SVS Ultra Speakers Line - New Kids On The Block - Page 6

In a week Bitterwaste is bringing his Emptek towers by. It will be interesting to see how the highs sound vs. another dome as opposed to the Raal in the Phil 2.

Emptek is a surprisingly sweet speaker company. My sister has 4 towers driven with a Denon 2310 w/Audyssey engaged and they sound excellent...and all at a substantially lower cost. I will be interested in reading how you consider them to sound related to these SVS Ultra speakers.

Im not a fan of both and I haven't own both products ,but the svs looks like a martin logan on steroids.. lol


I clearly see on you avatar that you are a fan of martin logan and also own the same speakers.
Edited by losservatore - 2/3/13 at 2:45pm

He's also using a pre-production picture of the ultras. The rings are more of a gun metal grey now. I hope to some day do a in-house comparison of these, Aperion Grands, and maybe the EMPs.

Yes. I am only commenting at all since I actually own/use the ML's. Been a huge ML fan since the beginning since I like outstanding audio.

And please do not mistake my comment/thoughts as my intent is not so much to slam SVS but rather such a striking similarity to cabinet design ONLY.

For me, when it comes to conventional speakers, it all boils down to the tweeter. I would love to sample these Ultra only because I despise metal dome tweets. Too harsh and fatiguing (to me). And from what I have been reading, I am not alone...

Maybe the intention on both speakers design was for their own benefit $$$ .It will cost more if they build the speaker like is usually build.


Tower speaker now days are getting shorten (shrink).

MOst likely...I mean, isn't everything made for sale for their own benifit $$$??? But seriously, if there is a flaw with these ML's, I haven't found it in 2 years of listening. I haven't yet heard another conventional speaker match my ML's and seeing the copied design makes me wonder if the SQ is copied also? I can't imagine what with metal domed tweets, but that and $5 might get you a cup of coffee...

Dome vs ribbon debate not now

I have had them for a couple weeks and they don't seem harsh or fatiguing to me. Maybe generalizations about stuff like tweeters is not the best way to go......

Okay, I've been listening to the towers for a couple of days now and I wanted to give you all an update.

First let me tell you the set up. I had been playing around with positioning and found my sweet spot. the front baffle is approx. 2 feet and 7 inches from the wall and canted towards the inside. I elevated the front end of the speaker about 1/2 inch and that seemed to fill the room. I listen to all the tracks using the pure audio function which turns off all the digital enhancements (DSP) so only the towers are playing. the volume as 72 and I was approx 12 feet away. My room is a dedicated media room with no windows, just two french doors. The room size is 21L X 15W X 10H.

I went ahead and downloaded a bunch of song that seamed to be what a lot of people like to test speakers with from amazon. Here is my list.
Norah Jones: Don't know why, Not too late.
Diana Krull live in paris: I love being here with you, Just the way you are.
John Mayer Trio: Out of my mind
Tatsuro Yamashita: Koi No Arashi
Valentine Lounge: Bridge over trouble water.
some jazz

Norah Jones vocals just jumped out of the speakers, clear, crisp, strong. very overwhelming with emotion. I could hear the detail in her voice with every word and the way she gasp for air between versus. I could occasionally hear tongue slush around her mouth. The piano sounded clean, loud, and distinct. The bass from the drum set was actually a lot deeper than what I had imagined. there was a sense of presence felt because you could hear that the piano was a lot closer than the drum set. No harshness in the highs or compression in the bass was evident. I did notice a slight hiss at the beginning of "It's not too late" but it turned out to be the recording. Nothing really negative was noted.

Diana Krull just had so many things going on at the same time. You could hear many instruments playing at the same time but all very distinct. The piano was rich and the guitar was clean. although I could not hear the strings being plucked on the guitar, I could hear a hint of plucking on the cello. The cello was nice and solid but not as deep as i would have wanted to hear it. At least not as deep as with my XV-30 turn on but okay pleasant just the same. The drummer sounded like he was just going to town with his drum set. I could hear him hit the top rim of his drum set occasionally. The piano sounded so alive with crisp and clean sound. The key tones just opened the stage right up. Diana's voice was very clear and crisp. Again I could hear gasps of breath occasionally. Since I had never actually sat down to listen to Diana, I could not note anything unpleasant.

Out of my mind.. I will say one thing, I had played this track previously with the speakers closer to the corners and the bass was a whole lot deeper. The bad side was with the speakers in the corners, the highs suffered. With that said, this track still had plenty of oomph on the low side. The guitar sounded a little stressed and distorted but I think it was because the track was from a concert CD. The voice was clean, deep, and clear. I could hear the drums smacking away, very pleasant and very sharp. Not a bad track, just not my favorite.

Tatsuro Yamashita: Koi No Arashi??? That what I said. Well this track that I downloaded was just for grins. It turns out that it's about ringing bells and Christmas. The funny thing is that it turned out to be a perrty amazing track to try. This bells seemed to jump out and hover with no definite direction in which the sound was coming from. The front of my room space was invaded by this tiny, crisp, detailed, high pitched tones/rings. It was a very pleasant and comforting experience for me because now at least I know that these speakers are capable of producing this type of experience. If you have these speakers, try this track and tell me what you think. It might have just been my room acoustics but it was pretty cool non the less.

Valentine Lounge: Bridge over trouble water. This track I saw on youtube playing on some pioneer todoroki speakers. It sounded like it would have some detail so I downloaded it. First of, the track was rich and dynamic. The guitar was spot on and not too harsh. The vocals were bold and well rounded but lacked some definition. I would say that the speakers sounded enclosed but now I know that the speakers are able to sound opened so it must be the track.

I'll skip the jazz, just note that it sounded really good.

All in all, I must say that I'm having a great time with this speakers. The lows can be adjusted with the plug or moving them closer to the wall. The highs are opening up now, just like you all said they would. I have not noted any harshness or ear piercing sounds from the tweeters. Actually I reconsidered not getting the Klipsch RF-7 II because the horn tweeter will probably be too harsh (Go figure). The only thing that I would have liked was to have a little broader sound stage from the towers. The good thing is that the 9.2 setup that I have opens it right up.
I'm not done looking around but it would not surprise me if I end up sticking to these. In fact the only three speakers that I have left to addition are the studio 100's, Asend Sierra towers, and maybe Gallo Classico CL-4.

On a side note, these speakers look nothing like the ML preface. If they didn't slant the bottom end out, how were they going to fit the 8".. Just saying.

You're not making sense to me, man. Just because the cabinet design is similar doesn't mean that they "copied" your beloved ML's. I've heard great things about that brand of speaker, so even if they did it wouldn't be so bad. I suspect the Ultra's have a similar shape because they needed to fit the 8" woofer. I guess they could have gone the Definitive route and had a tall monolithic slab. Regardless, I'm going to assume that cabinet shape is where they stopped "stealing" from ML. The driver configuration isn't even the same. Maybe you're on to something though. I'm going to start complaining that their bookshelf speakers are rectangular and they're copying my brand of bookshelfs too. Oh snap, the speakers are round too! Biters!!!


PS: Just messin' with you bro. It's Monday morning and I'm bored.

Downloaded? Are you listening to mp3s?

"Oh snap"? LOL

mp3s on a thumb driver through my oppo..

You think SVS Ultra towers is higher KEF R900?
For me, Swiss export for France is 3000 euros to 2000 euros KEF or the SVS.
Sorry for the diction, Thanks...

Has anybody ordered or already received the ultra bookshelves?

I'm considering these ones against the Aperion Verus Grand Bookshelves, also considering the Sonus Faber Venere 1.5

Thanks for reviews.. just one thing puzzles me.. You used MP 3 files to test the speakers ???!!! I mean, come on.. the difference btw MP3 and SACD or at least a good SACD or Vinyl LP rip is night and day. You can't imagine how much you are missing. If you don't own a good CD-SACD player with decent DACs , then borrow one from your friends just for testing. This will let you hear these speakers, otherwise, you'll be listening to the weakest link in your system. And MP3 files should be officially forbidden for Hi-Fi systems.

Not everyone has access to that setup. I'll be using MP3's, but only because I don't really listen to much music. When I start my critical listening I'll be focused primarily on movies and video games. Music will just be an added bonus.

your oppo player should play flac ,sacd ,wav,dvd-audio,hdcd....you should try some uncompressed audio tracks

Yes,

You can download a FREE sampler album from HDTracks at 24bit/96khz.

The reality is that I cannot justify spending 37 dollars for a SACD when all I want is one song that I can get for .99. Granted that I have seen some as cheap as 16 but nothing that I would want to own. It's not that I'm trying to be cheap here. It's more like wise spending. Besides, my whole family has a lot of gadgets that recognize mp3s and this format can easily be moved around from place to place.
On another note, I am limited to the selection of artist with SACD that I typically listen to.

With all that said,,,, even with mp3s and cds, my reviews still hold true. On the test video that I posted on youtube, I was playing a cd.

+1 to all the above.
I can't even listen to my old Led Zeppelin on CD on my DIY speakers has they scream bad recordind and any downloal music sucks compare to original recording.



Your impession are very welcome.
Maybe it should be done on movies only.
Just a tought.

Best regard


Ray

You've never heard the original recordings. You don't have the equipment to play back the masters.

I'd be willing to bet that if I ripped the SACD of your choice and burned it to CD that you couldn't tell the two apart blind.

It's common knowledge that if you are going to try to evaluate the quality of audio equipment, you need a good source.

Hi end speakers in general are very revealing so crappy source should sound like crap. What does that say about the speaker? That its crap bc the sound you hear is crap?

Lets use some common sense here.

Of course that's common knowledge. It's also common sense to audition speakers the way you would typically use them. I don't have a SACD player or content. Nor do I ever plan to acquire them. I stream most of my music which is the way I'm going to test speakers. I'm not looking for the best music speakers. I'm looking for the best speakers for my listening habits. That may result in my deciding on a "lower end" system which would be fine by me. I'm not looking to boost my status. I want the best system to enhance my video gaming and movie lifestyle.
Edited by BentZero - 2/7/13 at 9:21am

I also listen to streaming ,mp3 ,cds and flac I enjoy the 3 format ,there is also cassette tape ,lp vinyl ,8 track cassette and list goes on ,it doesn't matter if you are enjoying what you are listening thats what count.


I listen to streaming music 95% of the time...why? simplicity , my favorite streaming services are spotify ,Xbox music and mog.

Please en-lie-ten us with your fabulous setup because obviously there is a specific regulation that governs how the world should listen to speakers. These speakers aren't for you. These are affordable high end for the not so wealthy as yourself. Common sense says your in the wrong forum. We share here not criticize.

And I will bet you a Nickel, that you are right.
All i am saying is the original source will make a Big diference.
mp3 (170 songs on 1 disk is greath for driving, other than than that?) , even in my car with outside noise it does not sound as good as an original CD to me. And I am 50 years old.

I no longer listen to music, no time.
All I got time now, is work.
But I still want the best speakers for the money when it come down to my Sunday movies.


Ray

scorpinrm

Please keep sharing with us.

Yes, I want an original source for testing.
But people like you can make a big diference for lots of peoples.

Like, I said, I am from DIY and Know about what go inside a speakers (quality of the cabinet, drivers, crossover, etc).

But this new line got me exicited . Since I have already own 2 PB Ultra13 and very happy with them.

Ray

Not true. My budget was right in line with these speakers. I also have a SVS SB13-plus. So, I know the performance/value of SVS personally and am extremely happy with the sub. I just couldn't get myself to pull the trigger on these ultra speakers because I'm old school and have to listen to speakers before buying them...and I would feel bad if I returned them at their cost. I did hear another SVS sub so the sb13-plus while tough was not as big of a risk.

For me, spending 2 grand on a pair of speakers is a big deal so I just assumed people that buy speakers such as these know better than the avg person and really care about sound quality.

It's nothing personal man. We are on the Internet and I'm not interested in any personal spats with people I have never met.

Keep sharing bc we appreciate it. Just use some uncompressed source material.