Sonance ultra ii lcr 补充手册

the Cinema Ultra II speakers are
enclosed in an ABS (heavy-duty plas-
tic) enclosure that can be removed to
accommodate a wall that is not deep
enough. With the enclosure removed
the speakers require an in-wall-depth
of only three inches. 

Attaching the speaker to the wall

is simple. The speakers use a
Rotolock clamp to secure the speak-
er to the wall. After attaching speak-
er wires to the dual-binding posts on
the back of the speaker, insert the
speaker into the hole, and tighten six
screws on the front of the speaker
enclosure, which automatically puts
the Rotolock clamp into position and
secures the speaker to the wall. The
Rotolock clamp holds the speaker
tightly to the wall and prevents
potential vibrations. After installa-
tion, the speaker grille is attached.
Incidentally, both speaker and grille
can be painted to match your interior
décor. If painted to match your walls,
the speakers would virtually disap-
pear. There is even a “paint plug”
included that covers the drivers to
protect them while applying paint to
the frame around the front of the
speaker. 

While preparing to listen to the

Ultra IIs, I paid close attention to the
recommended placement of the
speakers. Sonance and THX recom-
mend that the surround speakers be
to the sides of your listening position,
and the surround-back speakers
behind the listener, either close
together or about three feet apart. If
your listening position is against the
rear wall, check to see if your A/V
receiver or processor/amplifier offers
the ability to electronically compen-
sate for your distance from each
speaker. Ideally, you want your lis-
tening position to be equidistant
from each speaker, but this is not
always possible. 

After positioning the speakers I

was ready for a listening evaluation.
But first, I allowed each speaker to
pre-condition or “break-in” for sev-
eral hours, using a test disc that out-
puts beat frequencies. Since beat fre-
quencies are not the best test of the
capabilities of a loudspeaker, I tried

some two-channel and multichannel
music discs, too.

One would not expect an in-wall

speaker to sound as good as a speak-
er in a tuned enclosure. Speaker man-
ufacturers use the laws of physics to
design and construct a cabinet that
optimizes the characteristics of the
drivers. Most residential walls are
anything but well-tuned enclosures. 

Nonetheless, my first reaction

was that the Ultra IIs sounded more
like a well-tuned floorstanding
speaker than an in-wall. Although
they benefited from a powered sub-
woofer for low bass, midbass
response was robust and full from
the eight-inch woofers. A cello is a
particularly good musical instrument
for midbass testing, and Eugene
Friesen’s cello performance in
“Remembering You” [Arms Around
You, Living Music] sounded full and
resonant, even without a subwoofer.
The Ultra IIs also displayed a notice-
able lack of tubbiness in the midbass.
Instead, they sounded tight and crisp. 

Vocals were outstanding. Linda

Ronstadt’s rendition
of “What’s New”
from the DVD-
Audio disc What’s
New [Elektra] pro-
duced a transparent
vocal presence with-
out overpowering the
Nelson Riddle orches-
tra. Her voice was dis-
tinct, very articulate,
and lacked even a hint
of sibilance. Likewise
Anjani’s delicate ver-
sion of “Over You”
from Freddie Ravel’s
Sol to Soul [Kalimba
Records], a 20-bit DTS
multichannel CD. This
disc is very well recorded and
you can close your eyes and feel
like you’re right in the studio listen-
ing to Anjani’s performance. The
Cinema Ultra IIs also revealed all of
the subtle details in James Taylor’s

Hourglass SACD [Sony]. Imaging
was very focused and complemented
by a coherent soundstage. Visual
placement of instruments and vocal-
ists was effortless with both two-
channel and multichannel sources. 

Equally impressive was the

soundtrack from Master and
Commander [Universal]. Music was
completely enveloping, adding to the
mystery and intrigue of the story.
There are many scenes filmed in the
ship’s hold where the creaking of the
ship and the stomping of boots from
the crew on deck overhead not only
surround you, but are also accurately
positioned overhead. I felt like I was
swaying on the couch in stormy seas.
Dialogue was clear and distinct. I
used this disc as a test partly because
the nineteenth-century accents in the
film sometimes make the words diffi-
cult to understand. Even dialogue
from modern-day films is often diffi-
cult to understand, but from the
Ultra IIs dialogue was intelligible,
clear, and distinct. 

Additionally, the soundfield cre-

ated by the Ultra IIs enhanced

scenes from Seabiscuit

[Universal]. The

excitement and emo-

tion in this film is far
more powerful when

the picture is comple-

mented by a good

sound system. The

Sonance made the

experience better. Go

Biscuit, go!

Up to this point,

my opinions have

been based on using

two LCR speakers for

the surround-back

channels. As mentioned

earlier, Sonance and

THX recommend using

one or two LCRs for the

back-surround if your sys-

tem will be used primarily for music
sources and one or two model SUR
for movie sources. This review would

A U D I O   R E V I E W

September/October 2004  

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