Further reviving their fortunes, Danish speaker manufactur, Scandyna launches its Micro-Pod and Sub range, targeting home cinema aficionados who want a little style mixed in with their cinema quality surround-sound.
Our quick take
Overall this system looks and sounds outstanding. Attention has been paid to design and sound quality and the experience of the Scandyna can be seen shining through 30 years in the business. The system is not the cheapest on the market but the colours and lines will attract the eyes of the aesthetic buyer as much as the sounds and bass will attract the ear of the audio purist.
Scandyna Micro-Pod 5.1 Home theatre speaker system - 4.0 / 5
| FOR | AGAINST |
|---|---|
|
|
Closely resembling a Lilliputian reincarnation of the earlier Mini-pod speaker series, that were all the rage a couple of years ago, the Micro series uses a similar design and scaled down technology to generate 5.1 cinema surround-sound. Scandya have dabbled in surround sound in the past with the ‘Cinepod' 5.1 system, but the new Micro-pod solution seems aimed at the more space conscious consumer.
The complete system comprises of 5 small Micro-Pod satellite units and a larger, single, Micro-Sub to add extra depth and ‘Whomp' to the overall soundscape. The Pods employ a 2-way closed box design, specifically created to minimise cabinet vibration and reduce additional noise. Acoustics come from a 3inch long throw bass / midrange feet at the bottom of the unit and a Kevlar piston and ¾ inch free-mounted high frequency unit at the top. The pods will operate with amps pushing out power anywhere between 15 to 100Watts. This combination means that if budgets are tight you don't need to have the Micro-Sub, as you will get a certain amount of bass out of the pods.
For those who care or have enough dosh not to have to care, the Micro-Sub is a mains-powered 100Watt front-firing unit driven by a single 8inch long throw. Inputs on the reverse of the Sub offer 2 different wiring options to set up your home cinema system depending on the type of amp you're using. For amps that can have the Micro-Sub directly plugged in, via a phono line-in, the 5 satellites will also plug in direct, via standard speaker cables. For amps that don't offer a direct line-in for the Sub, the Micro-Pods can be routed via the inputs in the Micro-Sub than back into the amp that way. The Micro-Sub also offers variable controls to alter level and crossover frequency settings to get the sound balance desired.
The speaker bodies are made from tough ABS plastic and are available in Blue, Black, White and Silver, although this colour range has been scaled down from the 10 available colours the Mini-pods series comes in. The Micro-Sub is floor mounted on plastic spikes, to reduce shake and vibration. The Micro-Pods can either have 3 ‘Sputnik' legs inserted into their bases so they will stand on flat surfaces or if you are feeling more adventurous, and have a drill to hand, can be wall mounted. I must admit the mounts look superb and due to the size, and the lightweight materials, the pods can get added to internal plasterboard walls without any problem. Attention will have to be paid to those trailing cables though, unless you plan some major-cavity-style wiring feats to get them out of sight.
To recap
A good set of speakers that aren't the cheapest, but certainly sound good