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We plan every new product launch considering a host of factors: Cost, size/weight/footprint, projected demand, and of course - what matters most with any new piece of gear - Performance. We’d make that all caps but it’d look like we’re yelling. It runs through the veins of every SVS product, performance.
Sometimes we miss the mark a little, usually underestimating demand for new product launches (indeed we sold out of the entire first production run of our MTS-01 family). But if we’re even a little off target on performance, we get pretty riled up. The MTS-01 family debuted to great promise, but exhibited some durability issues with our insanely good, insanely expensive, Scan Speak “AirCirc†tweeter. More significantly, some folks felt this new speaker family was just a tad too “laid back†for their tastes. Speaker “voicing†is as subjective as creating a new wine, and personal tastes dictate no speaker voicing will ever be perfect for everyone. Nevertheless, we read enough comments sprinkled in with generally outstanding reviews to know that some voicing tweaks were in order. We knew the MTS-01 family was great, but we’re shooting for world-class at this price point. Might sound like marketing hype to some, but it’s literally a part of our corporate foundation, if it can be made better, we make it better, no matter where a product is in its “life cycleâ€. To say we took all criticism seriously would be the understatement of the year.
So we called in one of the preeminent speaker design engineers in the business, and asked him to tear them apart. Literally and figuratively, objective, subjective. No one at SVS would influence what he had to say, good bad or indifferent. And all the harshest critiques from dyed-in-the-wool fans of other brands were forwarded to him too. We definitely wanted to assess the tweeter durability issue, but ultimately more important was the task of voicing this great speaker line to achieve that elusive goal of world-class sound quality.
The report card was quite simple: While the cabinet, bracing, and driver selection was outstanding, the brains of any speaker, the crossover, showed room for improvement. How much improvement was merely a function time and resources – no doubt about it, crossover development at the world class level is extremely expensive.
The response from SVS was simple: No limitations. Start from scratch and create the most refined, accurate, high-quality crossovers possible and spare no expense in maximizing the performance of what is already a rock-solid foundation. We didn’t want to hear about cost or complexity – we wanted uncompromising results after a brutal regiment of objective and subjective testing. Our most experienced golden ears conducted extensive before/after demos in multiple listening environments using a wide range of upstream gear and electronics.
The result? A whole different breed of MTS-01 family speakers is at hand, and those high-zoot crossovers are heading to production now. Frankly, as remarkable as they already were, these speakers are so improved, we strongly considered labeling them the MTS-02 (and actually used this as our working title in-house). What we’ve achieved: Improved spectral balance (the all-important “voicingâ€), significantly enhanced low-level resolution and soundstage depth, better phase coherency, effortless dynamics at higher playback levels, and of course increased tweeter durability. We even changed the MCS-01 center speaker from a conventional 2-way to a much more sophisticated 2.5-way design for improved off-axis comb filtering characteristics, answering even those critics of the original version. No stone was left unturned in taking this speaker family from great to world-class.
So all MTS-01, MCS-01 and MBS-01 speakers coming out of our Ohio factory later this summer will have the wholly new and significantly more refined crossovers. Eventually we expect these more costly designs to increase the price of all these speakers, but for the time being we’re absorbing the whole smash. Wait – there’s more….
We’re not selling these more costly crossovers as “upgrades†to current owners, we’re giving them to you. If you love everything about your current M-series speakers (and the vast majority of owners do), then stand pat. But if you’re the type who just has to have world-class and the latest and best SVS has to offer, ship us your speakers and we’ll install the crossovers for free and ship your speakers back on our dime.
This isn’t “normal†we know. Most companies might “leave well enough aloneâ€. You already know we’re not most companies. This is about the SVS philosophy - no matter how good we believe we made a product, if we can make it better, we do it. Full stop.
To take advantage of this unprecedented offer, contact SVS and we’ll help you coordinate shipping, install the new crossovers (unfortunately this task is far more complicated than we’d ever ask a customer to perform), fully test your speakers, put them in a fresh box, and even pay to ship them back. We’re not aware of any other OEM who has ever made an offer like this, but again that hardly matters; it’s the sort of thing we do if a newly launched product can be made even better. International customers? Same thing. Contact your dealer to arrange your upgrade later this summer, too.
If you’ve heard the first generation MTS-01 family, you heard some very good speakers, easily better than many brands costing considerably more. But our fans and critics alike said there was room for improvement, and we’ve done just that. Once you hear this second generation MTS-01 family in action, you’ll immediately agree the SVS brand is synonymous with “as good as it getsâ€.
Sometimes we miss the mark a little, usually underestimating demand for new product launches (indeed we sold out of the entire first production run of our MTS-01 family). But if we’re even a little off target on performance, we get pretty riled up. The MTS-01 family debuted to great promise, but exhibited some durability issues with our insanely good, insanely expensive, Scan Speak “AirCirc†tweeter. More significantly, some folks felt this new speaker family was just a tad too “laid back†for their tastes. Speaker “voicing†is as subjective as creating a new wine, and personal tastes dictate no speaker voicing will ever be perfect for everyone. Nevertheless, we read enough comments sprinkled in with generally outstanding reviews to know that some voicing tweaks were in order. We knew the MTS-01 family was great, but we’re shooting for world-class at this price point. Might sound like marketing hype to some, but it’s literally a part of our corporate foundation, if it can be made better, we make it better, no matter where a product is in its “life cycleâ€. To say we took all criticism seriously would be the understatement of the year.
So we called in one of the preeminent speaker design engineers in the business, and asked him to tear them apart. Literally and figuratively, objective, subjective. No one at SVS would influence what he had to say, good bad or indifferent. And all the harshest critiques from dyed-in-the-wool fans of other brands were forwarded to him too. We definitely wanted to assess the tweeter durability issue, but ultimately more important was the task of voicing this great speaker line to achieve that elusive goal of world-class sound quality.
The report card was quite simple: While the cabinet, bracing, and driver selection was outstanding, the brains of any speaker, the crossover, showed room for improvement. How much improvement was merely a function time and resources – no doubt about it, crossover development at the world class level is extremely expensive.
The response from SVS was simple: No limitations. Start from scratch and create the most refined, accurate, high-quality crossovers possible and spare no expense in maximizing the performance of what is already a rock-solid foundation. We didn’t want to hear about cost or complexity – we wanted uncompromising results after a brutal regiment of objective and subjective testing. Our most experienced golden ears conducted extensive before/after demos in multiple listening environments using a wide range of upstream gear and electronics.
The result? A whole different breed of MTS-01 family speakers is at hand, and those high-zoot crossovers are heading to production now. Frankly, as remarkable as they already were, these speakers are so improved, we strongly considered labeling them the MTS-02 (and actually used this as our working title in-house). What we’ve achieved: Improved spectral balance (the all-important “voicingâ€), significantly enhanced low-level resolution and soundstage depth, better phase coherency, effortless dynamics at higher playback levels, and of course increased tweeter durability. We even changed the MCS-01 center speaker from a conventional 2-way to a much more sophisticated 2.5-way design for improved off-axis comb filtering characteristics, answering even those critics of the original version. No stone was left unturned in taking this speaker family from great to world-class.
So all MTS-01, MCS-01 and MBS-01 speakers coming out of our Ohio factory later this summer will have the wholly new and significantly more refined crossovers. Eventually we expect these more costly designs to increase the price of all these speakers, but for the time being we’re absorbing the whole smash. Wait – there’s more….
We’re not selling these more costly crossovers as “upgrades†to current owners, we’re giving them to you. If you love everything about your current M-series speakers (and the vast majority of owners do), then stand pat. But if you’re the type who just has to have world-class and the latest and best SVS has to offer, ship us your speakers and we’ll install the crossovers for free and ship your speakers back on our dime.
This isn’t “normal†we know. Most companies might “leave well enough aloneâ€. You already know we’re not most companies. This is about the SVS philosophy - no matter how good we believe we made a product, if we can make it better, we do it. Full stop.
To take advantage of this unprecedented offer, contact SVS and we’ll help you coordinate shipping, install the new crossovers (unfortunately this task is far more complicated than we’d ever ask a customer to perform), fully test your speakers, put them in a fresh box, and even pay to ship them back. We’re not aware of any other OEM who has ever made an offer like this, but again that hardly matters; it’s the sort of thing we do if a newly launched product can be made even better. International customers? Same thing. Contact your dealer to arrange your upgrade later this summer, too.
If you’ve heard the first generation MTS-01 family, you heard some very good speakers, easily better than many brands costing considerably more. But our fans and critics alike said there was room for improvement, and we’ve done just that. Once you hear this second generation MTS-01 family in action, you’ll immediately agree the SVS brand is synonymous with “as good as it getsâ€.
Anyone heard the new crossover yet (and would you care to comment?)
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