SVS Readying Its 1st Product Not to Be Sold Via Direct Sales

SVS Sound is planning its first in-wall subwoofer and its first product to be sold exclusively through authorized dealers, CEO Gary Yacoubian told Consumer Electronics Daily via a Zoom call from the company’s CES suite at the Venetian Thursday.

The company is selling via authorized custom installation dealers to be sure the Model 3000 subwoofer is installed correctly, Yacoubian said, emphasizing that it won’t be available by direct purchase or through Amazon: "It can only be purchased from someone who has been authorized by us to install it." That authorization process is in progress, with the product due this quarter. Dealers that have seen the product are "thrilled that that's the only way that a customer can get it," which Yacoubian believes signals a positive customer experience because dealers "are going to make sure it works, and it's installed properly."

The sub has dual 9-inch drivers built into a sealed aluminum and medium-density fiberboard cabinet and pairs with a customized, rack-mountable 800-watt version of SVS’ Sledge Class D amplifier. The amp can be configured to supply 400 watts to each of two subwoofers for customers wanting “crazy bass,” Yacoubian said. Preliminary price is $1,299 for one sub and amplifier, $1,999 for dual subs.

On whether SVS plans to also make a line of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers dedicated to the custom channel, Yacoubian said, “It’s been mentioned to us.” SVS’ strategy has been to “answer a question that no one else is answering,” he said. Its products fill a gap that only SVS can fill, “and I don’t know that the in-wall, in-ceiling category is begging us," he said. “The world is not rattling our cage that they need us for that, but I’m not going to rule it out. If we come up with some innovations that would change the game," he said, "100% we would do it.”

Also at CES, SVS is showing its second-generation wireless powered speakers, responding to customer feedback from the first Prime Wireless model that hit the market in 2018. In the second generation, SVS added AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, HDMI with direct input buttons, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. An OLED front display shows artist and track information.

The 50-watt x four-channel SoundBase integrated amplifier provides bi-amplification to the speakers’ 1-inch aluminum dome tweeters and 5.25-inch mid-bass drivers. Prime Wireless Pro has a 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog converter and active digital crossover. The speakers also have DTS Play-Fi, allowing users to access streaming services, radio guides or a home media server from a smartphone and distribute it to up to 16 zones. SVS is targeting $799 for the speaker pair, $599 for the wireless SoundBase integrated amplifier, but that could change in a fluid market, Yacoubian said.

SVS raised prices in November in response to higher costs, though not on all products and not a standard percentage, a spokesperson said. Ported subwoofers had the highest increase due to the weight and cost to ship them, he said. On component shortages, Yacoubian said the issue has gone from one he didn’t think about even once a week to “every day we’re buying components for a year down the road.” The company is paying “a lot more” for containers to move goods from one point to another.

Being a small company benefited SVS, allowing it to be nimble during the chip supply shortage. “I’m there with the team making decisions on a minute-by-minute basis,” being able to give quick approvals, Yacoubian said. “Sometimes we can move a little quicker than others,” he said, saying SVS hasn’t presented partners or direct customers with a shortage situation: “We’ve always had the full spectrum of our product offerings.”

SVS had hoped to exhibit in the Central Hall at CES 2022 and plans to do so next year, borrowing an idea from the Munich High End audio show, Yacoubian said. Central Hall has high exposure due to high-profile brands such as LG, Voxx and Panasonic in a typical year. Much of the press won’t seek out companies in the Venetian Tower, he said, “but if you’re in Central Hall, you have a really good shot at being able to show mainstream and tech press what you’re doing.” There's also the opportunity for incidental traffic, he said.

Commenting on the future of home theater as stay-at-home trends ease from the pandemic, Yacoubian remains optimistic, he said. “I don’t think it’s going away,” he said, citing CTA research showing 20% of the general population in the U.S. has what they consider to be home theater, even if that's a sound bar. “Another 10% is very interested in doing that, so I couldn’t be more optimistic,” he said. “I don’t think we need to be the only way that people have to spend their money.”