Soavo-1 Review Conclusion

By

Yamaha has made some really nice speakers in the Soavo series. These towers are some of the nicest looking speakers I've seen and the build quality of the Soavo-1s is enough to make me wonder if they aren't slightly overbuilt (meaning they could probably cost a little less without sacrificing performance). They exhibit a very clean soundstage, though you'll have to play a bit with the toe-in for best results. I found the low frequency extension of these speakers to be accurate and not boomy - important with a full-range system. There wasn't anything I threw at it that caused the bottom end to waver or the ports to chuff - it simply plays back everything it can and does it reliably. I think that listeners with an ear for good sound and an eye for good aesthetics could do a lot worse than the Soavo-1's. Yamaha has clearly put a lot of their musical instrument-making skills into these towers and it shows.

Yamaha Soavo-1 Loudspeakers
$1799.99/ea

Yamaha Electronics Corporation, USA
6660 Orangethorpe Avenue
Buena Park, CA 90620
(714) 522-9105
www.yamaha.com

About Yamaha
Yamaha Electronics Corporation (YEC), USA, based in Buena Park, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. YEC offers Home Theater components and systems, featuring A/V Receivers, Amplifiers, DVD/CD, Speakers, Mini-Systems, Video Projection, as well as A/V & IT Convergence Products.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

  • StarStarStarStarStar — Excellent
  • StarStarStarStar — Very Good
  • StarStarStar — Good
  • StarStar — Fair
  • Star — Poor
MetricRating
Build QualityStarStarStarStarStar
AppearanceStarStarStarStarStar
Treble ExtensionStarStarStarStar
Treble SmoothnessStarStarStarStar
Midrange AccuracyStarStarStar
Bass ExtensionStarStarStarStarStar
Bass AccuracyStarStarStarStarStar
ImagingStarStarStarStar
SoundstageStarStarStarStar
Dynamic RangeStarStarStarStar
Fit and FinishStarStarStarStarStar
PerformanceStarStarStarStar
ValueStarStarStarhalf-star
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Post Reply
Seemoss posts on August 01, 2008 05:40
Yes, according to Yamaha's Soavo-1 brochure (PDF) Solen metalized polypropylene capsitors are used. But your pictures shows the tweeter net-work, I think, as Yamaha's photo of the Woofer crossover features several capacitors and resistors, not just two.
Could the subdued mid-range be due to the loss of the "Wave-Guide-Horn" in the Soavo-1, rather than the driver design? But why has Yamaha stopped using its White Spruce (WSD) cones. It was claimed, at the time, to the "world's lightest cone material."
Clint DeBoer posts on June 24, 2008 15:19
That is certainly possible. We couldn't really take apart the speakers further. What's odd is that Yamaha peer reviewed the article for technical accuracy and said nothing...
mardelgo posts on June 24, 2008 12:09
"Uses electrolytic caps in series with tweeter"

I Think this is wrong. What you show in the picture is the crossover for the bass drivers and not for the tweeter. (In many speakers that are bi-ampable they put the crossover for the bass drivers in front of the crossover for the mid and tweeter) I think they (Yamaha) use a high quality Solen capacitors for the mid and Tweeter. Here is a picture of the crossover components:
junchoon posts on February 23, 2008 08:41
Pheaton;379643
Hi,
Glad I could help. I purchased my Macross Plus soundtrack back when it was released in the US. Now I would try ebay.

If you are a fan of Macross Plus music you might also like the music from Cowboy Bebop. It was written by the same person, Yoko Kanno. The opening song from Cowboy Bebop is called "Tank", and I think it just rocks!

Good luck with your speaker search and your CD search.

Pheaton


i already have the best of cowboy bebop, and also escaflowne: lovers only. they are very good. if u think cowboy is good, then u most definitely seek out escaflowne if u like orchestral work ( for example carmina burana or conan the brabarian soundtrack). no ebay for me, too many fake ones. so i will get them from hmv japan.

cheers,
wps
Pheaton posts on February 22, 2008 19:08
thanks for sharing

Hi,
Your welcome.

By the way, those are some of the cutest baby pictures I have ever seen. They make me smile everytime I see them.

Pheaton
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