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SVS SoundPath Review (Wireless Transmitter)

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the SVS SoundPath Wireless Audio Adapter. It was kindly purchased new by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs US $119 on Amazon including Prime shipping.

I was surprised by the nice packaging of the units:
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter review subwoofer home theater.jpg


I looked the FCC ID and it is registered as WS-12 by Yung International in Taiwan. So there are likely other brands private labeling it.

Power is provided through USB connection and output is 3.5 mm which is a bit inconvenient (cheap 3.5 mm to RCA cables are provided):
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter review home theater.jpg


The units paired automatically out of the box. Operationally they worked fine although I only had them 2 feet/0.5 meter apart.

SVS SoundPath Measurements
Using our standard dashboard view we see rather disappointing performance:
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter Measurements.png


I had to reduce the voltage to the unit substantially to stop it from clipping (sorry forgot to zero the FFT). The device brings a bit of amplification.

Testing for frequency response shows that the input is digitized at 44.1 kHz:
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter Measurements frequency response.png


THD+N vs level shows that you get the same performance before sharp clipping:

SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter THD+N vs Level Measurements.png


Crosstalk is excellent, likely due to digital communication path:

SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter Measurement crosstalk.png


Sweeping the frequency, we see that distortion rises even more at higher frequencies:
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter THD+N vs Frequency Measurements.png


Dynamic range is better than distortion level:
SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter SNR Measurements.png


Testing for interference by putting a mobile phone on top of it while it was running a Wifi speed test, naturally reduces performance:

SVS SoundPath Wireless Adapter THD+N wifi measurements.png


So don't put your phone on top of it. :)

Conclusions
It is nice to see a full bandwidth wireless adapter. Alas, that extra bandwidth comes at high cost of distortion and noise. Our previously tested REL Subwoofer Adapter did much better, likely due to its bandwidth limiting. It was also a bit cheaper so if all you need is subwoofer support, get that unit. If you need this for rear channels, be sure to set the levels in your processor or AVR so that it doesn't clip.

As is, I can't recommend the SVS SoundPath unless you are super desperate.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

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voodooless

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What about radio range?

I have an equivalent set from Monitor Audio. They barely reach 5 meters of range, and they plop and pop all the time. It’s not even usable for a subwoofer. Don’t buy then!
 

johnnyx

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Disappointing; there's little advantage over Bluetooth. Best to have computers and decent DACs in circuit with the the wireless link.
 

GWolfman

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For a renowned sub brand I am really disappointed by this..
Wonder if they even measured this design before deciding to stick their label on it...

So 0.6V; you think were they shooting for 1dBu?
 

YSC

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With the decent amps in most active speakers I can live with 0.6V, but that SINAD is really beyond acceptance... it's even below Audio-gd level man
 

voodooless

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And another important measure of such devices: what is the audio delay that they create?
 

YSC

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4.6m sec... it looks not low and anyone can comment if it's noticeable?
 

trl

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You will not notice a 5ms latency on the audible band. I wish ASIO latency would be so low with all audio cards.
 

vkvedam

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Get a decent sound bar instead if you can't accommodate proper rears ;)
 

bakker_be

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I have (visually) the same set from Dayton Audio (https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-Sub-Link-XR-2.4-GHz-Wireless-Audio-Transmitter-300-580). For me it works well over a distance of ±5m, transmitting the subwoofer channel of my HT setup, with the added benefit of breaking up a ground loop I had. In a HT setup the induced delay is negated by the used room EQ system, even if it's only a lower end Audyssey.
@amirm , you mention the REL set, any chance of measuring this one the same way, so just for sub usage?
 

rdenney

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I have also used the similar-looking Dayton Audio models. My application was piping a mixer-board AUX output to an ADC dongle feeding a computer running YouTube Livestream in the back of a church. It allowed me to trim the input line level, and was reliable at a distance of 50 feet.

But the fatal flaw was that it communicated in the 2.4 GHz band and severely degraded WiFi devices that were in the vicinity. Replacing it with 60 feet (!) of cheap audio cable with RCA plugs on each end vastly improved audio and suddenly WiFi was reliable at 50-80 mbps instead of constantly dropping out altogether.

Rick “cobbling whatever was available and cheap to serve a remote congregation during Covid” Denney
 

Helicopter

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seems like about $20 value to me. Perfect at that hypothetical price for some plastic-cabinet full range surround speakers if you don't care enough to install them properly. At the real price, it is a hard pass.
 

Pio

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For the past 4 years or so, I have used 2 of these for subwoofers in my room where wires would just be a mess - they work great (for me) in that regard - but that is a 20-100hz audio signal. Thanks again Amir!
 

wwenze

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Sound travels 1.7m in 5milliseconds, so the latency is not yet sufficient to negate the distance between your sitting position and the front speakers. ;)
 

Juhazi

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Well, most AVRs have a setup system that measures delays with a mic.
 

SDX-LV

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Me too. I have Dayton Audio branded ones and I am quite sure I bought them precisely because SVS had this version which I took as validation to use it with my SVS sub. It works and it would have been very tricky to route a cable to the Sub location, so I am generally happy.

Now looking at measurements I am not so sure that it can be called good enough even for the 20-120Hz duty?
 
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amirm

amirm

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@amirm , you mention the REL set, any chance of measuring this one the same way, so just for sub usage?
I measured it with low sub frequency and its performance remained the same. You can see that in the sweep of frequency versus distortion+noise.
 
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amirm

amirm

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But the fatal flaw was that it communicated in the 2.4 GHz band and severely degraded WiFi devices that were in the vicinity.
Ah, my son was helping me with the wifi test and he kept complaining about his phone's wifi reception being intermittent and poor. Didn't think about the SVS box interfering with his phone.
 
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