After a ridiculous amount of time, exhaustive internet research, changing my mind a million times, and a change in what I was looking for due to Covid and my work-from-home situation, I have finally purchased a new set of speakers. The SVS Prime Wireless Speaker System.
![IMG_0670[1].JPG](https://hifihaven.org/data/attachments/31/31504-a7c37cfe86c639caec8e54b74a3e0a9f.jpg "IMG_0670[1].JPG")
There were many reasons why I finally settled on active speakers, and the SVS Prime Wireless speakers met several of those; simplicity, size, the ability of DSP to get the most out of drivers, not to mention the reputation SVS has for making high value, good sounding products. A 45 day in home trial period, with free return shipping if for any reason I don’t like them, made for an easy decision to give them a try. I do think my desk looks a wee bit less crowded now.
![IMG_E0673[1].JPG](https://hifihaven.org/data/attachments/31/31508-10ace4793f4a521eddc97351a36fc705.jpg "IMG_E0673[1].JPG")
My first impression when I pulled the speakers out of the box was - Wow! These speakers are seriously small (10-inches tall, 6-inches wide, and 7-inches deep). My second impression was that they are beautifully constructed. The piano gloss white finish is flawless, fit of the drivers to the speaker baffle is first rate, the grill frame appears to be a sturdy 1/2” MDF and not cheap flimsy plastic, and the highly precise knuckle rap test results in a dull thunk.
Set up was easy with the only issue being the active speaker was dropping the Wi-Fi connection periodically. This would normally be a big red flag to me, but it was not entirely unexpected as my office is in in the farthest reaches of the my upstairs and my iPhone and Fire TV Stick have the same issue sometimes. I really need to do something to improve my signal up here. Anyway, I plugged in the cheap little NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender that AT&T left behind when we cancelled our U-verse service, ran a cable from the port on the extender to the network port on the speaker, and that solved the drop-out problem. YMMV.
As far as sound, my initial impressions are quite positive. So far, I have only been streaming from Spotify and I must say I don’t in any way consider myself well qualified for speaker listening reviews, as my experience with different speakers is limited. Having said that, I guess what would be the upper midrange up into the treble is clear and detailed, and the center image is spooky good. The overall sound-stage imaging is much better than what I am used to with my old Paradigm Titans (V1) - better separation of instruments and vocals, and I would say more front to back depth. The bass is well defined, but as you would expect with 4 ½” drivers it is not super deep. Even so, I don’t think they give up anything in the bass department compared to my Titans. For my desktop the bass response is fine, but if ever needed there is a subwoofer output so the Prime Wireless speakers can conceivably grow into a system capable of moving from my desktop to a more traditional room application.
A few brief song listening notes:
Artist: The Wailin’ Jennys
Song: Old Churchyard
Album: Fifteen
Without sounding like an audiophile hack, the best way to describe what I heard is layered. Each singers voice is distinctive, clear, and separate from the others. Not much going on instrumentally, but these little speakers made listening to the song very enjoyable.
Artist: Van Morrison
Song: Into The Mystic
Album: Moondance
I’m not a big Van Morrison fan, but I have always loved this song with its bass line and the other instrumentation. The bass is there, but I’m sure a subwoofer would really help here. What was very nice is the layering (there’s that word again) of the other instruments, especially the alto and tenor saxophones. Great delineation between all the instruments, both width wise and depth. And the center image stays nailed to its spot.
Artist: System Of A Down
Song: Chop Suey
Album: Toxicity
And now for something completely different. This song is all over the place. It starts with a guitar strumming and a sort of tribal beat, then it moves quickly to what I would best describe as thrash metal, and then a stop-start punk-like verse, finally followed by a melodic chorus. I turned the SVS speakers up far louder than my usual moderate listening level, and the little things didn't embarrass themselves. Everything stayed composed and in its place; clear and precise with no harshness creeping in. I wish I still had my other speakers and receiver set-up for a comparison, but if memory serves me right, when turned up to a similar level the Paradigms would start to muddle things together and there was some harshness in the upper midrange/treble. Maybe I was pushing them louder, hard to say at this point. Either way, the way the little SVS speakers stayed composed is a testament to the engineering that went into them.
There you have it. Now it’s time to start looking for something to play my CDs with, or more likely something to play FLAC files ripped from my CDs. I have no desire to place a standard size CD player on my desk, and the limited number of smaller CD players are more than I want to spend. So on it goes.
There were many reasons why I finally settled on active speakers, and the SVS Prime Wireless speakers met several of those; simplicity, size, the ability of DSP to get the most out of drivers, not to mention the reputation SVS has for making high value, good sounding products. A 45 day in home trial period, with free return shipping if for any reason I don’t like them, made for an easy decision to give them a try. I do think my desk looks a wee bit less crowded now.
My first impression when I pulled the speakers out of the box was - Wow! These speakers are seriously small (10-inches tall, 6-inches wide, and 7-inches deep). My second impression was that they are beautifully constructed. The piano gloss white finish is flawless, fit of the drivers to the speaker baffle is first rate, the grill frame appears to be a sturdy 1/2” MDF and not cheap flimsy plastic, and the highly precise knuckle rap test results in a dull thunk.
Set up was easy with the only issue being the active speaker was dropping the Wi-Fi connection periodically. This would normally be a big red flag to me, but it was not entirely unexpected as my office is in in the farthest reaches of the my upstairs and my iPhone and Fire TV Stick have the same issue sometimes. I really need to do something to improve my signal up here. Anyway, I plugged in the cheap little NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender that AT&T left behind when we cancelled our U-verse service, ran a cable from the port on the extender to the network port on the speaker, and that solved the drop-out problem. YMMV.
As far as sound, my initial impressions are quite positive. So far, I have only been streaming from Spotify and I must say I don’t in any way consider myself well qualified for speaker listening reviews, as my experience with different speakers is limited. Having said that, I guess what would be the upper midrange up into the treble is clear and detailed, and the center image is spooky good. The overall sound-stage imaging is much better than what I am used to with my old Paradigm Titans (V1) - better separation of instruments and vocals, and I would say more front to back depth. The bass is well defined, but as you would expect with 4 ½” drivers it is not super deep. Even so, I don’t think they give up anything in the bass department compared to my Titans. For my desktop the bass response is fine, but if ever needed there is a subwoofer output so the Prime Wireless speakers can conceivably grow into a system capable of moving from my desktop to a more traditional room application.
A few brief song listening notes:
Artist: The Wailin’ Jennys
Song: Old Churchyard
Album: Fifteen
Without sounding like an audiophile hack, the best way to describe what I heard is layered. Each singers voice is distinctive, clear, and separate from the others. Not much going on instrumentally, but these little speakers made listening to the song very enjoyable.
Artist: Van Morrison
Song: Into The Mystic
Album: Moondance
I’m not a big Van Morrison fan, but I have always loved this song with its bass line and the other instrumentation. The bass is there, but I’m sure a subwoofer would really help here. What was very nice is the layering (there’s that word again) of the other instruments, especially the alto and tenor saxophones. Great delineation between all the instruments, both width wise and depth. And the center image stays nailed to its spot.
Artist: System Of A Down
Song: Chop Suey
Album: Toxicity
And now for something completely different. This song is all over the place. It starts with a guitar strumming and a sort of tribal beat, then it moves quickly to what I would best describe as thrash metal, and then a stop-start punk-like verse, finally followed by a melodic chorus. I turned the SVS speakers up far louder than my usual moderate listening level, and the little things didn't embarrass themselves. Everything stayed composed and in its place; clear and precise with no harshness creeping in. I wish I still had my other speakers and receiver set-up for a comparison, but if memory serves me right, when turned up to a similar level the Paradigms would start to muddle things together and there was some harshness in the upper midrange/treble. Maybe I was pushing them louder, hard to say at this point. Either way, the way the little SVS speakers stayed composed is a testament to the engineering that went into them.
There you have it. Now it’s time to start looking for something to play my CDs with, or more likely something to play FLAC files ripped from my CDs. I have no desire to place a standard size CD player on my desk, and the limited number of smaller CD players are more than I want to spend. So on it goes.
