ULTIMATUM XL6 Loudspeaker Unveiled

Neat Acoustics announces their first new Ultimatum model in eight years. The Ultimatum XL6 will be available in September 2010.

The ULTIMATUM XL6 is a multi-chamber, multi-facet loudspeaker system incorporating six drive units per enclosure.  The visible drive units are mounted on sub-baffles, attached to the main enclosure via a polyethylene damping membrane.
The ULTIMATUM XL6 loudspeaker is floorstanding design which adheres to all the principles that have marked out the ULTIMATUM project and given it such enduring success. The ultra-rigid birch-plywood enclosure, innovative baffle-decoupling technology, isobaric bass loading and use of twin EMIT ribbon-type super-tweeters are employed here to deliver the ULTIMATUM promise of a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

The enclosure comprises five discrete internal volumes each optimised for purpose. The Bass and Mid/Bass volumes are large to suit the low frequency tuning while the HF cabinet is small to increase rigidity and to stop back pressure from the Mid/Bass driver adversely affecting the rear chamber of the tweeter.  The two EMIT supertweeters are similarly isolated.

The main structure is damped 18mm Birch Plywood

sourced from slow-growing forests. The drive unit baffles are constructed from a 45mm thick sandwich of Birch Plywood, polyethylene damping membrane and MDF. This provides a rigid non-resonant platform, which is ideal for optimal performance of the drive units.

The two hidden isobarically loaded Neat 168mm bass drivers are flux optimised for purpose and use dustcaps for rigidity.

The main Mid/Bass driver is a special version of the Neat 168mm driver with an aluminium phase plug to aid dispersion and reduce dynamic compression.  Its enclosure is loaded by a low Q reflex tuning.

A sealed sub-volume contains the main HF drive unit a modified SEAS XL SONOMEX domed XL unit with additional damping and support.
A separate sub-volume contains two EMIT type supertweeter drive units. These fire upwards operate quietly and add a sense of space and realism to the performance.
Two bass-only drive units are located at the bottom of the cabinet, in isobaric configuration, with one unit on the bottom panel facing downward. Acting as a passive subwoofer, these units are linked together and both receive the same signal, in phase. There is a sealed volume in between the two units, and the main enclosure is reflex-tuned.

The crossover is a minimalist five element type (plus damping & attenuating resistors) employing precise-tolerance, low-loss air-cored inductors and high tolerance polypropylene film & foil capacitors. The speaker exploits predominantly first-order crossover slopes and mechanical roll-offs for a natural, uninhibited performance.
 
Specifications
HF Unit                                                 26mm SONOMEX Domed XL
Super HF Units                                      2* EMIT 25mm planar/ribbon
Bass / Midrange Driver                          168mm NEAT Bass/Mid Unit with Aluminium Phase Plug
Bass Units                                            2* 168mm NEAT Bass Units
Dimensions (hwd):                                 100x22x37cm.
Enclosure type:                                     Multi-chamber, multi-driver array, incorporating isobaric internal cavity, plus upward firing super-tweeters.
Sensitivity:                                            87db/1 watt.
Recommended amplifier power:                         25 – 200 watts.
Impedance:                                           8 ohms average. Minimum 5 ohms.
Weight:                                                 44Kg. each.
 

 
Finishes
Neat Ultimatum standard finishes.
Natural Ash
Rose Ash
Black Ash
Walnut
Oak
Figured Birch

Neat Ultimatum premium (high gloss) finishes.
Velvet Cloud
Red Velvet Cloud
Piano Black

For further information, phone +44 (0)20 8642 4436 or email: steveh@audioplus.co.uk

About Neat Acoustics
It is no coincidence that the design team of Bob Surgeoner and Paul Ryder have had long and varied experience of working in the music industry. Bob is has played electric and acoustic guitar, double bass, piano etc., in many different musical genres - professionally and for pleasure - from the late 1960s until the present day. Paul is a guitarist/songwriter and is an experienced recording engineer.

Both are passionate about the experience of live music. Live music is the passion that drives the company's enthusiasm for recreating that experience with recorded music. Neat's aim is to transfer all of the drama and excitement of live music into the listener's home.

An unusual take on the art of loudspeaker design. It involves the process of listening to many different types of music and allowing the music to govern the tuning and voicing of the loudspeaker - to the exclusion of almost all other criteria. In a world where most hi-fi equipment is designed by computer in order to conform to a set of widely accepted parameters, Neat's approach is either refreshing or foolhardy... depending on whether or not you love music.

The development of a Neat loudspeaker invariably involves hundreds of hours of listening tests. The Neat listening room is the starting point, though a new design must prove its worth in a variety of different rooms and systems before it is signed off for production. Here the designers can be found making small incremental changes to all elements of the design until it is 'just right'.

Some loudspeaker manufacturers are quite content to choose off-the-shelf drive units for their designs, many of which can be readily obtained from DIY suppliers. The drive units used in Neat’s loudspeakers, however, are custom-made to their specifications.

Neat has its own recording studio, where reference recordings can be made. This facility allows a unique reference point for voicing Neat's loudspeakers.