Original article has been published on the web site www.ferra.ru
May 2010
Vladislav Kononov
STREAM combines an advanced technical solution and quite humane cost. At a price about RUB 3000 of the speaker system represents a real shelf version with the use of Bi-Amping technology.
Bi-Amping differs from an ordinary circuit in that every channel uses not one amplifier but two at once. Simply stated, if a system has two speakers, then there are four amplifier channels. It is done to amplify a signal for every loudspeaker by a separate path.
Advantages of such a solution are indisputable. Firstly, nonlinear distortions are reduced considerably, as well as the excess load to channels. Secondly, a necessity to use passive dividing filters fall away by replacing them with active crossovers at the input. A disadvantage is obvious as well – the manufacturing cost of such speakers increases appreciably. That is the reason that Bi-Amping is the destiny of the present of Hi-Fi or studio monitors, but such a solution is used very seldom in multimedia.
Such speakers are the first for SVEN Company, because recently the producer did not have an active system with Bi-Amping in its arsenal. We need only to check how far a reduced budget will enable to realize all advantages of the professional technology and to estimate the sound quality at a whole.
Package content
Speakers are for sale in a big carton. The color style for SVEN is more than usual – it is a white lower part and red upper part. A happy owner will discover the following things after opening the carton:
• Two speakers;
• Signal cable;
• Cable for a passive speaker;
• Operation Manual and warranty card.
In general, no-frills at all, but you will not have to hurry to a shop to buy lacking cables.
Exterior and structural features
The appearance of speakers, undoubtedly, deserves respect. From one point of view, it is simple and unpretentious, from the other – the system looks classically and truly pedigree. Cases of speakers are made of MDF, but the main part of material is covered with black PVC film. Side panels are decorated as natural wood. For this purpose vertical butt ends are gradually rounded, and material is covered with adhesive film, which imitates the real wood. Undoubtedly, the materials are cheap, but they create impressive effect.
Loudspeakers are located on the front panels and they are veiled from a user’s view by ordinary fabric grills. LF/MF head has a classic design: a composite diffuser is glued firmly to the frame by means of a rubber suspension, but a dust-protective cap has a regular spherical shape. The magnetic system of a loudspeaker is shielded completely. High-frequency emitter is fabric and of dome type. Taking into account the low cost of the tested speaker system, the application of such loudspeakers can only gladden.
Control elements are located on the front panel of the active speaker. Knobs are classical and fall perfectly into the general design. It is remarkable that the company has done away with buttons. At least settings will not be reset after turning off. Three knobs are made of a metalized material, that is why you can feel noble coolness at touch.
The purpose of them is more than habitual: master volume level control and frequency balance setting (high and low frequency level). The on/off indicator and headphones jack are located beside. It is convenient, because it is a multimedia system after all.
At first, you will notice nothing special when looking at the rear panels of speakers – RСА inputs, on/off switch, power cord... However, non-standard elements are available after all. The active speaker is connected with passive speaker with a special cable with four contacts. It is clear, because in this case it is necessary to transmit the Bi-Amping signal, but for this purpose two pairs of conductors are required at once. The cable length is 2 meters; therefore, the speaker system can be comfortably placed on the table surface.
The interior of speakers is also reliable. Firstly, cabinets are damped with rather big amount of polyester wool. Secondly, the amplifier is designed correctly. The best microcircuits – TDA7265 – have been used for its realization. The declared capacity is 40 W per channel are quite realistic taking into account the parameters of the power unit and microcircuits.
As a whole, the solution gives rise to no complaints at all. Vice versa, engineers of SVEN Company did the solution in time, and during that difficult crisis time they produced a really qualitative product with a moderate cost. Skeptics can suppose that the use of Bi-Amping will help a little to the used loudspeakers, however, even if to reject this fact and compare speakers with direct competitors, where an ordinary amplifier is used, then they do not become irrelevant.
Listening
For listening we connected the speaker system to the output of the ESI Juli@ reference sound card. Such an audio interface will enable to detect all advantages and disadvantages of the tested model without problems.
As a whole, its sounding is at high level. “HI-FI manners” are not alien to speakers. They draw the details of the musical scene with confidence, well positioning sounds in space. It is important that neither the amplifier nor the power unit is a “bottleneck”, therefore compression tints grow quite insignificantly with the sound pressure increase.
When it comes to the timbre balance correctness then it is not ideal, however, there are no big displacements to one or another side. A male and female vocal is pleasant for the ear, but the divergence with the reference can be caught at the instantaneous switching only. High frequencies are clear and transparent, middle frequencies are moderately detailed and exact. Bass is not enough a little bit, but as a whole, the level of low frequencies corresponds completely to the class of 5 inch woofers. We have only one advice: if you want higher bass then buy more expensive speakers.
If you try somehow to place genre preferences, then it is possible to draw a univocal conclusion about universality of SVEN STREAM. Good loudspeakers and powerful amplifier make it possible for the speaker system to play different musical directions approximately with the same quality level. Pop and classic rock music, DNB and heavy metal: the whole music sounds confidently (naturally, taking into account the cost of the system). The situation is even better with movies and games. An ability of the speaker system to form the correct scene does its part. As a result, the system appears before us such as a home versatile device.
Turning back to the matter of Bi-Amping: it is quite difficult to speak about a theme, whether STREAM beats competitors in its class due to the use of a four-channel amplifier or it doesn’t. Maybe it does, Bi-Amping is not a main thing there, but it depends to a large extent on serious and substantiated approach of a producer.
Well, a newly-made STREAM model can be recommended to the purchase with every reason. This universal system will not occupy much place on a table, but at that, it will solve all “sound matters” at one stroke. The qualitative indices of the speaker system are at a high level. Its appearance is made in the non-losing variant of the classic. Speaking in an extended sense, SVEN Company has succeeded in that again.