Possibly ending my SVS love affair

[Halon451]

Well, on a whim I decided to purchase one of the SVS Prime Center speakers to test it out in my system. I've been running the old SVS s-series line for years, and felt more than inclined to stick with what's worked well over the years. The prime offers at least one advantage over the old SCS-01 in that it's a 3-way design vs. the MTM design of yore.

At any rate I can't say that it's that much of a sonic improvement just yet after having it hooked up just over a week. It still suffers from relatively low sensitivity and seems to strain a bit during peaks and transients during movie watching. It may be marginally better but it's not $350 better than what I had. Their ultra line is likely much better but at that price point it kinda defeats the "budget-conscious" mindset I had going with the SVS line in the first place and I feel that if I end up paying that much there may be many other options available as well. So I'm considering exploring those other options as I continue demo'ing this Prime Center in my home.

Mainly HT use with some music. Want to upgrade to full floor standers and do away with these stands forever.

So far I've researched Ascend and they seem nice and robust. I also see a lot of people touting the Klipsch Reference series and they look affordable.

Budget? Not sure yet. I'm willing to piece it together over time if that's what it takes. I've had these SVS a long time so I'm completely in the dark on what it takes currently to put together a good robust speaker system for HT use that won't break my bank. I just know I want something with great delivery and plenty of dynamics for those finer detail sounds during action scenes. I'm still way happy with my SVS sub and if anything will add another SVS sub at some point so I'll still be their customer.

Just curious what else is out there that would be price equivalent on their speaker lines and may offer more bang for the buck?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

http://rbhsound.com/r55ti.php
I know you didn't mention budget, but at 347 each these look super tempting.
or these.
http://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+580.html?dwvar_STUDIO 580_color=Black#start=1
i'll check in later lol
oh yeah, I think lovintheHD has a pair of the jbl bookshelf speakers in this series

 

[Halon451]

Those are good suggestions thanks. I didn't mention a specific budget bc I really don't know yet. Just kinda looking ahead to see what other non-SVS brands might be suitable. Those are both 6 ohm speakers though not sure how that would do if I mixed and matched my current 8 ohm speakers with them if I had to buy them alone for now, upgrade to a whole set later?

 

[Halon451]

Or if I might just have to run 2 channel until I could. I thought about just keeping my current SVS surrounds as they're more than adequate for surround duty.

 

[Pogre]

I know you're leaning towards towers, but I have the Ultra Bookshelf speakers and they're pretty amazing. You can sometimes find a nice pair in SVS' outlet for 399 apiece. Blend those in with your sub and I don't think you'll miss anything by not getting towers.

At ~$800 a pair, the Ultras are a pretty good deal and it would be a big step up from your current speakers.

 

[Halon451]

I know you're leaning towards towers, but I have the Ultra Bookshelf speakers and they're pretty amazing. You can sometimes find a nice pair in SVS' outlet for 399 apiece. Blend those in with your sub and I don't think you'll miss anything by not getting towers.

At ~$800 a pair, the Ultras are a pretty good deal and it would be a big step up from your current speakers.

Don't get me wrong I'm not entirely writing off SVS and those ultras do look tasty. Plus Gene's review of them seemed very positive. I feel loyal to SVS in a way bc they have never never failed to treat me right as a customer so I would never NOT consider them. I always knew someday I would upgrade from my old SCS's and have had in mind a long time to get floor standers with a decent low end response that will let me better take advantage of Pure Direct modes. Impossible to do that with small speakers and still have enough bass to satisfy my listening tastes. To be clear that's for music. If I were running my system 100% HT, those ultra bookshelves would be just fine as I would never run HT without the sub anyway.

The ultra towers seem remarkable but that's where I'm losing the budget advantage and it puts me at a price point where well, I could consider other options that may be even better for my needs.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I sometimes feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm and advocate of towers. For HT also. Your space is small, so bookshelf speakers would probably be fine. IMO however, even though they play loudly, they just don't do it in the same way. Towers are not just about bass extension, which is certainly a nice side effect, as you mentioned with direct mode. I have a pretty large space, and have found that small single bass driver speakers just can't excite the airwaves in the same way. Small speakers sound small. Even though they can be loud. Also imo, the look of towers is more elegant than speakers on stands. The good thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Metaphorically speaking of course.

 

[j_garcia]

The SBS/SCS were very good speakers at the time - good midrange, nice tweeter, just a bit low sensitivity. Well, there's always the New AAs, which I am going to say won't compete with Ultras, but will probably best the SCS. Drawback being there is no official center for the AAs.

The Ascends are also better than the SCS IMO, but they are quite a bit larger. With the stands they are practically towers and look pretty decent that way, if a bit plain. Though the SCS already is a bit plain as well.

I sometimes feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm and advocate of towers. For HT also. Your space is small, so bookshelf speakers would probably be fine. IMO however, even though they play loudly, they just don't do it in the same way. Towers are not just about bass extension, which is certainly a nice side effect, as you mentioned with direct mode. I have a pretty large space, and have found that small single bass driver speakers just can't excite the airwaves in the same way. Small speakers sound small. Even though they can be loud. Also imo, the look of towers is more elegant than speakers on stands. The good thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Metaphorically speaking of course.

His bookshelf speakers don't have single drivers. A larger, MTM or 2.5 way bookshelf can give the same kind of midrange output as a tower, just not the bass extension. None of my small speakers sound small My A/V-2s weigh as much or more than some towers.

 

[Halon451]

Another less "audio" reason for my intent to switch to towers is two large rowdy dogs in my house, lol. The SCS's are rather precarious when placed vertically on stands and they have been toppled at least a couple times by the mutts. Fortunately it didn't break anything.

J_garcia good to know about the AA's, thank you. Though I'd be just fine with using a bookshelf as the center too. I've got the room under my screen. Barely. Lol

 

[Halon451]

So to narrow this down let's set two price points. One, comparable to the cost of the SCS/SBS and/or Prime Tower series, and one comparable to the Ultra series with the towers. I don't think I'd honestly be in any position to pay more than what the ultra's cost so that'll be my cap.

 

[shadyJ]

I think what you are contemplating would be too much of a lateral move, not enough of an upgrade. You need to hike your budget a bit. I wouldn't move from the SCS to Primes or budget Ascend speakers. If you want a really tangible upgrade, you need to spend a bit more. I would be looking at the Ultras, or maybe Ascend Sierras or Hsu CCB-8s.

 

[j_garcia]

My dog has knocked my speakers off a couple of times too. Only the grille broke and that was an easy fix. I'd actually feel better about sand filled stands than towers because I feel towers could be knocked over just as easily, though not as easily as bookshelf on stands.

Agree with Shady that you're going to need to probably move a bit more up the food chain to net significant gains. AAs would be an improvement, but I'd probably still save and shoot higher.

 

[Halon451]

I think what you are contemplating would be too much of a lateral move, not enough of an upgrade. You need to hike your budget a bit. I wouldn't move from the SCS to Primes or budget Ascend speakers. If you want a really tangible upgrade, you need to spend a bit more. I would be looking at the Ultras, or maybe Ascend Sierras or Hsu CCB-8s.

Agreed. The primes aren't gaining me much except the option to go the tower route which may yield a little bit of a return but that's why I demo'd the center first to see if the new equivalent line offered anything more than what I have. I have to say, so far it does not. At least not enough to justify spending the money. I'm willing to hike my budget up to the ultra price point but looking to see what others exist at that price besides them. Thanks for the input

 

[Pogre]

I sometimes feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm and advocate of towers. For HT also. Your space is small, so bookshelf speakers would probably be fine. IMO however, even though they play loudly, they just don't do it in the same way. Towers are not just about bass extension, which is certainly a nice side effect, as you mentioned with direct mode. I have a pretty large space, and have found that small single bass driver speakers just can't excite the airwaves in the same way. Small speakers sound small. Even though they can be loud. Also imo, the look of towers is more elegant than speakers on stands. The good thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Metaphorically speaking of course.

Always respect your opinion my friend, but I disagree from a quality angle at the same price point. I wish could compare, but I've never heard the Prime Towers. I do believe that I wouldn't like them as much as the Ultra Bookshelfs. Gene and Hugo's review on them and some talking with @KEW cinched it for me. I've read a ton of reviews for both series and I'm pretty convinced I made the right choice.

Besides, I listened to both of them on YouTube videos on my tablet so I know I made the right choice.

 

[Halon451]

Besides, I listened to both of them on YouTube videos on my tablet so I know I made the right choice.

LOL why didn't I think of that...

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Always respect your opinion my friend, but I disagree from a quality angle at the same price point. I wish could compare, but I've never heard the Prime Towers. I do believe that I wouldn't like them as much as the Ultra Bookshelfs. Gene and Hugo's review on them and some talking with @KEW cinched it for me. I've read a ton of reviews for both series and I'm pretty convinced I made the right choice.

Besides, I listened to both of them on YouTube videos on my tablet so I know I made the right choice.

Holy balls! I'm laughing so hard at this right now. That's gonna be a comic reference thread for a long time.

Pogre, I appreciate that, and just to be clear, I'm not here to change your mind in the least. I believe for you, your choice was the right one. I always try to use "IMO" to stress that it's only that, my opinion. Unless of course I'm referencing empirical data. I'd be very curious to give your system a listen. The other thing is, my brain(like most I think) defaults to our experiences in our own rooms. I sit 14' away in a sunken room that's 16'w X 23' long, adjacent to my kitchen of the same dims with a 12' vaulted ceiling in the middle. Plus the foyer on the other side of the kitchen. It's all on concrete. Like I said to halon, bookshelf speakers, might be fine since his room is small, but he mentioned towers as part of his wish list, so... Also like you said, value comes into play, and I'm not above agreeing with that in the least. IMO, and at the very least my space, what I would do is not max my budget on the best bookshelf speakers I could buy, I would squirrel away for longer to get the towers I wanted. Now that I'm spending halons money, I'm goin big!!!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

The SBS/SCS were very good speakers at the time - good midrange, nice tweeter, just a bit low sensitivity. Well, there's always the New AAs, which I am going to say won't compete with Ultras, but will probably best the SCS. Drawback being there is no official center for the AAs.

The Ascends are also better than the SCS IMO, but they are quite a bit larger. With the stands they are practically towers and look pretty decent that way, if a bit plain. Though the SCS already is a bit plain as well.



His bookshelf speakers don't have single drivers. A larger, MTM or 2.5 way bookshelf can give the same kind of midrange output as a tower, just not the bass extension. None of my small speakers sound small My A/V-2s weigh as much or more than some towers.

But that's not fair J, a/v-2's are like towers. Only shorter. But seriously, they are nice. I've been threatening my wife with a trip to the Bay Area(my secret plan to get her to relocate). I might have to knock on your door!

 

[Pogre]

Holy balls! I'm laughing so hard at this right now. That's gonna be a comic reference thread for a long time.

Pogre, I appreciate that, and just to be clear, I'm not here to change your mind in the least. I believe for you, your choice was the right one. I always try to use "IMO" to stress that it's only that, my opinion. Unless of course I'm referencing empirical data. I'd be very curious to give your system a listen. The other thing is, my brain(like most I think) defaults to our experiences in our own rooms. I sit 14' away in a sunken room that's 16'w X 23' long, adjacent to my kitchen of the same dims with a 12' vaulted ceiling in the middle. Plus the foyer on the other side of the kitchen. It's all on concrete. Like I said to halon, bookshelf speakers, might be fine since his room is small, but he mentioned towers as part of his wish list, so... Also like you said, value comes into play, and I'm not above agreeing with that in the least. IMO, and at the very least my space, what I would do is not max my budget on the best bookshelf speakers I could buy, I would squirrel away for longer to get the towers I wanted. Now that I'm spending halons money, I'm goin big!!!

Yes. I should have probably thrown a few "in my experience" quotes in there because truth be told I don't have a ton of experience listening to a lot of different speakers outside of the Magnolia room in the Best Buy across town. Plus I'm still starstruck with my speakers. They're the best I've had.

I think all your points are valid too. I was just tossing in the value equation. If I didn't have to watch my spending (gotta keep it somewhat reasonable) I'd have a set of towers for sure. I agree they look nicer and... why not? lol

 

[Halon451]

Now that I'm spending halons money, I'm goin big!!!

Hey now wait a minute.... LOL

 

[Halon451]

I'm honestly in the same boat Pogre.. I don't get around much to these trade shows and events where I can listen to a lot of the non-Best Buy brands and way back when I bought the old SVS strictly because of this here forum. I never would've even heard of them otherwise and I may have been stuck with some crappy Polk speakers that I paid way too much for at Magnolia HT, lol. It proved to be a wise choice indeed but I think I've finally outgrown them. Another plus on the towers is even though I'm crossing over to the sub at 80hz, the bigger woofers and build will reproduce those mid bass and mid range sounds with a lot less effort than my current 5.25" drivers.