Responding to demand from consumers and distributors, Neat Acoustics has launched a new compact floorstanding speaker design, the Ultimatum XLi, here at the High End Show in Munich.
The new speaker, which goes on sale in July at around £6000 a pair, is based on the design of the Ultimatum XLS, but uses a floorstanding cabinet to allow separate internal volumes for mass-loading and crossover isolation.
Neat says the launch of the speaker 'follows a significant number of requests from retailers and distributors around the world who found that the performance of the XLS was ideally suited to potential owners needs but a ‘floorstander’ would have been more domestically acceptable.'
The speaker stands 1m tall, and has a cabinet built from slow-growing birch ply, with a controlled-density fibreboard front baffle coupled to it via a polyethylene membrane to create an inert platform for the mid/bass and treble drivers.
Low frequencies are handled by two 16.8cm Neat mid/bass drivers mounted isobarically, while the tweeter is a 26mm Sonomex domed XL unit in its own enclosure. Twin upward-firing EMIT 25mm planar-ribbon supertweeters are also used, again in their own enclosure
There's rear-porting for the main mid/bass speakers, a separate cabinet section for the crossover, and a further volume in the base for greater stability by lowering the centre of gravity of the speaker. The cabinets are extensively braced, and the speakers weigh 33kg apiece.
Sensitivity is 87dB/W/m, the recommended amplifier power is 25-200W and the average impedance is 6ohms.
The XLi will be available in a choice of finishes: black ash, walnut, oak, figured birch and rosenut will be the standard ones, with piano black and Neat's Velvet Cloud and Red Velvet Cloud high gloss available as premium options.