Me too...I must admit that I have never gone without sound for so long but having the PE before the Ultra Reference will provide for good comparison so stay tuned
The End Of A 35 Year Journey ---Zellaton -The Reference Ultra Final Frontier
- Thread starter Steve williams
- Start date
I’d like to share my experience with you all about (hopefully) the start of my Zellaton journey. A few days ago I had a sort of a mystic experience. Since I have been considering the purchase of a Zellaton speaker for a long time now, a month ago I had the opportunity to visit Michael at Zellaton and listen to the Reference Ultra. Amazing speaker, to me, easily the best in its price point and, probably, beyond.
After a few hours listening…surprise surprise…I had the chance to see the first pair of the new Statement Ultra in the making. They were not ready to play yet, but had a good look at the cabinet, crossover and drivers. We agreed with Michael to come back once they were ready, and before they were shipped to their new owner.
I fixed the date in my calendar and I couldn’t wait for the day to come.
Two days ago was the day….my friends and I entered the Zellaton facility and they were there, beautiful white speakers towering above Michael’s system. After a few arrangements, speaker positioning and system setup, the time to sit and listen came. I was the first person in the world, except from Zellaton’ s Team, to listen to this new speakers…what an honour!
After a few notes, my whole body was goose bumping. The speakers are brand new, and only played one hour before that…they still need a lot of time to brake in, but form the start I understood I was in front of something truly special and unique.
After a couple of hours they had already improved, and listening to some of my favourite albums almost brought me to tears, such was the emotion and involvement. The performance was breathtaking, really breathtaking…I found myself holding my breath while listening…
The level of realism is, in my opinion, unprecedented. The soundstage, the complete absence of listening fatigue and the way the sound from the drivers blend is so natural that you feel you can touch the instruments.
I have listened to many top of the line speakers from other brands, both at shows and in friend’s systems…and I can easily say I was in front of something that was playing in another league.
Before yesterday I was almost ready to place the order for the Reference Ultra, aiming to possibly upgrade to the Statement Ultra in the future. But I am now reconsidering everything…I never felt such an emotion from any audio system...the same emotion I feel when attending a live concert.
I want to publicly thank Michael for his kindness and for allowing for this incredible experience, and for granting me permission to share with you my Zellaton Day.
After a few hours listening…surprise surprise…I had the chance to see the first pair of the new Statement Ultra in the making. They were not ready to play yet, but had a good look at the cabinet, crossover and drivers. We agreed with Michael to come back once they were ready, and before they were shipped to their new owner.
I fixed the date in my calendar and I couldn’t wait for the day to come.
Two days ago was the day….my friends and I entered the Zellaton facility and they were there, beautiful white speakers towering above Michael’s system. After a few arrangements, speaker positioning and system setup, the time to sit and listen came. I was the first person in the world, except from Zellaton’ s Team, to listen to this new speakers…what an honour!
After a few notes, my whole body was goose bumping. The speakers are brand new, and only played one hour before that…they still need a lot of time to brake in, but form the start I understood I was in front of something truly special and unique.
After a couple of hours they had already improved, and listening to some of my favourite albums almost brought me to tears, such was the emotion and involvement. The performance was breathtaking, really breathtaking…I found myself holding my breath while listening…
The level of realism is, in my opinion, unprecedented. The soundstage, the complete absence of listening fatigue and the way the sound from the drivers blend is so natural that you feel you can touch the instruments.
I have listened to many top of the line speakers from other brands, both at shows and in friend’s systems…and I can easily say I was in front of something that was playing in another league.
Before yesterday I was almost ready to place the order for the Reference Ultra, aiming to possibly upgrade to the Statement Ultra in the future. But I am now reconsidering everything…I never felt such an emotion from any audio system...the same emotion I feel when attending a live concert.
I want to publicly thank Michael for his kindness and for allowing for this incredible experience, and for granting me permission to share with you my Zellaton Day.
I must admit that when I heard the Statement was to be redone as the Statement Ultra several months ago that consideration was on my mind but sadly too big a speaker for my room . Im really looking forward to receiving my Ultra Reference. The Plural Evos reached Los Angeles today and should be at my house tomorrow or Friday at the latest
I’ll be seeing you next week, Steve. Get ready to experience what Rob77 described - ZELLATON magic 
I just found this new Zellaton forum. I would like to know what is the significant benefits of the Reference Ultra at about $200K more than the Plural Evo, other than it appears to have more woofers; hence, deeper and fuller bass. I assume you or someone on this forum has heard them both and can comment.
The Reference, along with Stage and Statement models are within the “Ultra” range which are substantively different than the “Evo” line, including the Plural and Emotion models.
The “Ultra” line use different in house ZELLATON drivers including the new proprietary tweeter which account for an incredible seamlessness, coherency and electrostatic transparency. The cabinets in the “Ultra” line all use a quasi vertically aligned open baffle in rear (like the older Klassik line) whereas the “Evo” line use an adjustable port for bass tuning and an open vent in the top rear for high frequency dispersion. Further, the custom Duelund crossover components in both lines along with cabinet construction/materials are fundamentally different, accounting for the price gap and performance metrics.
The “Ultra” line use different in house ZELLATON drivers including the new proprietary tweeter which account for an incredible seamlessness, coherency and electrostatic transparency. The cabinets in the “Ultra” line all use a quasi vertically aligned open baffle in rear (like the older Klassik line) whereas the “Evo” line use an adjustable port for bass tuning and an open vent in the top rear for high frequency dispersion. Further, the custom Duelund crossover components in both lines along with cabinet construction/materials are fundamentally different, accounting for the price gap and performance metrics.
Hi! I’ve heard both! No doubt the plural evo is a phenomenal speaker at its price point ; it maintains the main attributes that make zellaton speakers special , they are fast, they have realism, broad soundstage and clean/fast bass . What the ultra series does , is further refine those attributes , it becomes silkier ; more holographic , enveloping soundstage . The speed of the drivers is so clean that it is closest you can get to electrostatic sound experience from a box speaker.
I look forward to comparing the two speakers in my system as I will have the Plural Evo until I receive the Reference Ultra
The best review on the PE is by Myles Astor who in my opinion is a fantastic reviewer
ZELLATON Plural Evo Loudspeakers - Positive Feedback
ZELLATON Plural Evo Loudspeakers: Coming Full Circle
positive-feedback.com
Eagerly awaiting your Ultras to arrive Steve. Very eager to hear them in person. Alas, travel gods did not smile when I was in NYC last week so still haven't heard the ultras in person (patience may be a virtue, but it is a cruel one sometimes) Did manage to hear the Cessaro Opus' (Opi?) and they were glorious
Looking forward to your report on the Evos!
Looking forward to your report on the Evos!
I have to admit that these crates are the best constructed I have ever seen. They are on rollers and the crates have hinges as they can be disassembled
Each crate weighs 270 pounds. It's going to be fun getting these up the stairs. I have hired my muscle men that have helped me for the last 12 years in every major move of equipment in my room . They come on Sunday and Gideon arrives a few days later to set them up
Reference Ultra weighs 300 lbs per channel so crated will be even more challenging as Gideon insists the be uncrated upstairs to prevent any damage
I have heard the Stage Ultra, Reference Ultra, and Plural Evo, though unfortunately not all in the same room. I haven't heard the 'Klassiks', but I would love to listen to them somewhere.
My impression is that the core of Zellaton's design philosophy and architecture is the use of a proprietary high-tech sandwich single broadband cone for the majority of the frequency range, complemented by a tweeter for the highest frequencies (although in a previous model, Studio Reference, the broadband cone extended up to 20kHz and lacked a tweeter) and a '(sub)woofer' below. The combination of the advanced (sandwich) driver and the absence of a crossover in the most critical range for human hearing creates a lot of 'the magic.' This applies to all Zellatons as far as I know and largely defines the 'house sound.'
The EVO line contains some 'compromises' compared to the Ultra. To my knowledge, most noteworthy are ..
- The sandwich cone construction of the broadband and bass cones has been adapted and made suitable for more mechanical manufacturing instead of everything being handmade.
- The tweeter is a 'conventional' dome, instead of Zellaton's proprietary sandwich.
- The cabinet's (finish) quality. 'Downgrade' from Bugatti (bizarre, drool-worthy) to Mercedes (plain fantastic).
Personally, I think that last point (room integration) likely has most impact on the listening experience.
I haven't heard the PE and Ultras in the same room, but I didn't get the impression of a loss of homogeneity due to the PE dome tweeter (my ears are 54 years old). I found the bass of the PE (in the respective case/room) to have more punch and fun factor than the Stage Ultra (in a larger room). It is - as often - quite context-sensitive. I don't rule out that there are people who, in a certain context, setting, complementing gear and room, will prefer the PE over the Ultra... I guess that in a good and sufficiently large dedicated listening room, with some exceptional gear, the Ultras will go a step further in several parameters. I do think that the PE is the likely sweet spot in the range and probably also the "bread & butter" for Zellaton. Ergo: numbers and value for money.
I haven't heard the smaller Emotion EVO. In images, the broadband sandwich mid/woofer in that speaker doesn't 'breathe' to the back (back seems closed) and is therefore (I assume) ported, just like the PE woofers. I wonder what that does to the speaker's signature..
Anyone heard it, compared to the PE?
Congrats Steve! Good luck 'howling' them up the stairs....
One step closer to having sound again! Awesome, Steve. So happy for you. Just a little bit longer...
Tom
Tom
That was a very noteworthy factor when I received the Plural Evo, superb shipping crates with caster wheels I recall.
The one characteristic of the speaker that everyone who heard it liked was the lovely tweeter.
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