SVS Prime Tower Floor standing speakers

SVS was set up in 1998 by four audiophile-engineers and based on a retail version that, at that time, was rare and fearless: they'd sell the customer through the Web subwoofers, avoiding brick-and-mortar shops. This enabled SVS to offer greater worth than was generally found for the exact same cost at sound dealers. Their very first subwoofer proved to be an exceptional, cylindrical passive design with the external amplifier. As the popularity of SVS grew, its product line expanded to comprise traditional carton subwoofers. Now, SVS is famous for assembling great subs that hold their own against much-higher.

In 2013, the SVS Ultra Tower loudspeaker, which Thom Moon reviewed in April of this year was found by SVS. The Ultra Tower went to win numerous awards, and at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, SVS declared a brand new string of less-pricey loudspeakers: the Primes.

Description

The SVS Prime Towers were delivered: seven days from when the speakers arrived on my doorstep and when I was contacted by editor Jeff Fritz. Colour me impressed! The Prime Towers were packaged coffin fashion, the cartons opening along the loudspeakers' full length. The samples SVS sent me had been given the superior finish of Piano Black, that'll set you back another $100 each, to get a total price of $1199.98/pair. Piano Black could be a no brainer choice for me - this finish is the finest I Have seen in this budget. The Prime Towers were analyzed by me carefully but could not discover a defect in the finish.

Its two front vertical edges are chamfered to give a less boxy look to it. The grille covers the top three fourths of the front baffle of the speaker, but you will need to leave it away - the Prime Tower seems not so bad without it. Approximately back are a single pair of binding posts and two 1.7"-diameter interfaces, one each about 14" and 22" from the loudspeaker's top.

SVS CEO Gary Yacoubian tells me that they were developed particularly for the Primes, although the drivers found like those used in the Ultra versions. Not SVS -- the Prime Tower is a 3.5-way loudspeaker, which is exceptional in this price range in my expertise. The 1" aluminum-dome tweeter has a protective screen over its surface.

These numbers suggest a relatively simple load for virtually any amplifier, though you might want to have a little power you listen at KISS and in case your room is big -approved concert degrees. I drove the Prime Towers with a 140Wpc multichannel power amp as well as a 200Wpc integrated amp; each enabled me to rock'n'roll all night and party every day.

Its whole line is backed by sVS by using their Bill of Rights, including a rare five-year unconditional guarantee, a drawn-out 45-day risk free in-home audition, as well as a one-year trade-up policy. If, following your audition, you would like to return the loudspeakers not just that, SVS offers free shipping both ways. Commend SVS for enhancing the experience of purchasing online, and I can not think of a better method to attempt a set of loudspeakers.

Set Up

I utilized the SVS Prime Towers nearly entirely with my 200Wpc integrated amplifier, a NuPrime IDA-16 ($2350). With its digital input signal section, the NuPrime is the revealing and most clear amp I was an excellent fit for the Primes, and have. From the box, the Primes seemed somewhat glowing; after a day or two of breakin, the brightness vanished.

The Prime Towers were about imaging - I spent some time moving about them, tweaking the toe in the space as well as angle between them. The places I settled on were 6' 9' from the wall behind them, and 2' from my listening seat, toed in 20 degrees.

Listening

Based on SVS, the Prime Tower went via an amazing procedure for refinement, including innumerable measurements within an anechoic chamber in China, tweaking of crossovers, and listening sessions that were never-ending. Those efforts were well rewarding.

My first impression of the Prime was of its bass result that is prodigious. This record is filled with synthesized bass, but one track stood out: "In." By way of even other little tower speakers or a set of bookshelf, this tune wouldn't make the exact same feeling -- bass is the base of the tune. Together with the Prime Tower, I did not want a subwoofer to hear the complete impact - my room was awash in deep bass.

But the NuPrime IDA-16 excels at pushing out low frequencies from most loudspeakers, therefore I swapped it out. The low frequencies were present in spades; they simply were not quite as tight as through the IDA-16.

Bass answer was not the only thing the Prime Tower did nicely. When Lofgren success on his guitar the Prime Tower stayed composed, without additional emphasis or hardness in the highs -- which places it in the Victor type. There is no vagueness in this track - it is possible to clearly hear each string is plucked by Lofgren.

Despite the fact that the sound of the Prime Tower was well balanced, I noticed some emphasis of the low midrange/upper bass. This is apparent with records of male voices, like Neil Diamond's in his 12 Songs (16/44.1 FLAC, Columbia). Diamond's voice in "Hell Yeah" was overly notable in the soundstage, and a bit forward. The voice of bass Isaac Freeman had some fullness.

But it was worth it - instruments and voices imaged nicely involving the loudspeakers, which were competitive in this respect with other speakers inside their budget. The opening rim shots were dynamic and especially clear through the SVSes, looking to burst out of nowhere. Nor was of soundstaging all clear depth - but within my experience, bipole or dipole speakers usually do best this.

Comparisons

I had none on hand, even though the marketplace is full of $1000/pair tower speakers. Nevertheless, I possessed the Monitor Audio Silver RX6es ($1250/pair) for several years. The Prime Tower, made records for example Random Access Memories, and nevertheless, went considerably lower in the bass.

My present benchmark loudspeaker is Definitive Technology's BP-8060ST. It is helpful to learn what performance gains you get by spending more /pair -- twice the cost of the Prime Tower -- even though it sells for $2000. And yes, went considerably lower and the bass of the DefTech was considerably louder. That may not be disadvantageous for large special effects films, but the Prime Tower needs to be more than sufficient for music, unless you are a bass freak. The Prime Tower glowed with double bass - I felt just as participated as after I listen to "Train Song" through the DefTech BP-8060STs. For music, I'd be totally contented with all the Prime Towers -- although I am not advising against making use of a subwoofer with all the SVSes - you had definitely need one for film viewing.

Using the excess woofer and tweeter on the rear of each DefTech, soundstage depth is obvious, and imaging is solid and defined. But the DefTechs were more forgiving; if I went or corrected my listening position, I possibly could still "see" a solid picture between them.

Given the modest size of the Prime Tower, it happened to me a great comparison would be with a $1000/pair bookshelf speaker, remembering that you had need to range from the price of some of stands that were great. It lacks the bass impact of the Prime Tower although the Imagine Mini is impersonal through the midrange. Depending on your own listening tastes, the Prime Tower may be a powerful alternative for you personally.

Decision

The SVS Prime Tower and versions from such established names as PSB, Paradigm, and Monitor Audio compete favorably. And with the exceptional Bill of Rights of SVS, it is a no brainer to urge that you just give a house audition to the Prime Towers, particularly when you are in the marketplace to get a loudspeaker using a tiny footprint and exceptional low frequency output signal. Today, it is amazing what $999.98 can purchase. The SVS Prime Tower might get you question why you had ever have to spend more.