In this review, we will be comparing Tintagel 2 and Ultra Tower, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Castle and SVS.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Castle Tintagel 2 and SVS Ultra Tower first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Castle Tintagel 2 | SVS Ultra Tower |
|---|
| Brand | Castle | SVS
United States · founded 1998 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome | 1.0" Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | — | 2 x 6.5" |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Advanced Fibre | 2 x 8.0" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 44-20k Hz | 28-32k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 89 dB | 88 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 30-150 watts | 20-300 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 21.00kg / 46.2lbs | 34.27kg / 75.4lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 39-3/16" x 9-13/16" x 11-1/4"
995.0 x 250.0 x 286.0mm | 45-5/8" x 13-15/16" x 17-1/2"
1159.0 x 355.0 x 445.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the Castle Tintagel 2 and SVS Ultra Tower speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
Castle Tintagel 2 |
SVS Ultra Tower |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Average |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Average |
| Large Room |
Average |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
Average |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Tintagel 2 is a 2-way design whereas the Ultra Tower is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Castle Tintagel 2SVS Ultra Tower
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Castle Tintagel 2 |
SVS Ultra Tower |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.1-inch
|
1.0-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
2 x 6.5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
2 x 8.0-inch
|
Tintagel 2 features a 1.1" Silk Soft-Dome Tweeter and 2 x 6.5" Advanced Fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2.5 kHz. On the other hand, the Ultra Tower features a 1.0" aluminum Dome Tweeter, a 6.5" Midrange and 2 x 8.0" Polypropylene Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 160HZ and 2000Hz.
Frequency Response
Tintagel 2 has a frequency range of 44-20k Hz whereas Ultra Tower has a frequency range of 28-32k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 28Hz, the Ultra Tower can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Tintagel 2's min frequency of 44Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Tintagel 2 and Ultra Tower have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Tintagel 2 sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the Ultra Tower's is at 88 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Castle Tintagel 2 a more sensitive speaker compared to SVS Ultra Tower, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Ultra Tower can handle a max power of 300 watts RMS, whereas Tintagel 2 has a max power handling value of 150 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the Ultra Tower.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Ultra Tower features Binding post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Tintagel 2 has a Binding post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
SVS Ultra Tower's Binding post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Castle Tintagel 2's and SVS Ultra Tower's external dimensions. Castle Tintagel 2 has external dimensions of 995.0 x 250.0 x 286.0mm (39-3/16 x 9-13/16 x 11-1/4inch) whereas SVS Ultra Tower has external dimensions of 1159.0 x 355.0 x 445.0mm (45-5/8 x 13-15/16 x 17-1/2inch).
SVS Ultra Tower is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 105mm wider, 164mm taller and 159mm deeper than Castle Tintagel 2.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
SVS Ultra Tower needs about 121% more floor or shelf area. SVS Ultra Tower is 159mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. SVS Ultra Tower is 164mm taller.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Castle Tintagel 2 is approximately 715.0cm2 / 110.8inch2 and base area of the SVS Ultra Tower is approximately 1579.8cm2 / 244.9inch2. The Tintagel 2 requires 55% less surface area than the Ultra Tower which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Castle Tintagel 2 weighs 21.00kg / 46.2lbs and the SVS Ultra Tower weighs 34.27kg / 75.4lbs. This makes the Ultra Tower 63% heavier than the Tintagel 2.
Here is a comparison of how Tintagel 2 and Ultra Tower's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
What's in the Box of SVS Ultra Tower?
Here are the items that come with the Ultra Tower:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Cloth grille
- 2 Metal grilles
- Foam port plug
- 4 Elastomer isolation feet (pre-installed)
- 4 Spike feet
- 4 Nuts
- 4 Protective discs
- 2 Terminal jumpers (pre-installed)
- Owners Manual
- SVS brochure
- Online Product Registration Card
 Sensitivity |
89 dB
vs
88 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Height |
995mm
vs
1159mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
715cm2
vs
1579cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Max Input Power |
300 watts
vs
150 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Woofer Size |
8.0 inches
vs
6.5 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Low Frequency Response |
28 Hz
vs
44 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
32k Hz
vs
20k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Price per pair* |
2600USD
vs
3999USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
Castle Tintagel 2 |
SVS Ultra Tower |
| Brand |
Castle |
SVS |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
30-150 watts |
20-300 watts |
| Sensitivity |
89 dB |
88 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Impedance |
5.4 ohms |
n/a |
| Frequency Response |
44-20k Hz |
28-32k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
6.5" |
8.0" |
| Woofer Composition |
Advanced Fibre |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
n/a |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1.1" |
1.0" |
| Tweeter Type |
Soft-Dome |
Dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
No |
6.5" |
| Crossover Frequency |
2.5 kHz |
160HZ and 2000Hz |
| Firing Direction |
bottom |
n/a |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
995.0mm (39.2") |
1159.0mm (45.6") |
| Width |
250.0mm (9.8") |
355.0mm (14") |
| Depth |
286.0mm (11.3") |
445.0mm (17.5") |
| Weight |
21.00kg (46.2lbs) |
34.27kg (75.4lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
Walnut veneer, Black Oak veneer |
MDF/Oak veneer |
| Available Colors |
n/a |
Black Oak,Piano Gloss Black,Piano Gloss White |
| Grille |
n/a |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
n/a |
Yes |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
|
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
|
5 Years |
A generation apart: Castle Tintagel 2 is the newer design, against a 2013 model. Newer is not automatically better, but the older one is more likely to be discounted or near run-out.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | B | SVS Ultra Tower digs deeper - 28Hz against 44Hz. |
| Amplifier needs | evenly matched | Similar sensitivity (89dB vs 88dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Headroom | B | SVS Ultra Tower takes more power (300W vs 150W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Castle Tintagel 2 is easier to place; SVS Ultra Tower is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | B | SVS Ultra Tower: bi-amping. SVS Ultra Tower sits in a wider range (5 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
| Price | B | SVS Ultra Tower is cheaper - $2,600 against $3,999, about 35% less. |
A Castle Tintagel 2 B SVS Ultra Tower
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
SVS Ultra Tower is the easier recommendation: it leads on most of the measured areas and costs less. Take Castle Tintagel 2 if its size, looks or fit in your room suit you better. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 44Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate Castle Tintagel 2 the better fit for a small room and a mid-size room, and SVS Ultra Tower for a large room and a very large room.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.