SVS vs. B&W subs (2 Viewers)

[James~P]

I want a sub for hometheater and music, budget is 800 dollars.





Which will do best?




Thanks.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

SVS. Absolutely.

edit: I felt that was a useless unsubstantiated opinion.

To back that up, B&W makes decent subs, however for the price, SVS will outperform them in extension, output, etc. In the retail world, there are better performers than B&W for the price, Paradigm would be a good looker, but again, bested by SVS in terms of sheer value. For 600 bucks, the B&W subs are pretty pathetic next to an SVS.

 

[Brian Elwood]

I'll put in my non-technical view. I did hear B&W subs a few weeks ago and was impressed. I then purchased an SVS 20-39PSi on the pleadings of this group.

The SVS beat the special made show room B&W and was a LOT cheaper.

I am a believer of the SVS wow factor.

 

[GregBe]

I agree with Chris, but one caveat. SVS subs are huge. You will certainly sacrifice some performance going with a smaller sub (it's pure physics), If size is an issue, there are good subs out there that may fit the bill better than SVS. I am not sure if this is important to you or not, but I know that the B&W subs are smaller than SVS. If size is not an issue, you would be hard pressed to find a price/performance sub better than SVS.

Greg

 

[Mort Corey]

If you get one of the tube SVS subs then even size becomes less of an issue...they're all only 16" in diameter.

Mort

 

[David Bikeman]

ONLY?

David

 

[Craig Chase]

Heh heh... Yes, Only. David...Can you imagine how many cigars would fit in there ?

 

[lyradWong]

Go for SVS. You would regret.

 

[Brian Elwood]

One thing I have read over and over and did not believe it is that you will be surprised at how big a SVS is.

Sure - you can take you tape measure and see what 39 (or whatever) inch's looks like. But until you actually see one "live" you will not comprehend the size.

I was prepared for it and when I took it out of the box . . . . .I was gitty! It's bigger then you think and will become a conversation piece . which is GOOD!

Anyone with an SVS wants to show it off and there is nothing better then having the guest mention the sub FIRST!

 

[Mort Corey]

Well, I guess "only" IS kinda relative. I had all the measurements and 16" isn't really very big compared to some of the large box subs........then the UPS man arrives Wednesday and plops this 80 pound 16" diameter PC Ultra in my office...WOW, that's bigger than I thought Sure wish he would have left behind the forklift to get it in my car!!!! Howsomeever, after a couple of days in it's new location it's kind of disappeared (sort of....in some respects) In the space I have available, no box sub, with a 12-15" driver, would have worked.

Mort

 

[Rudi B]

Happened at a local hi-fi shop...

I walked into the "expensive HT" room, and almost tripped over a little shoebox. Turned out it was actually a B&W subwoofer. I kid you not, looked like a shoebox and costed $1000. I didn't even want to hear it, I know how physics work.

SVS PB2+, everything looks small afterwards.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Maybe it's just me but I recently picked up a used SVS 25-31 CS and thought it was tiny (which fits quite well by my computer), of course I've had some huge subes in the past (like a pair of Tempest that were in 18" * 54" tubes) so I might be a very bad judge of equipment size.

 

[james_pierce]

The B&W ASW 675 is an excellent sub. One of their best sounding subs if you ask me. They have finally made a sub that can rival their other speakers. It goes for $1000 US.

 

[Robert_Dufresne]

James

Professional reviewers rate SVS as a great sub for the money both with music and HT. This being said, it is by no means the only company who makes great subs.

The fact that SVS subs enjoy such popularity on this site might have something to do with their sponsorship of this forum.

 

[David Ruggiero]

Or not.... maybe it's just the fact that SVS makes great subs?

 

[james_pierce]

Robert,

The suggestion was only to give another option other than SVS. I totally agree that the internet sub companies like SVS and HSU are the best buys for the money period. If the wife would let me place something the size of a 20-39 in our living room I would be ecstatic. At the present time I am sub shopping myself and am auditioning the other subs out there that have smaller foot prints. The ASW 675 is an excellent sounding sub, but unless I can find it used I probably will not get it. I have been particulary interested in the the new SVS PB10-ISD. It sounds like it's gonna be a winner. Velodyne SPL-1000 (used) and, and Rocket UFW-10, HSU Research VTF-2 MK2 are on my list as well. The SVS and HSU do not get as high WAF points as the Rocket, Velo, or B&W but the SVS and HSU would be my first choices.

If I can convince the wife to let me have a VTF/STF-3 or a PB1-ISD then life would be even better for me !

 

[LanceJ]

There are many laws of physics one can take advantage of when designing a sub, so judging a sub's sound quality by its size alone would be a mistake.

 

[ChrisBee]

I demo'd the B&W ASW675 while searching for a subwoofer to replace my home made passive bandpass boxes. I'd replaced my shoe-box monitors with floorstanders. The old subs were unusable with these new speakers.

To my ears the ASW675 added a warmth to every sound being reproduced. I'm not sure if it is a single harmonic or harmonics. But it adds a tone to sounds I want to hear as flat impacts. I've heard so many other subwoofers at AV shows that add the same "one note bass" to fight scenes and impacts. I absolutely detest it!

I had never even heard of SVS until I decided to check the online speaker fora for some knowledgable advice. The SVS owners enthusiasm convinced me to get a 16-46 PCi. I was desperately hoping that when it finally arrived it wouldn't sound anything like an ASW675. :frowning:

Despite paying Bax to have it flown across the Atlantic. Then paying 30% import taxes on top of everything. It was still well worth it. Because my SVS simply adds nothing to the bass being reproduced. No matter how loud I push it. You can't ask for more from a subwoofer IMHO. It was still cheaper than the B&W 675 as well. And a lot bigger.

ChrisBee

 

[james_pierce]

ChrisBee-

That was an excellent testimony. Truth is I have not been able to audition SVS. Maybe there is someone in the DFW area that can kindly offer an audition?

 

[Allan*C]

I own both B&W and SVS. The SVS is a monster, but I prefer it by a long shot