In this review, we will be comparing Ultra Tower and Model Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from SVS and KLH.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of SVS Ultra Tower and KLH Model Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | SVS Ultra Tower | KLH Model Five |
|---|
| Brand | SVS
United States · founded 1998 | KLH
United States · founded 1957 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.0" Dome | 1" Hard-Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | 2 x 6.5" | 4" |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 8.0" Polypropylene | 10" Pulp-Paper |
|---|
| Frequency response | 28-32k Hz | 42-20k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 88 dB | 90.5 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 6 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 20-300 watts | 20-200 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 34.27kg / 75.4lbs | 20.00kg / 44lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 45-5/8" x 13-15/16" x 17-1/2"
1159.0 x 355.0 x 445.0mm | 34-1/4" x 13-3/4" x 13"
870.0 x 350.0 x 330.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the SVS Ultra Tower and KLH Model Five 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 Ultra Tower |
KLH Model Five |
| 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.
Drivers
Both Ultra Tower and Model Five are 3-way speakers.
SVS Ultra TowerKLH Model Five
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 Ultra Tower |
KLH Model Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.0-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
2 x 6.5-inch |
1 x 4-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 8.0-inch
|
1 x 10-inch
|
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. On the other hand, the Model Five features a 1" aluminum Hard-Dome Tweeter, a 4" Midrange and 1 x 10" Pulp-Paper Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 380Hz and 2850Hz.
Frequency Response
Ultra Tower has a frequency range of 28-32k Hz whereas Model Five has a frequency range of 42-20k 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 Model Five's min frequency of 42Hz.
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
Ultra Tower is a 8 ohms speaker compared to the Model Five which has a nominal impedance of 6 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Ultra Tower sensitivity is rated at 88 dB and the Model Five's is rated at 90.5 dB. This 3 dB difference makes the KLH Model Five 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 Model Five has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 100 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. Model Five 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
KLH Model Five's Binding post terminals
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 Ultra Tower's and KLH Model Five's external dimensions. 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) whereas KLH Model Five has external dimensions of 870.0 x 350.0 x 330.0mm (34-1/4 x 13-3/4 x 13inch).
SVS Ultra Tower is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 5mm wider, 289mm taller and 115mm deeper than KLH Model Five.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of SVS Ultra Tower and KLH Model Five in scale.
Comparison image of SVS Ultra Tower and KLH Model Five Size and External Dimensions
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 Ultra Tower is approximately 1579.8cm2 / 244.9inch2 and base area of the KLH Model Five is approximately 1155.0cm2 / 179.0inch2. The Ultra Tower requires 37% more surface area than the Model Five which gives it a small disadvantage 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 Ultra Tower weighs 34.27kg / 75.4lbs and the KLH Model Five weighs 20.00kg / 44lbs. This makes the Ultra Tower 71% heavier than the Model Five.
Here is a comparison of how Ultra Tower and Model Five'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 are included inside the box of 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
What's in the Box of KLH Model Five?
Here are the items that come with the Model Five:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Riser base
- Grille
- Owners Manual
 Max Input Power |
300 watts
vs
200 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Nominal Impedance |
8 ohms
vs
6 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
 Number of Woofers |
2
vs
1
|
More woofers |
|
Low Frequency Response |
28 Hz
vs
42 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
32k Hz
vs
20k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Sensitivity |
91 dB
vs
88 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
|
Woofer Size |
10 inches
vs
8.0 inches
|
Larger woofer |
 Height |
870mm
vs
1159mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
1155cm2
vs
1579cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
2500USD
vs
2600USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
SVS Ultra Tower |
KLH Model Five |
| Brand |
SVS |
KLH |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Bookshelf speakers |
| Power Range |
20-300 watts |
20-200 watts |
| Sensitivity |
88 dB |
90.5 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
6 ohms |
| Impedance |
n/a |
3.5 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
28-32k Hz |
42-20k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
1 |
| Woofer Size |
8.0" |
10" |
| Woofer Composition |
Polypropylene |
Pulp-Paper |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1.0" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
Dome |
Hard-Dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
6.5" |
4" |
| Crossover Frequency |
160HZ and 2000Hz |
380Hz and 2850Hz |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1159.0mm (45.6") |
870.0mm (34.3") |
| Width |
355.0mm (14") |
350.0mm (13.8") |
| Depth |
445.0mm (17.5") |
330.0mm (13") |
| Weight |
34.27kg (75.4lbs) |
20.00kg (44lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Acoustic Suspension |
| Finish |
MDF/Oak veneer |
MDF/Wood Veneer |
| Available Colors |
Black Oak,Piano Gloss Black,Piano Gloss White |
English Walnut, West African Mahogany |
| Grille |
Yes |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
No |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
10 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
10 Years |
A generation apart: KLH Model Five 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 | A | SVS Ultra Tower digs deeper - 28Hz against 42Hz. |
| Amplifier needs | B | KLH Model Five is more sensitive (91dB vs 88dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier. |
| Amplifier match | A | SVS Ultra Tower is the easier load at 8 ohms. |
| Headroom | A | SVS Ultra Tower takes more power (300W vs 200W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | KLH Model Five is easier to place; SVS Ultra Tower is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Sealed. Sealed is tighter and happier near a wall; ported digs lower but wants space behind it. |
| Expandability | A | SVS Ultra Tower: bi-amping. |
| Price | evenly matched | Much the same money ($2,600 vs $2,500 a pair). |
A SVS Ultra Tower B KLH Model Five
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 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 42Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate SVS Ultra Tower the better fit for a very large room, and KLH Model Five 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.