Phase Technology Premier Lux Speaker Review: The Best Value in Home Audio

In some respects, the smart home industry mirrors the personalities in MMA and organizations like the UFC. In the UFC there are fighters such as Connor McGregor that are as good on the microphone as they are within the Octagon, but then there are fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov that were less verbose but who were just as devastating as mixed martial artists. All this to say that the subjects of today’s review, Phase Technology and its Premier Lux speakers, fall into the latter category.

This Fla.-based company has been in the home audio market for decades, but outside of its dealers and hardcore fans, it seems that few people know just how accomplished this manufacturer is as a product developer.

Just like Khabib, home audio fans and integrators won’t find Phase Technology and its parent company SoundTube in the audiophile magazines and shows, but when the company does make an event appearance such as CEDIA Expo it delivers knockout system demonstrations.

Looking to get those same knockout experiences in my home, Phase Technology sent me a pair of Premier Lux PL950 floorstanding loudspeakers and Power Lux PL-12p subwoofer to review, so let’s get to it.

CE Pros and Cons:

Pros:

Exceptional sound quality that’s highlighted by a superb image and wide soundstage
The Premier Lux PL950 speaker is easily driven by AV receivers and audiophile-level amplifiers.
Phase Technology supports the speakers with custom color options to help the speakers blend into a variety of home environments
The PL-12p is a powerful subwoofer that delivers tight low frequencies, and a single sub is more than capable of delivering enough bass in small- and medium-size rooms.

Cons:

Some users may find a slight upper midrange/lower treble frequency range emphasis with the PL950 floorstanding loudspeaker
I would like to see the companion MSE Sound App show edited presets to communicate how the subwoofer is custom configured

Premier Lux PL950 Features

This is what Phase Technology has for its list of core features on the Premier Lux PL950:

The floorstanding PL950 utilizes a 2.5-way design four driver, ported enclosure design.
Internally, the PL950 employs three 6.5-inch RPF flat-piston fiber & Kevlar composite woofers with NBR surrounds, and a 1.125-inch synthetic soft-dome tweeter.
Phase Tech says the 4-ohm PL950 is 89dB sensitive and it delivers a frequency response of 28Hz to 22kHz
The PL-12p features a 12-inch long-throw mica-graphite poly cone with an NBR surround that’s powered by a 325-watt RMS internal amplifier
Supporting the Premier Lux speakers are the PL subwoofers, which includes the PL-12p.
The PL-12p is said to produce maximum SPL levels of 110dB.
Phase Technology says the Premier Lux PL950 carries a retail price of approximately $1,990 each. The PL-12p carries an approximate retail price of $1,545.

Getting into it a bit more, the 2.5-way Premier Lux PL950 is a ported loudspeaker design with an enclosure that houses a single 1.125-inch soft-dome tweeter, along with a trio of 6.5-inch woofers. The company says the 4-ohm rated speaker is 89dB sensitive and its rated frequency response is said to be 28Hz to 22kHz.

Some other specifications for the PL950 include the speaker incorporates 5-way binding posts, and the speaker stands 45-inches tall x 10.8-inches wide x 12-inches deep. The speaker also weighs 66 pounds.

Additional Specs

Complementing the Premier Lux speaker for this review is the PL-12p subwoofer. Like the PL950, the subwoofer also utilizes a ported enclosure, and within that enclosure resides a 12-inch woofer powered by a 350-watt RMS amplifier. The subwoofer provides options such as stereo RCA and XLR inputs and outputs.

The 59-pound sub measures 18-inches tall x 16-inches wide x 18.9-inches deep. Phase Technology augments the capabilities of the PL-12p with its MSE Sound App. The app offers options such as crossover settings, line-out configuration, manual equalization, and phase controls.

Setup

Once I had finished unpacking the three boxes, which had some weight, but were not back breaking for me, I took the SVS decoupling feet off my Aerial Acoustics speakers and screwed them into the Premier Lux speakers.

After installing the feet, I placed the speakers in a basic starting location that I believe is conducive towards audio reproduction in my 12 x 23-foot room that includes an 8-foot ceiling. Next, I ran AudioQuest speaker cables from my Integra AVR or Bryston electronics (depending on whether I was listening to surround sound or true stereo content). The speakers ended up about eight feet from one another, and about eight feet from my money seat, seating position.

Setting up the subwoofer was just as simple. I ran an RCA cable from the AVR to the PL-12p’s LFE input, which I placed on an Auralex SubDude Subwoofer Isolation Pad. The sub is located about five feet from a corner and about 6-inches off the wall underneath a Screen Innovations Zero Edge Pro screen.

The bottom of the PL950 loudspeakers with the SVS decoupling feet installed. (photo credit: Bob Archer CE Pro)

Finalizing the installation, I set the volume on the sub at noon; I made a few toe-in tweaks to the Premier Lux PL950s, and I went into the MSE App and added 1dB at 20Hz just to try to boost the extension of the sub at its lower levels.

I’ll also point out that I fired up the AudioTools app to remeasure the theater system to compensate for the increased efficiency of the PL950s when compared to the Aerial speakers they replaced. In addition, before adding the sub I felt I wanted more bottom end from my home theater so since I was in the Integra menu system I also added some gain to the LFE channel.

Setup of the Premier Lux speakers should not take long and that includes the app, which is not perfect, but it is easy to navigate.

Performance

Admittedly I haven’t had a lot of personal exposure to Phase Technology products. Sure, I’ve heard several product demos. I recall at CEDIA Expo 2023 in fact, being thoroughly entertained by an Indy Audio Labs demonstration that included Phase Technology speakers.

Going way back, I reviewed the dARTS digital audio system, but I haven’t had any of their components since then. Anyway, getting back to the Premier Lux PL950s and PL-12p subwoofer, I was expecting the speaker to perform well, but I will say the Phase Tech products exceeded my expectations.

One of the strengths of the PL950s is the speakers’ ability to image. Stereo video content, particularly dialog was easily intelligible and unless someone figured out what was going on, they could walk into the room and think they were listening to surround content and LCR speakers. With well-recorded stereo content such as Boston’s first record, as well as RTZ’s Return to Zero, Steely Dan Showbiz Kids and The Very Best of Lisa Loeb CDs, I heard nice levels of midrange detail and front-to-back imaging, which helps to paint an involving sonic portrait.

Another strength of the Premier Lux speakers I noticed during the review are their dynamics. I believe the speakers in some situations would more than satisfy someone’s need for lower frequency content. Because of the speaker’s dynamics as a stereo speaker setup music such as rock and pop have a nice level of impact.

Listening to the Boston record, as well as Brad Delp’s RTZ band, Steely Dan and Lisa Loeb, I was impressed with the control the speaker had over the music powered by the Bryston amp, as well as the detail, the Premier Lux speakers delivered with this content.

Feeling the Halloween spirit, I popped Michael Jackson’s Thriller record on my Thorens turntable, which was connected to a Cary Audio phono preamplifier and the Bryston gear and I thought punch of the kick drum on Billie Jean was impressive as a good example of the dynamic capabilities of the Premier Lux speakers.

Some users may find the speakers to shade towards the upper midrange to lower treble frequencies, but I loved the detail the speakers produced, notably from about 500Hz to 3kHz. The responsiveness of the speakers and the front-to-back imaging I believe help to enable those dynamics to jump out of the soundstage.

Using the subwoofer with multichannel streaming content, including Dolby Atmos immersive audio, and DTS-encoded media, I thought the PL-12p complemented the Premier Lux speakers nicely for the review. Listening to several demo shorts from a Dolby Atmos demo disc I found the sub to move a nice amount of air and just as importantly, the sub reproduced low-frequency content with tight control while integrating seamlessly with the speakers.

Phase Technology PL-12p subwoofer Ozzy Funko Pop figure

The Phase Technology PL-12p powered subwoofer includes an inert ported subwoofer that was stable enough to keep this Ozzy Funko Pop figure from toppling over during heavy usage. (photo credit: Bob Archer CE Pro)

Using the Rush Clockwork Angels Tour Blu-ray disc that includes a DTS-HD soundtrack I thought the sub in combination with the speakers created a spacious, enveloping soundstage that allowed me to hear easy-to-miss elements such as the Moog Taurus pedals underneath Geddy Lee’s keyboards on songs like Subdivisions. The sub felt like it added girth to Geddy’s bass lines and more dimension to Neil Peart’s drums to prove it delivers more than one-note bass.

Final Thoughts on the Premier Lux PL950

Circling back to my earlier point about SoundTube and its brands that include Phase Technology. I think it would be easy for music and home theater lovers to look past the companies’ products. In my opinion that would be a major mistake. Just because the company doesn’t market like other brands, it does not mean it is not spending where it should: Research and development (R&D).

After this review, I highly recommend checking out Phase Technology and its Premier Lux line of products for yourself. The combination of high-value, high levels of performance and options such as custom paint colors make the company one of the most attractive brands in home audio for dealers to build their businesses around.