SG AV-Technology is the distributor of uandksound and Stormaudio electronic boxes: we put them to the test in their new cinema room.

In its day we have been testing the different boxes of the uandksound ranges and we could compare its complete range in the facilities of SG-AV Technology, the company from Manilva (Malaga) that besides being the exclusive national distributor of uandksound, is the distribution center of the brand in Europe (its biggest market). We visited them again to test their new cinema room.

SG-AV Technology cinema room: boxes

The new room has a uandksound Reference “top” front set combined with M6 series effects boxes on the sides and rear as well as verticals (ceiling). It is a 9.2.4 set (nine surround channels plus two subwoofer and four ceiling Atmos channels), whose “brain” is the Stormaudio ISP Core 16 processor and that gets “muscle” from several uandksound multichannel stages. A JVC projector (the LX-NZ30) completes the audiovisual part (with a nice “starry sky” effect on the ceiling). The room is compact and slightly rectangular: 5 by 4.3 meters, i.e. just over 20 square meters.

If we analyze the cabinets in detail, the uandksound Reference front set is the maximum exponent of the brand with three M1200LCR cabinets and two M1800SW bass cabinets. The first and as the name suggests work as main L, C and R (left, center and right), and are placed with the two bass cabinets interposed. The M1200LCRs have a horn tweeter and a 12-inch mid-woofer, while the dedicated M1800SW bass boxes mount a huge 18-inch driver; all cones are made of treated paper, which offers a point of warmth and helps maintain a family timbre. On the LCRs two switches allow you to tailor their treble and bass response, depending on room size and placement or acoustics.

On the side and rear walls we had uandksound M610IW boxes from the “Cinema Series”, a very shallow design (for recessing you need 13 centimeters) and perfect for that location. Each box is a three-way featuring a 6.5-inch woofer, 4-inch midrange driver and ribbon tweeter. They are capable of going down to 45 Hz, which is more bass capability than usual for effects. On the ceiling were mounted four boxes of the M6 series, their younger sisters M600IW, even easier to embed (9 centimeters deep). In their case they are two-way with a 6.5-inch mid-woofer and ribbon tweeter.

Electronics: Stormaudio and more

Thanks to its role as exclusive distributor of uandksound, SG-AV Technology is also a distributor of Stormaudio in packs with uandksound boxes. Stormaudio is a French manufacturer that is now considered “top” in the world of multichannel sound and their close collaboration with the room correction specialist Dirac means that they are the only ones to offer the latest from the Swedes: the Dirac ART (for Active Room Treatment) system, whose performance we were able to see for ourselves (spoiler: outstanding).

Specifically we had the Stormaudio ISP Core 16, which as its name suggests has up to 16 fully configurable analog outputs, of which we used 15 in this system that I have already described before as 9.2.4. Something very interesting is that if we had a slightly simpler cinema room (say 7.2.2 or 11 channels) we could dedicate the other 5 channels to a separate equipment in another room (for example a 2.2 stereo), and use Dirac for that room.

This simple-looking but brutally capable processor allows decoding any immersive sound format (Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X Pro, IMAX Enhanced) and applying Diran correction in any kind of configuration, up to four-way active boxes or any number of bass cabinets. It can be controlled from your display (in our case not visible, mounted in an external rack).

 

The Stormaudio processor and its Dirac ART system are a remarkable new technological leap in acoustic processing or better via dedicated application (very well worked and understandable) with which it is possible to play parameters “on the fly” and instantly appreciate their effects.

The power amplifiers used were three uandksound M4500D (4 channels of 750 watts in Class D each) and one uandksound M7300 (7 channels of 300 watts in class AB).

A room like a movie theater!

Two things remain as clear conclusions from this audition: first, the good synergy between the uandksound boxes (ideal for installations) and the powerful Stormaudio electronics. Second, the importance of a correction system like the Dirac ART, which represents a remarkable acoustic leap in a system of this type and I dare to say that even more so when the room is not as prepared or worked as in this case (with well camouflaged acoustic panels and other measures).

I like to start the auditions with music before moving on to the film cuts, to start ear training, and also going from quiet acoustic music to something more moving, and then already with video of voices or also soft soundtracks to more gimmicky things. But the power of the Stormaudio with Dirac ART was already clear to me: this system goes one step further and uses all the boxes to correct the acoustics, canceling for example with boxes that are not used unwanted effects of others. It takes into account the whole system (here 9.2.4) as “one” and applies the unified correction, not box by box. In fact Dirac claims that with ART there is less need for “passive” acoustic treatments (panels and so on).

In practice, as I said, it was so: a soprano with a harp or a chamber ensemble with solo violin, sounded with much more realistic timbres, more defined, with ART activated… it was music but it sounded great! With more bass-heavy tracks (Eric Clapton “Rivers of Tears” for example) the frequency control was noticeable in favor of ART. And activating a “matrix” with stereo music to listen to it in multichannel (which usually makes you want to remove it immediately) was not annoying at all, but subtle and pleasant when adding some ambience.

Already with movies, from the beautiful song Never Enough (from “The Greatest Showman”) to the tank battle scenes in “Fury” to the mad dash at the beginning of “Ready Player One”, Stormaudio keeps the system under exquisite control to deliver a great acoustic show. It even managed to thrill me with the song Shallow from “A Star is Born”, despite how many times I’ve listened to it, and with that I say it all.

The new KR Audio VA950 amplifier with the also new KT150 own tubes.