SBS-01 speaker impressions

j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Well, I got to listen to them yesterday. I have to say they are quite impressive for the $550 price tag. The one word that I suppose sums them up for me was neutral. They are flat and clean sounding. Vocals are very well rendered, both male and female. We listened to Porcupine Tree In Absentia in DTS, a Yes DTS disc (no DVD-A available), Fiona Apple Tidal, and Dave Mathews Band Crash; no movies. Though they are said to be -3dB at 68Hz, their bass seems pretty decent by themselves; probably not going to work without a sub in most situations, but a pair would certainly be acceptable for a bedroom system IMO. I didn't get to look the system settings over, but it seemed that the highs were either dialed back or they were a bit reserved by design, making them lean more toward the warm side of neutral; not a bad thing for my taste. I think that may be what the review here on AH was getting at when it said they were not as good with music. They put up a wide and convincing soundstage in multichannel, but in 2ch they didn't seem to quite draw me into the room with the artist. They're good with music, but they aren't bowl you over spectactular; they aren't more than I'd expect from a ~$200 speaker. The imaging seemed to be there, but they didn't give me that 3 dimensional depth. This may partially be due to the setup though, because they had a very large screen between them, and they probably should have been pulled out a foot or so to clean up the imaging (not really going to happen due to the location). I did a quick level calibration, because I had my install box-o-goodies with me and the owner didn't have one. I hope to go back and listen to them again when their owner gets a new receiver (Sony 333ES receiver with a Sony mega changer DVD/SACD player). Their softer nature and possibly their lower sensitivity at times had me wanting to turn them up, and they sound like they can take a lot of power.

Overall, my impression of them was very good. They are above average for their price range. Though I would not call them the easy winner in the category, they're up at the top with the leaders. :) The sub is definitely an overachiever that has been well discussed and IS a class leader for the price. I would say you can't go wrong with them for the price, and teamed with the PB-10, they make for a very potent package for the typical size room.
 
Last edited:
Buckeyefan 1

Buckeyefan 1

Audioholic Ninja
J, thanks for the mini review. You've got me wondering...

Their softer nature and possibly their lower sensitivity at times had me wanting to turn them up, and they sound like they can take a lot of power.
Are these going to be a good match for an entry level Sony or Onkyo $199 5.1 receiver? The sensitivity is extremely low - IYO would that create issues with low end surround receivers when pushed to reference levels using a "small" setting at 80Hz?
 
R

Ron Temple

Senior Audioholic
That says it in a nutshell. However, during 2 channel I was sitting off axis and did hear quite a bit of depth in the soundstage. The room was approx 19x15, but the speaker front and back were only about 8' apart, in only 1/2 of the length of the room. The surrounds were too high. Even with the limitations of placement and currently the owner has no choice. I thought they performed very well. I went back and listened to PT on my Polk R (R50s, CSi3, R15s)setup later and heard clear limitations in my setup in the mid/treble range in comparison.

If I was looking for an incremental upgrade, fairly inexpensive, I wouldn't hesitate. I liked the detail and flat response better than my bright(ish) Polks. I noticed no muddiness or lack of clarity.
 
R

roger259

Audioholic Intern
How would you rate this package against the athena micra 6 package or the wharfedale moviestar 70's package?
 
S

silversurfer

Senior Audioholic
Great little write-up, thanks! Much more even keeled than some of the other stuff I have been reading.

Can you discuss other speakers in the same cost/class that you have heard and could compare them to?
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Some of the lack of depth may have had to do with the setup, as Ron noted. When seated off axis and closer to them, the depth seemed to be there, and there was definitely a sweet spot in the room where the front three blended as if they were one speaker; a bit of a disappearing act :). Part of the issue in this room is the owner really is pretty much limited in where he can locate everything and that didn't allow for ideal placement. The left front speaker was too close to the wall and for the listening position, they should have been pulled further apart (not really an option due to a door on the right side). The sweet spot was about 2 ft in front of the listening positon, which sort of made them sound further away than they were; this seemed to make the room sound larger than it was.

I walked around the room and one thing that impressed me about them is they remain very clean off axis. The center stood out in the fact that it was very good at this price. The center is often the weak point in a lower price package, IMO, but this isn't the case here.

I don't think the Micra 6 package is a fair comparison because even at MSRP, it's half the price of this package (including the PB-10). I haven't heard the Micras in a complete setup, so I won't comment on them directly, but I bought a pair of B1s just to listen to them. The B1s are very similar in size, though the SBS sats feel a bit more solid and the finish looks cleaner - same as the PB-10, nice black texturized covering. The B1s, which should be close in price for a pair, have a relatively similar midrange, but the SBS's implementation of the soft dome is an improvement from the B1s, IMO. Bass extension was better with the B1s without sacrificing the midrange clarity, they only got a tad boomy when fed something that was much lower than they could handle. The SBS, when given something too low did not exhibit any boom when fed with low stuff on their own, most likely due to their higher tuning and the fact that they are sealed.

Next comparison would be the Paradigm Atoms and Titans, both of which I've owned a number of versoins of, and both of which are pretty close in price. The SBS have about the same bass as the Atoms, meaning I wouldn't normally run them without a sub, but the midrange is definitely more clear with the SBS. The Titans have much more bass, but display a similar trait that the B1s did, they get sloppy when you play them with stuff that is too low for them. Crossed over properly with a sub, this isn't an issue for the B1 or Titan. The highs are more "crisp" if that's what you like (titanium tweeters), but I prefer the smoother highs of the SBS again. Build quality and appearance is a toss up, with the 'digm cabinets feeling just a bit more solid with recent generations. Color options and nice veneers might win over for the 'digms, but the SBS will still have respectable WAF in size and quality appearance.

My 902s wouldn't be quite a fair comparison either, as they are MSRP $400/pr. The midrange is exceedingly clear, but ever so slightly colored by the aluminum midbass. Vocals, female in particular, are rendered very clearly though, and they seem to have more depth than most small speakers I've heard. They have adequate bass (-3dB @ 55Hz) in a package about the same size as the SBSs. The cabinets are very well built, and the solid aluminum front baffle with the tweeter waveguide built in is quite unique, and they have dual binding posts. The veneers look cheap though. Here I prefer the tweeters of the 902, which have a bit livelier presentation, but not so much so that I'd call them bright. I had Studio 20s in this setup previously and they sounded bright.

I'd like to hear a pair of the SBS sats in my setups for comparison (so I can set them up in an environment I'm familiar with) and I'm very curious to hear the upcoming next step up from these guys later this year when SVS releases them.

I think these guys would do adequately with a low cost receiver (probably opt for the Onkyo over the Sony), meaning I don't think a receiver like that would struggle to drive them, though I can't say if they'll give you ref level. Though they don't seem power hungry per se, they do seem like I could have kept turning them up without distortion; IMO they are better suited to something with a fair amount of power, but not necessarily looking at a 4 Ohm stable amp or anything; at least a mid level receiver.
 
Last edited:
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top