SVS 25-31CS vs PB10-ISD (1 Viewer)

Alright, this may be a dumb question, or beating a dead horse, but I'm a noob and looking to upgrade my sub. Right now I'm looking to buy a SVS, and have a question. Which of these two subs would be the better buy?

I know the CS ($379) is a passive sub, but I would plan on running it with an old amp until I could purchase something better in the future. The PB-10 ($429) obviously gets rave reviews, but would be a bit more expensive (especially after factoring in shipping between the two models). I'm partial to the cylinder subs, but haven't found many reviews on the SVS passive subs.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
CR

The CS is a higher performer.

The passive subs perform the same as the powered versions if you feed them with an adequate amp.

I would suggest you fire one off to Tom or Ron [email protected] and see what he has to say about the amp your planning on using. It doesn't take a whole lot to get the CS up and going to where your experiencing some pretty impressive performance.

Both units are a good choice, but you being partial to the cylinder and saving some $$, would be good reason to investigate your power supply first before deciding.

My first SVS was a cylinder, as I was able to use an amp on hand to drive it. It worked out fine for a while, but I knew I would want to get another amp. Since you are planning to get another amp for the cylinder in the future, you do need to compare the TOTAL cost of owning the cylinder vs. the box, not the immediate cost.

CYLINDER+NEW AMP=BOX?

Also, some like a more trim look to their component rack, so not having another amp sitting there is a plus. Yet others like the 'separates' look. Decide which camp you fall under.
You may also want to consider getting a BFD (or a parametric EQ) to squeeze out the last bit of performance out of your SVS, no matter which one you get.
I eventually sold my cylinder as placement became an issue.

Good luck.

Mike

Thanks for the info all..... I'll send an email to Tom and see what he thinks. The concern at the moment is the total cost, as the more expensive (and heavy) PB-10 will put me over my spending limit. If I can get by for a while using an old amp (Pioneer 100W), then eventually buy a more powerful one, that would be ideal.

As long as I'm on the topic, I am assuming that a plate amp wouldn't work on the CS?

Thanks

CR

Chris

If you have an old receiver that should work fine. If course upstream from that sub has to be a dolby digital receiver for bass management but I've set up many folks on a very tight budget with subs like this. As long as you don't push things too hard (100 watt receivers sometimes have rather optimistic power ratings) you'll be fine and can add on or upgrade as time allows.

At least initially I think a PB10-ISD would probably work better than a CS sub. Middling levels of power and the lack of any EQ tweaks or subsonic filtering on the CS will handicap it a bit.

Given the total difference in price is fairly small I'd probably advise you just wait a while till you can save up a bit for the turnkey solution. Still, he CS subs are very potent performers requiring only a modicum of tweaking to work very well (and as noted above, capable of better performance than the PB10-ISD with good power and setup).

Just my two cents from a guy raised on making do ;^)

PS the plate amp might work well. Assuming you don't have to buy one (which would eliminate much cost advantage of a CS) and it didnt' have a built in bass boost as many do in any case. You would not want to try and put it ON the CS though. Build a small box for it and put it behind you other gear and you are there.

Keep an eye out for b-stocks to save a few $$ too.

Ron

Thanks Ron! Good to know these things... I appreciate it!

so - to level set, you're concerned about 11-13% of a price that you're already set to commit to?

i'd go with the PB-10 myself

No, by certainly no means am I all that concerned about the 11-13% difference. However, if the CS will be the better bet in the long run, (and I'm partial to the cylinders) I was wondering which would be the better bet.