SVS Prime Wireless Pro Powered Speakers Review

Powered speakers make a fantastic alternative for those wanting a big sound within a confined space and are rapidly becoming more mainstream. Is it because they’re easier to set up? Don’t need a separate amplifier? Well, SVS is bringing Hi-Fi quality sound into everyone's home with its new line of Prime Wireless Pro Powered Speakers.

This new line of speakers from SVS builds upon the original version that was released in 2018. While not a striking difference at first glance, there are a decent amount of upgrades between the two, especially on the inside of the speaker. Not only do the Prime Wireless Pro speakers include a larger cabinet, they also have larger woofers for enhanced bass extension. The Prime Wireless Pros are traditional bookshelf speakers with rear ports, a 5.25-inch polypro woofer and a 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter. They measure about 11.5 inches high, 7 inches wide, and 9 inches deep. Also featured is a brand new 1.5x3-inch dimmable OLED screen that displays the artist and song title, music service, input, and volume level.

Features

Positioned just below the screen are six preset buttons that provide easy access to streaming services, your favorite playlists, and more. Next to those are the rotary dial knobs. The right knob controls the volume and by clicking on the knob, the screen indicates the source you are playing from. The left knob rotates to control the input and displays the brightness level with a simple click.

The addition of an eARC-compatible HDMI input is very much welcomed. The new IR remote control has everything one would need including preset buttons, volume control, and inputs. Removable grilles are included to fit any desired look, adding to the pleasing aesthetics of the set.

The Prime Wireless Pro are active two-way monitors with independent 50-watt Class D amplifiers for each woofer and tweeter. The DAC or (digital to analog converter) built into these speakers supports up to 24-bit/192 kHz for lossless music via DTS Play-Fi.

The pair consists of a right powered speaker and a left passive speaker that includes a 10-foot long mini 4-pin cable. SVS offers 15 and 20-foot speaker-to-speaker interlinks in the rare event that the speakers are separated by more than a few yards.

The right side speaker provides a pair of push buttons for enabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth configurations and a "for service only" USB connector that can also be used to charge an external device. There’s also an HDMI eARC, digital optical port, and line in connection via an RCA or mini headphone jack to make it possible to connect devices in anyway you desire. When a subwoofer is connected to the Prime Wireless Pros, the single RCA subwoofer output is intended to automatically engage an 80Hz high-pass sub-crossover filter. The passive left speaker only features a 4-pin connector for speaker-to-speaker connectivity. Two ethernet ports are also available for wired networking.

Setup

SVS provides several options when it comes to wireless streaming. You can stream through Wi-Fi with the DTS Play-Fi app, good old Bluetooth, Airplay2, Chromecast, and more. The Play-Fi app provides high-resolution streaming from high resolution streaming services such as Tidal and Qobuz. For my testing, I used Qobuz on my iPhone, which was easily accessible as soon as I connected the Play-Fi app to my Prime Wireless Pros and the speakers to my Wi-Fi.

The setup on these speakers was effortless. It’s as simple as plugging in the supplied power chord to the right speaker and adding the 4-pin interlink between the speakers. Once that was complete, I quickly ran through the wireless setup and mounted them up on speaker stands about 15-inches from the wall and roughly 7-feet apart.

Sound Quality

My first impression was how much coloration the midrange had. Not only do these speakers produce an exceptionally clean sound, they also have a lot of noticeable detail. Playing “Rio” by Duran Duran, it’s obvious that the larger base driver really does make a difference. As soon as the bass guitar started to play, it’s apparent that these speakers reproduce bass exceptionally well. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying you don’t need a subwoofer, you can definitely get away without one and not sacrifice too much bass.

Moving on to “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits, imaging is reasonably tight but has a nice projection with instruments held in place and perfectly distributed with a slight but pleasant sense of “behind-the-speakers” depth. The clarity and balance of each part of the song are fantastic. Turning up the volume on this track reveals no issues and the speakers are certainly capable of handling whatever you can throw at them.

Lastly, while playing the freeway fight scene in the first few minutes of “Deadpool” while connected to my TV via HDMI eARC, the impressive bass performance and dynamic sound are most apparent. Hearing the bullets fly past with the sound of shattering glass shows a nice amount of separation. Proper speaker placement results in a nice “phantom center channel” effect, producing crisp and clear dialogue.

Conclusion

If you're just venturing into the world of Hi-Fi audio, these speakers make an excellent entry-level option. They offer clean sound at an affordable price, giving you more bang for your buck compared to other options in the same price range. With the quality sound these speakers produce, the SVS Prime Wireless Pros are an ideal choice for a compact sound system that perfectly demonstrates what audiophile listening is all about. They're precise and energetic, simple to set up and use, and are more than capable of filling even medium-sized rooms at serious listening levels.