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AVB Sonix S-2000 Flat Panel Speakers

Where did AVB come from? Starting back in 1973 as Anko Electronic Company of Taiwan, they are more commonly known today as American Anko Company based in Santa Fe Springs, California. Most of AVB’s lineup includes gaming controllers like joysticks and racing wheels. As of last fall, they introduced the Sonix S-2000 flat panel speaker. This is a difficult to find setup because distribution isn’t wide spread just yet. You can find the S-2000’s at retailers like Micro Center and other resellers like Vanguard and Advantage Computer Co. Thanks to AVB for supplying the evaluation set for TargetPC’s review.

Description

Flat panels are...well…flat. Having listened to the likes of Martin-Logan and Magneplanar, I could hardly be surprised at skinny speakers but actually removing these squashed "boxes" from the packaging cemented the idea that this was going to be a very different listening and setup experience. Of course, the satellites aren’t really "boxes" because they measure only ½" thick. They are very impressive sitting next to your monitor. At 10 inches tall and 4-1/2 inches wide, not taking into account the mandatory stands, these seem rather imposing sitting around anything less than a 19 incher.

Lest we not forget the boomer box; the sub is an almost perfect cube with the port facing front—different. Its small size catches you off guard once again because it’s unusually heavy, about 9 pounds. Inside hides all the power supply circuitry, amplifiers and the 5-1/4 inch woofer. The rear of the sub has all the wires and plugs necessary for operation. The power plug is strangely short, about 4-1/2 feet. The other wires are much longer. The "puck" or "pickle" remotely controls the power, sub volume, and overall volume.

Inside is a new Philips amplifier chip that I’m not familiar with at all—the OM8384J. Surfing over to Philips Electronics NA, yielded a big fat zero so I have to assume that this chip is so new it’s not even in any manufacturer catalog just yet. I usually prefer to read through the data sheet for all the internal components to further gain insight as to the designer’s intent. It also lets me know how much the PR department is "fiddling" with various specifications (i.e. power output).

FYI, the satellites are rated at 6 watts each and the sub at 20 watts for a total of 32 watts RMS. The main power supply capacitor was a little small, just 6800uF @ 25V. This is somewhat offset by the large AC transformer. Rated for 24VAC output @ 1.5 amps, this multiplies out to 36 watts of input power. The entire system is spec’ed for 4 ohm operation, meaning that all three speakers have a 4 ohm impedance.

Some Assembly Required

Normally, all that one must do when setting up new speakers is rip open the box and place the new equipment wherever it’s gonna be used; not so with the Sonix. You have to put the stands together, otherwise you’ll have really "flat" speakers as they will be facing flat on your tabletop. So, I grabbed the two pieces each required to make them stand up and I pushed them together. A minute later, I squeezed some more. A few minutes later I was huffing and puffing still pushing the stand parts together. While they don’t have that re-assuring "snap" of other plastic parts, I wanted to be able to fit slot-a into socket-b as it were. "It’s a tight fit" is an understatement. Unless you can generate 50-100 lbs. of force, you’re not gonna be able to completely assemble these jewels.
Specifications

    1. Subwoofer
    5.25" High Quality Driver
    Output: 20W RMS
    Frequency Response: 50-200hz
    Crossover frequency: 200 hz
    Dimensions: 21 x 21 x 17cm (w x h x d)

    2. Satellites

    Output: 2 x 6W RMS
    Nominal Impedance: 4ohms
    Frequency Response: 200-20000 hz
    Maximum Thickness of the panel: 12mm
    Dimensions: 25 x 12cm Max for panel. Base Footprint is within 9 x 9cm and holds the panel 2cm higher than surface.
    Cable Length: 6ft

    3. Cable Remote Control with holder

    Function: Volume, Bass, On/off
    Cable length: 8ft






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