“If the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle were the last speakers I owned, I’d be thrilled.”
- Effortless dynamics
- Prodigious, tuneful bass
- Open, truthful midrange
- Dazzling, refined treble
- Massive soundstage
- Need powerful amplification
As anyone who is really into audio knows — and as anyone getting into audio is about to find out — you contract a serious illness when you get into this hobby. It’s called “upgraditis” and, to date, there is no known cure.
However, I have found what I believe to be a vaccine of extremely high efficacy. You might expect this non-medical marvel of an inoculation to cost big bucks. But — at least in the world of high-end audio — this sonic salve from an audiological apothecary is, relatively speaking, a bargain of epic proportions.
The SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers are excellent in so many ways that it might seem hard to believe. But give me a moment and let’s see if I might be able to convince you.
First: The SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle, the latest evolution in the company’s speaker lineup, is indeed the pinnacle of their speaker lineup. The name actually means what it says.
And I have a little bit of history with this company. I once worked at Aperion Audio, which was the first and, for a brief time, the only internet-direct speaker brand. This was back when the idea of selling audio and video gear — sound unheard and sight unseen — was considered lunacy.
Soon, others hopped onto the internet-direct bandwagon, cutting out the middleman and saving customers money, all backed by a risk-free 30-day trial. SVS was one of those others. At first it competed only with subwoofers — that’s all they did — and they dominated the boutique subwoofer space. They still do.
When looking for speakers, people shop with their eyes as well as their ears.
Then SVS decided to jump into speakers, which made my job more complicated: I had to convince folks why they should buy Aperion speakers instead of SVS. And in those early days, I didn’t care for the SVS speaker sound, as the treble was too harsh and too forward.
After I left Aperion and started reviewing audio gear for Digital Trends, I found myself in receipt of the SVS Ultra series speakers and, a little later, the SVS Prime Series speakers. And I was blown away. The treble still felt a bit crispy, but those speakers got so much right, and the sheer value was undeniable. I recommended them because I knew tons of folks would love them, if they could embrace the somewhat industrial or utilitarian look.
Those speakers mean business, and they look the part. Face it, when looking for speakers, people shop with their eyes as well as their ears. And it’s rare when the latter can completely overrule the former, especially when placing speakers in living spaces versus dedicated sound rooms or home theaters.
Which brings us to the SVS Evolution series, and specifically the top-of-the-line Pinnacle model.
The specs
| Price | $2,499 |
| Dimensions | 50.2 by 11.81 by 18.14 inches |
| Weight | 96.7 pounds |
| Tweeter | Single 1-inch diamond coated |
| Midrange | Two 5.25-inch glass-fiber cone |
| Woofer | Two 8-inch glass-fiber cone |
| Rear ports | Two 3-inch wide flared rear-firing |
| Colors | Glass black, gloss white, black oak veneer |
| Grille | Cloth-covered, magnetic retention |
The last speakers I ever need
These speakers are a delight for the ears and the eyes. They’re not just nice to look at — their appearance is part of the speakers’ function. The sound tuning is the best work SVS has done, making these speakers among the best-sounding you can buy, even when compared to those at two or three times the price.
If these were the last speakers I was allowed to own for the rest of my life, I’d be thrilled.
At 50.2 inches, the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers stand just over 4 feet tall. They are just under 12 inches wide, and run a touch over 18 inches deep from the most forward point to the apex of the angle on the back. According to SVS, each speaker weighs 96.7 pounds, and the shipping weight comes in at about 110 pounds.
SVS’s packaging is second to none in terms of protection and presentation. These beauties are boxed in extremely well-padded and reinforced packaging, making them unlikely to suffer shipping damage in transit.
That’s critical: It would be a crying shame to see the beautiful construction damaged. Most of the cabinet is constructed of ¾-inch thick MDF or HDF, while the front baffle is extra thick (at 1 inch) to help knock down any resonance — both directly from the drivers, as well as sympathetic cabinet vibrations. Inside, SVS reports extensive internal bracing and damping material, which contributes to an ostensibly inert cabinet that very much passes the knuckle test.
When it comes to the shape of the cabinet, it’s not made this way just to look cool (to me it gives off Focal Kanta vibes), but to provide something called “time alignment.” The idea is to ensure that all frequencies arrive at the ear at the same time and in the proper phase — it’s meant to be helpful in three-way speaker designs.
It’s a woofer/mid/tweet/mid/woofer arrangement, which is like an MTM speaker flanked at the bottom by woofers. The 1-inch dome tweeter is coated in diamond vapor, which is meant to strengthen without adding a bunch of weight. The lattice-style grill over the tweeter not only protects it from being punched in by kids or pets — it is also meant to reduce diffraction and standing waves so you get pure high-frequency response.
Flanking that are two 5.25-inch midrange drivers — these are in their own enclosure within the cabinet, isolated from both the two front-facing 8-inch woofers and the rear-firing 8-inch woofers.
Multiple woofers obviously stand to increase bass response, but having them opposed means that you’re loading the room with bass from multiple locations, which helps keep the bass even or reduce dead zones. But it also means the bass waves inside the cabinet will cancel themselves out since they are 180 degrees out of phase, which results in less sound coloration from the cabinet.
There are also two ports, one at the top and one at the bottom, because each set of woofers is in its own enclosure within the enclosure.
Add all of this up and you’re already looking at a premium speaker. But there’s more. The way SVS designed the crossover for this speaker sees the tweeter dipping down to around 1800 Hz, which is low. This allows the midrange drivers to be freed up, theoretically allowing for a more linear response between the low treble and upper midrange, as well as a more coherent sound overall. In photos of the raw drivers, they look super robust and overbuilt by design for performance.
SVS claims this speaker has a 6-ohm nominal impedance, but it acts like a 4-ohm speaker for me. Why is that relevant?
As impedance drops, the need for stable power increases significantly. You don’t need a ton of watts to light these speakers up, but to get the dynamics and clarity they’re capable of, you need a pretty capable amp. You want an amp that is 4-ohm stable, and while there are some beefy high-end A/V receivers that are up to the task, these speakers are going to sound better with high-powered two-channel integrated amps or independent amplifiers like those from Outlaw Audio.
They just effortlessly reproduce truthful sound, full of life.
When it comes to positioning these speakers, they need room to breathe. The closer to the wall you place the back of the Pinnacle – which has both two 8-inch woofers and two large flared ports, all of which are emitting bass – the more you are going to complicate or even compromise their bass performance. I got the best results by placing the back of the speaker about 3 feet away from the wall. However, the speakers have good enough dispersion that it’s not necessary to get so specific with the positioning.
The depth and the breadth of the soundstage is massive and allows for incredibly precise instrument placement, depending on how the music is mixed. The phantom center is incredibly convincing – you’d swear there was a center channel in the TV, it’s that realistic. I’m head over heels for the balance of warmth, sweetness, and detail these speakers give to the treble region. And on balance, the Pinnacles are among the most satisfying speakers I’ve listened to, long term.
They are warm, but not veiled; sweet, but never strident; and detailed, but not forward. These speakers don’t shout at you with their resolution – they just effortlessly reproduce truthful sound, full of life. You can listen to them for hours and hours on end without ever getting worn out, and yet they offer so much detail to delight your ears. The attack, decay, and ring of cymbals and high-hats is honest and organic. Breathy vocals envelope you like a velvet blanket.
How they sound
I’m toughest on speakers when it comes to how they handle brass instruments and their complex overtones. I’m a trumpet player, so when I listen to the likes of Michael Jackson’s Thriller or George Benson’s Give Me the Night, I look for zing, zeal, grit, richness, and the harmonic dissonance and consonance that you can only hear among brass overtones from a horn section. That’s where the Pinnacle really steals my heart: It reproduces recordings right in so many ways, but the horn sections just sound awesome.
Vocal reproductions – such as those by Fleetwood Mac, Michael McDonald, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Elton John – are among the best I’ve heard from a speaker using dynamic drivers. I still have an affinity for planar magnetic speakers like Magnepans when it comes to some vocals, but the Pinnacle is delightfully close to that kind of openness and air, balanced with richness and tonal authenticity. The Dahlquist DQ-20 gave me similar chills.
The best speakers are genre-agnostic … these can do just about anything.
On the crunchier end of the spectrum, the dynamics and lack of distortion on records like Toto IV and some Snarky Puppy and good old Led Zeppelin albums are a marvel to behold. I love it when a speaker can handle delicate jazz and aggressive rock equally well.
The best speakers are genre-agnostic, and that’s how the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacles roll. They can do just about anything. And part of the reason is that the bass is everything you want and need, no subwoofer required. These speakers go low and deep, but most importantly, they go exactly where the music tells them to.
You will hear the best these speakers have to offer when seated in front of them. They aren’t so directional that they sound completely different when you stand up and move around, but to really hear the inner details, you need to be seated.
These speakers are large and they need a fair amount of space. They also need some solid power. Don’t try to run these with a Wiim Amp or others built on the same amp topology (because when they are done, they are done). Give the Pinnacle a great amp; the reward you get from that investment will pay silly dividends.
Another important point is that SVS doesn’t own the bang-for-your buck speaker market here. The Ultra Evolution Pinnacle has quite a lot of competition from the likes of the Focal Aria Evo X (specifically the Number 3), the Martin Logan XT F200, and the Perlisten R5T – all excellent full-range tower speakers in the same price range.
But the Ultra Evolution Pinnacles do it for me. These speakers will be my reference speakers until or unless something can topple them from their throne.
Maybe that’s the greatest compliment I can pay the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers: I don’t want to be without them. With their sound and looks, my ears and eyes don’t go wandering. The grass doesn’t look greener elsewhere.
Maybe there is no cure for upgraditis, but the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacles are the closest thing to one that I know.
