The case of height effect speakers
The case of height effect speakers made by SVS and Audioholics
SVS recently launched their long awaited Prime Elevation Speakers.
While brands like Elac, Klipsch and Definitive Technology subscribe to emerging audio formats such as Dolby Atmos®*, DTS:X® and Auro 3D®, Ed Mullen from SVS has made a different argument from the very beginning of height effect speakers. What’s interesting is that Gene DelaSalla from Audioholics is entirely on the same page and he’s not hiding it either.
This is their case.
‘Dolby Atmos®*, DTS:X® and Auro 3D® aim to take surround sound to the next level by adding a height dimension to what has traditionally been a single plane of sound coming from all around a listener. Commonly referred to as “object based surround sound”, these exciting formats create the most realistic and immersive home audio experience available for movie, TV, music and gaming lovers through the use of Height Effects Speakers.’
Mullen goes on to subscribe to the fact that in the real world, volume and direction of sound are used to judge whether something is happening above and to the right, to the left and far away, or passing directly overhead.
Ignoring the discussion about which one (if any) of these immersive audio standards (Dolby Atmos®*, DTS:X® or Auro 3D® ) is superior to the other, height effect speakers in an audio system do exactly that: Object based surround sound technology calculates which speaker needs to get what amount of sound to accurately convey the location of an object to create the most realistic experience possible. When done right, the result is spin-your-head and duck-for-cover effects that put you right in the middle of the action.
That said, you wouldn’t be alone in wondering how height effects speakers are executed, considering that very few speakers are designed to be mounted on the ceiling to project sound from overhead.
Most of the time, the approach relies on a ceiling bounce method that beams sound towards the ceiling from below in hopes that it will perfectly reflect back towards the listening area. That sounds good on paper, but the problem is, the results are unpredictable because of room shape, ceiling design and a number of other factors. It only works under perfect conditions.
Furthermore, ceiling bounce requires limiting the frequency response of a height effects speaker, which means compromised sound quality.
The other option to create the height effects factor in an audio system is with in-ceiling speakers.
While you avoid the problem of unpredictability of ceiling bounce, in-ceilings require costly professional installation.
Also, because there’s no speaker cabinet, in-ceiling speakers lack the awesome dynamics and detail to create truly immersive sound quality. For people seeking a state-of-the-art home audio experience, this compromise is unacceptable.
Both Mullen and DelaSalla insist that sound emanating from overhead should be beamed directly at the listener from a full range speaker in a cabinet.
With this philosophy in mind, SVS engineers envisioned an easy-to-mount, direct radiating height effects speaker for object based surround sound.
The Prime Elevation hangs high on a wall and directly radiates sound down towards the listening area with no unpredictable ceiling bounce and no compromised sound quality.
These days, speakers need to be able to adapt to almost any home theatre set-up, surmounting a number of non-ideal situations.
“Adaptability has become a major factor in loudspeaker design, especially with the rise of more immersive audio formats,” said Gary Yacoubian, president, SVS.
Featuring a rated bandwidth of 69 Hz to 25 kHz (+/- 3dB), the SVS Prime Elevation performance compares to that of high-end bookshelf speakers, but offers many more possibilities. It’s just nice to see a reflected sound elevation channel option that isn’t tied to one specific immersive format. It offers so much more flexibility.
Outstanding crossover design and lower midrange and upper bass output allow it to blend seamlessly with subwoofers and speakers from SVS and other brands.
But there is more to the story.
The angled front baffle, refined acoustics, and proprietary mounting hardware enable clear, dynamic sound in room’s where ideal placement of front, center, side or rear surround, and/or LCR speakers is not possible. It is acoustically engineered to perform exceptionally well in any role and adapts seamlessly to any surround sound set-up, even in the most challenging rooms.
The reason why this is even possible is that there is no sideways or upside down with the SVS Prime Elevation. The magnetic SVS logo on the front grille is adjustable to accommodate positioning. Smart, we say…
All of this means the speaker adapts to oddly shaped rooms, high ceilings and less than perfect placement locations for other speakers in a home theatre on top of its primarily use as a height effects speaker.
Basically, the SVS Prime Elevation can be used in the following ways:
- Down-Firing Height Effects Speaker – Placed high on a side wall, the directly radiated sound is a vast improvement over compromised “ceiling bounce” or in-ceiling solutions
- Up or Down-Firing Front, LCR or Center Channel Speaker – Placed above or below the viewing area, directed at listener, when placement at ear level isn’t possible.
- Side or Rear-Firing Surround Speaker – Placed on side wall for rear effects or a rear wall for side effects when optimal placement is not possible
It may sound like a detail, but beyond versatility, the SVS Prime Elevation includes a patent pending multi-angle wall bracket. As soon as we opened the box at Rapallo we were impressed with the quality. The bracket allows users to easily and securely mount the speaker on the wall in any of four directions: up or down-firing, and side or rear-firing, depending on how it’s being used, to get the best performance from anywhere in the room.
On a final note, we would like to share what Gene DelaSalla has to say about the SVS Prime Elevation Speakers: “As a company that stands behind real science in audio, it’s not surprising to us that SVS has come up with an elevation speaker that relies on sending the direct sound to the listener rather than the compromised bounce popularized by Dolby Elevation Speakers. As we’ve always maintained, if you want sound in a specific location, put that speaker in that location! In our opinion, this is the perfect height speaker solution to unify all three competing Immersive Surround formats (ie. Auro 3D, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X).”
Note: Elac and Klipsch, although marketed as a Dolby Atmos speaker, offer the use of their Debut A4 and Reference RP-140SA speakers as a down-firing height effects speaker as well.
Sources: SVS, Klipsch, Elac, Definitive Technology, Audioholics, Home theatre Review, AVS Forum