Speaker maker SVS is going to CES with a compact speaker that can be used in almost any application in a home theater, including as an elevation speaker in object-based surround systems.
The Prime Elevation can also be used as a left, center, right or surround speaker, and its sloped baffle and voicing allow it to be mounted on the wall, on the wall at corner of the ceiling, or on a stand or shelf.
The speaker, shipping in April at a targeted $349/pair, is the company’s first speaker that can be used in almost any application.
The Prime Elevation can be used as a down-firing height-channel speaker mounted high on a wall; as an up-firing height-channel speaker placed on a stand or on top of a main left-right speaker; as an up-firing front- or center-channel speaker with projector screens or where level placement at ear height isn’t possible; and as a side or rear-firing surround speaker when placement on a side wall is not optimal for the best side- or back- surround effects, the company said. Also for surround use, a pair can be wall-mounted and wired to become a bipole or dipole surround speaker.
The speaker is said to be engineered to offer the same detailed response and dynamics no matter which way it is positioned.
A wall-bracket kit is included.
“This is not a Dolby Atmos-certified product because Dolby advocates a floor-to-ceiling bounce execution,” said SVS president Gary Yacoubian of the speaker’s use in delivering height channels. “We feel that this doesn’t work well in most rooms and doesn’t work at all in others.” As a result, the speaker was designed to “work well with all of the surround-sound formats that require height speakers, and because they are not frequency-optimized for a ceiling bounce, they sound amazing and can be used in other home theater applications as well.”
“Adaptability has become a major factor in loudspeaker design, especially with the rise of more immersive audio formats,” he added.
The two-way speaker features 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter, 4.5-inch polypropylene cone woofer, frequency response of 69 Hz – 25 kHz (+/- 3dB), and choice of three finishes.
The SVS Prime Elevation is voiced for use with any of the company’s existing speakers and subwoofers. SVS offers the Prime and Ultra Series speakers as well as a range of sealed, ported and cylinder subwoofers.
