Speaker systems in the form of so-called "soundbar" – the system with the horizontally oriented location of speakers in one case with the amplifier and control system – can be named, perhaps, the latest tendency of designer thought in development of sound reproducing devices. The first soundbars appeared at the market several years ago; however until now producers continue to experiment with form-factors, the number of channels and speakers and different additional functionality in the search of the golden mean for every price bracket.

The Finnish SVEN Company, well known in Russia with its portable and stationary speaker systems, headphones and other devices to work with audio, recently extended its range of output products with SVEN SB-550 soundbar with wireless subwoofer, so it presented in such a manner its own conception of this type of speaker systems, which grow popularity.

Compactness and a possibility to place SVEN SB-550 soundbar on the table above any other device or directly on a wall can be named the main features of its design; the table area in this case is used only for a subwoofer installation. In addition, the subwoofer connection by means of wireless interface provides additional flexibility to choose a location place for the system components.

The combination of technical characteristics, in particular, the availability of HDMI ports and the modern design allow using SVEN SB-550 soundbar not only jointly with a PC, but as well as jointly with game consoles, TV sets, different players as multimedia audio sources with switched digital and analog audio and video inputs and outputs. Let us add to it an obvious display, built-in equalizer, a possibility to control the system with the help of buttons on the soundbar or a supplied remote control: approximately in such the manner we can briefly describe SVEN SB-550 soundbar possibilities.

In spite of almost one-meter length of the soundbar, the system is supplied in considerably more compact retail package:

The secret is revealed immediately after the box opening: the soundbar proper has a composite structure: the base module plus passive speaker systems, which are “fastened” from every side. Besides these three components the package also comprises a subwoofer, remote control, mini-jack cable with two RCA jacks, composite cable (3RCA–3RCA), power unit for the soundbar, power cable to it, table support, bracket for wall mounting, fixing kit, operation manual and warranty card.

The subwoofer has medium density fiberboard (MDF) case coated with mat black paint, only the front panel is painted with “piano varnish”. The loudspeaker is located on the right side and covered with the round decorative cloth cover plate. The phase inverter is located on the front panel and there is the “Pair” special button to connect the subwoofer to the main system above it.

The on/off switch and power cable are on the subwoofer rear side, as a matter of fact nothing more is required, because all settings including volume are set with the remote control.

All three soundbar components have traditional for multimedia speaker systems ABS-plastic cases. The front panel of the base module in non-operating mode looks more than laconically: the on/off button, audio source selection button and volume control knob – that is all.

All interface jacks are located on the rear side of the central module. There is also the jack to connect the external power module and the “Pair” button, the functionality of which is similar to the above mentioned button on the subwoofer. We would like to call your attention to the availability not only AV inputs, but outputs as well, both analog and digital, and that allows using the soundbar as a certain “switching point” for inexpensive home theaters and entertainment systems.

The design of speaker modules is absolutely identical: the same black ABS-plastic, two squawkers, one tweeter, fine-meshed protection decorative panel.

In the photo below you can see quite well the jack to connect speaker systems to the central module, as well as reinforcing ribs and a lock, which provide the grip and fixation of columns on the base module.

We cannot say that fixation is too tight, a slack on application of a stress is apparent nonetheless, but in this case, we say only about the attachment of the case, the electric jack for speaker systems connection to the base is quite tight.

The soundbar assembled is almost one meter long.

A few words about installation and fastening parts. The package comprises both a support for the soundbar installation on any surface and a bracket for wall mounting. The support is plastic.

The wall mounting bracket is metal.

The system assembled is looked like this:

After assembling and the first turning on the system, it is necessary to connect SVEN SB-550 soundbar and the subwoofer via wireless channel. You can do it either by-turn or by one-time pressing the “Pair” buttons on each of the system components, and in a few minutes the blue LED blinking will start to illuminate continuously, the components have been connected.

The Source button located on the front panel allows selecting audio sources sequentially; with Volume buttons you can control the soundbar volume accordingly.

The advanced facilities to control the system are accessible from the remote control: you are able to adjust the subwoofer volume from it (independently of the soundbar) besides the above mentioned functions, as well as to choose the equalizer settings.

The volume range scale for the soundbar is 0-30, for the subwoofer the range is 0-21. Nonlinear distortions are quite noticeable on the limiting scale divisions, therefore the upper limit 25-27 for the soundbar and 20 for the subwoofer can be named comfortable for listening to. Nevertheless, even this volume will be more than enough for a typical city apartment, all the same in most cases volume levels will be on considerably lower marks.

During listening, SVEN SB-550 soundbar proved itself perfectly in games, especially in dynamic actions and shooters, which are full of powerful blasts, clang and other low-frequency effects. It is needless to say that the sound would not be so rich and reliable without the subwoofer.

We can say the same about the accompanying sound of movies, in that case SVEN SB-550 soundbar was at its best as well, it is desirable only to decrease the soundbar volume in melodramas and musical-caliber movies to put vocal parties in the forefront.

Strange though it may seem, the JAZZ position was appeared the most successful equalizer tuning of SVEN SB-550 system to listen to the music. By and large the sound appeared to be quite corresponding to expectations from speaker systems of that price segment in plastic cases. The chosen configuration of two squawkers and one tweeter per channel can be named quite successful. Nevertheless, in some cases the availability of an additional multiway equalizer near a signal source will be useful. There will be a possibility to expose greater potential of the soundbar with its help, to obtain more interesting sound, than by means of presettings of the built-in equalizer.

In conclusion I would like to note that as of the time of writing this article SVEN SB-550 soundbar was offered at the price of approximately from RUB 5,400 and higher in Moscow on-line retail. Taking into consideration its modern design, wireless subwoofer connection, possibilities to install and mount it on the wall, good set of input and output, analog and digital interfaces, the remote control, and at last, adequate sounding, then SVEN SB-550 soundbar can be named as an interesting version for the home theater or multimedia speaker system of an appropriate class.