SuperCube® 6000
High-Performance 1500W Powered Subwoofer With 9″ Woofer and Dual 10″ Bass Radiators
Huge, accurate bass impact for movies and music from a compact enclosure, measuring only 12.88” x 12” x 13”
9” subwoofer driver pressure-coupled to two 10” Ultra Low Bass Radiators enhances speed, musicality and control
1500-watt digital tracking amplifier and 56-bit Digital Signal Processor (DSP) preamp stage improves performance
Disappearing alpha-numeric display and performance optimizer remote control allow precise system tweaking
Definitive Technology recently sent me its SuperCube 6000 for a buyer’s guide roundup of sub-USD$1,000 subwoofers. It was the smallest box in the roundup, but also the most expensive at $999. So why does a subwoofer that measures only 12.88 inches by 12 inches by 13 inches cost more than subs that outclass it in both size and power?
As the adage goes: different horses for difference courses. If you make weekly runs to Home Depot for drywall, you’re likely not looking at a Mini Cooper as your main mode of transportation. Likewise, if you like the sound of big explosions and have a physically large AV room, you’re likely shopping for a very different subwoofer than someone who primarily listens to acoustic jazz ensembles or string quartets.
To see where the SuperCube 6000 shines, let’s first look at what it is. This diminutive sub is a little black box with status LED indicators only visible for a few seconds immediately after an adjustment is made. Its small cabinet is also a bit of a red herring, though. Hidden somewhere in the sealed enclosure is a 750-watt RMS/1500-watt peak amplifier driving a front-firing 9-inch woofer with dual 10-inch passive radiators on the sides. All in all, Definitive Technology claims an impressive frequency response of 14Hz to 200Hz for this little cube, though no half-power (-3dB) point is listed. As it turns out, that rated low-frequency extension is a little generous, but the SuperCube 6000 still cranks out a good bit of satisfying bass within its real-world frequency range.
The Hookup The SuperCube 6000 features LFE, line-level, and speaker-level inputs, and can also easily be connected via third-party wireless kit. I first used the LFE out from my surround sound receiver in the home theater, and then tried the speaker level inputs from my Glow Audio Amp Two tube amp in my den to see how well the sub reproduced the finer details of concentrated music listening. My theater room has Definitive Technologies DI series in-wall and in-ceiling speakers and in the den I have DAS Monitor 8 studio monitors.
A final thought on the hookup: after experimenting with a few placement options, I found this sub to be extremely forgiving when it came to positioning due to the front-firing driver with dual side radiator design. That can be a real advantage if the aesthetics of your room limit where the sub can go. Remember also that this little box is quite easy to overlook–visually anyway. That makes installation somewhat easier in a wider variety of rooms, especially if d�cor concerns have kept you from installing an upgraded AV system.
Performance I began my testing with Star Wars: Rogue One, primarily due to the fact that there are plenty of right-to-left and left-to-right action pans and even a few spaceship fly overs that made it easier for me to check the spatial localization attributes of the SuperCube 6000 and its integration with my main speaker system. Indeed, the rumbles followed the mids and highs around, over and under my seat.
But how well would the SuperCube 6000 manage the spacious details and bombastic bottom of Marian Hill’s “Down” after switching to my tube amplifier with DAS monitor 8s handing the mids and highs? Really well, in fact. The song delivers its first real bass drop at roughly fifty-five seconds in–so be patient, it’s worth it–and the SuperCube 6000 did not disappoint in delivering that slick beat. This is the sort of song that can kick up some dirt and muddy the vocals with a lesser sub, but thankfully the Definitive Technology SC 6000 kept everything right where it should be and just asked for more.
High Points
The SuperCube 6000 is so small it can disappear in your room, and placement is very forgiving.
This subwoofer delivers incredible punch from so small of a cabinet.
The included remote offers great control and access to features you might use frequently, including night mode and four EQ presets.
The SuperCube 6000 performs equally well with movies and music alike.
Low Points
Although Definitive Technologies states a frequency response of 14Hz to 200Hz, I found that in actual use the sub starts rolling off steeply at 27Hz and delivers no significant energy below 25Hz. That is to be expected in a subwoofer of this size and price.
The SuperCube 6000 offers no room correction or app control, which you can get with other subs costing not much more.
The wireless kit from Definitive Technology has sadly been discontinued, although there are viable third-party alternatives, like the one from RocketFish�or Snap AV.
The SuperCube 6000 just doesn’t deliver enough output for larger rooms, at least not on its own. If you have a pretty sizeable listening space, factor two SC 6000s into your budget.
Conclusion There are a lot of very good subwoofers available right now: Some larger with more impact and some less expensive with more subtle design, but what we have in the Definitive Technology SuperCube 6000 is an excellent marriage of compact package with plenty of punch and great musicality. Audition one today and see if this isn’t your Goldilocks sub. For many of you, it might be.
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