In conjunction with Blu-ray.com's exclusive
giveaway of an SVS Prime Satellite 5.1 Home
Theater System, staff reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman interviewed SVS' President and CEO
Gary Yacoubian about SVS and their business philosophy.
Hi, Gary, tell us a little bit about your background.
I went to school at Kenyon College and then got an MBA from the University of Maryland
and ultimately ended up working for Monster Cables where I was Vice President of
Strategic Development. SVS was founded in 1998.
What is SVS' product design philosophy?
When designing speakers, subwoofers and other audio products, the biggest
engineering challenges lie not in creating products when cost is no object, but in creating
world-class products at prices popular with broader audiences. That is core to the SVS
design philosophy. To do this, we deploy contemporary design techniques and tools for
our products, in addition to tried and true blood, sweat, and tears.
Loudspeaker and subwoofer design is no longer about hit-or-miss design choices and
trying to fix problems after the fact. Instead, we actively employ tools like FEA (Finite
Element Analysis), 3D printing, and acoustical simulation software to ensure our
mechanical and acoustical designs are as efficient and accurate as possible. Likewise,
our experience in the material sciences allows us to better harness composite materials
like our ABS and glass-fiber composite cast baskets for the Prime series. This ensures
we are using cost effective materials with some of the best mechanical and acoustical
properties possible.
Take the 17+ prototypes of the 12" woofer we use in the 2000 subwoofer series, for
example. When it came time to get every little bit of performance out of the design, we
had to make a lot of small adjustments before we were satisfied. Once a design is
optimized, the ability to scrutinize production becomes critical. Our production techniques
at every stage of production allow us to keep rigorously tight performance tolerances
and ensure that every speaker and subwoofer hits its target. In the end, if we wanted
to build the best sounding $10,000 speakers, we could, but the accomplishment is
bringing that level of performance at a tiny fraction of the cost by way of modern
engineering tools, careful material choices, and an unwavering persistence for maximum
performance.
SVS may be best known as a subwoofer company. Describe the importance of a
subwoofer in a home theater.
Well let's talk about home theater sound first. We have always said that three-fourths
of the emotional content and impact of the Blu-ray experience comes from the sound.
That's where people emotionally engage with the movie or music experience, making it
unforgettable.
As I'm sure most Blu-ray.com users are aware, a subwoofer is responsible for the low
frequency effects (bass) that we hear and feel, and is perhaps the most important factor
in creating an immersive experience because you can hear and especially feel bass!! It
could be a mood-setting musical score aimed at making you feel tension or drama, or it
could be the revving of a muscle car's 600-hp engine as it accelerates down the highway
to escape the police. Explosions, whirring helicopter blades and other action scenes tend
to create awesome subwoofer moments as well, and that's without even considering all
the musical benefits.
Another important benefit is that a subwoofer frees up loudspeakers to do what they do
best, render dialogue as well as high and mid-frequency effects with greater clarity and
better dynamics since the speakers are freed from the burden of having to reproduce the
low end of the audio frequency spectrum. Many people say that adding a standalone
subwoofer was the most impactful upgrade they made to their home theaters, and I am
not one to argue.
SVS makes sealed and ported cabinet subwoofers. What's the difference?
A general answer is that sealed subwoofers are more compact and tend to have a
tighter, more articulate sound, while ported models are larger and have deeper bass
extension and sheer sound volume. At SVS, we offer both and we work hard to narrow
the differences between the sealed vs. ported experiences. Both are great for music or
movies when correctly designed, which is the highest priority at SVS.
Tell us about the Prime Satellite Speakers and SB-1000, which are being featured in
our exclusive giveaway of an SVS home theater system.
Basically, when SVS designs a speaker or subwoofer, it's not a matter of asking
ourselves, "How do we make this cheaper?", but rather "Could this be better?" Both
these products embody that philosophy. The Prime Satellite pushes performance to
unprecedented levels in this form factor, with design and component quality rivaling
speakers two and three times their price. The Satellite speaker stands on its own, or
matches perfectly with SVS subwoofers and has the flexibility to serve as the front,
center, and surround speakers in a very capable, very affordable multi-channel home
theater system. It's a bit like our Swiss Army Knife speaker. The compact size and
included wall bracket also make the Satellite ideal in locations where space is limited, but
high performance is desired.
For the SB-1000, small subwoofer cabinets are not conducive to big bass sound, which
presented a challenge for our engineers when designing the 13"x13"x13" sealed
enclosure. We packed the SB-1000 subwoofer's compact cabinet with a front-firing 12"
driver with dual high-grade ferrite magnets and FEA-optimized internal motor technology
for high output with extremely low distortion. The lightweight cone material of the long-
stroke driver reproduces subtle audio tones with lifelike realism, making the SB-1000 a
perfect option for serious music lovers or people who want immersive home theater
sound, but don't have a ton of space.
Tell me about some of your favorite audio moments on Blu-ray.
It's a very long list, but we do quite a few audio shows, so we're always looking at new
material that we think will make compelling demos and show off the performance
capabilities of our gear. Some of our favorite Blu-ray's include:
TRON: Legacy,
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,
Drive,
Guardians of the Galaxy,
Transformers,
Thor, and I
could just keep going and going.
We love to demo music because it shows the versatility and accuracy of the best home
theater gear.
The Police: Certifiable is amazing, and we use discs ranging
from
Jane's Addiction: Live Voodoo and
Nine Inch Nails:
Beside You in Time to opera to keep it fresh.
Anything new coming down the line that Blu-ray.com users should know about?
Yes, we will have some major product announcements coming in the fall and early winter,
so stay tuned!
Thanks, Gary, and thanks for offering Blu-ray.com members the chance to win a new
home theater system from SVS.