Von Schweikert ULTRA 9

Foundation Hybrid Bass System

In the Von Schweikert way, the 800-watt Foundation amplifier powers the woofers. Unlike other active DSP designs, the full range of the signal passes entirely through the analog crossover network. This allows the tonal characteristics of the customer's preferred power amplifier without compromise yet offers the increased dynamics and precise adjustment of your in-room bass response. Whether you prefer the sound signature of a medium power tube amplifier or a high power solid-state unit, no problem. The analog purity, increased power, and dynamics enhance your investment in a high-end loudspeaker.Audio professionals and seasoned audiophiles understand the limiting factor in the performance of a system is the listening room. While some listeners have the luxury of a dedicated room outfitted with expensive and often ineffective room treatment, most do not. Within the spectrum of room acoustic challenges, speaker placement is dictated mainly by specific room bass modes activated by the speaker within a room. As a result, audiophiles traditionally place their speakers well into the room to mitigate this problem. It should be noted that irregular bass output caused by the room significantly affects middle and high frequencies with overall tonal balance.The Foundation Hybrid Bass System allows listeners to locate their speakers where they look and sound best. This flexibility and exceptional room optimization tool is accomplished in a completely analog mode without the use of digital signal processing eschewed by purists because of its potential to introduce time and phase distortions and without affecting the performance of the main system amplifier.This speaker model can be built as fully passive, or as an optional upgrade with the Foundation Hybrid Bass System.

Triple-wall Quiet Cabinet

Developed in 1994 by Albert Von Schweikert in association with lab partners from Cal Tech, Von Schweikert cabinets are fabricated using a proprietary triple-wall laminate construction technique. Despite inventive efforts by other makers using aluminum and sheet extruded composites, this triple-wall method remains the gold standard of non-resonant enclosure design.Our quiet cabinet design's outermost layer uses a resin-based HDF (high-density fiberboard) sheet. The middle layer is made of synthetic stone adhered to the outer layer using a resin binder. The final layer is a dense woven damping material. The resulting triple-wall composite is approximately three inches in overall thickness. Once the cabinet is assembled, internal bracing is added so that various areas of the cabinet have varying stiffness levels. The elaborate construction techniques combine to create differing native Qs, working together as a symbiotic system of resonance-cancellation to efficiently turn unwanted energy into heat for the absolute best in cabinet vibration control.

Rear Soundfield Creation

Albert Von Schweikert's earliest research led to the development of an adjustable ambiance retrieval system radiating from the speaker's rear to recreate a natural soundfield of space & depth using a concert hall recording method known as the spaced omni method. This system replicates the effect when microphones used for recording encode the musical signal with overlaying pickup response patterns.After studios make a series of recordings using several different microphone types, the playback from each device has tonal differences and create various imaging patterns. This creates a differing perception of space & depth dependent on the recording environment, microphone placement, and each microphone's distinct off-axis polar response. From this framework, our rear soundfield system creates a natural soundstage, regardless of the recording, microphone type, and recording technique used. Most importantly, the system allows the playback response to remain as close as possible to what was intended by the engineer.

Drivers & Crossovers

For our midrange and bass drivers (exclusive of the sub-bass drivers found in our ULTRA.9, ULTRA.11, and SHOCKWAVE subwoofer series), Von Schweikert has selected Accuton of Germany’s drivers manufactured using ceramic cones. Producing drivers made from Al²O³ hard ceramics offers an incredibly light, stiff cone with high internal damping. Ceramic cones also offer our engineers a mass/stiffness ratio surpassed only by cones made of beryllium and diamond, which are materials that most often are only suitable for smaller diameter drivers used for reproducing high frequencies, such as tweeters Ceramic drivers offer us the best impulse response and significantly reduced distortion over more conventional drivers, as well as we as increased bandwidth and linearly within their useable range. Industry professionals recognize VSA as one of the most experienced and best practices for using these extraordinary drivers. For the highest frequencies, we have selected the best Danish beryllium tweeters. Our chosen beryllium tweeter is extremely stiff and light. It has high power handling, exceptional detail, and superb dispersion across its usable range. While many associate beryllium tweeters with a certain sterile sound, by correctly applying our proprietary crossover network topology to this remarkable driver, the opposite is true. In short, the VSA beryllium tweeter offers some of the finest and most satisfying high-frequency reproduction in any commercial loudspeaker, regardless of price.

Custom Cabinet Finishing

Beauty and artistry worthy of the Von Schweikert Listening Experience. Today’s high-end speakers are known for their luxurious materials, design and quality. And let’s face it, this contributes to the price and pride of ownership. Von Schweikert’s painted finishes are completely bespoke affairs, the completion of which is accomplished by a true artisan with a storied background tying in perfectly with the beauty and the emotion of the instruments we create.Fausto Reyes, is responsible for the finish of every speakers that leaves our factory. Fausto and his team painstakingly labor by hand to apply our brilliant multi-coat finishes. While we regularly apply automotive inspired paints colors, Fausto’s process is different. The reason for this is before joining Von Schweikert, Fausto led the pro division of Fender Guitar where he oversaw the painting of custom guitar finishes for some of the most notable musicians and wealthiest collectors in the world— Prince and Aerosmith to name just a few. For those who respect and value such artistry and choose one can say truly say they own a “Fausto”.Add to this our cabinet makers are a second generation American builder reflecting the same craft ethos who have been building cabinets in California for nearly five decades just like the Von Schweikert’s. Proudly building and creating our product in the US, we can say without exaggeration that buying a Von Schweikert loudspeaker is an investment in American craft, heritage and technology.