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"it's really beyond amazing"
Definitive Technology's UIW RLS II and IWSub Reference
surrender enough surprises to make a lazy editor rewrite his review.
M
y first draft of the intro for this
review was rather witty, if I do say
so myself. It lamented the fact that
because so many of today's in-wall speakers
are so good, it's difficult to write something
interesting about them. But I composed those
opening paragraphs before I had actually
listened to the speakers. Much as I hate to
throw away a perfectly good intro, it would
no longer do — because it was no longer true.
"I can think of no other
in-wall speaker system
that matches this one's
versatility, sound quality,
and value"
One could not consider Definitive
Technology's UIW RLS II in-wall speaker
and IWSub Reference in-wall subwoofer to
be ordinary products, even at first glance.
Take the UIW RLS II's pair of passive radia-
tors, which Definitive added to fix one of the
biggest problems with high-quality in-walls:
lack of bass. Like most high-end in-walls, the
UIW RLS II has an integral enclosure, or
back box. A back box improves fidelity
because it keeps sound from the back of the
Cover photo: Clockwise from far left: the UIW RLS II
with its grille on, the IWSub Reference with its grille off,
and the SubAmp 600.
NEW REVIEWS
SECOND DRAFT
BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH
woofer from entering the wall cavity, and thus
keeps the wall from vibrating and producing
its own sound. However, pressure that builds
up inside the back box restricts the woofer
and diminishes deep bass response. But using
passive radiators relieves this pressure and
uses it to produce even more bass.
Also, the UIW RLS II's slim front baffle
increases mounting flexibility. Many in-walls
are wide, so your installer can move them
only an inch or two to either side before hit-
ting a stud. With the UIW RLS II, though,
your installer can move the speaker several
inches to the left or right. This characteristic
is particularly important if the speakers are
mounted behind a perforated screen. With
smaller screens, it can be tough to cram left,
center, and right speakers behind the screen
without having to move a stud or two.
"the system wraps me in a
huge ambient soundstage"
The IWSub Reference in-wall sub is even
more unusual. Subwoofers are the final fron-
tier of in-wall speaker engineering because
few good woofers are slim enough to fit into
a standard 3.5-inch-deep wall. Plus, sub-
woofers demand a back box to perform well,
and the back box takes up even more space.
Definitive is among the first manufacturers
who have risen to this engineering challenge.
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