In this review, we will be comparing Prime Tower and Q550, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from SVS and KEF.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of SVS Prime Tower and KEF Q550 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | SVS Prime Tower | KEF Q550 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Uni-Q driver | — | 11th Generation Uni-Q |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" dome | 1" Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | 4.5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Polypropylene | 2 x 5.25" Aluminum |
|---|
| Frequency response | 30-25k Hz | 58-28k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 87 dB | 87 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 20-250 watts | 15-130 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 18.23kg / 40.1lbs | 14.55kg / 32lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 36-5/8" x 8" x 11-11/16"
931.0 x 204.0 x 297.0mm | 35-3/16" x 11-5/8" x 12-5/16"
894.0 x 296.0 x 313.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the SVS Prime Tower and KEF Q550 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* |
SVS Prime Tower |
KEF Q550 |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
Poor |
(* 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.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Prime Tower is a 3-way design whereas the Q550 is a 2-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.
SVS Prime TowerKEF Q550
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
SVS Prime Tower |
KEF Q550 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 4.5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
2 x 5.25-inch
|
Prime Tower features a 1" aluminum dome Tweeter, a 4.5" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Polypropylene Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 350Hz and 2100Hz. On the other hand, the Q550 features a 1" vented aluminum Dome Tweeter and 2 x 5.25" Aluminum Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2500Hz.
Frequency Response
Prime Tower has a frequency range of 30-25k Hz whereas Q550 has a frequency range of 58-28k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 30Hz, the Prime Tower can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Q550's min frequency of 58Hz.
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
Prime Tower and Q550 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms and their sensitivity is also same at 87 dB.
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.
Prime Tower can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS, whereas Q550 has a max power handling value of 130 watts RMS, 120 watts less than the Prime 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
Prime Tower features Binding post type posts and Q550 has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
SVS Prime Tower's 5-Way post terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Prime Tower has a rear firing port whereas Q550 has a front firing ports. KEF Q550's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to SVS Prime Tower with its rear-firing port.
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 SVS Prime Tower's and KEF Q550's external dimensions. SVS Prime Tower has external dimensions of 931.0 x 204.0 x 297.0mm (36-5/8 x 8 x 11-11/16inch) whereas KEF Q550 has external dimensions of 894.0 x 296.0 x 313.0mm (35-3/16 x 11-5/8 x 12-5/16inch).
SVS Prime Tower is 92mm narrower and 16mm less deeper than KEF Q550 but it is also 37mm 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 SVS Prime Tower is approximately 605.9cm2 / 93.9inch2 and base area of the KEF Q550 is approximately 926.5cm2 / 143.6inch2. The Prime Tower requires 35% less surface area than the Q550 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 SVS Prime Tower weighs 18.23kg / 40.1lbs and the KEF Q550 weighs 14.55kg / 32lbs. This makes the Prime Tower 25% heavier than the Q550.
Here is a comparison of how Prime Tower and Q550'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 Prime Tower?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Prime Tower:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille (pre-installed)
- 4 Elastomer isolation feet (pre-installed)
- 4 Spike feet
- 4 Nuts
- 4 Protective discs
- Owners Manual
- SVS brochure
- Online Product Registration Card
What's in the Box of KEF Q550?
Here are the items that come with the Q550:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- 2 Outrigger feet
- 4 Spikes
- 6 Screws
- 6 Washers
- 4 Rubber inserts
- Hex-key
- Owners Manual
- Warranty Information
 Max Input Power |
250 watts
vs
130 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Woofer Size |
6.5 inches
vs
5.25 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Low Frequency Response |
30 Hz
vs
58 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 Base Surface Area |
605cm2
vs
926cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 High Frequency Response |
28k Hz
vs
25k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Port Position |
Front
vs
Rear
|
Gives more flexibility placing close to walls |
 Passive Radiator |
2 x 5.25-inch
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Dolby Atmos Drivers |
Optional
vs
No
|
Dolby Atmos Compatibility |
 Height |
894mm
vs
931mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
| General |
SVS Prime Tower |
KEF Q550 |
| Brand |
SVS |
KEF |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
20-250 watts |
15-130 watts |
| Sensitivity |
87 dB |
87 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Impedance |
n/a |
3.5 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
30-25k Hz |
58-28k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
6.5" |
5.25" |
| Woofer Composition |
Polypropylene |
Aluminum |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
dome |
Dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
4.5" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
350Hz and 2100Hz |
2500Hz |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
front |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
931.0mm (36.7") |
894.0mm (35.2") |
| Width |
204.0mm (8") |
296.0mm (11.7") |
| Depth |
297.0mm (11.7") |
313.0mm (12.3") |
| Weight |
18.23kg (40.1lbs) |
14.55kg (32lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
MDF/Wood-grain vinyl |
MDF/Wood-grain vinyl |
| Available Colors |
Black |
Walnut |
| Grille |
Yes |
n/a |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
No |
No |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
No single best speaker here - they are built to different priorities, and the right one depends on your room, your amplifier and what you listen to.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass |
A |
SVS Prime Tower digs deeper - 30Hz against 58Hz. |
| Amplifier needs |
evenly matched |
Similar sensitivity (87dB vs 87dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Headroom |
A |
SVS Prime Tower takes more power (250W vs 130W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size |
depends |
SVS Prime Tower is easier to place; KEF Q550 is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Cabinet |
depends |
Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability |
B |
KEF Q550: Atmos drivers. |
| Price |
evenly matched |
Much the same money ($1,400 vs $1,400 a pair). |
A SVS Prime Tower
B KEF Q550
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, placement 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 Prime Tower has the edge on paper, though the margin is not large. The rows marked "depends" may matter more to you than the score does. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 58Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate SVS Prime Tower the better fit for a very large room, and KEF Q550 for a mid-size 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.