BIC America Acoustech PL-28II Centre Channel Speaker

BIC America Acoustech PL-28II Centre Channel Speaker

The centre channel is the hardest-working speaker in a home theatre: most dialogue and on-screen effects pass through it, and if it cannot keep up with the front pair, voices are the first thing lost. The BIC America Acoustech PL-28II, from the Acoustech Platinum Plus series, is built oversized for exactly that job. It is a two-way centre speaker with two high-power 8-inch woofers and a 6.5-inch horn-loaded aluminium dome for the mid and high frequencies, a 98 dB sensitivity rating, and power handling that lets it play at genuine cinema levels. This listing is for a single centre channel speaker.

Key features

• Dual 8-inch high-power woofers with heavy-duty surrounds
• 6.5-inch mid/high frequency aluminium dome horn with neodymium magnet
• Frequency response of 30 Hz to 23 kHz
• High sensitivity of 98 dB — high output from ordinary receiver power
• Recommended power of 10 to 225 W per channel RMS, 500 W peak
• Improved crossover design for smoother mid and high frequency response
• Gold-plated binding posts and flush mount brackets included

Why the centre channel is built this big

Most centre speakers are shrunken versions of a bookshelf model, with small woofers that struggle to reproduce the weight of a voice or the impact of an on-screen explosion at reference volume. The PL-28II takes the opposite approach. Its twin 8-inch woofers — screen-pressed long fibre cones with heavy-duty surrounds — move enough air to give dialogue chest and body and to keep effects convincing, and BIC rates the speaker for output up to 119 dB. The cabinet is wide rather than tall, at 10 inches high, 25.25 inches wide and 6.25 inches deep, so it sits under or above a screen on a shelf or, using the included flush mount brackets, on the wall. It weighs 12.7 kg, a figure that reflects the driver complement and cabinet construction, finished with hand-rubbed black lacquer top and bottom panels.

The horn-loaded high frequency driver

The 6.5-inch horn driver uses an aluminium dome with a neodymium magnet, horn-loaded for high efficiency. Horn loading is why the PL-28II reaches 98 dB sensitivity: the speaker produces more output per watt than a conventional dome design, so the centre channel keeps pace with efficient front speakers and reaches high playback levels without the receiver’s centre channel being driven into strain. Just as important for a centre speaker, the horn directs the mid and high frequencies across the seating area in a controlled way, so dialogue stays intelligible for listeners sitting off to the sides, not only in the centre seat.

Crossover and system matching

The PL-28II’s crossover was re-engineered over the earlier PL-28 to give smoother response through the midrange and high frequencies, the region where voices are reproduced and where a crossover bump is most audible as harshness or a nasal quality. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms and the recommended power range is 10 to 225 W per channel RMS with 500 W peak handling, so almost any AV receiver’s centre output is a suitable match; the high sensitivity means even modest receivers achieve high volume. Gold-plated binding posts provide the connection. In the receiver setup, the PL-28II will typically be configured with a crossover to a subwoofer in the 60 to 80 Hz region for film use, though its 30 Hz rated extension also allows it to run full-range for centre-heavy music material.

Placement

Place the speaker as close to the screen’s vertical centre as the furniture allows — directly below or above the display — and aim it toward ear height at the main seats. Keep it at the front edge of its shelf rather than pushed back, so reflections off the shelf surface do not smear the dialogue. Run the receiver’s calibration afterwards so level and distance for the centre channel are set against the front pair.

For systems whose front stage can overpower an ordinary centre speaker, the PL-28II is the matching answer: full-size woofers, a horn that projects dialogue across the room, and the sensitivity to do it without heroic amplification.