SVS Ultra Towers

[postjack]

Me too.  It's been ten years since I had a proper, 5ch setup.  The hope is that the (planned) addition to the house will permit the procurement and setup of a HT.

 

I've been running a 3.1 setup for the past year or so and am very happy with it. I have had surrounds in this room but they add so little to the overall experience that for me its not worth the hassle. Probably because placement of the surrounds is not optimal.

 

Jack, have you definitely decided to buy them?  You may want to do more research.  I basically heard these are pretty well-regarded, punching above their price point with strong bass, dynamics and imaging.  But there have been some reports of less-then-nice treble at times, so I'd be leery without doing more research....

 

 

With a 45 day in home trial, there's not much risk to just doing it.

 

What Dan said. The only thing keeping me from ordering so far is just dealing with receiving the shipment, and dealing with boxing it back up and returning it if I don't like it. Risk free but still sounds like a pain in the ass. But I am leaning heavily towards ordering.

[tkam]

I have an SB-2000 it's very nice for the size

[shellylh]

Cool!

[agile_one]

Too many long posts ...  Just Dew Eet, Jack.      

[postjack]

Too many long posts ...  Just Dew Eet, Jack.      

 

I know, I'm terrible about obsessively researching and talking and getting opinions.

 

Melody and I have been together for what, six years now, and whenever I get fixated on something like this, she'll look over my shoulder and see me looking at the same thing on the computer, whatever it is, and she'll say "just buy the damn speakers".

 

i need to just buy the damn speakers. if they don't work in my room i'll swap 'em out for a new sub.

[agile_one]

Jack ... most of us here share your analysis paralysis.  Not to worry, it's not fatal.

 

In this case, in particular, however, I do believe you have a lot going for the purchase ... past positive experience, very positive (if somewhat limited) reviews, and a pleasing aesthetic (we engineers, scientists, and computer geeks tend to say aesthetics do not matter ... we are wrong).  If the looks turn you on, that's a good thing.  I know function over form is the rule, but function AND form ... ooh la la.  

 

I predict you will be pleased with these, and am prepared to stop by next summer to verify.  I've always wanted to see Mobile, and with a brother in Santa Fe, NM, and daughter having a place in Park City , UT, a cross country trek is in the cards for summer/fall 2015.

[Grahame]

Posty, I like your buying strategy. "But you said I should buy them, remember , I hadn't even made up my mind"

[Dusty Chalk]

Who is doing the shipping, Jack?  If it's UPS, if it's a residence, they don't even try until after 5 or 6. 

 

Car not big enough -- that's why I drive a hatchback  there's no such thing as "not big enough", short of preassembled shelving and mattresses.

[grawk]

We get ups around 11am. But he said above its freight.

[postjack]

Yeah they come freight on a pallet:

 

[postjack]

Jack ... most of us here share your analysis paralysis.  Not to worry, it's not fatal.

 

In this case, in particular, however, I do believe you have a lot going for the purchase ... past positive experience, very positive (if somewhat limited) reviews, and a pleasing aesthetic (we engineers, scientists, and computer geeks tend to say aesthetics do not matter ... we are wrong).  If the looks turn you on, that's a good thing.  I know function over form is the rule, but function AND form ... ooh la la.  

 

I predict you will be pleased with these, and am prepared to stop by next summer to verify.  I've always wanted to see Mobile, and with a brother in Santa Fe, NM, and daughter having a place in Park City , UT, a cross country trek is in the cards for summer/fall 2015.

 

Gene, I would love for you to come by! Keep me updated as to your plans.

 

Took a trip with my family to Park City, UT a looooong time ago. It is a kick ass place. 

 

And I just ordered the towers. I appreciate everyone's input, will of course let everyone know what I think when I receive them.

[shellylh]

Jack ... most of us here share your analysis paralysis.  Not to worry, it's not fatal.

 

In this case, in particular, however, I do believe you have a lot going for the purchase ... past positive experience, very positive (if somewhat limited) reviews, and a pleasing aesthetic (we engineers, scientists, and computer geeks tend to say aesthetics do not matter ... we are wrong).  If the looks turn you on, that's a good thing.  I know function over form is the rule, but function AND form ... ooh la la.  

 

I predict you will be pleased with these, and am prepared to stop by next summer to verify.  I've always wanted to see Mobile, and with a brother in Santa Fe, NM, and daughter having a place in Park City , UT, a cross country trek is in the cards for summer/fall 2015.

 

You better find your way in Houston during this trip!

[agile_one]

Gene, I would love for you to come by! Keep me updated as to your plans.

 

Took a trip with my family to Park City, UT a looooong time ago. It is a kick ass place. 

 

And I just ordered the towers. I appreciate everyone's input, will of course let everyone know what I think when I receive them.

 

 

You better find your way in Houston during this trip!

Done and done.

 

Jack ... you did the right thing - you will not be sorry.

 

Shelly, I can't tell you how happy your invite makes me.  Love you, girl.

 

Mobile and Houston (even though it may be Summer and 100) hard wired into the route plan.  

[blessingx]

Hey Gene, does your daughter partake in the Sundance flick festivities? Still debating if I'm going this year. If so, there may be a small group regularly grabbing drinks on Main if she's into that.

[agile_one]

Ric ,, sounds like a party (partay?).  I'll check schedules and let you know. How cool would it be to get the so photogenic Esme and my somewhat pretty/handsome grandkids together?

 

As to Sundance ... can't say.  I'm totally in. but need to check with Laura.  Work in progress?  

[blessingx]

That would be so cool, however unfortunately, Esmé & Mel wouldn't be on the trip. Let's chat on PM about possibilities.

As for speakers, any post-pallet photos yet?

[postjack]

That would be so cool, however unfortunately, Esmé & Mel wouldn't be on the trip. Let's chat on PM about possibilities.

As for speakers, any post-pallet photos yet?

Nah I just ordered them yesterday. That pallet photo was from google.

[postjack]

apologies for the crappy photos, the camera on my phone is terrible.

Short version: they are awesome

Long version:

Shipment - They ship via freight and arrive on a pallet. Shipping weight is 175 pounds. Had the delivery guy put them in my garage.

That night I got a little too excited and wanted to see them really bad, so I opened up one of them and stood it up. I accidentally pushed on one of the woofers when I stood it up, so started worrying I damaged them. Convinced Melody to help me bring them inside. While it is possible for one person to lift these (75lbs a speaker), they are so unwieldy I would not recommend it.

Brought the single in and of course listened to it. Even with just one speaker I knew I would be pleased.

The next day my helpful local audio friend Chase came over and helped me get the other one in. I had a thumb drive with a bunch of flacs and we put the speakers through their paces. Both speakers were being powered by my Denon 2112CI receiver in direct mode, I haven't had a chance to run Audyssey yet. Brief rundown:

Highs: No issues here, definitely not any excessive brightness to speak of, but there is nothing at all missing either. I'm a fan, I think smooth is the word, but smooth without being dull. Smooth is a word I think of a lot with these speakers, that and fun.

Midrange: Big surprise, I thought this would be where the speaker fell short, but all my standard midrange tests went perfectly. Sure, I don't get that "ryan adams is sitting in front of me" feeling I get with the ESL-63, but it comes a hell of a lot closer than I thought it would, and everything sounds perfectly realistic and smooth. Electric guitar wails like a champ.

Bass: Hallelujah. The four 8" woofers in these things pressurize my room better than my seven year old SVS cylinder sub does, and they don't sound stressed at all. Every bass test I throw at these things it handles with no issues, even with just the 90 watts I'm giving them. But it does it all without sounding the least bit bloated or compressed. Chase and I listened to Tool "Forty Six and Two" and goddamn it was perfect. The bass never feels out of control.

Soundstage: I pretty much have the speakers firing straight ahead, maybe just the tiniest bit of toe in. Soundstage between the speakers is perfectly lovely, but they don't seem to throw the stage too wide outside the speakers. I personally don't give a shit about soundstage, I'm more of a tone guy, but it was kind of spooky cool the way my old PSB monitors would throw a soundstage all across the width of the room. Some toe-in might fix this but I'm not too eager to experiment since everything tonally is damn near perfect for my taste.

I've done a lot of TV and movie watching with these and they are great there too. In my room, there is absolutely no need for a center channel, and that was definitely not the case with my PSBs. Vocals are super easy to understand. But I'll still be buying the center channel because why the hell not? Speech will probably be even better with the center. The bass makes everything sound very epic and theatre-like. Having said that, the lowest of the lows you aren't going to get with this or probably any tower. The towers are flat to the upper 20s. I'll still be upgrading my subwoofer (to another SVS of course) at some point in the future, as home theater has become more and more important to me, and I want a flat response down to 20hz or lower for that movie rumble.

I tried to avoid hyperbole in my above impressions, but rest assured I am absolutely thrilled with the speakers, I really wouldn't change a thing. I'm completely surprised and delighted with how refined and "audiophile" the sound is, while still managing to be a shitload of fun. The shitload of fun part, mainly because of the bass, is the speakers biggest "audiophile" sin. I'm so glad these speakers are sinners.

Did I mention they are really really good looking? My pictures above don't do them justice.

Obligatory "person who is not an audiophile" commenting about how good the speakers sound: my niece, sister, and brother-in-law were over Friday night. Brother-in-law had to hear the speakers, so we cranked them up, and my sister lit up and said "even I can tell those sound awesome."

so thanks headcase for giving me the push, I anticipate enjoying these for a long time to come.

Postjack International Absolute Audiophile Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

 

 

[Grahame]

So you like them, then?

[Aura]

I drool now.

[roadtonowhere08]

If towers can give you a childish smile while listening to Forty Six & 2, then they are keepers.  Hard to get that song sounding just right.

Edited December 23, 2014 by roadtonowhere08

[MexicanDragon]

OK... so I am totally going to have to go get my copy of Tool - Salival and watch the videos after work tomorrow. I'm afraid I'd scare people if I did it now. Also, I didn't realize that CD/DVD collection is worth a few bucks. (I was hoping 46 and 2 had a video, but alas, it didn't, at least at that time).

VERY cool rig, PJ. You should put a bow on top to go along with the other Jesusmas gifts over by the wall.

**BRENT**

[agile_one]

Awesome, Jack.  They look amazing, and from your impressions, sound the same.

 

Happy Festivus!