SVS Planning Full Range Speakers (1 Viewer)

[David Ruiz]

I think a lot of people are confused by what "Full-Range" means. I've seen already two posts, maybe more, where people claim that "full-range" consists of 30hz and above, but these wouldn't be full-range at all. Full-range consists of 20hz-20khz, and the only way that I could think of, to do this, would to be have big enough drivers to go down this deep.

They definitely wouldn't be bookshelf speakers, as there is no possible way it could effectively do 20hz sound. It would have to be a tower speaker. I have all the room in the world, as my room is massive. I say, bring them on! The bigger the better!

 

[SteveCallas]

Yeah, I was also looking foward to a true "full range" speaker, but judging by Ron's comments, I don't think that's what they meant. I'm sure what they will come up with will rise above most other brands in the overpopulated area of passive speakers, and I know for sure I will try them out, but I still would have loved to have seen an affordably priced, high quality, active tower that could be used in all 5 or 7 positions. If people are willing to run thick speaker cable to each of their speakers, why not an RCA or XLR cable?

 

[Kevin C Brown]

David- Maybe other people define "full range" differently than you do?

I define full range as -3 dB to 30 Hz for a reason: there is not a lot of content in music below 40 Hz.

Plus, to really design a speaker to -3 dB at 20 Hz with good quality bass and low distortion, I would think requires a powered subwoofer in the speaker, and I personally do not want that. The best place for low frequency sound generation in a room is usually not the same place as where your main speakers should be located.

 

[David Ruiz]

But I thought that "full range" implies just that: The full rage of audio. DVDs are encoded with 20hz - 20khz audio, in each of the five channels, except for the subwoofer channel, which constantly goes below that in the latest blockbuster. To say that a speaker that only goes down to 30hz is "full range" totally goes against what that statement means, as it isn't capable of playing the "full range" of audio channels that DVDs are encoded with.

 

[RichardH]

Personally, I'm hoping they also have a line of nice bookshelf speakers that you could get 5 of for a perfectly matched surround experience. I don't listen at reference level, and I would rather have 5 speakers that did 80 Hz and up and spend more to get the PC-Ultra, rather than have a wimpier sub and full range speakers all around.

Plus, how about making a model w/ sealed design w/ a -3 dB point right at 80 Hz ?? THX *Ahem*.... Of course, SVS wouldn't pay for THX badging, but all of us in the know would know =)

I don't think it would happen (at least not right away), but I would also love to see powered speakers (bi-amped, fully active), but those would probably have to be bookshelf design. Imagine getting a decent preamp, like that Outlaw model, 5 powered bookshelf SVS speakers and a PC-Ultra. Balanced line runs to all the speakers (you'd need a balancing device for most consumer preamps); totally clean, no passive crossovers, amazing sound.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

DVDs go down to at least 10 Hz. So a full range speaker has to go to 10 Hz? SACD and DVD-A can go to 50 kHz too, but most speakers don't go that high either.

 

[SVS-Ron]

Well, just to be even more clear RE what we mean when SVS says it:

"Full range" is a sort of blanket term that is by nature a bit of a misnomer. NO speaker (well, nearly none) are truly "full range". Generally speaking, when we say it, we mean speakers that could be used to listen to movie or music soundtracks, with or without a subwoofer. Use without a sub will clearly not cover the practical extent of all the lowest octaves. To what degree you need a subwoofer to capture the lowest octaves will depend on a number of factors such as size, price, driver configuration, and design goals.

It's not inconceivable that SVS would introduce a "full range" speaker that needs no subwoofer, but clearly we're big believers in that technology.

Further into our development and subsequent roll-out we'll of course define entries into the market with more descriptive terms such as "bookshelf", "tower", "center" etc etc. For the time being we're going to "fuzz" what we mean to allow lots of flexibility. "Full range" will simply cover anything we sell that isn't a subwoofer.

Hmmm. I guess I could have just kept to that last line ;^)

Ron

 

[LaMarcus]

Hey Ron, stop messin around in here and go build my damn full range speakers!!!

But seriously, I'm looking to upgrade my mains and surrounds, so this is excellent news. I can't wait for them to be on the market. Maybe by then I'll actually have the cash to buy them. Which brings up a good question actually. How much do you predict these babies will cost?

 

[TonyWright]

Exactly the question I was waiting for! I want to know what we're looking at for price.

I have to start planning if I want to even think about purchasing a set of these speakers. I am skilled in convincing the wife, but it takes work. This one will take a lot of work. (kind of like the big boy Emotivas I want )


Tony

 

[SVS-Ron]

Hey guys this is SVS.

We're not famous for producing speakers that cost MORE (than the proverbial "other guys"), for a given level of performance are we? ;^)

You can rest assured we're not changing company philosophy of giving you more performance for less money just because our products might be singing a bit higher up in the audible frequency range.

Don't expect us to debut crazy expensive speakers at the outset in other words.

Ron

 

[Evan M.]

Boy, this is great news....and I don't even own an SVS.....someday hopefully.... I am sure they will develop something to compete price wise with the other internet companies such as Rocket, Axiom, Ascend, etc..... But of course in true SVS fashion they will do whatever possible to "best" them....and I'm sure they will or they wouldn't put their name on it. I LOVE COMPETITION!! The consumer almost always wins!

 

[BrianAe]

Two words, "package pricing"

 

[SVS-Ron]

Right,

There are some fantastic marks on the wall already. You can be sure we take them very seriously.

And "package pricing" is actually going to be one word in our lexicon.

Ron

 

[Girish]

Are'nt there enough speaker brands in the market already. But I guess SVS is something special(greatest discovery after sliced bread!!or shall I say Outlaw)

 

[Eric Ha]

You're right. Let's get rid of some of these brands cluttering up this hobby dammit! I'm sick of too many choices to wade through. Specs and pricing options piss me off. Heck, why can't a guy just go to Wal-Mart and buy a good Bose set-up.

One more thing, some of these amplifier companies oughtta go too, the bastards.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Agreed but unfortunately most are not that well designed for home audio. Some of the real small speakers matches up poorly with a sub or simply lacks the dynamic range to properly playback a movie soundtrack or music without distorting or sounding shrill.

I hope they come out with some near field monitors as well for computer audio and a good multimedia sub (hint, hint).

Will it be horn based since TV has Klips or more like a linesource for better dynamics? Just curious if you can give us an expectation of a general design layout.

 

[Dan Lindley]

FWIW, I kinda like "Made in the USA" from SVS. If you can stick to it, that would be great.

Not usually a sentimentalist along these lines, but from you, it rings true. Keep it up.

Dan

 

[ChrisBee]

With ever increasing output from SVS subwoofers. There is a real need for completely unburstable but very dynamic speakers. To match these very high subwoofer outputs at the ever increasing playback levels available from film DVDs.

There seems to be no obvious technical limitation to available amplifier power or future sound tracks levels on DVDs.

What is ideally required is a very dynamic sound system with any high level continuous output strictly governed by rules concerning levels on DVD sounds tracks. Short-term dynamics are (hopefully) much less damaging to the ears than high continuous output.

It remains to be seen whether ear defenders (or laws) will be necessary to limit ear damage while watching action movies in the future. :b

ChrisBee

 

[Rudi B]

Just my idea for SVS's speakers: GR Research's AV2s with an SVS badge! Really, the price is looow, performance is incredible, especially with high SPLs. I just listened to Nine Inch Nail's Downward Spiral in DD5.1, the SVS/GR combo produces an incredibly dynamic aural experience.

So, a "compact" MTM with ~92dB/W/m sensitivity, please.

 

[Chuck_W]

Excellent point Kevin. My next set of speakers will definitely be built around an excellent center. Some manufacturers seem to add an inadequate center speaker as an afterthought.

Easy-to-wall-mount surrounds would be a plus, and I would be more than happy to see the textured black finish offered to match my PB12-ISD/2.