Hey Randy, any chance you could do a comparison of the SVS Ultra bookshelf with sub, vs SVS Ultra tower speakers? I’m thinking that the ultra towers would be a better value proposition considering you don’t have to buy a sub nor speaker stands…
I run the Prime Towers as my mains in a 7.2.4 setup (with Prime Center, Prime Sat surrounds, Prime Elevations on the ceiling and dual PB2000 Pro subs). They're great with 2-channel on their own but after some integration using MultEQ X and assigning them a 4th order rolloff at 40Hz, I got near-seamless transition to my subs and have really liked listening to them that way. A lot of people find the SVS Prime line harsh on the high end, but I found that this mellowed out after about 20 hours and left the detail and soundstage that I wanted. They're very capable and dynamic speakers.
@@PaulLall It is something you can only change with MultEQ X. Basically, I am giving them a faster transition to the sub based on their in-room response. I have found that I get punchier kick drums and bass that way.
Wow that’s exactly what I ran. But I changed my front stage to kilpsch rp 8000f and rp 504 center while it sounds pretty good I think the 3.5 way design of the svs and my ultra center adds another dimension and more movement to movies. The kilpsch are powerful and dynamic but svs adds more space and depth
I started my surround setup with these and matching prime surround speakers and recently upgraded (imo) to Klipsch RP dual 8” towers and matching quad RP 5.25” center with RP 5.25” bookshelf’s all around and am happy I did. LOVE my dual pb3000 Svs subs though. They aren’t going anywhere for a long time. Thanks for the review!
I have 3 PB1000 Pros, so I feel you! Hell, even when I had two, they shook the room, and honestly, one would do it, but I wanted balanced bass throughout the room, so I started with 2 in the front, then added a 3rd in the back with the rear surrounds. Honestly, I thought I was wasting my money, but it worked out great having a sub more near field.
I have the SVS SB-2000 and it's all the sub i need. Fantastic sub. I couldn't imagine needing more than dual PB-3000s unless you have a 30 seat theater room in your house.
SVS has an Awesome Trade Up program too. I went from the Prime Towers traded up to the Prime Pinnacle (which were amazing) and then traded them for the Ultra's which just Absolutely crush movies and music! That program, if you like the SVS sound signature, is a great way to grow your Home Theater. If you are ever interested in hearing the Ultra's, I'm in the Fort Worth Alliance area.
I bought these SVS prime towers and had them for about a month. I really like them. They sound much clearer than my NHT ST4 tower. The ST4 tower sounded too dull for me. The prime tower has a strong high end but not too much so. I listened to my friends old klipsch the SF2 tower. The klipsch speaker sounded very good also.
I have the original RF-7's x 4 towers from the early 80's. They were $1600 a pair back then. I am perfectly happy with them with the RSW15. I have another system that totes 2 SVS 1000 SUBS. It's all about what sounds good to your ears
Thanks Randy, really enjoy the review of the SVS Prime towers. I think that SVS has a great base of fan support that will love this speaker because of the balanced response and clarity. I like the video from the additional location, nice display.
Now why would you do that to me? How am I supposed to look the other way when these are $800 a pair? You know I have impulse issues and will buy them now lol
@@chrisveltman1795 those are on the list too! Haha not sure I'd do the floorstanders or bookshelves. And not sure I can handle another project right now. Building out the attic as walk in closet so I get the spare room for dedicated listening space. That was the deal. Contractor wanted 25k I was like... "I got this hunny".. so that's been the last 2months of my "spare" time. But I managed to build speakers into the closet projecting into the bedroom on some custom built in shelves (not part of the original spec for the contractor). So now I have a place to rotate all the bookshelf speakers I've been buying lol
@@chrisveltman1795 I don't doubt that they do. With the kit, flat packs and upgrades they are about $1400 all in or $1000 without crossover upgrades. And you have to build them. So I'd suspect if a manufacturer built similar quality speaker they could sell for 2-4k depending how they finished them. I'm not saying any of that is bad. I'm likely going to build a pair of these one day and I do some hobby woodworking so I have most of the tools and (some) experience working with them so these are a nice match for me on both fronts. I'd run them with dual subs so maybe they would have to be far from the wall to balance out. I like bass, but I also like my neighbors and I don't like when bass mucks up the rest of the response when it is overdone. But I think placement may mitigate in this scenario. To me it looks like you get near floorstanders levels of freq response from a 2way and that's awesome. In the meantime, I just saw the JBL studio 530 (bookshelves) are being sold direct from JBL for $240 a pair. Since audioquest recently got me on a power cord of the same cost, I can't pass up on jbls offer to try these speakers at this price. The 590 have me curious but I went down this road with Klipsch dual 8" towers and they are beasts for my small room and I don't think I'm going to do that to sample JBL. I realize the CSS are in a different league. Same thing happened when I found some used sonus faber and suddenly my bevy of more budget speakers all sounded ridiculous in comparison. Just the tone and sweetness and refinement differences were too stark to ignore when switching back and forth. So although the 530s may also become more wall art after a short period, I am just too curious to try them out for that price and save the critons for when I have the stomach for the $1400 price tag and plenty of free time to assemble.
@@erics.4113 i have the JBL studio 530 speakers and they sound fantastic. Even if you don't end up using them as mains, they'll be more than enough as surrounds.
Thanks for the review and all the speaker comparisons. Appreciated. Subliminal background music was an interesting experiment. Hope it gets discarded. Kind of distracting once you're aware of it.
You know what I'd like to see (hear) from an audiophile critic?( Let's say "you") create a tidal play list and a dark-side-oz-esque video parallel saying what our speakers should be presenting in an ideal situation. And possible fixes. That would be amazing. If someone already does that, they need to find a way to bank on it and make it known. Thanks for the great content, Randy. Rock on.
I've done that throughout a few videos with time stamps but I think that's a great idea. I know that Andrew Robinson has a video where he goes through his playlists and identifies what he's looking for in a speaker
@@cheapaudioman those videos are extremely helpful, because I can look up the songs mentioned and re listen. Time stamps are great, too, with comments during the track highlights. I just miss the good ol days of hi-fi shops i could bring a stack of CDs and have the specialist there to bounce comments off while we listen to different pieces of gear while switching key elements one at a time. Keep up the great work!
Dude, I bought some of those on Amazon for $79. I have a ton of different speakers that cost me thousands. Get some of these Sony speakers folks. For $88, you will not regret it. I don't know how Sony did it, but they hit a home run with this Sony speaker.
Learned a valuable less over the last 2 weeks, ordered a pair of Paradigm 200B bookshelves for my bedroom, had a pair of Minx XL and they sounded good, just a bit small. The Paradigms came and they sounded great for 15 minutes, until my ears were hurting and had a bad headache, Too Bright!, couldn't EQ it out, returned them and tried a pair of SVS Ultra bookshelves, same thing.... Returned them and will be ordering a pair of Wharfedale Dentons, i've come to the conclusion that I must be sensitive to Metal Dome tweeters. The ultras had my ears ringing within 20 minutes, even at lower volumes, but with Warm speakers that have silk domes, I can play the music much louder without issue.
That’s more likely your matching equipment, and/or your room. Either way though. I suspect the Wharfedale Dentons will take care of the problem. They’re dark sounding, but really great speakers IME. If they’re matched up correctly anyway, and it sounds as though they will be here. Good luck. ✌️
The treble on the Minx XLs is exceptionally smooth and controlled. I can't do metal tweeters either. For larger speakers try the Triangle BR03. I love mine... they sound like a bigger Minx and can handle volume/ complex passages much better
I bought the pinnacles in Piano black (open box sale) for a very reasonable discount. Very happy with them. I bought the center and elevations and those convinced me to buy the pinnacles..happy so far..probably replace my old non-svs surrounds with svs soon.
I always was partial to three-way speakers. I know I'm potentially giving up some coherency and "holographicness" vs a smaller two-way. But I'll trade it for the bigger sound and potentially higher dynamics. Be nice if the KLH Kendell (I think thats the name) and other 3 ways in the price range could have a shoot out someday. That might hurt your back though lol.
I hear glowing reviews for the klh model 5 and honestly I think the only thing lost a little between a 2 way and a 3 way is maybe a little clarity but if the crossover uses good parts not even that.
I just tossed my Ultras for a pair of KLH Model 5. The Ultras sound like a ten dollar kit speaker next to the KLH. I cannot get over how HUGE the soundstage is with the KLHs, it envelops the room. I was playing Godsmack over iTunes AirPlay, I was in the dining room off the living room where the KLHs reside, I was looking behind me thinking someone was there, the sound was coming in from behind me, like you would expect form a rear surround speaker. You really need to check these out if you are serious about KLH...
One thing I realized is that the Elac Debut 2.0 floor standing speaker has a 6.5” midrange driver that goes down all the way to 90hz. So be it a tenor or a baritone, the 3 way Elac Debut floor stander is unbeatable.
SVS make good stuff period . In this ever increasing financial hurt, I have looked into the second hand market and there are bargains galore . Randy does his upmost best to find great gear for a great prices . However we all have to look for bargains, things will only get more expensive and that's indefinitely .
These speakers respond better with separates with good power especially in the bottom end. Bright amps,cables etc stay away. Receivers no no unless your running with Hometheater then details are enormous and airy. I have thrown every amp I own at them and they are lush with tube amps with a weighty bottom end. Parasound a21 is a good fit and the McIntosh mc 100 is outstanding with them. I bought them for ht but I had to test them out over time
I've had my Prime Towers for about 9 months now and I still think they're great. However, they could be just a little warmer at times. The brightness can be mitigated slightly by placement/toeing them out a bit. Mine are in a small bedroom that is now my music room. Pointed directly ahead they lack a little definition; pointed directly at the listener (like near fields) they are a bit too bright, so I spit the difference. I'm running them through an older Onkyo surround receiver, but in "pure audio" stereo mode. I think they might sound even better through a tube amp. Regardless, I'm very happy with them.
Dollys/Wheels for tower speakers are a MUST, especially if you dont have wall to wall carpeting! Your gonna chip your veneers every time you go to move em if you dont rock wheels. Id love to get a comparison between the BasX a300 & the XPA amp with the primes Cheapaudioman! How much better do they sound when given that extra "headroom" with the meaty'er amp.
@@peterlarkin762 few scenarios would warrant not ever needing to move your towers. You eventually need to dust them f**kers off, you eventually find yourself experimenting with diff "toe-in" positions. I built my dolly's for less than $20 each, worth it!
Randy, I kindly request that before you finish your review of the Lintons you try running them through the Aiyima A07 and tell us how that matchup works out. Thanks!!
check out the prime elevations, really cool versatile speaker ...my room is damn small and my bookshelves were basically eating all my space, room is 8 ft wide with a couch. The prime elevations actually sound pretty damn good for movies/tv (with a sub of course) ...for music I stick with my open back planar headphones
Thinking about getting either the Emotiva T3+ on closeout or the SVS Ultra tower also on closeout...i have a goldenear center channel and would primarily be for movies...thoughts on which would be the best choice for matching the center and use case scenario? THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTENT! PHENOMENAL JOB SIR!
I had the prime towers in my house and I couldn’t handle them for more than 2 weeks. My ears couldn’t take that tweeter. I got the Emotiva T1 towers and haven’t looked back.
I wish you would do the Elac Debut 2.0 DF52 and Elac Debut 2.0 DF62. I have the 62's in the front and movies and music still impress me a year later. I have the DF52's for surrounds and rear surrounds. Everybody does their Bookshelves but nobody does their towers. Real shame.
Hey man, been watching for about a year, love the content (dad jokes/corny sponsors & all)! Clearance section in the Walmarts yesterday had a few Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 PC speakers NIB $100, which I'm assuming is marked down in Allmarts. Online claims 160W RMS in features sections, also specs sheet says "Audio Power Output: 200" (lol). I doubt either is true. I'm not sure of original price, and I know PC speakers aren't your usual thing. Will these make me Audiophile? I mean "audio power 200" is HiFi's right? (joking) Honestly kinda curious what your opinion is of the speakers though. As well as PC speakers in general, both for pc use and non-pc use (phone, tv, raspberry pi). If speakers are complete Schiit, which I don't think they will be, but if all else fails $100 headphone amp? Has 3.5mm AUX become the MONO of the audiophile world? Possibly could be an interesting video idea. Maybe not worth the time and effort. MAYBE WE LIVE IN A SIMULATION!! Just spitballing here. Anyways, again, love the content dude! I see your ~20k away from 100k subs, 9.2mil views, all within less than a year and a half of creating the channel! That, my friend, is pretty sweet! Congrats on the success! I am literally late for everything/anything, and this is probably way too early, but looking forward to seeing that silver play button buddy!
Yeah, I own these and recommend them as a sound bar replacement for mid to small size rooms. Obviously good for computers and gaming rigs. Great dynamics, great voicing for the price, nice treble. Lack of remote and analog only inputs are its caveats.
Svs are an awesome company but I will admit the Linton's you panned past were of more interest to my 2channel sensibilities. Movies are ok, but so much talking. Get to the music!
Hello Sir, Which would you recommend - The Emotiva Airmotiv B1 or the Jamo C93ii? Let me know.... Love your channel and your dry but killer funny sense of humor, Barry
You mention the Nirvana Unplugged album a fair amount in your reviews, I gotta say its one of my top 10 go to's, generally when I'm playing vinyl. Nice review
Hi Cheapaudioman..big fan here. Quick question for you. do you have a curated playlist of the music you use for your audito testing? could you share it with us simple humans?
Hi CAM, bit of a digression, but are you going to review the Klipsch Fives? They are now selling at Costco for $500. Basically an amp, speakers, phono preamp, Bluetooth, sub out, equalization and hdmi arc input for $500. Pretty high value….
@@cheapaudioman cool. They’ve been out for a while and others have done reviews but I would be interested in your take. They had been selling at 800 to 1000 (I think only the black ones are on sale not the walnut)
Randy congrats on the YETI cup!! My recommendation also is the handles best 15 bux you can spend sir!! Lost my seal ring and the fine folks at YETI sent another for free!! Also the tab on top is magnetic and can be removed as I lost it too but once again YETI gave me another for free im not sure they do that anymore as I purchased the cup when they initially came out!! Anyway congrats!! By the way I have 3 Yeti's for Coffee, Juice, Water!! Now the tough question is how do I get one of those Rocktopuss thingies you have sir?
@@erics.4113 And/but the YETI is way deep sir!! The "basket" can easily be warmed with any tube amp like my Dynaco's!! 0 to 32 ounces no crossover needed and no distortion ever!! Enjoy!!
@@vincentbrennan9614 touche! My Contigo no estas Bueno con tube. Solomente estados Solido! The Contigo definitely lacks on the bottom end but I find it's top smoother to my tastes. Cheers to the audiophile coffee drinkers of the world!!!
Hey randy question for you since are a turntable guru? I am looking to get turntable either fluence or rega p 1. I have concern about the rega and that is switching cartridges. What do you recommend?
For good "Punch you in the face" bass you really need cone diameter. 12" or 15" woofers with massive voice coils and monstrous magnets or large rare-Earth magnets . You need something you can drive with lots of power too. I do see these skinny towers being a good fit for surround side, and surround back speakers though.
Price increases are always annoying but shipping delays really grind my gears. Anyone living in the CONUS has it soooo good compared to the rest of us, but I'm guessing the 'overnight delivery' is currently a thing of the past. One of my partners in crime has been waiting months - yep, months - for a delivery from Slovakia but even goodies here in Oz can take an eternity.
Hi Randy. How would you compare these to Dali towers? I bought Oberon 5 couple of years ago and I'm so disappointed. I listen to rock & metal mostly and the speakers can't handle lower frequencies. I added Dali sub but the sub is vibrating uncontrollably when I turn up the volume a bit louder. It's terrible. I thought about upgrading to Oberon 7 but I'm not sure if that woul help. I bought SVS prime bookshelves and svs sb1000 sub and metal sounds amazing. I can listen very loud and the quality of the sound doesnt change
I had both to demo and kept the Emotiva. I don’t love SVS’s tuning on the treble end and I like the sound of ribbon tweeters. SVS, I believe, is “free” to audition at home. It’s baked into the price. Emotiva is expensive to return. Emotiva has a better center channel, which is the most important in movies/tv.
Also depends on your receiver. Yamaha's neutral sound with the SVS Ultra center is hard to beat. To beat it I found a GR Research X-voce center. Its twice the weight and almost double the size. Paired with the X-static towers its insane. Just too much for my room, so I might be going back to SVS.
@@spazz954 Ugh.....You just had to add that. I currently have a lower end Yamaha AVR. And it is only 7.2 but I really want yo have all the same manufacturer for LCR. So I am leaning more towards the Emotiva T2+&C2+ powered by Emotiva basx A3. My first choice was the SVS prime pinnacles for lcr powered by the emotiva still.
Hey Randy, enjoy your content and delivery. Looking to purchase towers $1200ish budget for 2 channel listening music / tv. Was going to order the PR 8000f (my amp is bi amp capable not sure if that improves them) after watching endless reviews. Are these or any others in this price range far better than than the RP 8000fs? Will upgrade amp next year currently using an older 90 watt per channel Yamaha.
JBL has crazy sale on studio 590 right now. Also dual 8" for $800 a pair. I own rp280f Klipsch which are similar, outgoing model to the 8000f. If you can still find them, I got mine a few months ago new for $800 pair also. On sale!
Randy I’m on the fence with a couple different tower speakers . I have a large room .Please help ! Im running Marantz 8805. Processor, with Marantz 8807 (7ch amp) . Along with SVS side surround , klipsch rear , and 2 SVS subs. I’m looking at the Emotiva T-3 and their XB amp, or possibly the new Klipsch R7 III diven from my Marantz. What would you recommend ? I do like my music loud and clear . Thank you
well... I think just about anything can go well with a tube buffer... with that said, something that has a warmish tone could really add something special to these... good idea!
You really need to demo them all for yourself but Klipsch speakers no doubt are more dynamic and efficient. They absolutely require less power to play loud!
Randy I'm torn. I have SVS ultra center, SVS prime bookshelf as rears, SVS subs. I want to know if You would recommend I get the SVS ultra bookshelf or SVS prime towers ( both $1200 a pair) as my mains and why? I'm replacing vintage Boston Acoustic t830 which still sound good.
SVS Prime Tower (SVS Direct) bit.ly/3rwa1Jq
--SVS Prime Tower (Crutchfield) shop-links.co/cgzQYHLJjbC
---Emotiva T1+ bit.ly/3otrVdX
----Tidal Deal bit.ly/3fQvNkq
-----Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
------Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
-------amzn.to/3GkNaop
--------CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K
---------apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
-----------massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5
-------------Amazon Unlimited Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
--------------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman
Hey Randy, any chance you could do a comparison of the SVS Ultra bookshelf with sub, vs SVS Ultra tower speakers? I’m thinking that the ultra towers would be a better value proposition considering you don’t have to buy a sub nor speaker stands…
why are you so cheap????????
I run the Prime Towers as my mains in a 7.2.4 setup (with Prime Center, Prime Sat surrounds, Prime Elevations on the ceiling and dual PB2000 Pro subs). They're great with 2-channel on their own but after some integration using MultEQ X and assigning them a 4th order rolloff at 40Hz, I got near-seamless transition to my subs and have really liked listening to them that way. A lot of people find the SVS Prime line harsh on the high end, but I found that this mellowed out after about 20 hours and left the detail and soundstage that I wanted. They're very capable and dynamic speakers.
Jeremy, for a newbie who loves these speakers, can you explain or point to a website for “4th order roll off at 40 Hz” Thanks!
@@PaulLall It is something you can only change with MultEQ X. Basically, I am giving them a faster transition to the sub based on their in-room response. I have found that I get punchier kick drums and bass that way.
Wow that’s exactly what I ran. But I changed my front stage to kilpsch rp 8000f and rp 504 center while it sounds pretty good I think the 3.5 way design of the svs and my ultra center adds another dimension and more movement to movies. The kilpsch are powerful and dynamic but svs adds more space and depth
Glad Sith are back, I need a badly soiled window for the garden shed. Loving the B roll in the grown ups room.
I started my surround setup with these and matching prime surround speakers and recently upgraded (imo) to Klipsch RP dual 8” towers and matching quad RP 5.25” center with RP 5.25” bookshelf’s all around and am happy I did. LOVE my dual pb3000 Svs subs though. They aren’t going anywhere for a long time. Thanks for the review!
I have 3 PB1000 Pros, so I feel you! Hell, even when I had two, they shook the room, and honestly, one would do it, but I wanted balanced bass throughout the room, so I started with 2 in the front, then added a 3rd in the back with the rear surrounds. Honestly, I thought I was wasting my money, but it worked out great having a sub more near field.
I have the SVS SB-2000 and it's all the sub i need. Fantastic sub. I couldn't imagine needing more than dual PB-3000s unless you have a 30 seat theater room in your house.
That's the setup I'm looking to do man.
SVS has an Awesome Trade Up program too. I went from the Prime Towers traded up to the Prime Pinnacle (which were amazing) and then traded them for the Ultra's which just Absolutely crush movies and music! That program, if you like the SVS sound signature, is a great way to grow your Home Theater. If you are ever interested in hearing the Ultra's, I'm in the Fort Worth Alliance area.
I see your video is already linked on an SVS ad..."Respected TH-camr Cheap Audio Man Showers Praise on Prime Towers". Congrats. :)
I bought these SVS prime towers and had them for about a month. I really like them. They sound much clearer than my NHT ST4 tower. The ST4 tower sounded too dull for me.
The prime tower has a strong high end but not too much so. I listened to my friends old klipsch the SF2 tower. The klipsch speaker sounded very good also.
Great review! I love your vocabulary...very real...very down to earth...working man style. Love your work, brother!
I have the original RF-7's x 4 towers from the early 80's. They were $1600 a pair back then. I am perfectly happy with them with the RSW15. I have another system that totes 2 SVS 1000 SUBS. It's all about what sounds good to your ears
Thanks Randy, really enjoy the review of the SVS Prime towers. I think that SVS has a great base of fan support that will love this speaker because of the balanced response and clarity. I like the video from the additional location, nice display.
Balanced and clear. Exactly what I thought when I heard a pair today.
JBL Studio 590 on sale for $800 a pair...Killer speaker for the price.
Now why would you do that to me? How am I supposed to look the other way when these are $800 a pair? You know I have impulse issues and will buy them now lol
@@chrisveltman1795 those are on the list too! Haha not sure I'd do the floorstanders or bookshelves. And not sure I can handle another project right now. Building out the attic as walk in closet so I get the spare room for dedicated listening space. That was the deal. Contractor wanted 25k I was like... "I got this hunny".. so that's been the last 2months of my "spare" time. But I managed to build speakers into the closet projecting into the bedroom on some custom built in shelves (not part of the original spec for the contractor). So now I have a place to rotate all the bookshelf speakers I've been buying lol
@@chrisveltman1795 I have an eye on those CSS 2 TDX's
@@chrisveltman1795 I don't doubt that they do. With the kit, flat packs and upgrades they are about $1400 all in or $1000 without crossover upgrades. And you have to build them. So I'd suspect if a manufacturer built similar quality speaker they could sell for 2-4k depending how they finished them.
I'm not saying any of that is bad. I'm likely going to build a pair of these one day and I do some hobby woodworking so I have most of the tools and (some) experience working with them so these are a nice match for me on both fronts.
I'd run them with dual subs so maybe they would have to be far from the wall to balance out. I like bass, but I also like my neighbors and I don't like when bass mucks up the rest of the response when it is overdone. But I think placement may mitigate in this scenario. To me it looks like you get near floorstanders levels of freq response from a 2way and that's awesome.
In the meantime, I just saw the JBL studio 530 (bookshelves) are being sold direct from JBL for $240 a pair. Since audioquest recently got me on a power cord of the same cost, I can't pass up on jbls offer to try these speakers at this price. The 590 have me curious but I went down this road with Klipsch dual 8" towers and they are beasts for my small room and I don't think I'm going to do that to sample JBL.
I realize the CSS are in a different league. Same thing happened when I found some used sonus faber and suddenly my bevy of more budget speakers all sounded ridiculous in comparison. Just the tone and sweetness and refinement differences were too stark to ignore when switching back and forth. So although the 530s may also become more wall art after a short period, I am just too curious to try them out for that price and save the critons for when I have the stomach for the $1400 price tag and plenty of free time to assemble.
@@erics.4113 i have the JBL studio 530 speakers and they sound fantastic. Even if you don't end up using them as mains, they'll be more than enough as surrounds.
Thank you for the Lena Hall reference! The rock is strong with this one.
Also love the change on the B-roll shots
Glad you liked it. That song is nuts. She's an amazing talent.
The Lintons, tho, I'd take them instead of the towers any day! :)
Your video work is getting better, love the entro!
Thanks!
Thanks for the review and all the speaker comparisons. Appreciated. Subliminal background music was an interesting experiment. Hope it gets discarded. Kind of distracting once you're aware of it.
Noted. I’ll take it out
You know what I'd like to see (hear) from an audiophile critic?( Let's say "you") create a tidal play list and a dark-side-oz-esque video parallel saying what our speakers should be presenting in an ideal situation. And possible fixes. That would be amazing. If someone already does that, they need to find a way to bank on it and make it known. Thanks for the great content, Randy. Rock on.
I've done that throughout a few videos with time stamps but I think that's a great idea. I know that Andrew Robinson has a video where he goes through his playlists and identifies what he's looking for in a speaker
@@cheapaudioman those videos are extremely helpful, because I can look up the songs mentioned and re listen. Time stamps are great, too, with comments during the track highlights.
I just miss the good ol days of hi-fi shops i could bring a stack of CDs and have the specialist there to bounce comments off while we listen to different pieces of gear while switching key elements one at a time. Keep up the great work!
Bit off topic but the Sony SSCS5s currently back down to $88 on Amazon.
Dude, I bought some of those on Amazon for $79. I have a ton of different speakers that cost me thousands. Get some of these Sony speakers folks. For $88, you will not regret it. I don't know how Sony did it, but they hit a home run with this Sony speaker.
@@AmericanConstellation 👍🏻
Learned a valuable less over the last 2 weeks, ordered a pair of Paradigm 200B bookshelves for my bedroom, had a pair of Minx XL and they sounded good, just a bit small. The Paradigms came and they sounded great for 15 minutes, until my ears were hurting and had a bad headache, Too Bright!, couldn't EQ it out, returned them and tried a pair of SVS Ultra bookshelves, same thing.... Returned them and will be ordering a pair of Wharfedale Dentons, i've come to the conclusion that I must be sensitive to Metal Dome tweeters. The ultras had my ears ringing within 20 minutes, even at lower volumes, but with Warm speakers that have silk domes, I can play the music much louder without issue.
That’s more likely your matching equipment, and/or your room. Either way though. I suspect the Wharfedale Dentons will take care of the problem. They’re dark sounding, but really great speakers IME. If they’re matched up correctly anyway, and it sounds as though they will be here. Good luck. ✌️
The treble on the Minx XLs is exceptionally smooth and controlled. I can't do metal tweeters either.
For larger speakers try the Triangle BR03. I love mine... they sound like a bigger Minx and can handle volume/ complex passages much better
It’s not often that Miles Davis & Marilyn Manson are mentioned in the same sentence. I love it!
I bought the pinnacles in Piano black (open box sale) for a very reasonable discount. Very happy with them. I bought the center and elevations and those convinced me to buy the pinnacles..happy so far..probably replace my old non-svs surrounds with svs soon.
Thanks for reviewing more floorstanding speakers! I just can never be a bookshelf guy, I need that big bass in my life.
Efficiency:
SVS Prime Tower 87dB
Emotiva AirMotiv T1+ 88dB
Klipsch R820F 97dB
I always was partial to three-way speakers. I know I'm potentially giving up some coherency and "holographicness" vs a smaller two-way. But I'll trade it for the bigger sound and potentially higher dynamics.
Be nice if the KLH Kendell (I think thats the name) and other 3 ways in the price range could have a shoot out someday. That might hurt your back though lol.
I hear glowing reviews for the klh model 5 and honestly I think the only thing lost a little between a 2 way and a 3 way is maybe a little clarity but if the crossover uses good parts not even that.
I agree, one of the main reasons I went with Wharfedale EVO 42's was their gorgeous soft-dome midrange. Beautifully spacious and clear.
I just tossed my Ultras for a pair of KLH Model 5. The Ultras sound like a ten dollar kit speaker next to the KLH. I cannot get over how HUGE the soundstage is with the KLHs, it envelops the room. I was playing Godsmack over iTunes AirPlay, I was in the dining room off the living room where the KLHs reside, I was looking behind me thinking someone was there, the sound was coming in from behind me, like you would expect form a rear surround speaker. You really need to check these out if you are serious about KLH...
Great review. Sounds like SVS makes good affordable gear. I've never heard reviewers give any of thier stuff bad marks.
Wouldn't say affordable.. They raised prices a lot.
@@chrisy4011 Facts
Estamos encantados con estos altavoces, muchas gracias por el video.
"Big Dog" Stepping up on these intros !!!
One thing I realized is that the Elac Debut 2.0 floor standing speaker has a 6.5” midrange driver that goes down all the way to 90hz. So be it a tenor or a baritone, the 3 way Elac Debut floor stander is unbeatable.
Wow that intro 🤩🤩🤩🤩
Hits like a sailor on leave. That one got a laugh. Good review quite detailed.
I'm glad you liked that one, John
SVS make good stuff period .
In this ever increasing financial hurt, I have looked into the second hand market and there are bargains galore . Randy does his upmost best to find great gear for a great prices . However we all have to look for bargains, things will only get more expensive and that's indefinitely .
These speakers respond better with separates with good power especially in the bottom end. Bright amps,cables etc stay away. Receivers no no unless your running with Hometheater then details are enormous and airy. I have thrown every amp I own at them and they are lush with tube amps with a weighty bottom end. Parasound a21 is a good fit and the McIntosh mc 100 is outstanding with them. I bought them for ht but I had to test them out over time
I watched this video at work during a break now I see SVS emailed me this video 😂 nice
I’d really love to hear your thoughts on the prime pinnacle towers.
WAtch the video
Those and the Ultras are in a different league from these.
I've had my Prime Towers for about 9 months now and I still think they're great. However, they could be just a little warmer at times. The brightness can be mitigated slightly by placement/toeing them out a bit. Mine are in a small bedroom that is now my music room. Pointed directly ahead they lack a little definition; pointed directly at the listener (like near fields) they are a bit too bright, so I spit the difference. I'm running them through an older Onkyo surround receiver, but in "pure audio" stereo mode. I think they might sound even better through a tube amp. Regardless, I'm very happy with them.
Dollys/Wheels for tower speakers are a MUST, especially if you dont have wall to wall carpeting! Your gonna chip your veneers every time you go to move em if you dont rock wheels.
Id love to get a comparison between the BasX a300 & the XPA amp with the primes Cheapaudioman! How much better do they sound when given that extra "headroom" with the meaty'er amp.
Just don't move em!?
@@peterlarkin762 few scenarios would warrant not ever needing to move your towers. You eventually need to dust them f**kers off, you eventually find yourself experimenting with diff "toe-in" positions. I built my dolly's for less than $20 each, worth it!
Many similar test tracks that I use, U2 Invisible is a good one too
I think your sponsor was at Woodstock selling,''Window pane ''. I heard that Hendrix bought a bunch!
man that hairstyle is like when you order Elvis from Wish lol.. love you Randy!!
Randy, I kindly request that before you finish your review of the Lintons you try running them through the Aiyima A07 and tell us how that matchup works out. Thanks!!
check out the prime elevations, really cool versatile speaker ...my room is damn small and my bookshelves were basically eating all my space, room is 8 ft wide with a couch. The prime elevations actually sound pretty damn good for movies/tv (with a sub of course) ...for music I stick with my open back planar headphones
What a great review!
Emotiva has gone crazy good nuts! Now the T1+ is $499.00/pair and the T2+ is $699.00/pair. Insane! Don’t know how they do it!
Just adding that when I bought the T2+, they have me an additional 10% off. $675 after tax shipped to my door. Insane for sure...
@@docwells7 you must have pull!
@@stevennachlas9596 More likely it was Emotiva's first-time buyers 10% discount on orders of at least $500.
They’re made in 🇨🇳, that’s how they do it lol! Where ppl aren’t paid 40 bucks/hour with 400-pages labour agreements to boot (!). 😂
Linton's review incoming 🥳
I saw a big ONKYO receiver in the background👍.
Loving the Battlestar Galactica Blu-Rays!
It sure as hell beats the Emotiva T1+ in the looks department, if nothing else.....
I want to put cow horns on them!
Also the window has nothing to do with audio, unless you can open it and let out distortion.
Thinking about getting either the Emotiva T3+ on closeout or the SVS Ultra tower also on closeout...i have a goldenear center channel and would primarily be for movies...thoughts on which would be the best choice for matching the center and use case scenario? THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTENT! PHENOMENAL JOB SIR!
I had the prime towers in my house and I couldn’t handle them for more than 2 weeks. My ears couldn’t take that tweeter. I got the Emotiva T1 towers and haven’t looked back.
I wish you would do the Elac Debut 2.0 DF52 and Elac Debut 2.0 DF62. I have the 62's in the front and movies and music still impress me a year later. I have the DF52's for surrounds and rear surrounds. Everybody does their Bookshelves but nobody does their towers. Real shame.
Send them over. I’ll be happy to do a review on both of them
I’m keeping my RP-8000F!
Hey man, been watching for about a year, love the content (dad jokes/corny sponsors & all)! Clearance section in the Walmarts yesterday had a few Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 PC speakers NIB $100, which I'm assuming is marked down in Allmarts. Online claims 160W RMS in features sections, also specs sheet says "Audio Power Output: 200" (lol). I doubt either is true. I'm not sure of original price, and I know PC speakers aren't your usual thing. Will these make me Audiophile? I mean "audio power 200" is HiFi's right? (joking)
Honestly kinda curious what your opinion is of the speakers though. As well as PC speakers in general, both for pc use and non-pc use (phone, tv, raspberry pi). If speakers are complete Schiit, which I don't think they will be, but if all else fails $100 headphone amp? Has 3.5mm AUX become the MONO of the audiophile world? Possibly could be an interesting video idea. Maybe not worth the time and effort. MAYBE WE LIVE IN A SIMULATION!! Just spitballing here.
Anyways, again, love the content dude! I see your ~20k away from 100k subs, 9.2mil views, all within less than a year and a half of creating the channel! That, my friend, is pretty sweet! Congrats on the success! I am literally late for everything/anything, and this is probably way too early, but looking forward to seeing that silver play button buddy!
That pro media set up is universally regarded as being one of the best desk top value systems out there
They're a good computer speaker for $100, but a terrible headphone amp. Spec sheet for mine says left/right is 18 watts per channel @
Yeah, I own these and recommend them as a sound bar replacement for mid to small size rooms. Obviously good for computers and gaming rigs. Great dynamics, great voicing for the price, nice treble. Lack of remote and analog only inputs are its caveats.
Did I miss the Wharfedale Linton Heritage review? If yes can someone post the link, I’m not seeing it on first pass
Entonces si busco una torre donde golpen más fuertes los graves me decantó a klipsh?
I have the prime tower surround sound system with 140watts going to it and SVS sb2000 they are nice
Midrange is cool, id say matt, darker and vocals hang behind the scene. I wonder if svs ultra center in 5.1 can compensate that ?
I have these SITH Audio windows. Can’t recommend them enough
🤣🤣🤣
I spy with my little eye, some Wharfedale Lintons!
Svs are an awesome company but I will admit the Linton's you panned past were of more interest to my 2channel sensibilities.
Movies are ok, but so much talking. Get to the music!
Hello Sir, Which would you recommend - The Emotiva Airmotiv B1 or the Jamo C93ii? Let me know.... Love your channel and your dry but killer funny sense of humor, Barry
"refined" hah! Nailed it!
You mention the Nirvana Unplugged album a fair amount in your reviews, I gotta say its one of my top 10 go to's, generally when I'm playing vinyl. Nice review
I took this cd with me when I auditioned speakers.
Interesting speaker. I've always been leery of metallic dome tweeters..
How do you compare these with your recommended Sony bookshelves?
Would an old Pioneer SX-980 at 80wpc be able to drive a set of these pretty well?
Have you had a chance to look at the prime pinical
Are those Wharfdale Linton Heritage speakers and stands in the background?
Aren't these speakers a little low? The tweeter would be below ear level when the listener is sitting down.
How does it compare to the fluwan's reference tower
Hi Cheapaudioman..big fan here. Quick question for you. do you have a curated playlist of the music you use for your audito testing? could you share it with us simple humans?
How can I be sure they’ll shine in my set up?
Hi CAM, bit of a digression, but are you going to review the Klipsch Fives? They are now selling at Costco for $500. Basically an amp, speakers, phono preamp, Bluetooth, sub out, equalization and hdmi arc input for $500. Pretty high value….
I don't have the 5's. I'll reach out to Klipsch and see what they have to say
@@cheapaudioman cool. They’ve been out for a while and others have done reviews but I would be interested in your take. They had been selling at 800 to 1000 (I think only the black ones are on sale not the walnut)
Thanks Randy! I'm not very familiar with SVS other than your reviews, but I'd definitely consider these if and when I'm in the market. 👍
I love my pair. I have owned them for over a year. Better than any sound bar. Sub does help but not required.
Randy congrats on the YETI cup!! My recommendation also is the handles best 15 bux you can spend sir!! Lost my seal ring and the fine folks at YETI sent another for free!! Also the tab on top is magnetic and can be removed as I lost it too but once again YETI gave me another for free im not sure they do that anymore as I purchased the cup when they initially came out!! Anyway congrats!! By the way I have 3 Yeti's for Coffee, Juice, Water!! Now the tough question is how do I get one of those Rocktopuss thingies you have sir?
I'm using Contigo for my audiophile coffee. Find the yeti is a little harsh on the top end
@@erics.4113 And/but the YETI is way deep sir!! The "basket" can easily be warmed with any tube amp like my Dynaco's!! 0 to 32 ounces no crossover needed and no distortion ever!! Enjoy!!
@@vincentbrennan9614 touche! My Contigo no estas Bueno con tube. Solomente estados Solido!
The Contigo definitely lacks on the bottom end but I find it's top smoother to my tastes.
Cheers to the audiophile coffee drinkers of the world!!!
@@erics.4113 Yowsa Boss!! To us all!!
how good are these vs JBL 698s vs klipsch rp8000f for double duty, movies and music?
You going to review the Elac BS41 speakers they're only 68.05 for a pair of them. Might be a new budget king.
Yay, a tower review.
Hey randy question for you since are a turntable guru? I am looking to get turntable either fluence or rega p 1. I have concern about the rega and that is switching cartridges. What do you recommend?
For good "Punch you in the face" bass you really need cone diameter. 12" or 15" woofers with massive voice coils and monstrous magnets or large rare-Earth magnets . You need something you can drive with lots of power too. I do see these skinny towers being a good fit for surround side, and surround back speakers though.
Hey if you had to choose between the SVS Prime Towers, Elac Debut 2.0 F5.2 or Jamo C97 ii for your Gaming/movie/music setup?
Paired with svs 10” sub woofer running on the Sony STR-AN1000
How would you say these stand against the ELAC F62 and/or UF52, for a surround movie/game setup?
Hey! Kef q950 or emotiva t2+ or svs tower? What say you?
Price increases are always annoying but shipping delays really grind my gears. Anyone living in the CONUS has it soooo good compared to the rest of us, but I'm guessing the 'overnight delivery' is currently a thing of the past. One of my partners in crime has been waiting months - yep, months - for a delivery from Slovakia but even goodies here in Oz can take an eternity.
They said the new prime Wireless would be out in March, it's July, you can't even find them to buy online. Not even showing up....
In my listening room, my towers with two 6 1/2" woofers are good but not as good my 15" woofer big box speakers.
Hi Randy. How would you compare these to Dali towers? I bought Oberon 5 couple of years ago and I'm so disappointed. I listen to rock & metal mostly and the speakers can't handle lower frequencies. I added Dali sub but the sub is vibrating uncontrollably when I turn up the volume a bit louder. It's terrible. I thought about upgrading to Oberon 7 but I'm not sure if that woul help. I bought SVS prime bookshelves and svs sb1000 sub and metal sounds amazing. I can listen very loud and the quality of the sound doesnt change
Been wanting an SVS sub for a really long time eventually I might be able to afford one here's to hoping
Hope u got someplace to really let it work.
Great video!! Can you provide your thoughts on the Emotiva T2+ vs SVS Prime Pinnacle Towers?
I had both to demo and kept the Emotiva. I don’t love SVS’s tuning on the treble end and I like the sound of ribbon tweeters. SVS, I believe, is “free” to audition at home. It’s baked into the price. Emotiva is expensive to return.
Emotiva has a better center channel, which is the most important in movies/tv.
Also depends on your receiver. Yamaha's neutral sound with the SVS Ultra center is hard to beat. To beat it I found a GR Research X-voce center. Its twice the weight and almost double the size. Paired with the X-static towers its insane. Just too much for my room, so I might be going back to SVS.
@@spazz954 Ugh.....You just had to add that. I currently have a lower end Yamaha AVR. And it is only 7.2 but I really want yo have all the same manufacturer for LCR. So I am leaning more towards the Emotiva T2+&C2+ powered by Emotiva basx A3. My first choice was the SVS prime pinnacles for lcr powered by the emotiva still.
I'm thinking of getting the marrantz nr 1200 any thoughts ?
Haven't heard it but I know that line of Marantz is very good
Hey Randy, enjoy your content and delivery. Looking to purchase towers $1200ish budget for 2 channel listening music / tv. Was going to order the PR 8000f (my amp is bi amp capable not sure if that improves them) after watching endless reviews. Are these or any others in this price range far better than than the RP 8000fs? Will upgrade amp next year currently using an older 90 watt per channel Yamaha.
JBL has crazy sale on studio 590 right now. Also dual 8" for $800 a pair. I own rp280f Klipsch which are similar, outgoing model to the 8000f. If you can still find them, I got mine a few months ago new for $800 pair also. On sale!
Who can give guidance between these and the Pinnacles?
I just want to say, if you're drinking out of a Calcutta thermos, I'm drinking out of the same one right now.
Ouch. The TX-NR686 is considered old? I’m looking at my 636 and the old girl is giving me the eye.
Off topic. Klipsch The Fives or The Sixes for an extra hundred bucks?
Buy big cry less
These or the Polk ES60?
Randy
I’m on the fence with a couple different tower speakers . I have a large room .Please help !
Im running Marantz 8805. Processor, with Marantz 8807 (7ch amp) . Along with SVS side surround , klipsch rear , and 2 SVS subs. I’m looking at the Emotiva T-3 and their XB amp, or possibly the new Klipsch R7 III diven from my Marantz. What would you recommend ?
I do like my music loud and clear .
Thank you
Theses seem like speakers that might go well with a tube preamp or hybrid tube amp. Randy any thoughts on that?
well... I think just about anything can go well with a tube buffer... with that said, something that has a warmish tone could really add something special to these... good idea!
How Are Theese compared to arendal?
Randy, between SVS, Klipsh and Emotiva tower speakers, which do you think are better for rocking out?
You really need to demo them all for yourself but Klipsch speakers no doubt are more dynamic and efficient. They absolutely require less power to play loud!
Randy I'm torn. I have SVS ultra center, SVS prime bookshelf as rears, SVS subs. I want to know if You would recommend I get the SVS ultra bookshelf or SVS prime towers ( both $1200 a pair) as my mains and why? I'm replacing vintage Boston Acoustic t830 which still sound good.
Personally I’d get the ultras but I’m not a huge fan of floor mount speakers. I prefer a bookshelf and a sub
Also depends on room size Music Movies etc. A tower is a tower. If in US just try both and return that you dont like or prefer.
Thanks for responding. You rock!
NOW WITH EXTRA STAINS!
Thanks Randy
You bet! It's amazing they still make money while going the extra mile
I've never heard SVC. I wonder how they compare to Bowers and Wilkins
Pinnacle = 683 - +, correct me if im wrong
Does anyone have experience or insight on Revel Concerta2 f36? Currently 30% off $2200 now $1540.