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I Got My PB2+ (1 Viewer)

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Ordered it Tuesday night, got here Thursday. I was up at 9 this morning and stayed downstairs all day and didnt hear the doorbell or anybody knock. So i was upstairs in my room watchin tv when at 7:30 p.m. my dad is yellin from the bottom of the stairs "Allen, come down, we need your help getting the subwoofer in". I didnt think it'd come until Friday or (with my luck) Monday but go figure. That was a nice little surprise. When i went downstairs and out the frontdoor my dad told me the guy came but nobody answered so i dont know what i was doing when he came.

My neighbors (who we are friends with) said the guy came to there house at around 2 and asked them if they would take, so they did. So after my dad told me that we went over to they're house and slid it out of they're garage. We all took a corner, (me, my dad, my brother (25) and the guy next door Tom) and nice and combfortably carried it down the sidewalk a good 300ft up my front lawn and into my living room..or is it a family room? The one that looks nice but nobody sits in. Then my dad and Tom remarked on nice shipping and how fast it got here and went backoutside to talk a bit more and Tom asked me if tomorrow he could listen to it and i said yes and that was that.

I got scissors and a knife to get it open while my brother was sold when he saw the "American-made" thing on the box and finally started putting trust in me that i did good research and picked a good sub. Everything went as i expected it to go...for the last 10 months. Slowly opened it, "this thing is packed really nice" make little remarks. This is somewhat how our conversation went.

Brother:"Is this...oh this isnt the subwoofer, it's some sort of black foam protecting it"
Brother:"We're gonna have to tip it over and slide the subwoofer outsideways"
Brother:"Nevermind, the box comes right off"
Brother:"These are the cords, nice!"
Me:"You grab oneside, i'll grab the other, and lets carry it into the room"
Me:"It's not as hard to carry as i thought"

-We set it down close to its corner-

Brother:"lets slide it in"

Me:"to heavy, we'll end up rolling the carpet, lets move the couch alittle bit and carry it in, lets leave some space on the sides so i can still see the amp, then we'll slide it in to about 5"s away from the wall."

My brother picks up the powercord bag "SVS, the bass authority eh, hey look it came with a pen"

Me:"I didnt think it was gonna come today, i wanted to take pictures, we dont have any rolls"

Brother: "Well then, just tape the box back together and pretend it's in there"

Me:"Nah, i'll keep the boxes in there though, still want to take a snap"

Brother: "I love it when you buy something and it's got that new smell"

Me: "It's bigger then i thought it was, i knew the dimensions, i've been starring at the pictures for months, and came to believe it would end up being smaller then i thought but i was wrong. It's even got the SVS emblem. Well, lets move the couch back".

Me: "Lets get dad and the dogs back in here so we can finish watching the Tour De France so i can get behind the tv and hook it up".

That's about the jist of it as i remember. I Called my mom and told her how it ended up next door, how my dad ordered it for me yet he still calls it PV2-Box and SCS.

I havent got to do anything with it yet cause my dad's tape cut off the last half an hour of the Tour and my brother is occupying the TV in the HT room until he sees it, then im gonna go down there and calibrate it. It wasnt working at first....cause i didnt turn it on. Then it still wasnt working, then i put the Cord into In instead of out and it started going alittle bit. My brother started becoming skeptic cause even though it was a tv channel and we only have composite comming from the digital cable, there was alittle tiny smidgin of bass. Then i realized the Reciever was close to Mute and the sound was comming out of the TV instead of the speakers, i had the subwoofer level on the reciever all the way down and the gain was all the way down. We turned it up alittle bit just to make sure it was working and that was the end of it. We turned it off cause people are sleeping :frowning:

After my brother catches the end of the Tour im gonna go down there and fix it. Then i probably wont sleep, and at 6 in the morning when everybody goes to work im goin down there and im gonna be packin a grin and a popcorn artery. Did i spell that right? I imagine tomorrow me and Tom will have a good discussion on the patio, he's got some questions.

The highlight of the day is my dad called me from work and said "Bax global just called they said there was a problem with the shipping and it ended up in Antartica, so we may not see this thing until late August. I was talking to some people at work and they said how half the things they've ordered from Bax ended up in the atlantic". He always does that until i freak out. When i was getting my computer and he was on the phone with the guy he goes "What, it wont get here until December? (8 months away) well what if we get it with out the processor will that cut down a few months?" and then when i started chewin his head off he said he was only on hold.

My dogs didnt even care the bookshelf was gone, two of them didnt pay it to anymind, one of them, the extremely nervous and full of anxiety one slowly crept up and give it a few sniffs and that was the end of that. So the only thing i've heard from the sub so far is me 2 feet away from it with it making just enough sound that you could hear it but that was just so i knew it was working. When i first hooked it up and it wasnt working i was slowly starting to realize my ultimate fate, "this always, ALWAYS!!! happens to me".

I wanted to take some nice beauty shots during a sunny day in my living or family or front room whatever it is, but i guess that idea was shot down.

Everything on the back is pretty straight forward to me except the phase knob, im sorta in the dark with that, i got it at 180 right now.

Tomorrow morning comes the ultimate face off. My $50 KLH HTIB sub vs the PB2+. Tis a fierce battle. I dont know if the SVS is ready for it but we'll see. I've noticed the KLH specializes in the low 80hz range at about 5db from 1" away. Could you ask for anything more, i mean really. My dogs are rooting for the SVS but they go outside and eat leafs and chew rocks everyday so i dont know how valid that point is. I may just have to breakout my high-tech gear and get these subs in the samespot and do a shoot-out Ed style. I discussed this with Tom and he thinks it could be close to.

I asked my brother..........ahh, stupid pop up. Anyway, i asked my brother who he thinks does more bass and he said the SVS does more bass when its off then the KLH. It's really a gentlemen sport between the two. I asked my dog who seems to be the smarter of the 3 but she justed walked away. Nobody cares for my hobby obviously. I noticed the pop stain on the side of the KLH really compliments the finish to. Two Titans, one room, one man and 3 dogs to satisfy, you can feel the emotion. I havent been this excited for 4 hours, when my sub got here. When someone asked me what's the best subwoofer i said four KLH HTIB $50 (probably less now) subs stacked ontop of each other tuned at 200hz. Ever since then, they've remarked how they can really feel those mids, tickle the ground right next to the subs.

Anyway, yippie skippy whoo ha!!!!!

But enough of of that technical jargon. So far my impressions are, "YESS, IT'S BIGGER THEN I THOUGHT!", and i love the stuff on the back. The Gain knob, the other various knobs, switches, nick nacks and bricka bracks. Those port holes are so much bigger then i thought, and the plugs for them...i didnt know they went in so far i thought they were only an inch thick. It even came with a pen, a pen i tell you!!! Dont worry i'll calibrate. I'll calibrate the hell out of it, and when im done, i'll calibrate somemore. There's gonna be so much calibration goin on it'll be ridiculous.

I'm gonna start with music then slideeeee over to the movies tomorrow. Im sorta scared of the thing, i havent heard it yet. When i plugged it into the back of the reciever i was scared it would make a thump or some sorta noise for whatever reason. I look at it like a Lion in the corner, something beyond my control. I told myself before i got it not to yap away like this but now im blinded, my whole HT experience is in a new dimension now.

I'll stop now, but i'll let you know, after i get my elite team of subsonic scientists over and we have at these monsters we shall see who's master of they're domain. Working around the clock, having meetings, doing tests, drawing conclusions, it's all very technical which im sure few here understand. But so much love goes into this i hardly call it a job.


By the way, i have a history of run ons, typos, spelling errors.

Im ashamed.
 

steve nn

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2002
Messages
2,418
Congratulations Allen. It should be a pretty good shootout alright. Let us know how it turns out. You seem to be slightly excited and I would be also moving from the KLH up to the PB2+.

I hope you have a DVD player because that is where it will really shine.

Are you sure that's not Tom V that lives next to you, considering the two day shipping feat.
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Well to switch into serious mode, i never had the KLH on. My Fronts did more bass then it, even so high off the ground, i just turned it off and use it to keep my fronts level. Instead of using it for firewood as someone previously suggested, which i almost did until it occured to me.
 

Edward J M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
2,031
Wow, quite the appetizer! And now for the main course.....FIRE THAT BAD BOY UP! :)

Start with the 25 Hz tune, quickie calibrate, and spin some music and DVDs.

For music, I like a seamless blend, so I actually run my sub a little on the cool side (Avia 85 dB speakers, 81 dB sub - as read on the meter).

For DVDs I run a bit hot - Avia 85 dB speakers, 85 dB sub - as read on the meter.


KLH HTIB?
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
This really is the greatest thing since indoor plumming and the microchip. The smile wont wipe off my face. This thing.....what can i say. In my travels i've heard alot of expensive subs, much more expensive then this thing and you start realizing what a kick in the face it is.

So far it went like this

I first watched the fight scenes on The Matrix: Reloaded, very soft, about -30 to -35. It was the best experience, i didnt know if i was gonna cry or not. I thought it wasnt hooked up right comming into the movie, but then it hit that bass part during the opening scene (inside the clock) and i couldnt contain myself. The gain was at alittle less then 1/2, and i had the subwoofer about 4-5db higher then the other speakers. It was just a constant wake up, continiously, first she's kickin the guys and thats doin bass, then she flies up in the air and alot of bass comes flyin out of nowhere almost makin me turn it down.

I really got to see how Dynamic these things can be when she jumped out of the window and she whooshes by the camera as i remember, and that at -35 shook the room suddenly and i didnt think in a million years it would jump that high in db at such a low volume. So that's when i started noticing it's ability to pipe down, then come out of nowhere and get yah. At first it was acquired, goin from no bass to bass, even when it was calibrated in i still had to get used to it. Then my brother woke up at about....7:30 or something, so then i was able to really turn it up. Not to hometheater intelligent but has had lots of speakers and subwoofers in his day, he used to have a 18" Velodyne. So at first he wasnt impressed cause i kept hiping it up and what not. Then when all the fight scenes were done (we never crossed -25, it was still quite early in the morning) we popped in the pod race. I turned this up alittle bit more cause i was starting to get used to the bass.

He wasnt very impressed cause he's heard this kinda bass in a room before so im like alright fine, im not gonna let him ruin my good mood. I thought it was awesome.

By the way, i did all these tests, a bar below 1/2 gain, 20hz mode one port plugged, crossover at 80hz, and 4-5db hotter then the other speakers. I then popped in the haunting and listened to the door knock thing.

Then i plugged another port, put it in 16hz mode and put in black hawk down. When it happened i stuck my hand under to feel the driver moving, and she was goin nuts. So that was my first experience where i could understand people getting a bigger sub for stronger output down there, where as before during the matrix reloaded im like "these people are all insane, every one of them!". Then i put in Monsters Inc. and thats the first time i got to hear the sub for what it was. When they put that metal thing over the sock and blow it...scared the life out of me and it even scared the dogs. I didnt think anything would scare the dogs cause during the pod race one of my dogs was in a deep sleep right next to the thing no flinchin, guess she likes it. That deep thump shook the whole house, and this was at -15 as i recall.

Then that was it, my brother wanted to watch the tour today and i fell dead asleep next to my dog on the couch cause i stayed up all night. Then i got up just an hour ago, and he wasnt in there so i listened to some music. I like my music with more bass, so i turned the Gain up to a bar past 1/2. I only played a couple of songs but here are the ones i remember.

Terminator 2 Theme Song
E.S. Pothumus - Nara
E.S. Pothumus - Pompeii
Soul Hooligan - Algebra (Take a crack at this)

And last the Lux Aeterna/The Two Towers Theme/Requiem For A Dream theme.

It was great, i went outside and my neighbors wife was in her garden, next door at the back of her yard (100ft away) and asked me what that noise was. It was passin through the brickwall pretty good.

Well that's what i've done so far, im gonna go watch Jurassic Park!
 

George_W_K

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
2,031
Location
Ohio
Real Name
George


What a great line!:D

I had the same feelings when I bought my PB2+ from Craig.

Congratulations on your new sub!
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Really got to do some stuff with it today.

I watched all of Monsters Inc at the highest level i've put it to yet, -12...

That giant guy, Ten or Ted or whatever his name is.....wow!

We had an accident today. Keeping in mind still at -12, when they bolted that metal shell to the ground over the shock and it goes BOOM...or THUD rather we had a landslide of phone books, books, folders, flashlights, bulbs and other various nonsense avalanced out of a high cabinet in the kitchen. This cabinet was on the otherside of the backwall in the HT so it was about 35ft away from the sub and my parents told me the table on the backpourch shook.

It was fun listening to Sully walk around.

I watched Jurassic Park III Dino fight and all the other scenes with the Spinosaurus in it and so far the Dino fight was the most extreme bass i've listened to.

I've done Monsters Inc., Star Wars Episode I, The Matrix, The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions, The Haunting, The Two Towers, Return of the King and The Hulk.

That Machine God guy in Revolutions was made me feel like i was one inch tall, YIKES! Still doin alot of playin around with levels and such. Nothing in the HT that shakes(20x30) makes a vibrating sound which is good, but when i get to the -20 and high range vents in other rooms and for some reason the banister on the stairs make some annoying vibrating sounds, which of course i cant hear but pisses everybody else off.

If i was somebody else trying to convince me (before i got the PB2+) to get the PB2+ i would just tell me "During Jurassic Park III Dino fight, the whole house was shaking and hardly any air was comming out of the ports". Which is completely true so maybe that line will make other people feel better. It definetly pays for itself, i cant think of anything in the world for $1200 that is so nice to have.

Chad, im on a mission for pictures. My sister is gonna pick up some film for me on her way here tomorrow and then on her way back home will get them developed then i'll pick them up Monday or something. But then step B is, i gotta buy a cord for my scanner and hopefully they're site has the program for me to download so i dont have to order a new one. I lost the CD, im sure that's understandable but i have no clue how i lost the cord.

Im gonna pick it up and bring it out in the open so i can take some nice shots of all sides and then some shots in it's corner. I'll also give a dang good effort to get my dog to sit still next to the sub for a split second and maybe even possibly get her to tilt her head in confusion.

Course me and my brother argue constantly, him going "This thing is pure insanity, why do poeple need the B4, why would they get two PB2+s, you dont even need more bass"

Me: "Well....ummm, i guess most people aim for something close to 120db all the way down to 5hz"

Brother: "Why? all you need is bass, once you have bass that pounds who cares how low it goes?"

Me: "Cause it's a hobby..i dont know, why do people need all the barbie dolls instead of just 10"

Brother: "They could do something better with they're money!"

Me: "Like what, buy a $2500 painting that they can stare at and go "man, this is the gift that keeps on giving"".

Brother: "You got a point but still, you better not ask for another one just so you can get alittle more deeper bass"

Blah blah blah blah blah blah! It's always a wit war with this guy. When i first showed him the sub and it was goin off alittle bit (-25) he acted like he wasnt impressed for what reason i dont know, but then when i put in Monsters Inc. and jumped to the Thud he finally gave in to admit what a monster the sub is.

By the way, we named the sub Bob. I wanted to name it the monster, but we already call our small cavalier king charles spaniel the monster, and she actually responds to it even though it's not her name. The beast didnt fly either cause it got in the way of us calling it a beast. My dad says it's a spawn of satan, he STILL doesnt know the companies name and me and my brother are the only ones who know what the sub is called.

Even commercials and TV shows are different when its on. I would camp out down there and just watch movies for 2 days straight but i keep getting kicked out for the olympics, tour de france, baseball and people who want to watch a movie comming out of the tv.

Ohhhh yea, that matrix: revolutions bubble was nuts to, i like sustained bass, havent found any of that in the movies i've watched so far but i still got alot to go. Can anybody name some stuff that has some sustained bass. Oh yea i remember Monsters Inc. was sorta sustained during the sock explosion, that part made me really nervous.
 

MarkMac

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 27, 2002
Messages
112
Allen-
Thanks for your reviews--I'm getting a kick out of them. I was lined up to order a PB2+ a couple months ago to round out my new equip, but money got tight and I'm in a holding pattern now. Hopefully in the fall, I'll be able to order one.

As far as your question about sustained bass, try out Saving Private Ryan (DTS special edition) chapter 16 or 17 (i can't remember which). It's the scene where the tank comes rolling down the alley. When I had my 20-39PCi, that was one of my favorite demo bass scenes. It used to shake the room...such fantastic, sustained bass, I'm not sure why that scene doesn't get more mention.

Congrats on the new SVS!!!
 

DonnyD

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,145
Allen...

I'm really enjoying your blow-by-blow journal of your PB2+ experience and I'm sure it's going to get better!

I"ve owned a 20-39PC for 2 years and was in constant awe of it too.... upgraded it to the pci, then bit the bullet and bought a PB2+ about a month ago.....and although I was accustomed to the SVS sound, that PB2+ is still a monster!

Actually, I've had very little time to listen to my system since getting the PB2+ as we have some illness in the family. Yesterday, we watched Butterfly Effect at around
-40db and it was still about TOO much house shake.. at least for my visitors....(Me, I love it).....LOL

I noticed you were hovering somewhere around the 1/2 gain mark and I can't imagine that! Mine is around 7db hot (than other speakers) at just 1/4 gain..... anything more and it is quite dramatic, to say the least.

I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy as we here will continue to enjoy your enthusiasm with your new SVS. Your demo list will get longer and longer.....
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Thanks Craig, Mark, Donny.

I'll give Saving Private Ryan a watching tomorrow, seems the HT is gonna be occupied all day today. My brother has the sub on downstairs right now on AMC, fletch lives is on. I really love how it gives bass to normal TV. Tomorrow will be my war movie day, i'll watch Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, We were Soldiers and the battle scene in Pearl Harbor, and might as well get in the Star Wars Episode 1 lightsabar fight and the battle at the end of Episode 2.
 

Greg Haynes

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 22, 1998
Messages
577
Nice review Allen.

I was shocked to read your profile that your only 16yrs old, turning 17 in 2 weeks. Not many 16yr olds can say they own a PB2+.

Impressive!
 

Alex Prosak

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 9, 2001
Messages
773
Allen, try out the ship battle scenes from Master and Commander. The bass when the canon's fire is like getting a good kick in the chest when using a PB-2+.:D ;) The use of surrounds in these scenes (particularly the first battle) is also spectacular. This is my newest demo DVD.
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Thanks Greg.

I've been interested in Surround Sound since i was 11 when i first saw the matrix, it was the vhooom whoosh noises that completely turned me on to the whole idea. Since then there was an unbelievablely slow progression, we went through 2 HTIB systems until last year when i got my Athenas. Before i knew they're were such online hometheater communities and im glad i found this site or i wouldnt be able to see 2 inches past my nose in this hobby. If i never decided to go spalunking on the internet about my own speakers to find out information about them, i never would of found this site or know anything about speakers.

If i didnt, i probably would of eventually got an Athena ASP-400 subwoofer, still not knowing what dolby digital is or how to get it, thinking that cause it says that on my reciever that's what i got, and that would be the end of it until i slowly faded out of the interest i never knew anything about. Watching movies on 6ch stereo, convinced that surround sound is over rated and it doesnt sound like something passes you by. First day i got my Optical Cord i was just about as excited as i was when i got my sub. But then it wasnt long before i noticed the limitations of 75 watts a channel. So next year's mission is a new Reciever.
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Thanks Alex, i've seen some stuff in places around here about Master and Commander so this comming weekend i'll probably get it on our every other week Best Buy DVD raid.
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
C-weighted, 15ft away, 25hz mode, no plugs ported, 1 notch past 1/2 gain, crossover disabled, speaker level 2 notches higher then normal calibrated setting (2-3db hotter then my already 4db high setting).

I was gonna put some readings on here but i wasnt planning to do it when i watched these movies, but did it anyway, thus the lack of time stamps, but increase in description. Ed, if this looks like your subjective impressions in anyway i apologize, i just couldnt think of any other way to set it up that agreed with me.

THE MATRIX: RELOADED

Smith dog pile explosion - 113db (Master Volume: -8)

My favorite bass part in the movie.

Car smashing into ground - 116db (Master Volume: -8)

This is during the highway scene when the agent jumps off the car and it flips over, but it's the 2nd car that barrel rolls off the first car that this reading is based on. Took me by suprise, i wasnt looking at the meter so i had to rewind.

Red blobs in windows - 118db (Master Volume: -8)

Scared the hell out of me, most likely shook the whole house.

THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS

Bubble aftershock - 119db (Master Volume: -7)

Very unexpected, i knew it was gonna be rough but it was nuts. Louder then i've ever had the sub before and louder then i would normally want it. It shook the bajesus out of the room. But Bob was fine, Bob dusted it off and went back to sleep. Those SVS guys....


Well thats it, like i said i wasnt even planning on it but i just pulled my sound meter out for the neo and smith fight at the end of revolutions and then i decided to make a couple recordings, not until do i realize i skipped alot of good parts. I watch revolutions before reloaded by the way.

Tomorrow i'll probably throw a couple more in there. So judging by how it went i'd say i like my sub to go up to 116db (unfixed) when i normally watch movies, so now i know im not a psycho. I dont normally keep the gain and level like that, but i planned on watching a movie really soft, at -25 to -30 so i turned it up alittle bit not caring if it stood out alittle bit or not.
 

Allen Marshall

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 2003
Messages
561
Well i was gonna make some more and i started with Monsters Inc. but it got pretty repetitive, every bass part i was gonna do was in the fascinity of 116-119 with the little girl crying and the power fluxing hit 120db, so i just said the hell with it and gave up. That was when i put everything back into it's calibrated position, 25hz mode, and -4 reference.
 

Edward J M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
2,031


No apologies needed, Allen. You've basically corroborated my data (and then some), and also proven the PB2+ has more than enough dynamic headroom to handle Reference Level playback in your room. Your corrected SPL is well over 120 dB on several scenes.

At this point, kick back, recalibrate the sub to some sensible setting, and just enjoy some music and movies. :emoji_thumbsup:
 

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