The Sound LAB Ultimate 1 Electrostatic
Loudspeaker
Uncrating and Setup
The speakers are delivered in two large
crates (the speakers) and two small ones (the speaker bases). The
speaker crates are not especially heavy by themselves (40 - 50 lbs. or
so, each) but the speakers themselves are around 200 lbs each.
The crates are designed to lay flat.
One of the speaker crates with its top
removed.
One end of the one of the speaker
crates contains a box of parts.
The parts that come with the speakers.
One of the crates with the speaker
bases with it top removed.
One of the two speaker bases on its side still
encased in plastic.
The underneath of one of the speaker
base units.
We had the Ultimates wired internally with Valhalla
speaker wire - which is visible in this picture.
The speaker is positioned such that it
is lying flat on its front.
Visible here are the 6 bolts that the
speaker's base will attach to.
Also visible is the wires that connect the speaker to its base.
The top of one of the speaker base units.
Another view of the speaker base unit.
Note the
18(!) screws that are used to attach the guts of the base unit to its
steel frame enclosure.
The guts must be removed in order to
attach the wires to the speaker to the speaker's base unit.
Here the
screws are placed in the same configuration as they were originally
found.
The guts of the speaker base unit
removed from its steel enclosure.
Here the speaker base unit's steel
enclosure is being positioned in order to attach it to the bottom rear
of the speaker.
Bolting the steel enclosure into place.
Here we see where the connectors from
the speaker connect to the speaker's base unit. The connectors are
inaccessible unless the base unit's guts are removed from its steel
enclosure
While one (or two people) hold the
speaker's base unit guts (which weighs about 40 lbs.) near the speaker
- another takes the 3 connecting wires and connects them into place
Here we see the 3 connecting wires connected to
positions that cannot be accessed with the base unit's guts unless the
guts are removed from their steel frame.
The wires are color coded:
black, yellow, and red and are easily matched up with their
destinations.
The solid steel pucks that serve as the top of the
posts on the speakers.
Positioning one of the pucks.
The speakers in place and playing music.
No more hot tub parties for us...
Associated equipment: Edge Signature One monoblock amplifiers,
Shunyata Anaconda power cables and Andromeda speaker cables, Nordost
Valhalla interconenct.
Another view of the speakers.
Associated equipment: Same as above plus: Acoustic Dreams rack, SME
20/2A turntable, Levinson 390S CD player, Burmester 877 mkII
preamplifier, Lamm LP2 phono stage.
