Ultra Tower Speaker
Ultra Tower Speaker
Ultra Tower
Product Overview
Every design element of the SVS Ultra Tower speaker was scrutinized to achieve cost-no-object audio performance and build quality. The flagship SVS loudspeaker features countless design innovations and world-class build materials resulting in reference quality sound and stunning dynamics beyond the reach of speakers costing thousands more.
Whether rendering the warmth of vinyl, the finest details of a hi-res audio recording or the aggressive, hard-hitting soundtrack of an action movie, the Ultra Tower speakers deliver a powerful and convincing audio experience from the highest frequencies to the lowest bass notes. The first time you hear them is like an epiphany that reveals itself over and over with every listening session.
Quick Specs
- Tweeter | 1"
- Midrange | Dual 6.5"
- Woofer | Dual 8"
- Freq. Response | 28 Hz-32 kHz (±3 dB)
- Dimension | 45.6" (H) 13.8" (W) 16.8" (D)
Ohio-based AV professionals provide customer support, product recommendations and set-up advice for every component in your system, 7 days a week, before and after you own SVS.
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User Reviews
Marco S. Reviews the Ultra Tower
"Better than I thought in every way. Svs fan for life."- Marco S.
Press Reviews
TechnoDad Reviews the Ultra 5.1.4 Speaker System
"Massive impact and presence, it was just glorious hearing this system perform. Very capable of handling anything with clarity and massive impact when called...
LA Audio File - Kevin Nakano Reviews the Ultra Tower
"The SVS Ultra Towers are certainly one of the best sounding speakers we have heard in the sub-$2000 (per pair) category. The ability to reproduce subtle de...
Widescreen Review, Ultra Tower Surround System
"While I enjoyed the performance of the Ultra system, I’m having a hard time grappling with how a $3700 loudspeaker system (not including subwoofer) could c...
TheDroidGuy Honors SVS Ultra Tower as "Best High-End" Floorstanding Speaker
"The SVS Ultra Tower floorstanding speakers are considered by many to be the best floorstanding speakers with a three-figure price. They deliver deep and hig...
The Master Switch Reviews the Ultra Tower
Utterly magnificent bass. Fluid and captivating articulation in the mids, with warmth and clarity to voices. Intriguing and captivating design with great ste...
TharBamar Reviews the Ultra Tower Loudspeaker
"Bass response is the best I have ever experienced in my system…scale was as big as listening to live concert, very well composed and naturally musical soun...
Hi Res Audio Central - Ron Goldberg Reviews the Ultra Tower
"Hats off to the SVS crew for introducing what may turn out to be a classic loudspeaker model, and making it easy to own…the Ultra Towers are among the best...
TheAbsoluteSound.com - Primer: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014
"When you listen to $100k systems all day, it’s difficult to be really excited about $1k speakers. But let me tell you, these speakers, when listening in ne...
SoundstageGlobal.com - RMAF 2014: Stereo Speakers
"The flagship of the Prime line (shown here next to the larger Ultra Tower) is the Prime Tower, which costs $999/pair in matte black or $1199/pair in gloss ...
The Ultra Speakers receive Sound & Vision’s 2013 Top Pick of the Year Award.
"Web-direct speaker-maker SVS, long known for outstanding subwoofers, knocked it out of the park on sound and build quality with the high-value, full-range ...
About.com names SVS Ultra Speakers as the Best Home Theater Speakers of 2013
“… impeccably engineered, with the neutral, natural sound that serious speaker guys love. It does the delicacy/spaciousness/detail thing beautifully, and al...
The Ultra Tower Receives HomeTheaterReview.com's Best of 2013 Award
"Glossy, gorgeous, and powerful only begin to describe these Internet-direct speakers. With SVS's 45-day in-home trial option, those who are shopping in the...
CNET reviews the Ultra Tower Speaker
See why they praise the new addition to the SVS product line...
Hifizine.com - Patrick Dillon Reviews the Ultra Towers
"Impressive value, great looks, and easy set-up; the cost of entry to full-size high end speakers is lower than ever."
www.tu.no - Håvard Holmedal Reviews the Ultra Tower Surround Package
Stereomojo.com - John Fritz Reviews the SVS Ultra Tower
"The Tower’s parts, engineering, innovative design, exquisite fit and finish, and more importantly, its sheer musicality, are what you would expect from a s...
Ultra Tower Surround Package Wins the Audioholics 2013 Consumer Excellence Award
"Dammit, I think SVS may have rigged the awards. Well, that, or they simply consistently make stellar products. Okay, it's the latter."
Sound&Vision - Brent Butterworth Reviews the Ultra Tower Surround Package
"Dynamics of a custom theater system, neutrality and ambience of an audiophile system...Certified and Recommended."
Sixmoons.com - Glen Wagenknecht Reviews the Ultra Tower
"The SVS Ultra Tower hits higher-tier performance benchmarks that keep it fiercely competitive against products many times its modest cost. An overachiever ...
Home Theater Forum - Sam Chandler Reviews the Ultra 5.0 system
"These speakers, particularly the Tower, can do anything... performed flawlessly."
Frequency Response / Acoustic Data:
- Rated bandwidth: 28 Hz-32 kHz (+/-3 dB).
- Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
- Sensitivity: 88 dB (2.83V @ 1 meter full-space, 300-3kHz).
- Recommended amplifier power: 20-300 watts.
Speaker Specs:
- Floor Standing Tower Loudspeaker
- Real black oak veneer and piano gloss black finish options
- Dual gold-plated 5-way binding posts
- 3.5" wide-flared rear-firing port
- Cloth grille with pin/cup retention system
- Elastomer screw-in feet - adjustable for level
- Spiked metal screw-in feet included - adjustable for level
- Cabinet Dimensions: 45.6” (H) x 13.8” (W) x 16.5” (D) (without grille)
- Overall Dimensions: 45.6” (H) x 13.8” (W) x 16.8” (D) (with grille)
- Shipped Dimensions: 50.3" (H) X 21.3" (W) X 22.3" (D)
- Weight Unboxed: 75.4 pounds
- Shipped Weight: 86 pounds
Driver Specs:
1” Aluminum Dome Tweeter:
- FEA-optimized diffuser for airy and unveiled presentation
- Aluminum dome delivers exceptional transient response and exceptional stiffness/mass ratio
6.5” Midrange Drivers:
- Composite glass-fiber cone with excellent stiffness/mass ratio for high sensitivity and pistonic behavior beyond pass band
- Aluminum shorting ring to reduce gap inductance, lower distortion, and enhance high frequency response
- Cast aluminum basket to ensure precise alignment of critical components and additional heat-sinking capacity
- Vented voice coil former to minimize air compression artifacts at high drive levels
8” Woofers:
- Aluminum shorting rings to reduce gap inductance and lower distortion
- Long stroke motor and suspension for high output
- Vented voice coil formers to minimize air compression artifacts at high drive levels
Crossover & Cabinet Specs:
Crossover:
- 3.5-way crossover with premium-grade capacitors, air-core inductors and heavy-trace printed circuit boards
- Unique tapered midrange array miniimizes off-axis lobing and enhances radiated sound power into listening space
- Top midrange-to-tweeter crossover: 2 kHz
- Bottom midrange taper frequency: 700 Hz
- Dual midrange-to-woofer crossover: 160 Hz
Cabinet:
- Separate sealed midrange enclosures minimize top-to-bottom wall dimensions and shift standing waves beyond the driver pass band, minimizing negative driver interaction and associated frequency response degradation
- Non-parallel cabinet panels reduces axial standing waves within the cabinet, reducing frequency response coloration
- Acoustically transparent and FEA optimized grilles, wedge-shaped front baffle and flush-mounted drivers all contribute to reduced edge diffraction and improved on-axis high frequency response
- FEA-optimized bracing, 1" thick midrange/tweeter baffles and 1.5" thick woofer baffles eliminates structural resonances and ensures the cabinet remains acoustically inert for uncolored response even at the highest drive levels
The Ultra Tower speakers are a perfectly tuned acoustic ecosystem. From the drivers to the crossover and cabinet, each component is painstakingly engineered and critically tested to perform in harmony and convey breathtaking sound quality.
Ultra Driver & Tweeter Design
Starting from the bottom up, the Ultra Tower speakers feature a proprietary SVS ForceFactor woofer array with two 8-inch drivers horizontally opposed at the base of the speaker for room-filling low-frequency output. Because of the unique shape of the cabinet, each of the woofers fires in a different direction resulting in deep, effortless and accurate bass throughout the listening area.
Complementing the unique woofer design are the Ultra Tower speaker’s dual 6.5-inch midrange drivers made with composite glass-fiber cones that yield excellent stiffness to mass ratio for enhanced sensitivity and voicing that’s utterly neutral and completely faithful to the source material. With 80% of the sound occurring in the midrange frequencies, the drivers reveal the essence of the Ultra Tower speaker’s timbre. Whether conveying the nuance and impact of instruments, voices, sound effects or anything else, the Ultra midrange drivers are pitch perfect.
Elevating high frequency performance, the Ultra Tower speaker’s aluminum dome tweeter is stunningly transparent and pinpoint accurate. Light, efficient, rigid and impervious to distortion, even at high sound pressure levels, the tweeter’s airy’ presentation of female vocals and effortlessly unveiled highs reveal as much or more than the finest loudspeakers in the world. The FEA-optimized diffuser ensures broad dispersion for an incredibly wide and convincing soundstage with perfect on- and off-axis frequency response so everyone in your room experiences the same pristine clarity and imaging.
Innovative SoundMatch Crossover Design
Since premium drivers require an equally capable crossover, no expense was spared with the intelligent SVS SoundMatch 3.5-way crossover. Its tapered array is designed so only the top midrange driver crosses over to the tweeter, while the bottom midrange is crossed over to the woofers to minimize the potential for beaming. This creates an expansive, yet focused and precise soundstage, with accurate frequency response and imaging at all listening positions in the room. The precise tuning of the SoundMatch Crossover also ensures pinpoint accuracy from sparkling highs down to subterranean lows, while maintaining pristine signal purity.
Performance Driven Cabinet Design and Geometry
Every feature on the Ultra Tower speaker’s cabinet was designed with a sonic purpose in mind. Tapered edges on the cabinet’s front baffle, known as chamfers, minimize edge diffraction for clear and precise soundstaging. The sweeping side panels of the floorstanding loudspeaker are non-parallel so each of the 8-inch woofers fire in different directions to fill a room with deep, effortless and accurate bass.
Internally, each cabinet employs two separate sealed midrange enclosures to optimize performance and minimize interaction between drivers. Positioning of the tweeter between the two mid-range drivers in separate enclosures, and the unique 3.5-way crossover design make high frequency output highly resistant to ceiling and floor boundary reflections so the Ultra Tower can project a pinpoint accurate portrayal of the near field response, even when a listener is sitting far away.
Meticulous, Innovative Design Process
All SVS speakers, regardless of price or form factor, are crafted in the same painstaking fashion. Call it a marriage of exacting science and a passionate expression of technique and love of great sound.
Before a model is ever constructed, drivers and cabinets are theoretically designed by our acoustic engineers using the most sophisticated computer-aided design (CAD) processes available. Then prototypes are carefully measured and optimized in an anechoic environment to achieve pitch-perfect frequency response. After the ideal theoretical frequency response is attained, exhaustive listening and measurement is done in listening rooms calibrated to closely resemble typical home-like room environments.
The result is a speaker that measures well with near flawless real-world frequency response, but also optimized to sound amazing on a human level through listening tests with real music and cinematic content, in a real world listening environment like your home.
Sound Expert Videos
SVS President Gary Yacoubian Discusses Prime Pinnacle
SVS Prime Elevation Home Theater Speaker Overview
Tips for Choosing Your Perfect Speaker
Designing a World Class Speaker
Enter your speakers and the SVS Subwoofer Matching Tool will recommend suitable subwoofer matches as well as crossover frequency and low pass filter settings.
Personal SVS speaker and subwoofer system builder. Choose from preset home theater surround sound set-ups like 5.1, or custom build your own.
User Reviews | Press Reviews
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United StatesAwesomeness that only top quality can bring
The crossovers are done right, the fit and finish are done right, the price point is done right and the bottom line is the sound is tight and well balanced. I did a trial on the prime towers first and they where good, very good but I was looking for outstanding and the ultra’s brought that with spades. Theses are keeper’s, heavy and like well fitted furniture that will add to any room they are installed in. The price went up since last year but they are still worth it. They come shipped via trucking company on a wooden pallet and they are solid and heavy so have a friend help out if possible because it’s a real workout moving these things around. They are not going back plus it would be to much work to send them back anyway.
United StatesUltra tower is the perfect name
Thanksgiving day I learned I needed to upgrade my old Pioneer system from the mid 1970s (the voice coil was stuck on one woofer). I did some internet searching and among others found SVS. I have always felt listening to music is an activity in itself not just background sound so I wanted to get the best I could find without breaking my credit card. I picked their top speakers, the Ultra Tower; and with the generous trial period I risked nothing. I was surprised when they actually arrived quickly AND ON TIME. The packaging used offered very nice protection for the speakers. I had also bought a new integrated amp and CD player so I got everything hooked up. I use a 10 band equalizer with pink noise and a mic to set my system for flat reproduction and saw right away the Ultra Towers produced nicely balanced sound, I just had to compensate a little for room acoustics. I then selected a good jazz CD and slowly brought up the power. I moved to my listening chair and to say I was giddy would be an understatement. I think I actually had tears in my eyes. The open soundstage and truly accurate horn, piano, drums and tight bass were SO good. I now have an all new CD collection of jazz, rock and blues to listen to. I have since added the SB16 Ultra sub and this system will stay, SVS is DEFINITELY not getting anything back from me!
USWhat I've Been Missing
I see Diana Krall's fingers on the keyboard in my mind. It's like she's in the next room on my piano. Steeley Dan? I'm in the studio. Rush, I picked up one of Neil Peart's cymbals in sympathetic resonance. You guys got it right. I can feel music again.
USSVS Utra Towers, best bang for the buck!
I have been a loyal SVS customer for about 5 years now. Went from the prime series, then the prime pinnacles, now just made the jump to the Ultras. Although they are all great speakers, the Ultra Towers knock it out of the park. What depth! And clarity. All around fantastic sound stage. They have completed my perfect 5.2 channel system. I round it out with the Ultra center, Elevation rears, and 2 NSB 12 subs. SVS all the way! Sound is amazing!
USBest Speakers I've Ever Owned
I'm completing my 45 day trial and NO HELL NO you are not getting these back. You think you can trick me with the free return shipping but that will not work. These are MINE and I am KEEPING THEM. Seriously I have a very large listening room with vaulted ceilings and the towers along with the SVS Ultra center channel speaker can be driven to concert volume (using an actual 200 watts per channel separate amp) and provide just gorgeous clean music. I also have SVS subs and am just thoroughly impressed with your products. I had towers and a center channel from a different brand and even though I paid about the same $$$ for them, the SVS's just blow them away. The Polk's I had could not be driven to the level needed for my large room and did not sound nearly as good. I'm very happy with the SVS Ultra's.
User Reviews | Press Reviews
TechnoDad Reviews the Ultra 5.1.4 Speaker System
"Massive impact and presence, it was just glorious hearing this system perform. Very capable of handling anything with clarity and massive impact when called for. The mids and highs were...
LA Audio File - Kevin Nakano Reviews the Ultra Tower
"The SVS Ultra Towers are certainly one of the best sounding speakers we have heard in the sub-$2000 (per pair) category. The ability to reproduce subtle details, provide a wide...
Widescreen Review, Ultra Tower Surround System
"While I enjoyed the performance of the Ultra system, I’m having a hard time grappling with how a $3700 loudspeaker system (not including subwoofer) could compete with another recent system...
TheDroidGuy Honors SVS Ultra Tower as "Best High-End" Floorstanding Speaker
"The SVS Ultra Tower floorstanding speakers are considered by many to be the best floorstanding speakers with a three-figure price. They deliver deep and highly accurate bass with best-in-class sensitivity...
The Master Switch Reviews the Ultra Tower
Utterly magnificent bass. Fluid and captivating articulation in the mids, with warmth and clarity to voices. Intriguing and captivating design with great stereo imaging. The Ultra Towers are easily among...
TharBamar Reviews the Ultra Tower Loudspeaker
"Bass response is the best I have ever experienced in my system…scale was as big as listening to live concert, very well composed and naturally musical sound, even at 110db...
Hi Res Audio Central - Ron Goldberg Reviews the Ultra Tower
"Hats off to the SVS crew for introducing what may turn out to be a classic loudspeaker model, and making it easy to own…the Ultra Towers are among the best...
TheAbsoluteSound.com - Primer: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014
"When you listen to $100k systems all day, it’s difficult to be really excited about $1k speakers. But let me tell you, these speakers, when listening in nearfield, are some...
SoundstageGlobal.com - RMAF 2014: Stereo Speakers
"The flagship of the Prime line (shown here next to the larger Ultra Tower) is the Prime Tower, which costs $999/pair in matte black or $1199/pair in gloss black. It's...
The Ultra Speakers receive Sound & Vision’s 2013 Top Pick of the Year Award.
"Web-direct speaker-maker SVS, long known for outstanding subwoofers, knocked it out of the park on sound and build quality with the high-value, full-range Ultra speaker line."
About.com names SVS Ultra Speakers as the Best Home Theater Speakers of 2013
“… impeccably engineered, with the neutral, natural sound that serious speaker guys love. It does the delicacy/spaciousness/detail thing beautifully, and also plays loud as all hell… And if you need...
The Ultra Tower Receives HomeTheaterReview.com's Best of 2013 Award
"Glossy, gorgeous, and powerful only begin to describe these Internet-direct speakers. With SVS's 45-day in-home trial option, those who are shopping in the $2,000-per-pair market owe it to themselves to...
CNET reviews the Ultra Tower Speaker
See why they praise the new addition to the SVS product line...
Hifizine.com - Patrick Dillon Reviews the Ultra Towers
"Impressive value, great looks, and easy set-up; the cost of entry to full-size high end speakers is lower than ever."
www.tu.no - Håvard Holmedal Reviews the Ultra Tower Surround Package
Stereomojo.com - John Fritz Reviews the SVS Ultra Tower
"The Tower’s parts, engineering, innovative design, exquisite fit and finish, and more importantly, its sheer musicality, are what you would expect from a speaker two-three times its price…the Ultra Tower...
Ultra Tower Surround Package Wins the Audioholics 2013 Consumer Excellence Award
"Dammit, I think SVS may have rigged the awards. Well, that, or they simply consistently make stellar products. Okay, it's the latter."
Sound&Vision - Brent Butterworth Reviews the Ultra Tower Surround Package
"Dynamics of a custom theater system, neutrality and ambience of an audiophile system...Certified and Recommended."
Sixmoons.com - Glen Wagenknecht Reviews the Ultra Tower
"The SVS Ultra Tower hits higher-tier performance benchmarks that keep it fiercely competitive against products many times its modest cost. An overachiever on all levels…It's a stunning price/performance ratio that...
Home Theater Forum - Sam Chandler Reviews the Ultra 5.0 system
"These speakers, particularly the Tower, can do anything... performed flawlessly."
Positive Feedback Magazine - Victor Chavira Reviews the Ultra Tower
"One evening, I invited an esteemed colleague with over thirty years of experience in audio arts. He brought a vast variety of songs on his music dedicated laptop. Each song...
Home Cinema Choice - Adam Rayner Reviews the Ultra Tower Surround System
"The bass from the quartet of 8in drivers and that weapons-grade hammer of a bass driver is wondrous. Rapid beyond belief, with astonishing grip and literally no overhang at all......
Digital Trends - Caleb Denison Reviews the SVS Ultra Tower Surround System
"The SVS Ultra Tower Surround speaker package came as close to earning a perfect 10 as any other speaker system we've heard in its price class...for our money, this is...
LA Audio File - Kevin Nakano Reviews the Ultra Tower
"The SVS Ultra Towers are certainly one of the best sounding speakers we have heard in the sub-$2000 (per pair) category. The ability to reproduce subtle details, provide a wide...
Widescreen Review Magazine - Gary Reber Reviews the SVS Ultra Series Loudspeakers
"… an exceptional multichannel loudspeaker system that is true to SVS’ tradition of offering higher performance for the money through R&D and design…the SVS Ultras offer a level of price/performance...
Marshall Guthrie - Audioholics, Reviews the Ultra Speakers
"...these are beautiful, capable speakers that are also a terrific value....remarkable speakers at a head turning price…their performance stands toe to toe with much more expensive contenders"
AV Nirvana Reviews the Ultra Tower Loudspeaker
"The Ultra Tower offers a listener serious power – thickly textured and finely tuned power – loaded with an amazing depth of sound. Delivered sweet audio, with a very powerful...
AV Nirvana Reviews the Ultra Center Loudspeaker
"Off-axis performance was excellent with highly intelligible vocals. Issued an expansiveness of sound that was breathtaking. They do everything exceptionally well while offering enthusiasts a price to performance ratio that...
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