SVS Prime Bookshelf Speakers - Pair

This is the best pair of speakers I have ever heard. I spent a lot of time reading reviews and bouncing back and forth between different models in this price range. I went to Best Buy and demoed what I could but still ended up ordering these. I am glad I did; they sound absolutely amazing. I wanted to try the pair before picking up the rest of the speakers to complete my 5.1 system (going with a PB-1000 Pro).

I read some reviews that mentioned these bookshelves lack in bass output. That has not been my experience at all. I don't know if it's just my room but I have them about 18" out from the back wall on stands and they sound great with plenty of low end.

The only problem is that my wife thinks they are ugly and wants me to return them for a "more attractive" pair. I went with the black ash finish but I think they look just fine. They're speakers ... Whatever. I kinda like my guest room anyway.

I am very happy with my Prime bookshelf speakers. They are very clear and have good bass. Over all I am very happy with my speakers.

Definitely the best speakers $500 can buy.

Great Product! Glad I bought it!!!

THANK YOU for taking the time to ask how we like the Prime Bookshelf speakers. I would like to tell you a story that will hopefully, not bore you to tears. I am 81 years old and my beautiful wife, Linda, is 75.

Over the course of time and several attempts at getting the right sound we are certainly getting closer. The REAL beginning began After the advent of the Blu-ray Disc, June 20, 2006. Thank You Sony!!! Prior to the Blu-ray Disc everything was just kind of flat and not terrible exciting! For many years we have always had 2 surround sound systems. One in our living area, with a Pioneer Receiver and speaker wires that connect through walls into our Master Bedroom, two for outside by our Pool and one connect to the inside of our Sauna Room. Also a 5.1 system in our Living room. The Music we play on this system emanates for an iPod with over 2500 tunes, most from the 1940's thru about 1976. A marvelous collection of OLD Tunes, with lots of Big Band sounds, and of course Frank. As well as all the popular music from the early 50s thru 1976 or so.

Our main media Room is Small (12 x 12) and specifically set up to bring great Blu-ray audio from our 400 Blu-ray Movie Collection. For the past 10 years we have been using Definitive Technology Speakers. Front L/R Studio Monitor 65. Center CS9060. The height and surrounds are Definitive Technology ProMonitor 800s. We also have 2 Subwoofers in this room. Definitive Technology SC6000 and SC4000. A new 65" UltraHD 65" Samsung screen, a Roku and a Sony UBP x800 4k Player. The driving force is our Pioneer SC-LX701 AVR.

For many years we have truly enjoyed the audio in this room, and I am always looking for either different and or better audio. In other words, I have never stopped looking at other speakers to compare and inquire and sometimes buy! Never wanting the same sound and never really knowing if the speakers we are running are too much for the room. And on and on it goes. last year I bought a pair of Wharfedale Reva 2 speakers. After a few weeks, these were not doing it for us. Not enough excitement and or punch, So we re wrapped these and set them on a shelf in the garage and brought back the def tech 65s.

We have a Blu-ray we use to listen and also test out new speakers. "Hotel California" like you never heard before! Volume way up, of course! My oh My what a PERFECT Album!!! There are more than a few other Blu-ray Movie scenes that also work quite well.

Last Monday we received your (ours now) Prime Bookshelf Speakers. We disconnected and re-wrapped the Studio Monitor Def Tech 65s and connected our New SVS Prime Bookshelf Speakers. I did all the proper Pioneer AVR set up and Calibration, etc. In the end, all speakers set on Small and 80hz Crossover, etc. After about 40 hours of Break in time I have done this Calibration one more time. Hopefully these new SVS prime Bookshelf Speakers are settling in properly. as they are on either side of our 65" screen and a couple of feet away from the back wall.

Linda and I are both pleasantly surprised at the big Sound that fills the room. One of the first things Linda said was these speakers have much better Clarity, and I agree. We are so very pleased and wanted to pen a few words to Thank you for building a Great Speaker. I remain ever so hopeful I did not bore you with this story!

Rather than a short review on this WONDERFUL product, I felt I needed to give you a little background on our many attempts at buying the proper Speaker. After another 100 or so hours of Break in, I will pen a few more words on these marvelous speakers, I am sure. In the Meantime, please feel free to share our feelings about the Splendid SVS Bookshelf Speakers. I would have loved going for the ULTRA Bookshelf Speakers, but the price slowed me down, as did Linda...

Excellent mains for our home theater. We had used Prime Satellites for L, R and Center previously because nothing else sounded good in our very live, lots of glass, vaulted-ceiling room. When we recently moved our new house has a tamer listening room and I upgraded to Prime Bookshelfs and Center to take advantage of the better acoustics. Made a dramatic improvement in fullness, smoothness, imaging and dynamic range. Also upgraded from a 10" Velodyne and 12" BIC subwoofer to the PB3000 and added Atmos (5.1.4) by mounting four Prime Satellites to the ceiling. System is nearly 100% SVS now with only an older pair of Carver bipolars surviving to serve as side surrounds. Our home theater performs like a cinema now. Truly first-rate and thrilled I made the decision to stick with and expand my SVS components. Customer service (esp. Ted) was extremely helpful when I thought my PB3000 was DOA because it would not respond to my Pioneer AVR's test tones. Still scratching my head over that one but the sub works perfectly and sounds amazing. My HT is now sonically complete.

Sound clarity is like no other I replaced a set of Yamaha tower speakers and boy am I glad I did! I mated them with 24” speaker stands for a fit and finish that’s pleasing. The look of them is just stunningly beautiful! After watching cheepaudioman review them I felt I was making a good purchase and he was right! They sound amazing. Next purchase is an SVS sub as I’m using paradigm right now.

Set these up with the SVS sound base what an amazing combination. I highly recommend both items. With hd Amazon music songs sound amazing

Best Speakers ever

Bookshelf speakers are incredibly crisp and powerful!!!!!

They're very good

I’ve only had these for about a week, so these are early impressions. Straight out of the box (but after running Audyssey on my Denon X1600H), the speakers (to my ears) seemed very bright. I noticed quite a bit of sibilance when playing tracks featuring female vocalists. However...my ears were accustomed to my Clements 107di bookshelves that I’ve been listening to for over 20 years, so I know they needed adjusting as much as the Prime speakers needed some breaking in. I’ve been running the Primes about 6 hours a day combined (music and movies). The high end has gradually transformed in the right direction...and what seemed to be strident brightness has somewhat tamed itself. Now what I’m hearing (and I believe my own ears have adjusted quite a bit also) is a lot of detail. I listen to mainly jazz fusion (Jeff Lorber, Scott Henderson, Return to Forever, etc.), and music production is usually pretty stellar on these recordings. Hearing them on the Primes now...is a rather exhilarating experience. The imaging is excellent, and the depth and dimensionality is wonderful. I listen to music in 2.1 (I bought a SB-2000 Pro sub a couple of weeks prior to getting the bookshelves), but with some recordings the sound actually seems to envelop me...where I have to check as to whether I’m accidentally in a Surround mode on the receiver. Now, there is still some strident high end on some recordings (a sax solo on Marcus Miller’s “Mr. Clean” is overly raucous compared to my 107di’s). I’m going to give the Primes some more time to see if they settle a bit more, but for the most part, these are a positive change from my aging Clements speakers. Oh...for movies, they are way more than sufficient in handling soundtracks and effects. Watching the first 20 minutes of “6 Underground” on Netflix (loaded with snap, crackle & pop, and crash, boom, bang mixed in with a thumping soundtrack)...was a treat!

Overpriced but worth it. I have not taken this speaker apart and hope to never require disassembly. This speaker has excellent sound with unusual clarity. I Would consider floor speakers at a reduced price range.

Love these! Hoping to expand my SVS sound with an SVS sub soon.

Every speaker and subwoofer I have purchased from SVS have been the best overall speakers I have ever owned and I have owned Klipsh, B&W and KEF. Thank you for your wonderful products at great prices

Piano gloss finish, just looks beautiful! My wife says amazing sound! Looks great in our Home theater room! Not sure why I waited so long to purchase the outstanding Prime bookshelf speakers! The mids and highs blends in well with my subwoofer. Will purchase the prime elevation speakers to complete my setup. Thanks svs!

I have owned a pair of Ultra Bookshelf speakers for a couple years and over that time have shuffled through various speaker options in a second room. With every product I tried, (popular wireless speakers, other bookshelf pairs) I knew there was a better solution out there in the Prime Bookshelf.

At the price these speakers cannot be beat - build quality, design, and the signature SVS sound paired with customer service that goes above and beyond.

I'm happy to have the addition, and as I've told the SVS folks, I'm a lifer with their products. Very pleased and will be back as I continue to add.

The clarity is amazing.

Had them a week now. Saving up for my next pair! I'm spoiled already. Chasing the sweet spot.

Build is very good. The sound stage is good. Definitely recommend.

These speakers sound excellent! Very loud and clear. They sound great with my dual SB-3000 subs.

Great speakers! I use them for my side surrounds but I have them in the back because not much sound comes out the rear surround terminals.

Very well made speakers, if i had additional funds I would have purchased the center speaker as well.
I was surprised as to the sound so crisp and clear. I recommend this brand to all my friends.

As a 65 year old newbie to hi resolution audio I didn’t know what to expect. I read some reviews and decided on a pair of Prime Bookshelf speakers for the dedicated 2.1 stereo I’m putting together. After removing the speakers from the box the first thing I noticed was the craftsmanship of the cabinets,”flawless”. The sound produced by these truly magnificent little speakers is also “flawless”. impressive to say the least.

I bought the prime bookshelf lspeakers. And 6 months later the 10” sub. Wow. I’ve had a lot of speakers (last Monitor Audio Gold). The SVS are the best by far. Can’t say enough except thank you for a very quality product at a reasonable price. ROCK ON!

sorry I took so long to get back to you, but I was having problems with my amplifier which is up and working now and the new speakers are great for their size. They replaced big Polk Audio speakers with 2 wolfers and I am happy Thank you Doug

Huge upgrade over the Front Channel Left & Right I had been using. Thank you SVS.

I love these things! I bought 2 prime bookshelves, they have amazing sound quality, and they fit perfectly in my room!!

Very nice for the price!

I purchased a pair of these speakers about 3 months ago and I couldn't be happier. The speakers look and sound excellent for all types of music as well as movies. The speakers image very well and provide a good sound stage for music. I used to work in audio sales and for the price you will not find a better pair of bookshelf speakers. I can't wait until I buy an SVS subwoofer to really bring the music to life.

Just bought these speakers a couple of days ago. Using these Bookshelf's as Surround speakers.
Brilliant sound out of these book shelf's with the size of them. They work so well with my setup, which consists of Prime Pinnacle and Ultra Center, soon will add 4 prime elevation's and will be serving as Atmos speakers.
First time I used the bookshelf's was this weekend when I was watching "Stranger things" season 3. Excellent!!, adding so much more to my listening experience than my previous surround speakers.
Doing an amazing job SVS with your speakers!!

I'd like to shed some light on these speakers as someone who's lived with them for the last few years, with thousands of hours of play time.

When I first purchased a pair of the Prime Bookshelves several years back I paired them with a single PC-2000 and a Yamaha stereo receiver. I listened to them for several hundred hours and notice a general smoothing across the board from both the sub and the loudspeakers. It wasn't a huge difference, but they certainly seemed to relax a bit after 150 hours or so. I then used it in this configuration for roughly two years. Over that two years I was genuinely happy with the system, but there was always something a little off. Female vocals still had a subtle harshness to them and the bass just wasn't as tight as I would've liked.

Several months ago I realized my mistake and it wasn't the speakers.

For context: I swapped the Yamaha receiver (about $300) for separates from Schiit Audio out in California. Taking the place of the Yamaha was a Gungnir Gen 5 Multi-bit and a Schiit Vidar mono-block amp as well as a Schiit Saga pre-amp. I also swapped the loudspeaker wiring out for SVS's insulated cables.

Now, it's not even fair to compare the poor Yamaha receiver to the $2,500 worth of hardware it got replaced by but, man was the difference wild. The Bookshelf speakers completely disappeared in front of the new hardware and the sub was textured like never before. As it stands now, you'd swear there was a center channel behind the monitor because the sound stage is so precise. While the RMS power of the amp is the same as the old one (100 W @ 8 ohm), the far cleaner signal to speakers means that they can easily get unbearably loud and overwhelm the room; distortion from the speakers is non-existent. The harshness in the female vocals is gone and they're now as rich and textured as male vocals. Strings and brass and even tighter and crisper, but never does anything approach screechy or induce sibilance. There's nothing these speakers don't excel at, they perfectly reproduce whatever you throw at them. The only bad part is anything short of a stellar recording and mastering shows, badly.

While I may eventually swap these Bookshelves and PC-2000 out for a pair of PB-16 Ultras and a Ultra Towers, I'm in no hurry to get there. These really, pretty affordable, speakers hit way above their weight class. I feel like I'm robbing SVS for these things at $250 a piece. I wouldn't have been mad if I paid $750 a piece for them.

tldr: Don't cheap out on the DAC/Amp, the speakers will work as hard as what's behind them.

The SVS website has no audacity to tell the difference between Prime Bookshelf and Ultra Bookshelf speakers. They keep telling the same story which does not lead to any decision. In fact they have a great difference of much cost. Tweeter and mid-range can be connected separately. In short, ULTRA can be bi-amped.

Be warned that the picture is miss leading and the description the picture shows a pair and the description says SVS Prime Bookshelf speakers not where does it say it's only one speaker

I did not think a bookshelf of this size could play so loud, and not have audible distortion. I would by them again. I purchased the speaker stands and used with the spikes makes a unbeatable combo for price and size.

I'm using two pair of Prime bookshelf speakers as near field monitors in a home recording studio. I could not be more pleased with them. They sound great and look like a million bucks in the Piano Gloss Black.

I'm using two pair of Prime bookshelf speakers as near field monitors in a home recording studio. I could not be more pleased with them. They sound great and look like a million bucks in the Piano Gloss Black.

The SVS prime bookshelf speakers do a good job with the low end and mid range. However, when it comes to the higher frequencies these speakers do not cut it. I am drummer and I pay close attention to the cymbals when I listen to music . Cymbals do not sound realistic when I listen to these speakers.

While I am certainly not a lifelong Audiophile nor a Sound Engineer I can say that in my 50 years experiencing and enjoying music I have not found a set of speakers at this price point that sound this good. When properly powered and paired with a subwoofer these speakers provide clear, neutral, natural sound that allowed me to hear aspects of some of my favorite tracks that I had forgotten or never even knew existed. My home setup of Emotiva PA100 Preamp, A300 2 channel amp, these speakers, and SVS SB12 - NSD Sub cost less than 2K including cabling, speaker wire/connectors, etc and it absolutely outshines any other setup I have ever had. Proud to buy such an outstanding product from good people locally here in Ohio

These speakers do not sound as good as the Polk RTi A3 and they’re twice the price. The primes lack in overall detail, and sound very shallow compared to other competition. These should cost no more than 200 for the pair.

This is my second purchase from SVS. Last year, I purchased the SB-16 Ultra subwoofer, so I knew who I was choosing a set of bookshelves from. These went into an exercise room, approximately 10x10, and I mounted them high up on the wall in the corners of my room. They completely exceeded my expectations! I was nervous at first because I didn’t spring for the ultra bookshelves, but I really didn’t want to spend $1000 for exercise room speakers. Now, I’m sure the ultra’s are amazing - I’ve read reviews, but these Primes sound incredible! I replaced floor standing speakers with these because I didn’t want thumping bass, and these deliver a nice, crisp bass with really nice highs as well. Next comes a set of ultra towers for my main listening room! SVS, you’ve made me a loyal customer!!!

I just got these Speakers a couple of days ago to put on Zone 2 of My Denon AVRX5200W as a second pair to go with a pair of Polk Audio outdoor speakers. I have a 50w.x 2 Amp driving them off the Pre-amp signal. All I can say is WOW!!! It sounds like they have a 10 inch woofer, not a 6. The Crispness, Clarity and Detail of the sound is just Ridiculous for speakers this size.My Zone 1 system is a decent one with Infinity RS5 towers,RS3 bookshelves for surrounds, an Infinity CC3 Center channel and a newer Klipsch 12 inch/400w Sub. It's been a good system and still works fine but after hearing these Prime Bookshelves it is only a matter of time before I buy an SB4000 Sub first and then upgrade to Prime Towers,Center Channel and Elevations for my main System. Mudcrutch 2 (Tom Petty) just blew me and my wife away last night. and on Led Zeppelin "Battle of Evermore" I heard things never previously heard out of that cut. Super Job SVS and rest assured that you will hear from me about future speaker purchases! My wife is all in about these upgrades when it makes financial sense!

Picked up 4 Prime Bookshelf Speakers to replace 4 Sony and I’m very impressed by the better quality, better sounding speakers!

TRest

I have had the SVS PC12:NSD sub for several years and based on its performance I purchased the Prime Elevation speakers about a month ago. I wrote a review singing their praises shortly afterwards, for I have been thoroughly enjoying many of my UHD Blu-rays with Dolby Atmos/DTS:X mixes. Their excellent dispersion and precision with panning and discreet effects is simply amazing. But something was still lacking, for my Mains (Front, Center & Left....Cambridge Soundworks MC305s) and my Surrounds (Cambridge Soundworks Ambiance) were not on the same level due to their somewhat small soundstage, so last week I replaced them with 4 Prime Bookshelf speakers and the Prime Center.

The last few days I have been breaking them in by playing numerous CDs over and over again. Even before the breaking in was complete, I was overwhelmed with the deep soundstage, the phenomenal dispersion, and the incredible clarity/details. I literally was hearing things I had never heard before on CDs that I have had for years (and thus I am very familiar with them). Tonight I watched my first UHD/HDR Blu-ray....Wonder Woman with a Dolby Atmos mix. I was overwhelmed by quality of sound produced by my 10 SVS speakers! I'm not exaggerating when I say it sounded just as good as any "state of the art" Cinema I've ever been in. Mind you, I had seen this Blu-ray recently with my Cambridge Soundworks Mains and Surrounds, so I was able to make a fair comparison and I'm here to tell that the SVS Primes blew them out of the water!

If anyone has seen Wonder Woman you know it has a very LOUD and ACTIVE Dolby Atmos mix. I listened to it at -10 from beginning to end and it was one of the most satisfying aural experiences I've had. The bass was insane at time (with WAVES of energy rolling across my legs and chest at times), the dialogue in the Prime Center was crystal-clear, the Prime Bookshelves delivered in spades with an exemplary soundstage, and the Prime Elevation speakers were spot-on accurate and precise with each panning and discreet effect. Let me add that there was ZERO DISTORTION all the way through. I will end this review by assuring you I don't have stock in SVS, nor have they paid me to say what I have said.

We bought two of these speakers for our martial arts academy. These speakers along with an SVS sub-woofer fills the academy with rich sounding music during training. I highly recommend them and will be a repeat customer. Thank you SVS!

When my wife and I got married (35 years ago now!), I managed to eek out a living at a higher-end "audio salon". Those were the days I had close to the mythical "golden ears". While I can't quite hear the highest of frequencies now, I still know what a balanced speaker sounds like. Coupled with my SVS PC12-NSD subwoofer and recently purchase Prime Center, my latest purchase a pair of Prime Bookshelf speakers pretty much completes my setup - to perfection.

Music and soundtracks are clear and effortless. I start to forget I'm listening "through" a great speaker setup, until they're called upon to do something dynamic and challenging. Even then, there doesn't seem to be any signs of strain or harshness. Because the SVS subwoofer fills out the bottom two octaves (not to say that the Bookshelfs are slouches in the lower registers), I have all the range I want or need. I'm not really listening to the SVS speakers - I'm listening to the soundtrack, the movie, or the sports event.

In short: no regrets. I've even put the complementary SVS sticker on my computer!

We bought two of these speakers for our martial arts academy. These speakers along with an SVS sub-woofer fills the academy with rich sounding music during training. I highly recommend them and will be a repeat customer. Thank you SVS!

I've been considering these speakers for over a year now, deciding to go ahead and take the plunge. My previous purchase of of a PB12 made the decision easier, and I knew I would have 45 days to consider the matchup. I carefully unboxed (it was like opening a safe), connected them and immediately commenced the break in period. I listen to a lot of jazz, and was impressed with the crispness in the strings and the subtle clarity of the sax notes. Bass is not the strong issue with these puppies, but the PB-12 resolves the issue nicely. it had been previously matched to a Cambridge Soundworks surround setup. The difference using the SVS bookshelves, was night and day. I feel as if I am listening to some tracks for the first time, (an example being 'Chant' by Fourplay) feelling the kettle drum deep in your chest. My biggest challenge was in decision on the use of the low end filter, or letting the setting on the "Onkyo LFE do the work. Connecting to both inputs produces more base, connecting to just one of the bass inputs seems to produce a tighter sound and when set to around 70 hz, compliments the roll off of these bookshelves nicely. Moving these speakers about 18 inches from the front wall produces a deep sound stage, with drums and snares appearing to come from behind the speakers. The break in period cleared up the one complaint I had; the midrange sounding a little nasal initially out of the box. Pushing the bookshelves at moderate to loud levels a few hours a day allowed the midrange to smooth out, for lack of a better reference, balancing better with the tweeters at the top, with a better hand off to the sub at the bottom. All in all - a very pleasant experience, and I find myself listening primarily to stereo recordings (as opposed to movies and shows), This may change when I acquire the SVS center channel and satellites. But for now, I am satisfied with the stereo reproduction of the Primes; they play very loudly with no distortion (listening to a concert performance), with the same clarity at low levels, during reading or light conversation. still rediscovering new passages in music I have owned for years. I would like to do a side by side comparison with the Ultra bookshelves, but don't know if the tonal quality of the latter would justify the difference in price. The purchase of the Prime Bookshelves were in my opinion, a great decision.

The Prime Bookshelf speakers complete my surround system - the sound is incredible and fills the room with audio experience.