The UNI-Theater is a sound bar, very much similar to the Yamaha YSP that doesn't need speakers to be positioned in the surround sound environment as all of the channels come housed in a single speaker unit that uses the walls and reflectors to emulate the channels. However, the UNI-Theater sound bar only handles the front channels (L/C/R), leaving the surround work to two Mirage Nanosats and the sub-frequencies to the Omni S8 subwoofer.
First Look
The UNI-Theater comes in a radiant aluminum cabinet stretching a good 37" wide but diving to a depth of just 4.6". This keeps with the widescreen, super-thin flat-panels we're getting in the market these days. You can decide between a black or silver finish you have the alternative of changing to grill-free sats, so you can reveal that omnipolar disc if you'd like. Sadly, the UNI-Theater can't be freed from its grille, at least not as easily as the Nanosats so it is not advisable.
Technical details
The UNI-Theater is divided into three independent chambers, each consisting of an active 3" woofer, two passive 3" polypropylene titanium deposit hybrid radiators and a 0.75" titanium hybrid tweeter. Omnipolar technology consists of a double-disc hat that contains the tweeter and is placed suspended above the 3" woofer mid-range driver. This, along with a never-before-seen tilt of the Omniguides towards the outer edges, maximizes sound dispersion, taking it to a level where it seems the left and right channels can be projected quite competently. On the back of the panel there is a switch to let the UNI-Theater know whether it's on the 'wall' or on a 'stand', accordingly changing the speakers' behavior. The wall mount and glass table-top stand come boxed with the speakers, so the choice is completely yours.
The UNI-Theater operates at an impedance of 8 ohms, while it delivers frequencies between 80Hz to 20kHz. The Omni S8 subwoofer has been sent to primarily handle all the frequencies below the 80Hz mark and any others that the UNI-Theater might be having a hard time rendering. The sub's size Is perfect for this kind of setup where the primary focus Is to minimize the space used by the surround sound system. Remember that with the drivers were individually isolated in 3 separate cabinets. The centre channel on this bar Is rock solid, the dominating member of this 6 member clan, especially while watching dialogue heavy movies like 'Heat' or even 'Revolutionary Road'. With the lights turned off, you can only place the physical position of the UNI-Theater by the centre channel, as its physical presence completely disappears from the soundstage as far as the left and right channels are concerned.
The Nanosats have always been good. In this setup, they expanded the soundstage further. Filtered through a Neo-DTS algorithm in the signal chain to get a 5.1 audio stream, the sound is remarkably clear. There is a hint of negligence to the mid-range, that made the UNI-Theater sound a little warmer, which in the case of some melancholic soundtrack works beautifully and in the case of watching 'The Godfather' on DVD, with Its primary soundtrack being 2.1. the same drop in the mid-range helps keep the levels of the wedding at the beginning of the film, away from the ear-piercing range.
Bottom line
This entire package is worth every penny, considering the space you save in your living room and the experience you're getting from the sheer Innovative use of Mirage's Omnipolar technology. The three different components, namely the UNI-Theater, the Nanosat pairs and the Omni S8 subwoofer, work brilliantly with one another. So what if the mid-range was a little dipped! At this price range, you couldn't find a better suited product for your living room.
Website: http://www.riverainternational.com/
