SVS Ultra Speakers Line - New Kids On The Block - Page 5

Nice review. I am glad to see the comparison to the Philharmonic since that was on my list but obviously can't listen to.

Seems like the Phils edged out the SVS in general but the SVS is still a very good speaker.

I think I will stick w my decision but its good to see that the SVS did build a strong contender and that I probably would have kept them if I took a chance and ordered them.

I just purchased them. Hoping to receive them by weeks end.

Cool when you get them give a review.

Edged out is maybe premature, I would say maybe a slight lead after Day one of listening. Lots more testing to do. I mostly want to see which fits my tastes better.

not happy with the treble?can you give some details on how the treble sound to you?

Lol. Ok my bad. Please continue your battery of tests. I won't put words in your mouth.

No prob, I just wanted to say that I was going to take more time before coming to a decision.

Was just notified that my order shipped. Awaiting tracking info. being in W. PA, I should receive the stuff tomorrow or latest friday.

I just finished about 2 hours with just the Ultra Towers, with the Phil 2s off to the side. I played with positioning a bit, finally ended up moving them closer together and toed in a bit. They are about 8'2" apart and it is about 10'6" from each speaker to my listening spot. That seems to have definitely helped the soundstage and imaging, which actually now sounds very good. I did not boost the treble yet at all. I have been at -25dB on my volume knob mostly.

Overall, the speakers sound excellent. Let me say, I have detected no harshness at all. Some have commented that they are wary of the Al dome tweeters. I find the sound very smooth, not harsh at all.
Some comments about the music I listened to:
I would say that the least impressive music so far has been classical. I played some 4 seasons by Vivaldi and Spacetaculars by Cincinnati Pops (stuff from scifi flicks). I did not feel totally awash with the music unless I turned it up. Some of the super high notes were again a tiny bit recessed. The lower strings and horns and bass were very good.

I played some more female vocalists, Nora Jones, Sarah McLaughlin, and Diana Krall. They sounded great. The instruments and vocals were clear, separate and much more enveloping than earlier. Sarah Mclaughlins voice seems higher to me, so I am interested to see how she sounds on the Phils.

I played more rock, Dire Straits, Def Leppard, Dave Matthews, The Killers. The Ultras shined with this music. Again, the male voices sounded great, the drums smacked hard, the guitar was clear and not harsh. Very fun listening. On Def Leppard Foolin' there is a part with a lot of L to R mixing, so I will compare that to the Phils soon to see how wide the Ultras really sound. Also, on Mr. Brightside there are lots of quick cymbal hits that I will keep an eye on when comparing to see how clear the Ultras are in comparison.

Rodrigo y Gabriella was awesome also. The Ultras seemed to take the super fast playing and dynamics in stride.

I finished up with Uakti, a track called Trilobita, that I heard in the Wisdom audio room at RMAF. Lots of percussions all over the place. It sounded great, really not compressed at all this time.

So, now I will switch them out and play the same tracks on the other set.

Is that not the way it supposed to be? if you lower the crossover of the tower, then less content is going to the subwoofer.

Great impressions so far, thanks for sharing.

Any impressions on the Ultra's vs. Phil 2's from today?



edited to correct for being a bit daft.
Edited by Snowmanick - 1/30/13 at 8:21pm

Initially I had issues with the treble because I felt that it did not sound bright and open to me. I had to do so tweaking manually to get it to where I am more comfortable with it. I still feel that the mids and the lows surpass any other speakers I have heard (i.e. Def tech BP-8060ST , B&W CM9, Martin Logan Theos). The Ultras' highs still sound a little confined but the overall full range performance is what I was looking for.
I posted this video of a sound test that I was doing the other day. I wish I had a better camera with a quality mic but I don't

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=empCnD_IOWU

I wish I had a better camera with a quality mic but I don't. I really don't use the one I got much anyways.

I was simply answering Stevecallas post about the crossover freq range. Obviously he would prefer an 80hz crossover thx setup were the subwoofer does all the work. These towers are not meant for that type of setup because you would lose a lot from the low end. I find that these towers actually complement my PSA XV-30 because they produce a much tighter, snappier bass. The XV-30 creates that low end extension that is very low, pressure producing, and room shaking,
Edited by scorpionrm - 1/31/13 at 8:48am

Not likely to be any--he's listening to Phil 2's.

oops!

Those of you that received your speakers. Did all speakers come via Freight or did you receive the Center/Surrounds via FedEx?

I got my towers and center via freight and the surrounds via fedex

Same for me: freight on the towers/center and FedEx for the surrounds.

By the way, and as an update, I went back to listen to some of the speakers I considered my pre-Ultra favorites to see how I felt now that I have a good feel for the SVS speakers. In short, no change in that the Ultra Towers are still #1 amongst the speakers I heard when it comes to listening to CDs and it really isn't that close (although as someone else in this thread noted I only listened to what was available locally and specifically did not get the chance to listen to the $6000 pair of Revels). All in all, I would say I landed in the same spot as scorpionrm: in a perfect world of money-is-no-object I wouldn't mind just a slight touch greater openness at the high-end. The reason to buy these speakers, however, is the combination of overall performance range and deadly accurate mids/lows.

The freight company called today and are delivering tomorrow. I haven't received any FedEx notification yet. On the svs website it has a link to track shipment but the tracking number is blank. Hope I get those tomorrow as well.

That's really good news! It's better than having a fatiguing speaker. I like SVS's approach. It's Revels approach as well...very smooth and clear and my #1 trait, dynamic.

If these were not Internet direct I prolly would have ended up w them. I'm still paranoid I guess.

Got my speakers today. I'll just review the appearance for now.

Looks/Design
If looks could kill (or make one really happy), I think SVS hit it out of the park. Construction on these speakers is top notch and attention to detail is certainly there is every aspect. I was a bit worried about the piano black finish. I thought that it would over power my living room which has hard wood floors and white painted walls (yes i'm dull dull man). In reality the piano black finish of these speakers, liven up my room quite a bit. Centerpiece of the room was my new 60" LED TV, but have to admit the speakers scream, "LOOK AT ME!!!" Those of you that suffer from claustrophobia or fear of large objects might consider seeking profession help after opening these up. They are enormous...yes yes that's what she said.

In comparison of size vs previous speakers (shall remain nameless):
The fronts were about 16" taller and about 5" wider than my previous towers. Bring friends to move them about.
The center channel is about 2" taller and about 8" narrower than my previous center.
The surrounds are 6" taller and about 4" wider than my previous speakers.

I'm too embarrassed to name my previous speakers but it make them feel like something made in a school wood shop class.

Unfortunately I have to temporarily leave my current surrounds in place because the new speakers do not fit with the previous surround speaker stands. Hopefully I can remedy that this weekend.

I almost felt ashamed of putting the cloth covers on the speakers. The woofers/tweeters look amazing on these speakers. It's like asking Kate Upton to put on some clothes.


I did run a quick Audessy update on my Denon 3313 and popped in The Dark Knight Rises. Teaser...Bane speaks English?

Anyone have any REW graphs of the speakers in their room?

I would like to know too.
If I read your post correctly you went for +4 on the previous speakers to +8 on the SVS.
Is it maybe you like your highs to be higher than the norm, I mean nothing wrong with personal preference, it is your system and your taste.
I guess what I am asking is the SVS that tame or do you like more the approch of something like maybe a horn tweeter.

Ray

Only when I compare to the Phil 2 with the Raal tweeter do I notice that the highs on the SVS are a bit recessed and maybe a touch less definition in the quick high hat strikes and other such notes. When I just listen for awhile to the SVS, the highs sound pretty good. I have not yet turned up the treble. It also may be the room. Also, depending upon where the SVS is sitting, the bass is pretty strong, so that also adds to the feel that the treble is a bit light. The towers play down into the 20 Hz range, so room interaction can really affect the bass.

With the tweeter at 32hz you should get pretty good extended high frequencies.the problem could probably be the room acoustic.

You can't really judge what you'll hear in the room with a tweeter spec quoting a 32 kHz (I think you meant kHz) reach. That would only apply directly on-axis, and would be lost a normal listening distance and angle even if you could hear that high. The actual perceived high frequency performance will depend more on the smoothness and dispersion in the 12 kHz - 18 kHz region, and on the power response at the crossover point. I haven't heard the SVS tower, so I have no Idea what I would think of the highs. It sounds like the crossover designer(s) have gone for a basically flat response over the entire frequency range, with nothing sticking out that would hit you in the face on a first audition. A whole lot of speakers are voiced more aggressively in the highs, and that may be what is shaping the reactions of new SVS owners. That said, I do prefer a good ribbon tweeter, but I don't think SVS could have pulled that off at this price.

Just now saw these speakers for the 1st time here on the net...Personally I think they did a horrible job with the silver/chrome rings around the mids/tweeter. Even the fact they used an alum dome tweet, and still charging a friggen grand/ea is as disturbing as it is, and folks not happy with it because the best thing they can say is that overall the speaker sounds good, is the fact they stole the cabinet shape/design from MartinLogan! Think I will absolutely keep staying away from this 'high end' (more like over priced IMHO) offerings from SVS. I know, I know...no real loss for SVS or its fans, just saying it the way I myself see it.

^^^^^


ooooookaaaay. Thanks for the input?

I think SVS stole his girlfriend.

okay?

Yes that is totally right,.he may like speakers with a emphasis in the high frequencies.