Man, I really like how the Vento looks.
View attachment 31580
Very nice. Where would you put those with the Ultras? I won't get my feelers hurt, I promise, lol.
While I never had the opportunity to compare them directly to the SVS Ultras, I did compare the Vento to the RBH 61-lse and the Paradigm Signature S-2.
Based on those comparisons and my (and The Warrior's) comparison of the Ultra to the 61lse and the S-2, I have to say that the SQ of the Vento is better!
For someone buying today (now that I am familiar with the Vento),I would offer the following:
Buy the Vento for:
1) Overall better Sound Quality (see link below).
2) Better finish - as good as the SVS Ultra finish is, the Vento is better - mainly the curved (laminations are steamed and pressed into the curvature and glued, IIRC) cabinet and the titanium color of the mid-woofer.
3) Compact form factor - my Vento 820.2 is about the same size as a Pioneer BS-22!
Buy the Ultra for:
1) Uncertainty - SVS reassurance of free return if you don't like. This can be a huge point for anyone buying their first serious speakers!
2) Output - This is
pure speculation on my part, but the Vento is a smaller speaker, and I am inclined to believe the Ultra may be better suited to high SPL in a larger room. Maybe the Canton drivers are good enough to put out the SPL, but I'd put my money on the Ultras if I had to bet. That said, I have not found the limits of either of these speakers in my usage.
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/ceramic-tweeter-canton-vento-820-2-vs-paradigm-s2.111701/
So I would generally consider the Vento a better speaker.
Nonetheless, if I walked into a room blindfolded with the Ultras playing and you asked me to critique them, I honestly don't think I could find flaw (well, bass is not as deep as my subwoofered systems, but that is a given). The most obvious differences between the Ultras and my best speakers are fullness of upper harmonics when steel is struck and the level of detail. However, the upper frequencies and detail of the Ultra are very good, such that without better to A-B against in the same room at the same time, I don't have any sense of deficiency.
For me, I meet that standard with the Infinity R162, and the Ultra is a better speaker than the Infinity R162 (better detail).
Right now my pecking order of best bookshelf deals (among speakers I have heard) is :
1) $80 DCM Timepiece TP-160S-CH (currently being closed out on Ebay) I won't get the chance to listen critically to them until next week, but they are clearly a better speaker than the Pioneer BS-22 and I am prettyy confident they also beat the Sony Core series. My "quick listen" complaint on these is the highs are not so "sparkling" as I like (which is consistent with my experience with other soft dome tweeters).
2) ~$200 The Infinity R162 - especially when on sale for $200 or less
3) ~$850 Canton Vento - Assuming other Vento models are roughly equal to my Vento 820.2
4) ~1600 Philharmonic BMR - not available, but wanted to point out that it is the next better speaker I have after the Vento since it is a very capable speaker that most here are aware of.
I should note that I never heard the JBL Studio 530, which is one speaker that might belong on this list. I think it is supposed to be in stock in October and hopefully we will see it with a deep discount (~50%) to $300 as we have in the past.
