I have to admit I bought these to give them a try along side my Magnepan 1.6qr panels. I have ran kef 104/2 ADS L710 ,L810 . And Advents,jbl L110,Green Mountain, Snell,Allison, Polk Audio RTA12,and many others. I thought the SVA1800 would not make the grade for two channel listening. But I was mistaken. They are power hungry and My Parasound A21 amp makes them capable of great sound. I ran a 15" powered velodyne to extend the bass. The people at JBL DID A GREAT JOB! The sound is incredible and I decided to keep them. The soundstage is great as well as the high end. The mids are good and the sound is very well layed out. It's like a well made set of speakers that are worth keeping. They need a powered sub for sure and the mids are great but not perfect . But when I turn on the power they come alive like you at a live concert. Very impressive addition and the sound is eye opening. Cables and a good pre is a must as well as a dac and transport. Can't wait to run my 18" sub with these.

Solid cabinetry Excellent workmanship Great Crossover Amazing SVA configuration Excellent horn tweeter Robust, heavy, shielded dual 8 inch drivers Adjustability of cabinet angle to aid imaging Soaks up power and just gets stronger

Really heavy. Adjusting the feet is an exercise in patience. Goofy looking strips of fake wood trim

Originally I bought one of these to use as a center channel (yes, really) for my main HT set up, with L7s and L5s at the corners. Later, another one popped up on eBay, so I purchased it, too. When I upgraded my HT to JBL Perfromance Series speakers all around, the SVA 1800s were destined to go, but I decided to hook them up to an old receiver and see what they could do as a stereo pair. Well, what they can do is crack your head open and push your brain out against the back wall. You want to talk about LOUD? Or maybe you want to talk about presence and detail? Well, then they have that in abundance as well. Music that's very well recorded sounds absolutely awesome, yet can be beautifully detailed and clear at the same time. Music that's poorly recorded wil sound just that, poorly recorded. There's no masking here to cover it up; it is what it is. The symmetrical vertical array (SVA) is a novel approach that has a lot of merit for pinpoint imaging and excellent control of the soundstage. These heavy, powerful beasts need that kind of discipline, and it all works out well for an exciting, wonderful experience.

Similar Products Used:

Not much like it, maybe Klipsch, but not really

I just bought these speakers last week after having read these reviews, and I must say that everyone, except for Mr. Warshay, is correct. At $500 these things are a steal. It's a shame that Warshay posted his comments 3 times to decrease the ratings for these speakers. It was because of its high ratings that I had the initiative to buy them in the first place.

Bass, Mid, Surround sound quality. Built to survive.

Highs seem iffy (at times)

After 20 years of BOSE 601's, I figured it was time to upgrade my speakers, as I had recently purchased a JVC Surround Sound (100w x4) receiver. Almost broke my back getting them to my family room, as they are VERY heavy. Before I replaced my Bose with the JBL's, I played music on the Bose, then switched over and replayed the same things on the JBL's. I could hear new sounds coming out the JBL's I hadnt heard before..with much more depth and authority.
The bass and lows (I have unplugged my sub) are so HEAVY and clean! The highs are somewhat lacking, but I cant blame these JBL's for that. One song that I thought would put these speakers to the test was YES - America. It passed the test with flying colors. It had a total soundstage affect on me. I think one reason the high's are lacking is with the new music (Alt & Heavy genre). The newer music is more of the "in your face" type, and not geared for the highs. If you like it downright HEAVY, these are your ticket. I also can NOT describe how well these bad boys sound while watching the latest movies. This is the best money I've spent in a LONG LONG TIME!

Similar Products Used:

Bose 601

sound,build quality

none that i can find

the sva 1600/1800 are the best heavy metal speakers that money can buy. they have been discontinued but can still be purchased from ubid for a very reasonable price. please buy some before its too late.

Similar Products Used:

unknown

Excellent Base and Build quality

Lacking high end and soundstage

Have played these on and off for two weeks after a three day continuous breakin. Purchased at ubid for $127 each with total shipping of $107 (heavy buggers).

I have these hooked up with a passive sub but have also used them without the sub. Their low end and Bass is terrific and really does not seem to need a sub. Reciever used is an older Luxman 361 100 watt/channel.

The build quality and hardware seems excellent. But...

These really seem lacking on the highs and they have a poor sound stage. Maybe I did not play around a lot with positioning. Just don't compare in this respect to my old Fanfair towers (I never heard of Fanfair either but they are fine speakers). I recently purchased Wharfedale Saphire 89 speakers and they totally blow away the JBL SVA 1800 in soundstage and highs but lose in terms of bass (though bass gets better each day of use).

I have not bi-wired these JBL's and will perhaps do so before I give up on them and sell them. I purchased these based on reviews here and maybe they are primarily good for home theater as some people have stated in these reviews and not so great for main music speakers.

So, I am not too happy with these speakers but for the price I can't really complain. But if you are thinking of getting some speakers off ubid.com consider the Wharfedale Saphire 89. The Wharfedales take your breath away with their presense and soundstage (but poor build quality) where as, in my opinion, the JBL SVA 1800's in no way do so.

Similar Products Used:

Fanfair tower, Wharfedale Saphire 89 tower

Can handle the power and very clean

What do you mean,weakness? Ha

Just got mine in this week. I heard them in a demo room so I was familiar w/the sound. They really kick butt in my living room (A/V Theatre). I like the Studio series better, but for the money, ya gotta get your hands on a pair to see what I mean. Nothing bad about these speakers.. period...

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Infinity, Bose, Cerwin Vega

To Peter:
First of all, I would not be posting asecond time if you had left your e-mail address.

I am a true audiophile and I sell high end audio for a living.
My current system may not be great (h/k receiver, NHT speakers, Pioneer DVD/LD player and monster cable), but I am constantly exposed to both mid-fi, and high-fi.

I am exposed to Martin-Logan, Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustics, Meridian, KEF and Energy speakers all day long.
I know what real micro and macro dynamics are in state of the art speakers.
I know a contracted sound stage, and a bloated one when I hear one.
I played violin for years and I know what orchestral instruments sound like.
To me, 5 stars should go to a speaker system like the Sonus Faber Amatis, Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 6.0, Avalon Eidelons, etc.

I stand by my previous statements as some one who has heard more pairs of the SVA1800 then most owners of the speakers.
I have also set these speakers up more times then most owners.

I don't put these speakers "down" because I want to inflate the value of mid-fi garbage.
If anything, the owners of these speakers have a financial incentive to inflate the value of these discontinued speakers.
I give these a speakers the 3 stars that they deserve because they are good, not great.

This is upgraded review of the my previous post. I audiotined these speakers at my house, and yes they're everything I expected them to be, goot tight bass, extremely clear highs and mids. Blends well with SVA Center but when the tonal controls for treble and bass on my HK AVR 65 are set to full blast hearing the dialouge from the SVA center becomes a channel but having the bass, and treble tonal controls in the middle makes the center shine. Plus I have a BU-120 from Infinity so it produces good bass. THESE SPEAKERS ARE A MUST HAVE, AND A BARGAIN I GOT THEM FOR $334.95 SHIPPED FROM UBID IN 2 DAYS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN ON DTS NEVER SOUNDED LIKE THIS BEFORE.

I haven't yet received these speakers but I do have valid tracking info. from UPS. I purchased them for $107 each, thats $214 for a pair from an online auction they are brand new and are unfortunately sold out, me purchasing them was mainly led on by the opinions on this site. If anyone can e. mail me how much they retail for it'd be a lot of help, also why did JBL discontinue them. ANd last of all will they work good with the SVA center, and Harman Kardon AVR65.
THANKS