What is the forums opinion of SVS subs?


What is the forums opinion of SVS?

I have been thinking about adding a sub and started studying Rel. Then I saw an add for SVS and l gave them a look.

I have seen time and again this forums praise of Rel. So then when I was looking at Rel's specs compared to SVS, It APPEARS at on paper that SVS digs deeper at -3 db than Rel at -6 db, at a lower cost. But how do the two compare in their sound?

Thanks

 

marshinski15

I have owned at least 5 SVS subs, luckily they have an excellent customer service department for the warranty as every sub I got from them (two via one of their dealers stores) failed.   I took two of them apart to view the guts and I was not happy with the build quality from what I saw.

Another item, I could not get them to sound right in my large room when they were operational; the sound to me was very muddy and not musical at all; very boomy sounding.  

I ended up getting in a very nice sub from Axiom Audio (who owns Bryston by the way) and all I can say is what a nice improvement that was.  The amps are rated far lower in power than SVS, but trust me, they have a lot more power as they use linear power supplies with much more reserve.   You should see the capacitors and massive toroid transformer; it must weigh 30 pounds.   Plus they are super musical with a great amount of adjustment available on the variable phase controls and cross over points.   I ended up with 4 subs from them and the sound is just outstanding.    I'd suggest a look at what they offer on their webpage before getting anything from any other company; plus they have outstanding customer service and warranty support.   That's my input on this subject.

It was an R.E.L sub that first truly showed me 'hall effect' on Eva Cassidy's "Fields of Gold" (with no discernible bass on the track).  I used (and still have) an  R.E.L. Britannica B1 sub for my main audio for years. (Also own an R.E.L. Storm III).

Now I use two SVS SB-2000 subs and one SB-3000 (all sealed) for three as a D.B.A. in my audio-only room. I won't go back to the REL though it was great. I would strongly recommend going the distributed bass array route if possible (not always I know).    R.E.L. is great. SVS is great too, but a better monetary value.

 

I own a REL , its older but still a good sub so I'm not in the market right now.... I auditioned my speakers with a SVS sub and it was really good.  Better than I ever expected.   I would definitely put them on my short list when mine dies 

I own a pair of REL Carbon Special and they are integrated very well with my speakers. I haven't tried SVS yet.

There will be a bunch of you that don’t want to hear this but I had a set of subs made by Tekton call the 410. It’s for 10 inch woofers and a 300 white played amplifier. It beat the daylights out of the big SVS subs. Believe it or not, it’s absolutely true.