(March 26, 2024) Yes, audio fans, the wait is finally over. SVS has begun taking orders for its new, delicious-looking sonic series of audio speakers: Ultra Evolution.
First announced several months ago, Ultra Evolution is now SVS's flagship stalwart, replacing the wildly popular Ultra Series that we reviewed in 2017. Ultra Evolution features seven new models, including three floorstanding tower speakers, two bookshelf speakers, a 3-way center channel, and a height effects/surround speaker. Notably absent is a refresh of the Ultra Surround model, which was capable of operating in Bipole and Dipole configurations.
Ultra Evolution showcases a luxurious blend of elegant design and high-performance audio components. The flagship model, Pinnacle, is a testament to this combination, offering a robust and sophisticated look loaded with cutting-edge audio technology. Its design echoes the luxury aesthetics of brands like Focal and Wilson Audio and is particularly reminiscent of the uniquely modern appearance of Focal's Kanta No2.
The bowed nature of the series' three tower models offers an acoustically centered time alignment cabinet architecture. The curve you see in the front baffle is purposeful, as it aligns the sound emanation point of the tweeter and each driver on a vertical plane, ensuring sound from all drivers arrives at a listener’s ear at the exact same moment. As SVS explains, "This maximizes phase coherence for a more convincing and immersive soundstage with pinpoint accuracy and imaging." When it comes to each tower, engineers placed midrange drivers and woofers above and below the tweeter to allow for seamless crossover blending, approximating the same type of sonic behavior you'd expect from a true point source speaker.
The Ultra Evolution Series carries a new diamond-coated aluminum dome tweeter, where a layer of diamond carbon is actually grown on the surface of the aluminum dome for improved rigidity and critical acoustic properties. The result is a frequency response that extends up to 40kHz – well beyond human hearing capabilities. And while you can't hear to those lofty heights, that kind of playback prowess should allow the tweeter to easily tackle the audible range with minimal distortion while also pushing low-frequency extension lower for more seamless blending with midrange components
The tweeter is covered by an organic cell lattice diffuser. It serves as a measure of protection from curious fingers and accidents, but it also harbors acoustic properties that SVS says deliver "optimized off-axis frequency response and dispersion characteristics."
Midrange drivers and woofers across all models feature glass fiber composite cones bolstered by separate, acoustically tuned internal chambers for the midrange drivers. That kind of separation eliminates the potential for invasive cabinet resonances, helping to craft output that's clean and uncolored. And to add more muscle to the low end, all three Ultra Evolution towers utilize dual-opposed active woofers. By having eight woofers from a pair of speakers, all firing in unison in different directions, the speakers, says SVS, can issue "authoritative bass" with smother peaks and nulls. Mechanical energy from each front-firing woofer is equaled inside the cabinet by the rear-firing woofer, thus eliminating mechanical coloration. Thus, articulate and tight bass.
If you already own SVS Prime and Ultra speakers and you'd like to keep them, you can sonically blend Ultra Evolution speakers into your system without issue; the voicing across all lines is timbre-matched.
The Ultra Evolution family consists of three new floorstanding speakers and two new bookshelf speakers sharing the same design features and form factors with varying driver and cabinet dimensions. A dedicated three-way center channel speaker and versatile Ultra Elevation surround sound/immersive sound height speaker round out the line-up.
Links and pricing details for the new Ultra Evolution models are as follows:
- Ultra Evolution Pinnacle: 3-way floorstanding speaker - $4,999.98/pair
- Ultra Evolution Titan: 3-way floorstanding speaker - $3,999.98/pair
- Ultra Evolution Tower: 3-way floorstanding speaker - $2,999.98/pair
- Ultra Evolution Bookshelf: 2-way bookshelf speaker - $1,199.98/pair
- Ultra Evolution Nano: Compact 2-way bookshelf speaker - $899.98/pair
- Ultra Evolution Center: 3-way center channel speaker - $799.99
- Ultra Elevation: Versatile home theater speaker with multi-angle wall/ceiling mounting bracket - $899.98/pair
SVS says that finish options will initially be limited but that all models will soon be available in Piano Gloss Black, Piano Gloss White, and Premium Black Oak Wood Veneer finishes. The Ultra Evolution Nano and Ultra Evolution Tower models will ship later in Q2.
The release of the Ultra Evolution Series has triggered a final close-out sale on all Ultra Speakers, and, yes, they remain killer performers!
Links and pricing details for the original Ultra models still available for purchase:
- Ultra Tower Floorstanding Speaker, gloss black - $1,249/speaker
- Ultra Tower Floorstanding Speaker, black oak - $1,249/speaker
- Ultra Bookshelf, gloss white - $549/speaker
- Ultra Bookshelf, gloss black - $549/speaker
- Ultra Bookshelf, black oak - $549/speaker
