SVS Ultra Tower — A Review

FLOORSTANDING SPEAKER  ·  SVS  ·  HOME CINEMA / STEREO  ·  REVIEW

SVS built its name on great subwoofers — bargains that performed way above their price range. So when they moved into full-range speakers, expectations were mixed. Is the Ultra a home cinema speaker? Yes — a bloody good one. But it turns out to be much more than that.

Most of us face the same problem: mixing serious stereo listening with home cinema. The SVS Ultra may well solve it. Your front speakers don’t have to change anymore.

It Deserves Better Than a Home Cinema Amplifier

95% of home cinema amplifiers won’t do it justice. They’ll drive it well, but this speaker deserves more — a brilliant front end, a $5,000 amplifier and DAC. I started with the Perreaux 150i, which was very good. So good, in fact, that I immediately realised it deserved more. So I wheeled out the reference system: EMMLabs, Audio Research Reference 5, and Perreaux Prism 350p/Manley Reference 600. Stunning. Playing way out of its price league, and comfortable there.

Bass

Good solid rhythmic bass is the first impression — a drum, bass guitar, and double bass all separated clearly. The side-firing woofers are smaller than most, and the cabinet sides are not parallel, slightly slanted forward. It doesn’t try to reach 25Hz but from 35–45Hz it is absolutely there at full tilt. Pull out a bass guitar and crank it. You won’t be disappointed. Male voices have the gruffness we expect.

Treble

It’s not a ribbon. It’s not a diamond or beryllium tweeter. With that said — it is good to almost excellent. For a treble-sensitive listener it is satisfying enough. I was able to pull out my “treble punishment” tracks and listen right through. That says a lot.

SVS Design Philosophy

The SVS loudspeaker design philosophy is straightforward: high quality components and expert acoustical design will produce a loudspeaker that sounds as good as it measures. Final voicing is performed by audiophiles who attend live music events regularly. The result is exemplary tonal balance, a wide and deep soundstage, excellent micro-dynamics, and natural timbre.