Soavo-1 Review Conclusion
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
— Excellent
- — Very Good
- — Good
- — Fair
- — Poor
| Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| Build Quality | |
| Appearance | |
| Treble Extension | |
| Treble Smoothness | |
| Midrange Accuracy | |
| Bass Extension | |
| Bass Accuracy | |
| Imaging | |
| Soundstage | |
| Dynamic Range | |
| Fit and Finish | |
| Performance | |
| Value |  |
See also:
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."
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:
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
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