SVS SUBWOOFERS

I will explain why I use the 6 of Jacintha is her name album. The contrabass is on the left side of the recording. Wenn you put the subwoofer on the right side you can hear how it integrates with the speakers. First the contrabass needs to be very small in dimension also with the subwoofer. Often wenn you but it to on/off you hear the contrabass becomes less focussed or bigger wenn the sub is set to on. Second point all the energy and drive of the contrabass need to be coming from the left side even wenn the sub is standing on the right side. With most subs the contrabass becomes less sharp focussed or bigger. You can easily hear the energy coming from the subwoofer. Wenn I let people hear this number with my sub they think and know for sure it is off. They are amazed that it is comming from the subwoofer. At a big audio show this year most people didn't understand. They never heard a subwoofer this integrated wit the speakers. That is why I call this stealth inegration. Full integration. Even wenn the low freq. are recorded far behind the speakers ( in depth) you will hear it is coming from there. I use Audyssey pro with my way of measurment to get this level. I measure at different places and hights compared to Audyssey. This way is far superior to the way Audyssey uses it. ( so much more dynamics, better focus and more resolution) There way is ok, but I use it from highend perspective. Without this measurement you never will come even close to stealth integration. But you also need sub's who are fast like a rocket. Like Revel sub's and the PLW-15 from Monitor Audio. And sub's who are sealed.

The 3 ports in the SVS subs are designed to be plugged with the supplied foam plugs so you can tailor the Ported vs sealed arrangements in your own environment.

"Take classical music out of the equation and then how does the SVS sealed(or ported) subs measure up?"

Sorry but Jacintha Number 6 sounded like a classical album, my bad. Disregard any bit about classical music. I should have done my homework before commenting.

I listen to female singer/songwriters very often like Sara Bareilles, Sarah Mclachlan, Nora Jones, Natalie Merchant, etc. and their sultry vocals and arrangements sound wonderful with my subs and mains together. IMO, tone accuracy is spot on.

Bill

"I tested many subwoofers in 15 years of time. You Always need a closed subwoofer with only one bass unit in the front to get stealth integration."

Bo,
I don't doubt your experience, obviously much more than me.

I have two sealed subs up front, one in each corner and another 10" sealed in midpoint of room next to my main listening chair.

"SVS does not have the fastest response in movement of the speakerunits."

If that is so, what is your opinion on the Revel B15?

"How you test this? Always in stereo to hear if the subwoofder integrates with the speakers and if the proportion of the instruments and voices keep there small proportions."

The Revel B15 has an integrated 3-band parametric equalizer which is used in conjunction with it's LFO software and an SPL meter. Most of my integration with the Revel B15 is in stereo. Pretty seamless indeed. I bought the SVS SB13 Plus to give my 6000ft3 room some added pressurization for HT but it integrated so well musically with the Revel B15 that I run all three subs all the time.

"Many subwoofers are not good enough. For example: Jacintha in her name numer 6 of the album."

Take classical music out of the equation and then how does the SVS sealed(or ported) subs measure up?

Bill

I tested many subwoofers in 15 years of time. You Always need a closed subwoofer with only one bass unit in the front to get stealth integration. SVS does not have the fastest response in movement of the speakerunits. How you test this? Always in stereo to hear if the subwoofder integrates with the speakers and if the proportion of the instruments and voices keep there small proportions. Many subwoofers are not good enough. For example: Jacintha in her name numer 6 of the album. The contrabass is on the left side of the recording. The weight and energy need to be on the left side also wenn the sun is on the right side of the speakers. Many subwoofers are not able to get the energy and low freq. touchable like it would be with stereo speakers only. With Audyssey pro and extrme fast subwoofers I can get full stealth integration with subwoofers and that instruments and voices keep the right dimensions. Wenn you use 3 bassports in a sub they speed is slow as hell. It is that simple!!

09-21-13: Bo1972
"I saw them and heard them. Even wenn you give them me for free I would not want these f.....ugly sub's. They are too slow."

Are you speaking about the PC subs or all SVS subs? If the SVS SB13 Plus or SB13 Ultra are considered slow, then I have no clue what fast is. The Revel B15 is usually thought of as a fast and rhythmic subwoofer and from what I have observed, the SB13Plus is just as fast. Though neither are servo controlled, both implementations mimic servo characteristics(speed, timing) pretty well IMO.

Bill

I saw them and heard them. Even wenn you give them me for free I would not want these f.....ugly sub's. They are too slow.

I've never heard one, but they test incredibly well for FR, clean output capability, and group delay (one test for subwoofer "speed", as that term is commonly used here).

FWIW

Marty

I do not own an SVS PC sub but do own an SB13 Plus and could not be more pleased with it for music and HT. I also own a fantastic Revel B15($3300.00) which msrp'd for more than twice the SB13P($1500.00), and the SVS has no trouble at all keeping up. As a matter of fact, the well documented attributes of the B15, speed, timing, timbre, and it's ability to integrate well with your main speakers, the SB13P may just slightly trump it in all of those areas.

As far as the SVS PC subs, I have no experience but do know owners that absolutely love theirs and professional reviews have been unanimously positive. From my understanding, the PC13 Ultra with the SLEDGE amp performs just about on par with the PB13 Ultra with slightly less volume in the 15Hz region which may be due to the PB13 U's larger cabinet volume.

Bill

I was looking at those, too. I wrote and also called the company and got great responses both ways. I wanted the most musical subs for a stereo, with Maggie 1.7s. They suggested their sealed cubes, SB 13 Ultras. So, I think if you are looking for home theater, their larger cylinder subs are great, but the sealed ones are better for music. I ended up using their suggested crossover points as well. I use them in stereo, sounds much better than dual mono, and I use an Antimode Cinema for each. I think you should consider something like that, unless you have an AV receiver that can reduce room created peaks. The subs have a lot of ability themselves, but you need equipment that can identify just where those peaks are. So, while I can't speak about those particular subs, I think very well of the company and their products in general.