tSc TSAT-1000-HT8-B Measurements and Analysis

Impedance / Phase Measurements of the TSAT-1000

The TSAT-1000’s are rated as 8 ohm nominal speakers. I would consider them closer to 6 ohms due to the lowish sensitivity (85dB / 1 meter) and the impedance dip in the 200Hz to 500Hz range where spectrally there is a lot of musical content in that range that eats amplifier power. Phase is kept within +-30 deg throughout the entire audio band and the crossover design indicates some well thought out engineering. tSc did everything possible in eeking out the most bass response possible from such a small enclosure but due to their size there will always be compromises. Bass manage them and reward them with quality ample power if you plan on listening to them at loud sustained levels.

In Room Nearfield Frequency Response of the TSAT-1000 (1/12^th octave smoothed)

The TSAT-1000 measured surprisingly linear - actually more so than far more expensive speakers that I’ve measured in the past. Usable bass response went down to about 100Hz but fell at a 30dB/Oct slope below that. I highly recommend crossing these speakers over at around 100-1200Hz and keeping the sub towards the front of the room somewhere between the main speakers to minimize localization and optimize integration with the satellites. The TSAT-1000s measured smoothest slightly below the axis of the tweeter so don’t worry about mounting these speakers above ear level as they will perform just fine.

Summed Nearfield Frequency Response of the ASW-8

The ASW-8 exhibited impressive bass extension for such a small, lower powered / low cost design. The -3dB point was around the manufacturers claimed 33Hz. It has usable output to around 120Hz or so and then falls off rapidly. This response curve indicates a good match for the TSAT-1000s.

ASW-8 SPL vs Frequency (goundplane scaled from 20 inches to 2 meter)

Just for fun, I pulled some in-room groundplane measurements of the ASW-8 in my office. I put the measurement mic on the ground 20 inches from the ASW-8 and measured at various SPL points to find the max limit of the sub. The measurements were then scaled to 2 meter. The ASW-8 was able to cleanly deliver around 100dB SPL throughout its entire bandwidth. At this point the door in my office was rattling out of control and I felt like I was in one of those competition car stereo shows. As I drove the ASW-8 harder, I started to hear excessive port noise as you can see by the rising frequency below 25Hz in the 102 dB (purple) and 105 dB (green) SPL plots. All in all this is unbelievably juicy performance from something that costs less than a dinner at Bern’s Steakhouse.