SBS-01. Silver (or White) the "new Black"??.

[Ron Stimpson]

Black is the perfect color for sound gear... unless it's not. Then it's really, really not what you want probably. And that's before any "significant other" weighs in. Speakers have to work in the real world of multi-purpose rooms after all. Take a look around at the plethora of silver anything, receivers, DVD players, projectors and all manner of TV's and you quickly realize, that while still a classic, black is now fully joined by some subtle alternatives. But, we're not talking about plastic wood (or wood that looks like plastic). Our new SBS-01 in Sterling Silver is just the thing for modern decor of your stylin' home with your small theater or bedroom plasma system. White, of course, is always the favorite whenever you are looking to hang speakers in a new room with little additional paint work and more or less "stealth" visibility. Naturally, they are joined by the perfectly matched SCS-01 center channel. Performance is always king at SVS, but even we appreciate nice design when we see it.

Because we know (we've used or tested thousands), many entry level speakers simply look cheap, as if designed by a committee that never held a meeting. Not these SVS speakers. They're internally braced, with custom drivers, high-end crossovers... but no cheesy fake wood. Instead, these hand shaped cabinets arrive without that "origami" or square corner look so common in the affordable range of audio. Check out the elegant, smooth styling, subdued graphics, and a minimum of junk hanging on their lines. These are the rare sort of speakers which could have their price tags multiplied a couple times, and still not be out of place in terms of heft and sheer quality of materials. To say nothing of their performance, which is already award-winning, and equal to the reputation long ago set by their subwoofer cousins. Who says performance can't look good unless you are loaded with cash?



Note the family styling and in a few days, new packages available too with the new PB12-NSD subwoofer discussed more below. You get to "Supersize" your SBS-01 surround or stereo package with minimal fuss and a grouping of product that sets the industry standard at the price point in pretty much all regards. Pre-orders on the new finishes start soon.

[Manic Miner]

Hi Ron. Congrats on the new colors. They sure look great in white, and I know from experience that most of your products look better in real life then in pictures. Maybe you should hire a new photographer?

Will you consider selling the grills for the NSD/SBS products separatly. Black/Silver is a combination often found in AV products, so black speakers with silver grills or vice versa might do the trick for some.

In another thread you wrote something about a picture of the PB10 and the PB12-NSD together, is that still on the way?

[Ron Stimpson]

Manic,

At the risk of sounding defensive, our photographer has won more awards than SVS has, but we're often working with early prototypes that are not even always something we can spend more than a few hours with. And digital images of subtle shading, gloss, and color are notoriously difficult to show. Like gloss black, or that silver above, it's something like trying to show a master painting, with a lithograph. I don't care how advanced the process, it NEVER looks as good as the real thing.

Plus we're always trying to keep costs down and the time/money needed to show all possible models and finishes in a variety of ways that reveal their true beauty is just not always possible. Like with the designs themselves, or the website, or any other function with aesthetic components, you have to compromise what's achievable with what's needed to portray what a product is and isn't. We could spend MUCH more on photos with all manner of shots and it would mostly serve to make the products in question more costly (with no change in performance of actual built quality or looks).

Thanks for the suggestion though, we're always trying to improve things.

PS yes, the first comparison shots between the PB10-NSD and PB12-NSD for scale purposes are coming soon. As are shots of all silver and all white SBS-01 packages, the silver PB10-NSD alone, more detail shots of the speakers, the coming "Rosenut" PB12-Plus and Plus/2 (replacing the current Cherry and Rosewood veneers), all 5 finishes of the coming SB12-Plus and hopefully, before the end of the year, the first MTS-01 pics.

Like I said, photos by themselves are any other sales tool. Tremendously expensive and time consuming and you have to ensure "perfection doesn't become the enemy of good enough". Given it's only one of the many hats I wear (again, a small staff keeps prices competitive) just means it's always a stuggle to balance. That the products are better looking "in person" than they are in digital images on thousands of sorts of monitors on a fast download format is, if not preferable, at least perfectly acceptable to us at SVS. Better than the other way around in our view.

Ron
SVS

[Manic Miner]

I really shouldn't critisize pictures taken by others. I'm an absolute klutz with the camera, and most of the pictures I take can be labeled as 'abstract photography' It's mostly the SBS-01s that people seem to think look much better in real life as opposed to in pictures. But I think it's because of the general feel of quality that they have, and that is of course difficult to get across in a picture.

I'm the type of guy who can find something that is less then perfect with the Mona Lisa, and with most things I keep my yap shut because else I would end up complaining all day, and I'm saving that for when I become a senior citizen With you guys it is a bit easier because you do most things right, so I can just find the occasional glitch. The only thing that I find less then perfect with the SBS-01's are the terminals. The speaker itself gives a good quality feel, but the terminals ruins the illusion of a more expensive speaker. I know that any handling of the terminals is mostly an one time occurence, and that they will not affect sound quality, but they were the only thing I could find to complain about

And you are absolutly right, it's better that they look better in real life then in pictures then the other way around. Faux wood is one of those things that most of the time looks and feels worse in real life as compared to in pictures.

And when I think about it, having them look better in pictures is maybe not something that you want because many of your customers buy without seeing the products first. The difference between what you see in the pictures and what you see in real life is probably part of what puts a pleased smile and a twinkle in the eye of a new customer when he/she unpacks a sub or a set of SVS speakers.

[Ron Stimpson]

Manic,

If you want to see some cheap binding posts some day, we'll pull some out ;^) I personally think they are pretty nice myself. If you want REALLY nice ones, then we'll just have to have you wait for the MTS-01 line, which we should be talking quite a bit about around the end of the year.

PS Elsewhere you asked about that PB10-NSD and PB12-NSD comparison image. Here's our first one. Needless to say, the PB12-NSD is a beast that gives performance a new "Supersized" context. In the US, pre-orders will start in a few days with shipping in mid/late August. Our minimal remaining stock of the 'old' PB12-NSD (a classic world-beater if there ever was one) will start immediately with 10% off or a free SPL meter/Avia combo while they last (no export). Shipping dates of the new sub to export customers will be a month longer or so:



Here's an early/quick synopsis of the features on the new PB12-NSD:

o Proprietary SVS long-throw 12" NSD woofer
o 325 watt BASH ® Digital Switching Amp
o CAD cabinet with 1" front baffle and CNC bracing
o Front-firing design with flush fit woofer
o Patented 4" wide-flare port
o Removable, compliant floor isolation points
o Three finish choices to match any decor
o Color-keyed grill with chromed mounting pins
o Extra heavy-duty removable 8 foot power cord
o Contemporary, "seamless" enclosure styling
o +/- 3 dB 18 Hz-120 Hz or better (anechoic)
o Size: 18" wide x 21" high x 25" deep
o Weight: 74 pounds

[Manic Miner]

As I said Ron, they were the only thing I could find to critisize, and that speaks volumes for the SBS-01s

Thanks for the picture. It's bigger then the PB10 (dah!), but not intimidating in any way. It will fill the gap between the PB10 and the Plus very nicely for us Europeans. From the specs it looks as if it will extend about 2hz deeper then the PB10, so I'm guessing that it has a lower tuning frequency?

Btw, the design of your new woofers is very nice. At first I thought that they looked a tad less impressive because they showed less of the surround. But now that I see them mounted in the cabinets I can tell that they fit the general design of the NSDs much better.