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Two-Channel Speakers SVSound MTS-01 Floor-standing Speakers
Two-Channel Speakers SVSound MTS-01 Floor-standing Speakers
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SVSound MTS-01 Floor-standing Speakers A Secrets Speaker Review |
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| Written by John E. Johnson, Jr. | |||||
| Monday, 25 February 2008 | |||||
Page 3 of 3
On the Bench I measured distortion within an 80 kHz bandwidth. The microphone was at a 1 foot distance from the drivers unless otherwise specified. At 1 kHz, THD+N measured 0.39%.
At 10 kHz, less than 0.2% THD+N was measured from the tweeter.
THD+N vs. Frequency showed that these speakers perform very well at all frequencies. Notice that even at 30 Hz, distortion is only 5%. From a little above 100 Hz all the way to 20 kHz, distortion stayed around or below 0.5%. This is most of the audible spectrum and is why the speakers sounded so neutral.
The measured frequency response was excellent. Notice that it drops off below 50 Hz, and this is why I would suggest a 50 Hz crossover to a good subwoofer.
The impedance appears to be nominal 6 ohms as in the spec sheet. Because the electrical phase stays close to 00 when the impedance is at 4 ohms, the speakers will still be easy to drive. The fact that the phase is within ± 200 from 150 Hz to 20 kHz is superb.
Conclusions SVSound has a real winner on their hands with the MTS-01 floor-standing speakers. Using a top notch tweeter, coupled with their extensive experience in dealing with woofers, has produced one of the best performance/cost speakers I have ever seen. Comments (54)
 Just got 'em
written by Steve Schindler , February 25, 2008 Just got 'em a few weeks ago, and they are so good, even my wife can tell the difference. I heard them and didn't like them
written by Greg , February 25, 2008 Personally I am not a big fan of these speakers. The mids are too recessed and they just didn't seem to image very well. The bass was their strong point, but I don't buy speakers for bass response only. I have found other towers at $1500/pair that I believe smoke these such as offerings from Monitor Audio, NHT and Axiom. midrange
written by chengbin , February 26, 2008 Some forum members claim that the midrange was really laid back and the tweeter sounded harsh and dull with some music, is that true? I hope John reads the comments and answer back ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 The midrange may have sounded laid back because the distortion that you get with some other speakers was not there. As I mentioned in the review, the THD N was very low all the way down to about 150 Hz, which means less midrange mushiness. A lack of mushiness could be interpreted as being "laid back" compared to their previous speakers. If the tweeter sounded harsh, that is probably either the front end electronics or the recording. I used first rate electronics for the tests, and visitors were telling me it was one of the best systems they had ever heard, meaning the speakers fit right in with the excellent quality electronics. I remember many years ago when I first set up a high-end system, trading in a mass market preamplifier for an audiophile product. One of my friends said that something was missing. I thought so too, but it turned out just to be all the excessive sibilance caused by too much negative feedback in the mass market component. Real high fidelity can sound - at first - like something is missing. What's missing is the distortion. ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 In terms of imaging, don't forget that these speakers have a mirror image design, so that you can set them up with the tweeter on the outside edge or the inside edge in the front left/right relationship. Imaging can be affected by this, and so you should just try reversing the speakers left to right and see which gives you the best imaging in your particular room (nearby furniture, equipment rack, walls, etc., have effects). tweeter better than the MTS-01?
written by chengbin , February 26, 2008 Can you name a speaker that can produce a better treble than the MTS-01? BTW name the price as well ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 My full range electrostatic speakers have better treble, and that is in part why I love electrostatic speakers. The membrane that produces the sound is lighter than the cloth in a conventional tweeter, so the sound has incredible detail. The particular pair of ESLs that I have are called Threshold ES-500's. They were built by Audiostat in Europe and are no longer manufactured. They were $11,000/pair at the time and are the size of a door. Full range ESL's these days are in the $10,000 to $120,000/pair range. As far as other speakers that use conventional tweeters, and which have better treble than the MTS-01's, I don't know. I would have to set them all up side by side to determine this. Other companies that specifically mention that they use this tweeter include Salagar, at about $9,000/pair. ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 You need to understand that the MTS-01 is based on an SVS business model. They like to put extraordinary drivers in simple enclosures. That was how they started out, with the long throw drivers in cardboard tubes and plenty of power in the amplifier. The MTS-01 has a fantastic tweeter placed in a very plain enclosure. No full wrap Rosewood. No eleven coats of hand rubbed gloss lacquer. It's like putting a 400 cubic inch hemi engine in a Volkswagen chassis. The damn thing will lay rubber all the way down the street. The looks fool you. The sound says it all. How about movie sound?
written by TGreen , February 26, 2008 Hi Mr. Johnson, I enjoy reading your article regarding SVS MTS-01 speakers. Thank you very much for reviewing these speakers. They sound like wonderful speakers for music. Can you commend on their sound quality in movies? How about the center speaker (MCS-01) and surround speaker (MBS-01) sound quality? I want to buy them for a personal use with 50/50 music and movie. Thanks again, TGreen ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 I didn't have the center or surrounds here for review, but I did hear them at CES and they sound great. They use the same tweeter and woofers as the MTS-01's. These speakers should be fine for home theater use with movies, especially if you are lucky enough to have a receiver that decodes the hi-rez soundtrack formats. If I were putting a system together with these speakers, I would mount my screen (probably one of the 58" or 60" plasmas that I have seen at Costco for around $2,200) high on the wall and use five MTS-01's, including one for the center. That would give the most balanced sound all the way around. Add one of their cylindrical subs (they produce the most bass in the $1,000 price range), and you will be blowing the walls out. Home theater set up
written by TGreen , February 26, 2008 Hi Mr. Johnson, My home theater set up is decent with 46 in Sony LCD XBR2, Yamaha receiver RX-V861, and PS3 player (still waiting for firmware update to decode DTS-HD Master Audio). Currently, I use four Klipsch bookshelf SB2 speakers, a center speaker (don't remember model), and 10 in subwoofer. Do you think my home theater sound quality will improve if I upgrade to two MTS-01, a center speaker MCS-01, two surround MBS-01, and 10 in SVS subwoofer? All five MTS-01 speakers will be too big for my house. Thank you for your comments, TGreen How much smoothing do use on the frequency response graphs
written by Randy B , February 26, 2008 Also, curious as to using a 1 foot and 1 meter response as many others use 2 meters. What are the advantages, disadvantages. If you have written about this elsewhere and can guide me there I would appreciate it. Thanks, ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 I didn't use any smoothing algorithms, and I use 1 foot and 1 meter as standards simply out of preference, because I test the speakers indoors where there are other things in the room, like test equipment, walls, chairs, etc. The farther away the microphone, the more the room becomes part of the graph. If I were testing the speakers outside in an open field with no surrounding noises like cars, I would use 2 meters. ...
written by JEJ , February 26, 2008 Klipsch speakers are not bad products, and remember, the MTS-01's are 6 ohms nominal. I don't know how your Yamaha receiver would react to that. Probably OK. I’m not familiar with that specific receiver though. If you want to upgrade your speakers, I would suggest going with just the one pair of MTS-01's first, along with maybe a better subwoofer, perhaps the 25-31 PC-Plus, $849, which would be a big improvement over your 10 inch sub. See how your receiver handles just the two new speakers. Then later, upgrade your center and surrounds. If the receiver strains, then try something like that new Integra DTC-9.8 SSP http://www.hometheaterhifi.com...1-ssp.html and an outboard five-channel power amplifier. I like to upgrade things slowly, so I know which items are making the most difference. In science, we call this not having two variables changing at the same time, specifically, not having “compounded variables”. Thank you
written by TGreen , February 26, 2008 Hi Mr. Johnson, Thank you for your suggestion. TGreen Measurements
written by Randy B , February 27, 2008 I hope my question about measurements was not too "ignorant". I appreciate your response. I will now ask another ignorant question. The reason I asked about the one foot and one meter measurements is that it appears you used to use just one foot and my understanding (as a true novice) is that would be too close to get driver integration. Is that incorrect or do you somehow splice the measurements. Sorry for the dumb questions. By the way, I think it is outstanding that you give the average readers a chance to question and interact. ...
written by JEJ , February 27, 2008 Your questions are not ignorant at all. Getting information to A/V consumers is why we are here. I use 1 foot and then 1 meter so I can see the progressive effects of the room. At 1 foot, indeed, the drivers are not integrated fully, and you can see the high frequency rolloff from the tweeter above 17 kHz in the graph. This is probably due to interaction between the tweeter dome and sound reflecting off the baffle next to the dome. Anything beyond 1 meter in a room full of "stuff" has too much of the room effects in the graph. So, I use 1 meter, with the feeling that this gives a balance of the speaker and the room, therefore, a "room response". Otherwise, the results are not duplicable, since my room is unique to me. ...
written by JEJ , February 27, 2008 Some time ago, I tried testing a subwoofer outside so that I could put the microphone at whatever distance I wanted, but I ended up having to first generate the test tone, raise the volume until it was at 100 dB, then turn it off for about 10 seconds while I waited for the dog down the street to stop barking, then turn on the tone and quickly gather the spectrum before the dog started barking again. That was the last time I tested outside. I live in a close neighborhood, and it just doesn't work. Measurements
written by Randy B , February 27, 2008 Thanks-I appreciate it!! ...
written by Bill Barnes , February 27, 2008 "Can you name a speaker that can produce a better treble than the MTS-01? BTW name the price as well." Funny challenge as so few have heard the MTS-1. Most pick speakers for overall sound and not treble alone. Setting Standards for Reference in HometheaterHiFi
written by EMA , February 27, 2008 Testing because I always get the error message (message too short). speaker placement
written by Francky , February 27, 2008 Remarkable review JEJ. Period ! SBS-01 vs MTS-01
written by Brad Viets , February 27, 2008 Hello Mr. Johnson, Were you able to test SVS's two types of speakers, the SBS and MTS, to do a direct comparison? I know there is a good price difference, but given a proper setup with a good sub for each, how would the quality of sound differ? I think a direct comparison in a 5.1 configuration would be really helpful. Thanks! ...
written by JEJ , February 28, 2008 About "Message too short". The commenting module is being worked on, as it has some bugs. I get an error message "Please enter your name." from time to time, even though my name is already there. It's frustrating, but we are trying to fix the issues. ...
written by JEJ , February 28, 2008 I don't have the SBS and MTS here at the same time, so can't comment on the comparison. They are quite different speakers though. To me, the MTS is just one of those products where everything came together perfectly. I would suggest not making any changes on it at all. Strata Mini Tweeter
written by Josuah , February 28, 2008 I have a pair of Stata Minis from AV123 and they have a great tweeter for a little more at list. However they're much more sensitive to placement and measure with slightly worse distortion levels, which isn't too surprising as they're about 5dB less sensitive. I'm not using them for home theater. I found that placement will really let you adjust the treble response a lot. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_4/onix-strata-mini-speakers-12-2006-part-1.html MTS vs Paradigm Studio 20s
written by Jeff K. , February 29, 2008 I have a delima. I love my Paradigm studio 20s that I have had for the last year in my theater room. I also love my SVS PC Ultra sub in the same room. It is now time to set up a stereo room upstairs and I find myself torn between two companies. While I never have heard the SVS MTS-01 speakers, I can imagine that their performance is quite good. My question to you is, have you ever geven a listen to the Studio 20s? If you have which would you give the nod to for listening to music only. I know this is a very subjective question, but I would very much appreciate your oppinion. ...
written by JEJ , February 29, 2008 I don't have Studio 20's here to compare them directly to the MTS-01's, but I have heard Studio 20's in the past. They are very fine speakers. However, they are of the kind that have fine furniture grade finishes, and so are more expensive. They both would do an excellent job with music. It all depends on whether you want to have the furniture grade appearance. sub that came with the MTS-01
written by chengbin , February 29, 2008 SVS sent one of their new cylindrical subs to go with the MTS-01's, I will review that sub in a separate article. Are you refering to the PC13, but isn't it reviewed by Ross Jones already? I am a Woman sometimes ;)
written by Name Here , March 01, 2008 They are too ugly. In the past I have listened to the SBS speakers and was not impressed. These are just too ugly for me. I have no problem paying for Paradigm Studio 20's or Monitor Audio Gold GS20's and those are not the end all of speakers. I like their subs and can hide them, but their approach to speakers will fail. When I get a chance to audition these maybe I will be surprised.. Ascend
written by Jugdish , March 01, 2008 How would these compare to the new Ascend acoustic Sierra-1? The ascend uses a modified tweeter from SEAS, which has gotten rave reviews. Curious if you have heard them and what you think of the two. MTS vs Studio 20s
written by Jeff K. , March 02, 2008 Thanks for the feedback. ...
written by JEJ , March 02, 2008 The sub they sent to me is the 20-39 PC-Plus. Ross reviewed the PC13-Ultra. I have reviewed their cylindrical subs before, but it was a long time ago, and the design has changed quite a bit since then, so Ron Stimpson wanted me to bring everything up to date with our bench tests using the Audio Precision. ...
written by JEJ , March 02, 2008 I have not heard the Ascend Acoustic Sierra-1, but will certainly look into it at the next convention, perhaps CEDIA or the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. Ascend Sierra-1 versus SVS MBS
written by Chuck , March 02, 2008 I actually faced off the Ascend Sierra-1 and SVS MBS speakers in my house earlier today with a new Pioneer Elite receiver. After reading all the various strings concerning these two speakers, I was curious to see what I would find. To this end, I listened to a series of my favorite CDs (including jazz, rock, and folk). With that said, here are my thoughts. While I am not a sophisticated audiophile, and while both speakers were high quality, I thought the MBSs were clearly superior in terms of spacial depth, balance, overall clarity, and the accuracy of the reproduction. Stated in terms I can understand best, with acoustic music the MBSs made an acoustic guitar sound like an acoustic guitar and reproduced a male folk singer such that you felt the he was in your room. While the Ascends had a nice sound, and were particularly vibrant in reproducing female voices, the overall sound seemed much less accurate than the MBSs and more likely to get tiring (i.e., while cymbols sounded particularly crisp, they were also a bit too forward and prominent for my taste over the course of an entire song). The bottom line for me was this -- if someone had given me the Sierras and I had never heard the MBSs I am sure I would have been very happy to own them and play them for years to come. Once I heard them head-to-head with the MBSs, however, the decision for me was clear. As I wound up sharing with a friend after the listening session, the Sierras were very nice; the MBSs (at least on some tracks) were getting close to their own religion. Just one man's view which I hope helps others to find speakers they love as much as I wound up loving the MBSs. Matching rear surrounds with MBS's
written by Dennis , March 12, 2008 I have a pair of SVS MBS's for the front along with a MCS and an Ultra 13. My wife won't let me hang the MBS's for the rear due to their size. What in-wall, satellite, or small bookshelf would match best with the MBS's. I was considering the in-wall Polk LC65i's. I'd dump the wife but I can't afford going that route. Polk LSi's vs MTS
written by BGA , March 13, 2008 Would you please give your opinion on whether much improvement would be had by substituting MTS speakers for my current Polk LSi 15s L/R, LSiC and LSi9 surround with a Rel Strata sub? I have a very large room 20 x 28 ft. I recall that when I got these, Polk raved about its Vifa "ring radiator" tweeter. Looking for a surround system
written by Don C. , March 18, 2008 I presently have a pair of B&W Nautilus 802's for my stereo listening powered by Brystons 14B SST 500 watt/ch amp and their BP26 pre amp. I want a totally separate system for HT. I have it narrowed down to either the SVS MTS 01 system with the PC Ultra sub, or the Axiom using the the Epic 80 system with the M80v2 towers and their EP500v2 sub. I would be very interested to hear your comments and observations on both systems as I have never heard either system, but I demand accurate distortion free sound. ...
written by chengbin , March 22, 2008 I'd say for you get the MTS system because they're more accurate (it's pretty difficult to find a speaker with a tweeter better than the MTS for 2x or even 3-4x the price). The axioms are known for being bright. Since you want accurate sound, go with the MTS. You might even find the MTS to be better than your 802 (maybe, I don't know) AV123 Strata Mini vs MTS 01
written by Daniel Ronquillo , March 23, 2008 Hi Dr. Johnson, I read that you gave the AV123 Strata Mini a "Best of Secrets" award. How would you compare the performance of the MTS 01 with that of the Stratas'? Thanks, Dan ...
written by JEJ , March 23, 2008 The Strata-Mini's are a bit brighter, but not in a harsh way. The tall ribbon tweeter (it shares the high frequency range with a smaller round tweeter) in the Strata's is essentially a line driver, and line drivers have less falloff in the high frequencies per meter than cone tweeters like that in the MTS-01's. Did You Get Paid For This Review?
written by DPenwell , March 29, 2008 I bought these on pure speculation and with the help from your review. Very little of what you claim to have heard or recorded with your microphone seemed to have played out in my accoustically treated, very high tech, high end Home Theater/Listening Room. I went back to my Westlake Audio Concert Series C6 full range speakers and sent the SVS' back to from which they came. Your review was bogus. ...
written by JJ , March 30, 2008 Well, not everyone will like these speakers. That is the same for every product out there, regardless of price. I remember pairing a $10,000 preamp with some $20,000 power amplifiers. The combo sounded terrible. Not every system is synergistic. Obviously, your source and amplifier combo, with your room, did not give you a happy result with the MTS-01's. But calling the review "bogus" is overstating your position. The only person who cares about your opinion is you. The validity of a review does not depend on one person. Everyone else can make up their own mind. SVS informs me that they are happy with sales of the MTS-01's and there are not an unusual number of returns compared to other products. But, I do understand your frustration. It is a pain to return products, and the tradeoff in purchasing something that is only sold on the Internet at a lower price than in stores is that you don't get to hear the product (or see if it is a video component) until you actually get it into your home. ...
written by BRoss , March 31, 2008 I would be interested in hearing more from DPenwell about the performance of the speakers in his room. ...
written by JJ , March 31, 2008 Hold on a minute. SVS tells me that since our review, of all the MTS-01's sold, none have been returned. The only ones returned are some that were sold before the review was published. You said you purchased yours with the help of my review. Do you want to revise your post, or perhaps it really wasn't the review that was bogus? I Love Mine.
written by KAS from michigan , April 01, 2008 I Love my MTS-01 and have listend to many speakers in my life and none have preformed as well, the tweeters are amazing and i dont see how anyone could dissagree with that. so the guy who was claiming that your review was bogus is most likely just trying to make SVS and the MTS-01 look bad, i am not saying that everyone will like them because not everyone has the same tast but they are great speakers for even 4 times the price! ...
written by JJ , April 01, 2008 Well, I suspect that his system, even thought it might be very good quality, just didn't produce the right synergy with those speakers. This is why there are so many speaker companies and so many different designs. And, finding the right set of speakers that works with everything else in your system is very hard. He probably bought them before the review, and said otherwise because he was pissed that he had to go to the trouble to return them, and it came out in his comments. Hey, I have been mad plenty of times too. It's a great hobby, but there are times when I just want to throw a speaker, amplifier, or some other component out the window because something doesn't sound right, and I can't figure out what it is. ...
written by BRoss , April 01, 2008 It looks like he could have been a little more specific in his criticism of the speakers and the review. I also relied on the review in deciding to purchase an MTS-01 system. But I couldn't be happier with my system. I am using a mass production receiver and things sound terrific. The mid-range is clear and accurate, not lacking at all. I appreciate the review. ...
written by cjw , April 02, 2008 I have an Onkyo tx-sr805 mated with Energy C Series speakers and a SVS sub. I've been happy with the Energy speakers, but I think I would possibly like to upgrade. Do you guys think that I would see a big improvement using the Onkyo with the MTS-01 over the Energy speakers? Thanks for the help. comparison speakers
written by wilks , April 11, 2008 Is there another model/make of speaker that resembles what sound an MTS produces? Since I can't listen to these things, I'd like to listen to something that you feel would sound similar. Recommendations? ...
written by Woland , April 14, 2008 Hi, John E. Johnson! I from Russia. How fronts MTS-01 will be combined with speakers of surrounding sound SBS-01. MTS-01 SCS-01 SBS-01 - it well? Thanks. Terrific!!!
written by bearchan , April 14, 2008 The MTS are terrific! Burned in for about 200 hr. hours. Smooth, dynamic, good depth, with huge soundstage. Very musical and works well with movies. Most importantly, mids are not recessed! MTS got the voices right! Actually, SVS got most of it right! The Scanspeak tweeter is truly special. My friend was so impressed with MTS/Scanspeak tweeter, he purchased the MTS and is looking into replacing the tweeters in his Dunlavy's. Initially, not certain if I was going to try the MTS after hearing statements about 'recessed mids', but I am glad I listened to JJ of Secrets of HT/HiFi. Thanks, JJ!! ...
written by JEJ , April 14, 2008 Regarding the reports of recessed midrange in the MTS-01's, as I mentioned, this is probably a comparison to speakers that have more harmonic distortion, which would tend to make the midrange sound forward. Getting used to higher fidelity is not necessarily an immediate thing. You have to become accustomed to it, then it will be enjoyable. ...
written by JEJ , April 14, 2008 Hi Russia! I heard the MCS-01 and MBS-01's at CES, but I have not put them on the bench here in my lab. However, they sounded just as good as the MTS-01's, but did not have as much bass (the enclosures are not as big). Write comment
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