass module (the “subwoofer”), the components do not follow the usual design pattern for this increasingly popular speaker configuration.

Each of the black, pear-shape satellites measures 7 inches high, 5 inches wide, and 3-1/2 inches deep, just large enough to enclose a 4-inch cone midrange driver and a 5/8-inch dome tweeter, which is stepped back slightly for proper time alignment with the larger driver. A second 5/8-inch tweeter is mounted on the back of the enclosure, facing rearward and upward at an angle of about 10 degrees. The crossover from the midrange to the tweeters is at 3,000 Hz, with 12-dB-per-octave slopes.

The plastic satellite enclosures have fixed perforated-metal grilles to protect the drivers. Spring-loaded connectors, which accept stripped wire ends, are recessed into the rear of the cabinets, and keyhole slots are provided for wall mounting (each satellite weighs only 2 pounds). The flat bottoms of the satellites also allow for shelf, table, or stand placement.

The TS-5 subwoofer is also unlike those of other three-piece systems. It is shaped like an obelisk, measuring 36 inches high, 10 inches square at the base, and 5-1/2 inches square at the top. Attractively finished in a semigloss black, it weighs 28 pounds.

Mounted in a vertical row on one face of the obelisk are two 6-1/2-inch and two 5-1/4-inch long-throw woofers, all of which share the same enclosure volume. Each channel drives two of the woofers, one of each size, in the frequency range below 120 Hz. The 6-1/2-inch drivers are mounted nearer the bottom of the cabinet and the 5-1/4-inch drivers closer to the top.

Spring-loaded connectors are on the bottom of the cabinet, which has an integral base about an inch high that is slotted to allow passage of the speaker wires. The side of the obelisk that contains the drivers is protected by a removable cloth grille. Surprisingly, the wiring exits on the same side, which may seem inappropriate for a highly visible component such as this, but the instructions suggest placing the bass module so that its drivers face the wall and are about a foot from it. Apparently the grille serves more for protection than as a cosmetic feature.

The system crossover components are located in the bass module. According to the specifications, the crossover from the satellites to the subwoofer is at 120 Hz, with 12-dB-per-octave slopes for both sections. The specifications also include a frequency response of 32 to 20,000 Hz ±3 dB, sensitivity of 91 dB sound-pressure level (SPL), and recommended amplifier power in the range of 15 to 100 watts. The nominal impedance is 8 ohms. Price: $650.

Lab Tests

We set up the Triumph TS-5 system with the bass module placed behind the right-channel satellite, a foot from the wall behind it and 4 feet from the side wall. The satellites were on stands about 3 feet in front of the wall, 3 feet above the floor, and 8 to 10 feet apart.

The system's room response was quite uniform, within ± 3 dB, from 500 to 10.000 Hz. Output rose at higher frequencies, to about +8 dB at 14,000 Hz, before returning to the midrange level at 20,000 Hz. Below 500 Hz, there was a cyclic variation in output: It rose to about +5 dB at 250 Hz, fell to -7 dB at 180 Hz, rose to a maximum of +10 dB at 80 Hz, and fell off steeply at lower frequencies.

We also measured the response of each driver in the system, using close microphone spacing. In particular, we were trying to establish the anechoic response of the subwoofer, or bass module. The responses of its different-size woofers were virtually identical except that the level was 2 to 3 dB lower from the smaller cones. The response of all four woofers peaked at 86 Hz and fell off at about 24 dB per octave above 100 Hz and at 12 dB per octave below 80 Hz.

The low-frequency response of the midrange drivers in the satellites dropped at 12 dB per octave below 300 Hz. The response above 300 Hz was very flat, within 1.5 dB overall up to 1,500 Hz (the highest frequency to which we could make valid close-miked measurements).

The big problem was splicing the separate response curves to develop a composite frequency response. Using the clues provided by our other measurements, plus measurements on the same units supplied by Memorex (taken under different conditions, with different test equipment), we were able to create a composite curve that closely resembled the way the system sounded in our test room.

The resulting curve was very flat and smooth from 250 to 4,000 Hz, sloping down about 5 dB over that range. There was an unmistakable “hole” in the response between the upper limit of the subwoofer’s range and the lower limit of the satellites’ midrange coverage. The hole reached a depth of —10 dB at 180 Hz and affected the response between 100 and 250 Hz. The output at 90 Hz was about 5 dB greater than the midrange average, and it fell to 3 dB below the midrange level at 45 Hz. The output was 2 to 4 dB below the midrange level from 5,000 to 10,000 Hz, and it rose to a +8-dB peak at 14,000 Hz.

The system’s nominal impedance, following conventional rating methods, was 3.4 ohms at 90 Hz, and it reached as low as 3.1 ohms at 10,000 Hz. The maximum impedance was 16 ohms at 25 Hz and 15 ohms at 180 and 1,600 Hz. Although the impedance remained greater than 8 ohms from 180 to 2,900 Hz, possibly justifying the manufacturer’s 8-ohm rating, not all amplifiers will take kindly to actual loads of 3 ohms or so at certain frequencies (each satellite alone, without the crossover system, has a minimum impedance of 2.7 ohms at 10,000 Hz).

Sensitivity, measured at 1 meter with one satellite placed on top of the bass module, was 88.5 dB SPL with an input of 2.83 volts of pink noise. Distortion measurements at an input of 3.3 volts (equivalent to a 90-dB SPL) showed readings of 7 to 8 percent total harmonic distortion plus noise for either size woofer at 45 Hz, falling to 1.5 percent at 60 Hz, 1 percent at 90 Hz, and 0.3 to 0.4 percent in the 95- to 110-Hz range. The midrange satellite driver had very low distortion, less than 0.4 percent from 500 to 1,800 Hz and less than 1 percent over its full range of 300 to 3,000 Hz.

The satellite’s horizontal dispersion was moderately good, but above 2,000 Hz there were appreciable changes in overall frequency response (not merely a high-frequency rolloff) between the on-axis measurement and one 45 degrees off the forward axis.

The 5-1/4-inch subwoofer drivers reached the limits of their suspensions before the larger drivers showed audible signs of distress, with a 100-Hz pulse input of 300 watts into the system’s 4.1-ohm impedance. At higher frequencies, our amplifier clipped before the speaker was overloaded.

Comments

At first listen we felt that the Memorex Triumph TS-5 had a tendency toward “sizzle” at the highest frequencies and a somewhat exaggerated upper-bass range. Subsequent measurements confirmed these reactions and clarified their significance.

This system sounded more like a good conventional single-box speaker than any other subwoofer/satellite system we have tested. Its sound stage was spatially unified, with never a hint that the bass was coming from the black obelisk near the wall. Its lateral and vertical imaging, with the Chesky JD37 CD, was possibly the very best we have heard from any speaker.

The TS-5’s low-frequency response anomaly was subjectively a hole in the octave from 100 to 200 Hz. Below that range, the bass was emphasized, but to no greater degree than with a large number of conventional speakers we have tested. The high-frequency peak was also real, though it is too high in the spectrum to change the tonal balance of a program. Upper harmonics and transients were emphasized, but not to an unpleasant degree.

As with any speaker, every person has to listen and form his own opinions. Our views concerning the Triumph TS-5 changed considerably as we lived with it. Its frequency-response aberrations were certainly audible in side-by-side comparison with some other speakers, but it was not easy to decide which was “better.” That judgment, as always, depended strongly on the program material, and the TS-5 was as likely as not to be the speaker of choice.

One point where there was little competition was in deep-bass performance. The TS-5 clearly outpointed all of the others to which we compared it, providing a solid, room-filling 32-Hz output that seemed to belie our bass measurements. Actually, those measurements are effectively anechoic, and room interaction with a bass module can make a huge difference.

The bottom line is that the Memorex Triumph TS-5 is an unconventional three-piece speaker system that manages to sound a lot better than any measurements we could make would indicate it should. It offers an attractive alternative to the now-conventional “black box” bass module that is intended to be hidden from view. Systems with such modules are usually very satisfactory performers, but we have heard none that can deliver the low bass of the TS-5. Yet it is not much greater a visible presence in a listening room.

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