The Reference Ultime Two is the most compact speaker in the Reference line, but it is still considerably bigger than the Alumine Five and built to a different scale. It is designed for larger spaces and to front more powerful systems, to fill big rooms with dynamic, captivating sound that covers the full bandwidth, providing deeper bass than is possible with a smaller cabinet design. 

The cabinet is constructed in typical Stenheim fashion. It uses solid aluminium panels over a critically braced, internal chassis, CNC machined from solid billet aluminium. The sheer quantity of aluminium employed is impressive, ensuring that these cabinets are sonically inert and will not flex, no matter how loud the music gets. Beneath the sleek outer panels, each driver is mounted in its own chamber to minimise interference from the others.  

Like all the Reference Line models, the Reference Ultime Two is a full d’Appolito design, with a symmetrical driver layout conferring significant sound dispersion advantages. It uses a pair of 30 cm (12-inch) forward-firing woofers to provide deep bass from 25 Hz. Control and bass extension is further enhanced through a pair of rear-facing, laminar flow, reflex ports similar to those used so successfully in the award-winning Alumine Five. These have the advantage of reducing the turbulence that can occur with traditional ported designs giving better transient response which is crucial for reproducing fast and dynamic musical passages. This speed and attack underlies the amazing clarity and dynamism with which Stenheim is synonymous. 

The five drivers – two woofers, two midrange and a tweeter - are kept to the minimum, in common with other Stenheim designs, enabling the crossovers to be simpler than they otherwise might be. Nonetheless, they are the fruit of many hours of listening in the development phase and painstakingly designed to ensure that every driver is working in its optimum frequency range. The passive crossovers are constructed from the very finest electrical components available. This is part of the Reference Line brief, to produce the most captivating music irrespective of cost, and allows us to make our component selection without compromise. 

The Reference Ultime Two is a room-friendly design that demands considerably less space between it and the rear wall to perform well. Performance in any given room can be optimized by means of the room control back panel. This enables the highs, mids and bass to be individually dialed in, allowing the Reference Ultime Two to be fine-tuned to provide the best possible sound.  

Whilst the Reference Ultime Two is an imposing speaker, it possesses a classical slim elegance that enhances multiple décors. It shares the same form factor as its bigger brothers in the Reference Line and the same design philosophy but looks more at home in smaller rooms. Available in the standard colours of Light or Dark Grey, it can also be ordered in the custom colours of Ivory, Mocca, or Full Black. The metal trim parts that visually divide the cabinet can also be ordered in several colours to match the owner’s system or furnishings. These can also be retro-fitted should your décor change in the future and you would still like your Reference Ultime Twos to complement it. 

Like all Stenheim speakers, it is hand-built to order in our manufacture in Switzerland and is designed to deliver captivating music for decades. The Reference Ultime Two delivers audio performance that honours the musical performance, a listening experience that captures the energy and atmosphere of a live concert and live audience.

This aluminium billet platform is available as an optional extra for Reference speakers. It gives them greatly increased stability through enlarging their footprint considerably. It is also designed to make it much easier to switch from the castors that enable the speakers to be positioned, to the spikes that will provide their permanent support. The platform’s spikes also offer a greater range of adjustment :  + or – 5cm (4 inches in total), and this is much easier to achieve by simply turning the hefty, knurled knobs. The result is that the sound can be fine-tuned as the speakers can be tilted from the vertical to provide the optimum angle in complete safety. Finally, different floor types can be catered for as the platform ships with three different spike ends for adapting it to thick carpet, hard or delicate floors.

Stenheim Reference Ultime Two (Full-passive Reference speaker, 5 drivers, Light or Dark Shiny Grey structured coating on top and sides. Black front and rear panels. Stenheim Red side bars) $165,000 USD

Stenheim Reference Ultime Two (Options: Choice of color: Full Black, Ivory, Mocca / side bars in Silver, Black or Gold) + $8,500 USD

Stenheim Reference Ultime Two (Options: Reference Platform) + $25,800 USD