Definitive Technology UIW RLS II Brochure & Specs

AUDIO REVIEW | Gary Altunian

Definitive Technology UIW RLS II

Consumers are the winners as in-wall speaker sound-quality continues to improve.

efinitive Technology is an acknowl­edged leader in the loudspeaker indus­try,and a brand that is respected among
audio and home-theater enthusiasts

D

weather and in-wall speakers.The UIW (Ultimate In­Wall) RLS II is the company’s flagship in-wall model,
with a suggested retail price of $650 each.

alike.The firm manufactures a variety of
freestanding speakers, lifestyle, all-

“clean, detailed highs with

exceptional clarity”

Unlike the OEM Systems speakers,the RLS IIs are
built with a back box or enclosure,minimizing the
performance variances caused by walls’ str uctures
— a good feature. The enclosure is very solid,inert
and heavy ,but easy to install and is held in place with
ten dogleg clamps.

The Definitive Technology RLS II is a two-way
speaker with two 6 1/2-inch mid-bass drivers, two
6 1/2-inch pressure-driven passive radiators, and a
1-inch aluminum dome tweeter in a D’Appolito line
array of drivers. This proven design features a
vertically symmetrical driver array with the tweeter
centrally positioned between the two mid-bass
drivers and their associated passive radiators, a con­figuration thought to promote more even off-axis
response compared with asymmetrical driver arrays.

“a deep soundstage and

sweet, detailed high
frequencies”

I noticed immediately two characteristics about
the RLS IIs:
high frequencies. Rebecca Pidgeon’s “Spanish
Harlem” was virtually three-dimensional, with a
sound fi
of the speak

s. Pidgeon’s naturally sweet voice sounded very

er
smooth,
sion instr
detail in John William’s

of J

[Philip Recor
tracks.In “March From Midway,”the clarity of the tri­angle w
impact of the Boston P
beautifully in “1941” from the same disc, as did a
deep and br

a deep soundsta

xtending w

eld e

s with lots of depth behind the speak

er

complemented b

uments in the r

illiams

W

ohn

ds],

y distinguished in the mix,

as easil

oad soundsta

g

e and sweet, detailed

ond the outer edg

y

ell be

y the detail in the per

I noticed the same

ding.

ecor

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“lots of depth behind the

speakers”

Although the printed specifications for the RLS II

equency r

indicates that lo

w fr

esponse e

xtends to 22

“they sound superb”

Hz, the speakers require a subwoofer for full,
balanced sound quality .W ithout the tw o Morel subs,
the RLS IIs exhibited rather tubby and punchy mid­bass,but that was easily corrected with the addition
of the subs.When the crossover points were adjust­ed cor

rectly, the Definitive Technology in-walls
blended well with the subwoofers and the tubby
nature of the bass disappeared.

The RLS
an important characteristic for in-wall speakers,
since the

-

position.Off-axis response remained v ery good even
when listeners w

-

eet spot.

w

s

IIs ha

ve wide horizontal dispersion,

y can’t be toed-in towards the listening

ay from the

w

e seated w

er

ell a

“a sound field extending well

beyond the outer edges of
the speakers”

bout the RLS

istic a

acter

I noticed another c

e than has been the case with other speak

Mor

ve reviewed, the sound quality of the RLS IIs

ha

ed signifi

v

o

impr

ang

ession w

lar

e c

initial impr
sounded distant through the RLS IIs,a layer or two
behind other aspects of the r
midr
matically with additional playing time.For example,

har

ecor

eak-in.

ecordings

dings,

xtended br

y with e

cantl

ocals in all r

as that v

ity and vocal presence improved dra-

Diana Krall’s voice in

Dance

[Verve Records] at first sounded withdrawn,
but displayed much greater (and much more appro­priate) presence after several hours of playing —
almost as if Krall had suddenly moved closer to the
microphone. Similarly, the fully broken-in RLS IIs
made Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler sound down
right live on “There’ll Be Some Changes Made”from
the guitar duet’s

ds]. With increased use,the speakers revealed

Recor
much greater midrange presence, openness, and

ansparency.It was evident that the two 6 1/2-inch

tr

ivers took additional time to loosen up and the

dr
result was worth the wait.

Summary

The Definitive T echnology RLS IIs offer a s w eet high
end with lots of detail and good imaging and sound­staging qualities. They also have broad dispersion
owing to their D’Appolito configuration. When
allowed to breaking for several hours,the speakers
open up and reveal excellent midrange and vocal
characteristics.They do need a subwoofer to reach
the lowest octaves of bass,but once a sub is added,
they sound superb.

The Last Word

• Clean, detailed highs with
exceptional clarity

• Midrange opens up dramatically
after several hours of of use

• Requires a subwoofer for deep bass

• Claimed low-frequency extension
to 22 Hz is a stretch

Specifications

two-way, fi

range drivers, two 6 1/2" pressure-driven
bass radiators, 1" aluminum dome tweeter

equency Response: 22 Hz – 30 kHz

Sensitivity: 92B (1W/1m)

Dimensions: Mounting fl
cut-out 7" x 28 1/2" x 3 7/8"
(including drywall thickness)

nitive Technology

onridge Dr

isit us at www

V

er

IIs:

s I

My

but

UIW RLS II
loudspeakers

• Driver complement: Two 6 1/2" bass-mid

• Fr

•

• Impedance: 8 ohms

• Power handling: 10 – 350 watts

•

• Weight: 17 lbs.

• Warranty: Five years

• Price: $650 each

Manufacturer Information

Defi

[phone]
www.definitivetech.com

11433 Cr

Excerpted from The Perfect Vision magazine, March/April 2006.

Let’s Face the Music and

Neck and Neck [Columbia

ve-driver in-wall

ange 8 1/8" x 29 3/4";

. • Owings Mills, MD 21117 • [phone]

nitivetech.com

.defi