Owner's Manual
SETTING
UP
YOUR
ULTRA
SPEAKERS
ACOUSTICS
&
ROOM
PLACEMENT
Front
Left/Right
Loudspeaker
Placement
and
Room
Acoustics:
Proper
placement
of
the
front
left/right
speakers
is
essential
to
achieve
the
smoothest
frequency
response,
optimal
·
stereo
imaging
and
the
most
spacious,
three-dimensional
soundstage.
Stereo
imaging
and
soundstage
are
affected
by
loudspeaker
location
and
the
listening
position,
relative
to
each
other
and
room
boundaries.
Moving
the
loudspeakers
away
from
room
boundaries
will
tend
to
improve
stereo
imaging
and
spaciousness
by
attenuating
and
delaying
boundary
reflections,
thus
optimizing
direct
sound
and
helping
to
preserve
spatial
information
in
the
recording.
The
amount
of
exposed
glass,
drywall
and
bare
flooring
in
the
room
will
increase
the
amount
of
reflected
sound
and
exacerbate
problems
like
slap
echo
and
ringing.
Conversely,
furnishings
like
carpeting,
drapes
and
upholstered
furniture
will
reduce
the
amount
of
reflected
sound
in
the
room.
The
ratio
of
direct-to-reflected
sound
and
the
decay
characteristics
of
the
listening
environment
will
have
a
large
influence
on
the
ultimate
sound
quality
of
any
loudspeaker
system.
Dedicated
room
treatments
like
absorbers,
diffusers
and
bass
traps
can
greatly
improve
the
sound
quality
of
any
listening
environment,
and
are
encouraged
to
extract
the
absolute
best
performance
from
any
high-end
loudspeaker
system.
SVS
recommends
starting
with
the
front
loudspeakers
located
3D-degrees
to
the
left
and
right
(i.e.,
a
60-degree
total
window)
of
the
listening
position.
Toeing-in
the
loudspeakers
5-10
degrees
can
often
improve
imaging,
however
this
is
also
a
function
of
the
distance
from
nearby
boundaries
and
the
ratio
of
direct-to-reflected
sound,
so
experimentation
with
toe-in
is
recommended
to
obtain
optimal
results.
The
location
of
the
front
loudspeakers
relative
to
nearby
boundaries
will
excite
various
room
modes
(a
complex
pattern
of
standing
waves
with
associated
peaks
and
nulls),
which
will
affect
the
bass
response
of
the
loudspeakers.
Generally,
placing
the
loudspeakers
closer
to
room
boundaries
(particularly
corners)
will
increase
the
bass
response.
Conversely,
moving
the
loudspeakers
away
from
boundaries
and
corners
will
reduce
the
bass
response.
Due
to
the
complex
interaction
of
the
loudspeakers
with
nearby
boundaries/corners
and
your
listening
position,
significant
changes
to
the
bass
response
can
occur
with
very
small
changes
in
either
loudspeaker
location
or
listening
position,
so
experimentation
with
both
placement
and
listening
position
is
recommended
to
obtain
optimal
results.
Ultra
Tower
Port
Tuning
A
smaller
tightly-enclosed
listening
room
with
a
high
amount
of
·room
gain·
(a
naturally
rising
low-end
response)
may
cause
an
excessively
strong
bass
response
from
the
Ultra
Tower
model,
regardless
of
its
placement
location
in
the
room.
If
this
occurs,
insert·
the
included
foam
port
plugs
into
the
port
opening
of
each
Ultra
Tower
(see
diagram).
To
obtain
a
good
seal,
insert
the
foam
port
plug
slightly
below
flush
of
the
port
flare.
Inserting
the
foam
port
plug
creates
a
low-0
sealed
acoustic
alignment,
and
results
in
an
earlier
roll-off
of
the
bass
response.
This
will
often
be
a
better
complement
to
the
acoustics
of
a
smaller
tightly-enclosed
listening
environment,
resulting
in
a
more
balanced
and
natural-sounding
bass
response.