RBH SV-61R unpacking and initial impressions

sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
So these just showed up!!!



RBH SV-61R x2
RBH VM-615L x2 (IC)

My center channel stand is arriving today as well, so bare with me on my temporary solution.

Oh yeah, I freaking missed my Marantz 7013 delivery...saw it driving away, to return tomorrow. (What a drag).

Anyway, back on task.

I picked these up to see what I think about RBH's signature reference line. If all goes well, my plan is use these and a sv-661cr up front, and my old Focal 807v's as surrounds (front ported). I really enjoy my 807's but the highs can be a bit harsh. I guess I want to see if this because of my room, my ears, the speakers, or a combo of all of it.







Single boxed with cloth sacks.





Stunning...

Small...





Next to the 807's these bad boys are tiny! I can't wait to see what they sound like.



Going to run them naked, in 2 channel direct, from my old sr5007 (tried and true, this thing has worked fantastic for me over the years!)

Now I need my surround stands, speaker wire, and new 7013 to really start having fun.

#giddy with anticipation
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I really liked the SV-61R speakers. You can read my review here if you haven't already. They are using the best AMT tweeter out there. The tweeters in this one measure extremely well, and I haven't even seen any other AMT measure very good. The SV-61Rs are a bit insensitive, but they can handle power, so make sure you have a good amount of wattage available. If you are looking for a speaker that is not harsh, you chose well, since I would describe the SV-61Rs as somewhat warm but without being recessed. I am sure you will enjoy them.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic


After some broad listening I have to say I'm impressed! The 61r's hold their own for such a small package.

Here are some notes I made:

No cal, 2 channel:

Mogwai, Earth Division (CD): overall sounds very good, life like.

Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (SACD): mids are fantastic, treble seems a bit forward, brash.

YoYo Ma, Six Evolutions (CD): the sound of his bow attacking the strings is amazing. This is a truly great recording. Super dynamic, detailed, and accurate.

*Note, these are way less sensitive than the Focal 807v's.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (DSD): the drums sound incredible! The trumpet sings like it's in the room.

Neil Young, Harvest (DSD): full mids, rich, bright highs.

*All vocals are spot on, perfect.

*Hoping the tweeter calms down


Audyssey room cal, appropriate channels:

I did 8 measurements in a 1' base right triangle, around the MLP...I don't know if it's the technique or what but the end result is better than I expected!

Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Sky is Crying (SACD): this album has two of my favorite tracks of all time, #4 Little Wing, and #10 Life by the Drop. The power, precision, ghost notes, subtle textures are all there, front and center clearly audible just begging to be appreciated. My only note was, "OMG!!!"

Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (SACD): now in full multi channel. The grandeur this album presents is highlighted by these little bookshelves. The hand off between the tweeter and the mid driver is nothing less than seamless. The imaging of the incredible array of sounds used in this recording are recreated in a sense of realism I have not heard before.

Thelonious Monk, Straight No chaser (Spotify): the bass, drums, sax, and piano are all clearly separated with each getting the love and attention they deserve.

*The cal worked wonders... And my ears are getting broken in

*Can't shake the feeling that the larger 807v's offer more...something. I can't put my finger on it, but it's most likely just my familiarity with them.


Conclusion: yup, these are fantastic bookshelves in a tight little package. In fact I am going to try out the SV-661r's to see if there is a difference overall. Then I'm getting the SV-661cr to replace my Focal 800cc, and will use either the 61r's at all 4 corners, or 661r's upfront with the 61r's as surrounds.

I'm going to have to let my bank account recover a bit first though.

Oh yeah, and tomorrow my Marantz 7013 should get here. So I'll have more news tomorrow on how the newest Audyssey works out.
 
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William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Nice man! That’s super exciting, love it. Also. Those are beautiful.
Congratulations.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
I got the 7013 hooked up and calibrated. I wasn't expecting much of a difference in audio resolution, but wow was I wrong!!!

I can't figure out if it's just in my head or not, but the signal just seems cleaner, better clarity, better definition, incredible application of the many different codecs.

The Audyssey xt32 is far more sensitive than it's older uncle I was relying on previously. And the results are fantastic. The bass management alone is worth it!

I haven't gotten a chance to mess around with the editor app yet, but will.

I've been really enjoying the sv-61r's working with my hrs-12's. The xt32 melds them very well together. I still want 661r's up front though

Really gonna need at least a 3 channel amp for that though. I'll probably look at a 5 channel just to give me some room.

And, I finally jumped on the Tidal bandwagon. I figure I spend enough on high res downloads, might as well stop that and just stream what I want. We'll see if it works out long term.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I got the 7013 hooked up and calibrated. I wasn't expecting much of a difference in audio resolution, but wow was I wrong!!!

I can't figure out if it's just in my head or not, but the signal just seems cleaner, better clarity, better definition, incredible application of the many different codecs.

The Audyssey xt32 is far more sensitive than it's older uncle I was relying on previously. And the results are fantastic. The bass management alone is worth it!

I haven't gotten a chance to mess around with the editor app yet, but will.

I've been really enjoying the sv-61r's working with my hrs-12's. The xt32 melds them very well together. I still want 661r's up front though

Really gonna need at least a 3 channel amp for that though. I'll probably look at a 5 channel just to give me some room.

And, I finally jumped on the Tidal bandwagon. I figure I spend enough on high res downloads, might as well stop that and just stream what I want. We'll see if it works out long term.
Check out Qobuz, they offer lossless/hires without the mqa bullshit.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
I just figured it beats paying for flacs. The HiFi sub costs, per month, what a single flac costs. If the sound quality is what they say it is, seems like a solid choice.

For the record, I am only now even looking into tidal mainly because of my general loathing of Kanye.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I can handle JayZ. Pretty sure Kanye is part of it too. Not sure. I thought I read that early after launch, and I said...nope. Miss my grits.
It was the Jayz ads that annoyed me most when I did the Tidal trial. I'm fine with Spotify premium service, the bit extra from lossless (let alone hi-res) isn't really worth it. I did do the Qobuz trial and the selection and interface I liked better than Tidal in any case, and no stupid MQA.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
After more listening, the accuracy of the sv-61r's is apparent versus the focals I have, especially the 800ccv center I have. It just sounds muddy compared to the RBH's.

The 807v's are quietly sobbing in the back as surrounds, but they provide some nice response down through 80Hz that is nice to fill out the surround mid bass needs. Though, putting these in back feels like using a Hellcat for soccer duty.

I am running into some sub room mode issues though that will need to be addressed. My mlp is right in a negative interference pattern, but if I lean all the way forward (I'm 6'2" so I can lean pretty far if needed) I can hear nice clean waveform as intended. Moving my mlp will have to be experimented with (I don't have a lot of room to deal with, and was hoping to use both subs upfront, as is configured now.)

Also, it might be time to look at getting an external amp in prep for rounding out the system with sv-661r's up front. I know a little about amps, but have never had a dedicated external for av before. Thinking x5 emotiva m- blocks, ATI 5 channel, Adcom 5 channel, or monolith 5 channel. There is significant cost variance between these options so any feedback is appreciated. Also need to look into rack versus console, AVR - amp cabling, amp power requirements, and accessories like power line conditioning, trigger signaling, how to calibrate with an amp in line.

All in all, a general sense of woohoo is celebrated over here right now. I'm working on a budget for round 2 now.



Forgive the mess! Temporary! Need to make sure I'm happy with placement before fishing cables and adding in wall plates.
 
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Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
That left front speaker looks like it is in a precarious place if that door is an entrance into the room :) You might consider installing a door stopper.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
That left front speaker looks like it is in a precarious place if that door is an entrance into the room :) You might consider installing a door stopper.
Ha, yeah that just a silly closet under the stairs coming down, and is the reason for my nasty front staging. There is a load bearing column framed in right behind the speaker. The column braces a header that spans the gap left and right.

I hate that column right now!!!
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Hey man, pretty excited for you right now. Nice job.
Only thing I can say off hand is, the hellcat might as well be used for soccer since it’s a little(lot?) overweight!!!
 
Phase 2

Phase 2

Audioholic Chief
Very nice bro! Them RBH Speakers are a very clean detailed sound speaker.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
Thanks guys!

On tap for tonight to see how it sounds with a full on Atmos soundtrack we have Aquaman and the Last Jedi. I'm not huge into either of the genres but am always down for some A/V delight. It's kinda like afternoon delight, just costs more and is less portable =]

PS. any brand considerations I should look at before diving full-on into the RBH world? This is my responsible side wondering what it is that I don't know.
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
That left front speaker looks like it is in a precarious place if that door is an entrance into the room :) You might consider installing a door stopper.

Here is a pic of the problem with the column and header in the way of my ability to get a square, flat backdrop for the fronts. The built-in was a nice touch but applied with zero consideration for sound quality. I am trying to delete the built-in, and find a solution that allows for wall mounting the display, provides a clean, flat backdrop for the front stage, and allows for rear access for cabling and a future rack system.

Red is the column and header. I am hoping to be able to cheat the column about 36" to the left to then give me the width needed to build a flat backdrop.

1560119388590.png
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Some of the best overhead sound effect movies for me (Atmos and DTSX) include Blade Runner 2049, Pacific Rim, Cloverfield Paradox, Hunter Killer, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Twilight, Sully, Gravity, Oblivion, Underworld Blood Wars, The Great Wall, The Matrix trilogy, The Equalizer, Ready Player One, and the Harry Potter movies.
 
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