Package content

There was another box inside the ordinary carton, it was glossy. With the blue Finnish cross on the white background, with specifications, etc. We will discuss the specification a little bit later, but now let us extract the things from the box, which were packed with the sound bar.

There is the Operation Manual with warranty card in the carton. The warranty period is 12 months of the date of sale. Then there is the remote control and wall mount. By the way, the wall mount is supplied with screws and dowels. It’s a trifle, but the pleasant one.

And at last there is the central character – the sound bar, though it consists of three parts. Let us see whether an unskilled man will be succeeded in assembling it.

No instruments at all are required for assembling, it is assembled in an elementary way – we simply connect speakers to the central unit up to the relevant click. So we have something similar to a cigar 95 cm long. W can see three loudspeakers through protective grills in every speaker. Well, now the subwoofer for devotees of deep basses, a power supply unit and a set of cables. There is 3RCA-3RCA cable and mini jJack-2RCA cable in the package. But what is this? This is a support for the table system.

So, we have sorted out the package content and now let us see how it will look like after assembling.

Design and control

The cigar of the sound bar practically one meter long looks adequately. The sound bar is manufactured quite compact, in order in outward appearance it would combine with any modern TV-set. Based on this, it requires the bass support, because it is impossible to insert the bass loudspeaker in such stylish case. That is why the subwoofer appears in the scene.

As a result, we have got the speaker system of 2.1 format. Strict and smooth lines, grills, which cover loudspeakers of the sound bar, and a monolithic square of the subwoofer – everything taken together looks very organically. The system will complement perfectly any flat panel TV-set with 32” to 55” diagonal of black color. It will look rather defiantly with silver TV-sets.

Two squawkers with cones 5.7 cm diagonally and one inch dome tweeter are hidden behind stylish non-removable grills.

The subwoofer is made of black painted MDF, but its facade is closed with a plastic panel, which imitates piano varnish very alike. The big port of a phase inverter is located in the upper part of the front panel, and the bass emitter is on the right side wall and it has a diameter 16.5 см. The loudspeaker is closed with the non-removable cloth grill.

In principle, the system is equipped at a very high level. To begin with, the connection of subwoofer with the sound bar is WIRELESS: we connect the subwoofer to the nearest socket, as well as the sound bar. Then we press PAIR button on the sound bar and then a similar button on the subwoofer. At first, an alarm LED blinks blue, then the lighting begins permanent. That’s all, the system is in operation.

We emphasize that the signal from the main part of the system is transmitted to the low-frequency speaker via 2.4 GHz channel. Such method provides not only big radius of action, but also the absence of interferences and jerks during the signal transmission.

The further examination. There is a liquid-crystal display with blue backlighting and control buttons: on/off switch, input selection and volume control on the front central panel of the sound bar. Very nice possibilities for commutation are available on the rear side of the acoustic “bar”. First of all, there are 2 input ports and HDMI output port of version 1.4.

Thus, it is possible to connect simultaneously, for example, a DVD player and game console or a digital television receiver and internet-television receiver – you have a lot of variants. In addition, there are two analog RCA inputs, analog video input (RCA) and audio mini jack for МР3 players and other gadgets.

The remote control, as I think, is a little bit small and can be lost easily, but some options are inaccessible without it. It lies in hand quite comfortably, its buttons are informative, but inscriptions are quite small.

• ON/OFF button
• SOURCE: signal source selection button
• vol+\vol-: sound bar volume control
• sub+\sub-: subwoofer volume control (this option is impossible without remote control)
• eq: equalizer mode selection button – Flat, Rock, Pop, Classic, Jazz (this option is impossible without remote control)
• mute: sound on/off button (this option is impossible without remote control)

In order to make the remote control serviceable it takes only to remove the transportation tape – a gasket between the battery and remote control. The total information about the system operation modes is displayed on the LED display of the central unit. The equalizer presets is an option for lazy people, a user can reach the desired sounding both by means of manual regulations on the front panel of the device and after making yourself comfortable in the arm-chair and providing yourself with the remote control.

Functional

Well, the system has been assembled at last. Let us see, what it is capable.

The system supports three-dimensional video from 3D disks of Blue-Ray players. Unfortunately, there are no coaxial or optical inputs there. Getting ahead of myself, I will say that one of main advantages of SVEN SB-550 is the absence of audible distortions at any volume level.

Two broadband loudspeakers in every channel of the sound bar plus the tweeter enable to exceed the frequency range starting with the mark 156 Hz (-3 dB). At that, the irregularity index of the frequency response has very moderate value within greater part of reproduced frequencies. The standard subwoofer extends possibilities of the system appreciably. Its lower operation frequency rolloff of 10 dB is equal to 52 Hz.

Turning on

So, the system has been assembled, we connect it to Sony KDL-32S4000 TV-set, by first disconnecting Sony HT-DDWG800 home theater. Our room has 16 square meters; the distance to the sound source is 3 meters. Where do we begin?

We connect Sony PS3, insert Assassin’S creed. Graphics has not been changed, it is at the former level, that can be written as a plus. Yes, we have connected through HDMI. Now the sound. The sound quality has not been changed; sound effects are at a quite high level, the battle scenes have good sound palette.

As a whole, the sound scene has been kept practically ideally, if not to cavil at little things. But an enormous plus of this system – very much place has become available! There are no rear speakers. At that, the sound scene quality has not been changed. There are no bulky front speakers. Wires disappeared jointly with speakers. The sound bar has been positioned on a TV-set support; the subwoofer took its place in a corner. The room design has been changed to the best.

OK. Now let us watch a movie. Without further ado, we insert OnLime receiver into the second HDMI port and start scanning HD channel. All right, what do they suggest? Oh, it is an action movie – Brother for Brother – 3. Dialogues sound clearly, the sound scene is at its place, the background sounds naturally. Sounds of shots are natural, as if they fire off directly in the room. Cars burst too as they are supposed to. In short – I have been carried away by the movie, have been listened with delight, terribly...

So they have spent some time shooting, now we can listen to music. I have found a Slade concert on DVD. Have started. I have played with the equalizer settings for a long time. It has turned out that Slade sounds the best of all, strange though it may seem, in Jazz position. And one interesting thing –I have liked to listen the music more in 2.1 mode than in 5.1. This speaker system has had the very correct sound – bass is resilient, it is not blurred. High frequencies scatter really, the vocal sounds clearly in the center, purely, without rattles and distortions.

Summary

To begin with, television loudspeakers are not able to offer you even one fifth of the sound, which this system provides. It is affordable and effective method to improve the sound of your TV-set dramatically, without upsetting the style of your living room, study or bedroom. The wireless subwoofer will simplify the system placement significantly. We attribute the separate volume level regulation of the subwoofer and sound bar to advantages.

There is one disadvantage only – the remote control is too small, which can be lost. And we would like very much to see an optical and coaxial inputs in this system, in order it would be more functional.

• Published on: www.bt-test.ru
• Publication date: October 2014
• Original publication: http://bt-test.ru/reviews/saundbar_sven_sb-550_novyj_zvuk_dlya_televizora_lyubimoj_tewe/
• Author: Dmitry Lukin