How do SVS subwoofers compare to REL?

My experience with some of the equipment you are considering is a bit tangential at best -- I owned Magnepan 1.6 QR speakers for several years, but never tried to use them with subwoofers. I spent some time at friends home who used REL subwoofers very successfully with Spendor SP100 speakers. I currently use a pair of SVS SB16 Ultra subwoofers with KEF 207/2 speakers.

I think the SVS are a great value and don't give away anything to much more expensive subwoofers since the introduction of their DSP amplifiers, newly designed 16" and 13" drivers, and integration with a very intuitive app. The SB and PB4000 share the same DSP and app control with the SB and PB16 Ultras -- three parametric eq bands, three presets that can be customized by the user, real time gain adjustment. The only thing they won't do is play a test signal and auto-calibrate themselves, but with the flexibility and control of the app, tuning the SVS subs from the sweet spot without having to get up to make adjustments is a piece of cake.

I'm very pleased with the performance of the SVS subwoofers and how seamlessly they integrate with the KEFs.

Here is the URL of the SVS subwoofer top-level web page:

https://www.svsound.com/pages/subwoofers

SVS do a good job of explaining their line and the hierarchy within the line of subwoofers.

Most folks like sealed subs for music-only or music-first, home theatre-second systems and ported for increased output and lower roll-off for home theatre systems. That said, this is very much the conventional wisdom and as such should be subject to your own preferences. I

n my two-channel music only system I can't imagine needing more SPL or deeper extension than the sealed SB16 Ultras provide, and I do listen to pipe organ, EDM and trap in a large open-plan home. The system sees about 9000 ft3 of volume and the Ultras have absolutely no problem pressurizing the open area.

Hope this helps.

@willemj: You are correct. There are three available manual eq bands. No auto eq, so some other means of measurement are required. I use StudioSixDigital AudioTools app and their iTestMic (http://studiosixdigital.com/) or REW and a minidsp.com UMIK test mic for determining in-room response. The SVS iPad app makes adjustments very easy and allows adjustments from the sweet spot with a graphical representation of the amplitude and Q of the cut or boost being dialed in.

I use two bands to knock down the two most prominent peaks in my room and one band to raise the lowest bass roll-off. Plenty of headroom in the powerful SB16 Ultra amp to tolerate a reasonable amount of boost in the very lowest octave.

And I think you are absolutely right about the Ultras being best suited for larger rooms. I can't imagine being in a small room with one, let alone the two Ultras I have in my largish volume. Then again, there are folks who really, really like sledgehammer bass (check out the insane auto sound bass videos on Youtube for a sample).

@lowoverdrive: You are welcome. I can't speak to the PC-2000 but I do understand your concern about footprint. The SB16 Ultras are basically a 19 to 20" cube. A very attractive black cube in their gloss black finish, but there is no overlooking them in the room, unless you hide them behind something or use them as end tables. I had a piece of dark gray smoked glass cut to size to place on top of each sub to protect the finish so I can put something on top of the subs and not worry about marring them. And I am very glad I opted for the SVS isolation feet to decouple the subs from my hardwood floor.

SVS have super customer service, are very responsive with questions and have a great trade up policy, along with the in-home trial period and free shipping.

Good luck with your subwoofer hunt and let us know how it works out for you.

I’ve used an Antimode, but haven’t ever used a DDRC. In principle there is no reason why any line-level DSP couldn’t be used between preamp and SVS subwoofers. One would just leave the subwoofer eq flat (as shipped) and let the outboard DSP unit do the room correction.

The biggest difference I see between the two from a very quick skim is that the Antimode addresses the low frequencies, the DDRC corrects the entire frequency range. If you are happy with the response of your Maggies then DDRC would be overkill. In my opinion, the frequencies addressed by the Antimode are the most problematical anyway and far and away swamp most higher frequency response anomalies.

I will say as a matter of my personal prejudices and not in anyway trying to make a statement of absolute fact, I much prefer to use acoustic treatment (absorption, diffusion and bass trapping) as a necessary first step to address room geometry effects and only then apply DSP, and the minimum DSP necessary, after experimenting with speaker placement in an acoustically treated room. The only DSP I apply is to the range addressed by the subwoofers.

But then, I am a guy who still thinks analog sounds better than most digital, even though digital is definitely getting better and I do listen to my share of digital content.