Sigberg Audio New & Improved SBS Generation 2 Active Speaker System

Sigberg Audio has quietly but steadily carved out a reputation on Audioholics as one of the more engineering-driven boutique brands to watch. Contributing Audioholics writer Jacob Green says of Sigberg Audio, "The premise is simple and compelling. The company builds compact, active loudspeakers designed to be paired with subwoofers. Think M&K Sound, but with its main focus being music, rather than movies." Over the past few years we covered  their SBS.1 Active Speaker, compact but powerful 10D Subwoofer, and their space saving Inkognito Subwoofer and found them to have an unapologetically “do it right” approach to active loudspeakers. In 2025 Audioholics looked at their Saranna Active Floor-Standing Loudspeakers With Cardioid Bass. A floorstander that as James Larson puts it: "is packed to the gills with state-of-the-art loudspeaker design!".

It wasn’t just their craftsmanship and performance that impressed us but also their adherence to sensible design concepts that doesn’t really resemble anything else on the market despite how rational these approaches are.

-James Larson - Contributing writer, Audioholics

Now, Sigberg Audio has released information on their newest active bookshelf speaker system, the SBS Generation 2.  The new SBS Generation 2 arrives not as a radical departure, but as a logical trickle-down of ideas from Sigberg’s flagship designs into a far more compact, room-friendly form factor.The SBS Generation 2 replaces the original SBS.1, launched back in 2021, and the intent here is clear: deliver floorstander-level dynamics and bass extension from an active bookshelf-sized enclosure without resorting to marketing fluff or lifestyle compromises. 

Sigberg is sticking to what it knows best, namely fully active architecture, serious amplification, and unusually ambitious performance targets for something that can live on a stand or desk without dominating a room. On paper, Sigberg Audio claims the sealed 4-way active coaxial system delivers in-room output to 18 Hz and peak SPL north of 110 dB. These are high expectations. If we do a full review on them, we’ll see if these numbers come to fruition.

The goals for the SBS Generation 2 (are to) utilize the knowledge from the Manta and Saranna models to create an even better balance and accuracy across all genres, a more immersive soundstage and more foundation and body on vocal performances.

-Thorbjørn Sigberg  - Founder, Sigberg Audio

At the heart of the SBS Gen 2 is a newly engineered mid-bass driver featuring a laser-etched Fibonacci pattern and an aluminum phase plug, both aimed at reducing cone breakup and smoothing the transition into the upper registers. Sigberg claims revised crossover topology and tuning derived directly from lessons learned during development of the MANTA, which is notable because that speaker was designed around minimizing distortion and maximizing linearity at high output. The result, according to Sigberg, is a compact loudspeaker capable of sounding composed and unstrained regardless of genre or playback level, whether you’re listening to sparse acoustic recordings or dense electronic mixes.

Linear Amps are Dead - Long Live Class D!

Unlike many compact active speakers that lean on DSP correction to paper over physical limitations, Sigberg appears to be taking a more brute-force engineering approach. The SBS Gen 2 uses Hypex nCore Class D amplification, a platform we’ve seen perform extremely well in other high-end active designs due to its low noise floor, excellent damping factor, and consistent behavior under load. The claimed distortion figures—under one percent at 96 dB at one meter—are aggressive for a speaker this size, and if we verify it independently, that would place it well ahead of many comparably sized active bookshelf speakers.

Connectivity is refreshingly comprehensive, with balanced XLR, RCA, optical, coaxial, and AES digital inputs onboard, along with manual nine-band parametric EQ and factory presets. This places the SBS Gen 2 squarely in “serious system” territory rather than lifestyle audio, and differentiates it from many all-in-one active speakers that prioritize wireless convenience over system integration. That said, Sigberg’s ecosystem approach is clearly optimized around pairing the SBS Gen 2 with one or more of its own subwoofers, particularly the Inkognito or 10D, promising “seamless integration without additional setup complexity”.

Inkognito Subwoofer 

Sigberg Audio’s Inkognito subwoofer is a clear expression of the company’s engineering-first philosophy, prioritizing controlled low-frequency performance over traditional “big box, big boom” thinking. Designed as a sealed, DSP-controlled sub, Inkognito focuses on minimizing distortion, maintaining linearity at high output, and integrating cleanly into real-world rooms. Rather than chasing inflated wattage claims or port-assisted output peaks, Sigberg leans into precise driver control, long linear excursion, and heavy-duty amplification to deliver bass that’s tight, deep, and dynamically composed. The result is a subwoofer aimed squarely at listeners who value accuracy and headroom over sheer spectacle.

What sets Inkognito apart is how deliberately it’s meant to function as part of a modular active system rather than a standalone add-on. Extensive DSP allows for careful control of response, phase, and protection limits, enabling seamless integration with Sigberg’s active speakers like the MANTA or SBS Generation 2 series without resorting to external processors or trial-and-error tuning. This approach reflects a studio-monitor mindset applied to home audio: bass that stays articulate under pressure, doesn’t telegraph its enclosure, and scales predictably as playback levels rise. For audiophiles who care more about how bass supports the rest of the system than how it impresses in isolation, Inkognito is very much on point.

What we think...

In terms of pricing, this is where the SBS Generation 2 steps firmly into premium territory. At roughly $12,000 USD for a modular system including a single Inkognito subwoofer, it is far removed from mainstream active bookshelf speakers Audioholics has covered in the past couple of years. The Klipsch Klipschorn and La Scala Speakers w Active option come close philosophically and a similar pricepoint, but even those lean more toward a “do everything” solution rather than a purist, modular active system. We talk more about active speakers in our article: Can Active Streaming Speakers Really Replace a High-End Stereo System?

True audiophiles will likely be divided on the SBS Gen 2, and that’s not a bad thing. On the positive side, Sigberg is clearly targeting listeners who care deeply about dynamic headroom, distortion control, phase coherence, and real bass performance without relying on ported alignments or exaggerated voicing. For listeners who want a compact speaker that behaves like a serious monitoring tool while still delivering visceral low-end impact when paired with subwoofers, the SBS Gen 2 could be extremely compelling. The inclusion of professional-grade inputs and onboard parametric EQ will also appeal to users who want control and flexibility rather than app-driven presets.

On the flip side, audiophiles who value simplicity, minimalism, or traditional passive signal chains may balk at both the complexity and the cost. At this price point, some listeners will reasonably question whether they’d rather invest in high-end passive monitors paired with dedicated amplification, or step up to larger full-range active systems that don’t rely on subwoofer integration. Others may simply prefer the elegance of speakers that integrate streaming, room correction, and wireless functionality into a single box, even if that comes with measurable compromises.

Ultimately, the Sigberg Audio SBS Generation 2 appears to be a speaker that knows exactly who it’s for—and who it isn’t. It’s not trying to compete with lifestyle actives or mass-market wireless speakers, and it’s not pretending to be a budget-friendly solution. Instead, it doubles down on engineering-first design, modular scalability, and performance metrics that, if independently validated, could place it among the most capable compact active loudspeakers Audioholics has encountered. For audiophiles willing to embrace active systems and invest accordingly, the SBS Gen 2 may prove to be one of the more interesting high-end compact speakers to emerge in 2026.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.