SVS has launched the Ultra series of full-range loudspeakers, designed to deliver uncompromised audio performance at a price that the average audio consumer can afford.
To achieve that goal, lead designer Mark Mason and his team began work on the lineup-which includes a 45-inch tall upswept trapezoidal tower, a bookshelf speaker, center channel, and a unique and flexible surround speaker-by performing finite element analysis (FEA) on all of the proposed components in a sophisticated computer program that simulated the internal forces of each speaker and allowed for advanced engineering before the first prototype was ever built.
Once prototypes were constructed-with many parts being custom tooled exclusively for the Ultra series-further development was conducted at the world-renowned National Research Council (NRC) facilities in Ottawa, Canada, where each speaker underwent hours of anechoic chamber measurements and subsequent revisions to perfect the design. Final voicing was performed in the NRC’s famous IEC 268-13 standardized listening room, where Mason and SVS president Gary Yacoubian refined their performance in a real-world environment.
From top to bottom, the Ultra Tower that stands as the flagship of the lineup boasts top-grade components and high-end design features configured to deliver uncompromised, dynamic, distortion-free audio, with open, airy highs and the deep, tight, linear and powerful bass. Its unique SoundMatch 3.5-way crossover is designed so that only the top of the two 6.5-inch composite glass-fiber midrange drivers crosses over to the tweeter, while the bottom midrange driver works to ensure that off-axis performance is smooth and even, with a wider sweet spot and a more consistent sound across the entire room.
The Ultra Tower also employs SVS’s proprietary ForceFactor woofer array, with two 8-inch drivers horizontally opposed to eliminate cabinet vibrations, for reduced distortion and cleaner, tighter bass response. Since the Ultra Tower’s trapezoidal shape results in non-parallel surfaces-which serves to reduce standing waves within the cabinets themselves-each of the four UltraSonic woofers also fires in different directions into the room, reducing frequency response deviations throughout the listening space, and ensuring more consistent, powerful and accurate bass performance no matter where you sit.
Every other speaker in the Ultra series has been designed to complement the performance of the Ultra Tower, with flush-mounted drivers to reduce diffraction and improve on-axis high frequency response, along with rear-mounted bass reflex ports (on the Tower, Bookshelf, and Center) for bass output and extension and minimal frequency response degradation.
The Ultra Center features vertically aligned midrange driver and tweeter for improved uniformity in horizontal dispersion and a consistent frequency response at all listening positions within a typical home theater environment, along with dual woofers for increased bass output and power handling.
Designed with dual isolated crossovers for each tweeter and woofer, the Ultra Surround can operate in either bipole, dipole, or in SVS’s unique Duet configuration, which creates two separate speakers within one cabinet. In Duet mode, each speaker’s two discrete channels means that listeners can implement a true 7.1-channel surround sound experience using only two Ultra Surround speakers instead of the typical four.
“SVS has always been about delivering an unsurpassed audio value to people who, like us, are enthusiastic and passionate about great sound,” said Gary Yacoubian, SVS president and managing partner. “The Ultra series speakers also embody value because our team was meticulous in choosing build materials, design elements, and testing to achieve uncompromised performance, yet with pricing for a mainstream audio fan.”
SVS sells online, direct to the end user, and via select retailers. Pricing for the SVS Ultra Tower $1999 pair; SVS Ultra Bookshelf $999 pair; SVS Ultra Center $699; SVS Ultra Surround $1199 pair. The Ultra series speakers will begin shipping on November 20.
