HTD Level 3's Vs. SVS SBS-01's

Jean D · 02-07-2007, 09:29 AM

I'm contemplating getting a new 5.1 setup in my bedroom, I want to stay under $600-700 for all 5 speakers. I have a sub already. I originally wanted the SVS SBS-01's as they are small and get decent reviews and I own an SVS sub and I like their products. However, I came across the HTD speakers and started looking at those also. Does anyone have any pro's/cons about these 2 sets?

Arthur S · 02-07-2007, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean D

I'm contemplating getting a new 5.1 setup in my bedroom, I want to stay under $600-700 for all 5 speakers. I have a sub already. I originally wanted the SVS SBS-01's as they are small and get decent reviews and I own an SVS sub and I like their products. However, I came across the HTD speakers and started looking at those also. Does anyone have any pro's/cons about these 2 sets?

Hi Jean

I also own an SVS subwoofer and like their products. I like the HTD Level 3 Bookshelf Speakers for $740 plus shipping...they have beautiful real wood veneer cabinets and ribbon tweeters. I consider ribbon tweeters well worth the additional cost. Please keep in touch.

Tom Vodhanel · 02-07-2007, 04:41 PM

Hi Jean,

ideally you could order a set(one pair) of each speaker to audition for yourself. Once you determine the speaker you prefer it would be easy to "fill out" the rest of the system as needed. Sending the other pair back (within your trial period) will cost about $40-50 in total shipping(?). That works out to about a buck/day to audition them for yourself...pretty cheap piece of mind to be sure you are getting the best speaker for your own personal preferences..

Tom V.
SVS

John Garcia · 02-07-2007, 05:43 PM

I'd say trying them out is a good bet, as these two speakers will definitely sound different from one another.

Jean D · 02-08-2007, 07:46 AM

I know demoing would be ideal, however, I think that due to speaker size and price point, I think I'm gonna end up going SVS in the long run anyway, I cant imagine that for that price I would be disappointed, plus if they ever upgrade the parts I could order them I'm guessing, sort of like their sub woofer lines. I also read on a thread about the HTD Series 3's that they need a lot of power to sound good, Im not running a very powerful reciever at this point, I'm gonna debate this for probably a month or so before I order them. Thanks for the input guys!

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Arthur S · 02-08-2007, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean D

I know demoing would be ideal, however, I think that due to speaker size and price point, I think I'm gonna end up going SVS in the long run anyway, I cant imagine that for that price I would be disappointed, plus if they ever upgrade the parts I could order them I'm guessing, sort of like their sub woofer lines. I also read on a thread about the HTD Series 3's that they need a lot of power to sound good, Im not running a very powerful reciever at this point, I'm gonna debate this for probably a month or so before I order them. Thanks for the input guys!

Hi Jean

It all depends on how you set them up...if you set all of your speakers to the 80Hz crossover that is recommended by virtually everyone, including SVS, the HTD Level 3 should be fine...in fact, using that setting should reduce the demands on the amplifiers by as much as 66%...please keep in touch.

SVS-Ron · 02-08-2007, 10:16 AM

Jean,

I don't know about the HTD's but the SBS-01 speakers aren't particularly efficient either. We didn't really care about that during design since good clean power is just dirt cheap today (and while many receivers might fail to achieve "rated power" they are still massively powerful for virtually any speaker, even on the low end of the price scale).

In any case, if you have 50 watts or more even per channel you'll be able to drive people out of the room with clean playback with most speakers today, including the SBS-01s. Of course how they SOUND when playing them loud (which tends to reveal a speaker's flaws better than what we sometimes call "Grandma levels" ;^) is a different issue entirely. We shot for very neutral, very flat, "transparent" sound on these speakers and most reports indicate we achieved that.

So, don't sweat the power in your receiver much, your subwoofer is actually doing most of the heavy lifting when you set all your speakers to "small" as we'd recommend with the SBS-01 system anyway. 50 watts (or whatever you are running) when primarily all the receiver/amp is producing is 80hz and up is a LOT of power actually.

Don't forget to mention you ordered, or are about to, since we trim a bit off the SBS-01 price if someone bought an SVS sub previously ($550 for the 5.0 set instead of $600 IIRC).

Hope that helps a bit, holler at us via e-mail if you have specific questions about these speakers.

Ron Stimpson
SVS

Jack Gilvey · 02-08-2007, 10:19 AM

Quote:

I think that due to speaker size and price point, I think I'm gonna end up going SVS in the long run anyway, I cant imagine that for that price I would be disappointed,

Yup. And if MC music is important, that's where they really shine I find, the 12dB.oct sealed sats make for a nice blend with a typical 80-100Hz crossover to your sub.
The Panasonic XR55 I have the them paired with gets far louder than I'd ever use, bass takes the most power and sending that to a sub makes life easy on the partnered amp. As well as the nice, easy impedance curve of the SBS, which tends to get overlooked in favor of an efficiency rating.

John Garcia · 02-08-2007, 12:50 PM

I heard the SBS-01 package with an older 100W Sony ES receiver and they sounded quite good. Better bass than I expected from the SBSs on their own, and the center is very clear.