Tom_T
Auditioning
- Joined
- Oct 27, 1999
- Messages
- 9
Where to start... I got my first real sub yesterday. It's an SVS PB12/Ultra. My previous subs were just the dual 8" powered subs that are built into each of my Polk RT2000 speakers so this was to be a big step up, at least that's what I was thinking.
So I get home after a day of work and peek in the garage to see a really big box. I'm thinking, oh boy, this is going to be fun tonight. The sub is packaged well although there are some rather large holes in the side of the box that have been taped over. After a thorough inspection I find that the sub is in good condition with only a small scratch near where one of the holes in the box was. Now since this is a B stock sub it is possible it was there before it got shipped to me. I'll bring this to the attention of SVS Tom and Ron Temple from AGS.
The sub itself is impressively built. Very sturdy looking and the black finish is nice. I really like the way these things look. Although I knew the physical dimensions it's still a lot bigger then what I imagined but that's ok. I have room for it. I load it up on the hand truck and into the house it goes.
So I'm in the house now and it's time to wire this bad boy up and start on the calibration. Plug in the cable to the sub out on my HK receiver, in on the sub, power plugged in, power switch on, set the receiver to know it has a sub now and start up the tests. Hmmm... it doesn't seem to be very impressive at all. So after beating my head against the sub (it's sturdier then my walls) for a bit I figure out it must not be getting power. I check the fuse in the sub with an ohm meter and it checks out ok. Then it dawns on me that the outlet I plugged the sub into is a switched outlet. After smacking my hand to my forehead in a "Wow I shoulda had a v8" fashion, I turn on the switch. Oh nifty, there is a green led that I never noticed on the amp. Ok, now I know we have power. Back to the calibration tests.
I calibrate it via the Avia disc and notice that even though my sub level in the receiver is set at -5 I still only have to turn the sub gain up to the second hash mark. This seems pretty low to me but I'll roll with it cause the SPL meter says that's what it's supposed to be at. Now that we are calibrated, let's watch a few test clips. So I load up my favorite clip, Star Trek Insurrection, the scene where Picard blows up the Sona particle collector. Hmmm.. That was ok. Better then just the Polk's but not what I was expecting. I blow through a few different clips (Contact, The Matrix, Apollo 13) and the results are all the same. It's better then what I was used to but just not what I was expecting. At this point I decided to just watch a full movie and see what I thought.
I plop in SW:TPM, crank up the volume (I watched at 10db below reference) and away we go. One thing I did notice though that worried me before we even started the movie itself was the THX demo clip. The one with the exploding sphere, etc. When the sphere first explodes I noticed that the sub bottomed out. Now according to the meter I'm not running hot and I'm set volume wise at 10db below reference but this worries me a bit. I'll take note during the movie to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Well after the movie I come away with a mediocre reception to this sub so far. It's better then what I had before but not what I was expecting. I ask my wife what she thinks and she just says to me "I was expecting more." My expectations were mind numbing bass. Something that would just rattle the fillings out of my teeth. I had these expectations based upon the reviews I've seen here and the fact that I sized this sub 3 sizes higher then the minimum recommendation for my room. After conversing with SVS Tom we determined that my room size of 13x15 would only require a PB10. Now this was if I listened at -20 db below reference. Since my theater room opens up to the kitchen on one side of it I decided to step up to a PB12/Plus just for extra headroom but ended up getting a B stock PB12/Ultra as it was a good deal.
Tonight the plan is to try some different locations. I have a longer interconnect cable so I'm going to try placing the sub where I normally sit and walk around with the spl meter and see where is best to put it. Maybe location will make a difference.
Also, can phase cause an overall diminishment in bass output? I tried playing with the phase knob during the Avia phase tests but did not notice any difference.
I really want this sub to work and I know I still need to do some tests/tweaking to see if it will work for me. I'm overall impressed with the product, It's just not what I was hoping for. Just a little info on my setup for you folks so that if you have any hints and tips you can give you'll know what I have.
Harmon Kardon AVR 65
Polk Audio RT2000 fronts
Polk Audio CS400 Center
Polk Audio M1 surrounds
The HK is set to small all around and the sub output is turned on. The internal crossover is not adjustable and is set to forward everything below 100hz to the sub. I do not know what the crossover slope is. The sub gain is set to -5 in the receiver (can go all the way to -10) and the gain on the sub itself is set at the 2nd hash mark (I'm thinking this is 1/4 of the way) The phase is currently set at 0. PEQ is set to minimum (effectively off) and the internal crossover is disabled.
Tom
So I get home after a day of work and peek in the garage to see a really big box. I'm thinking, oh boy, this is going to be fun tonight. The sub is packaged well although there are some rather large holes in the side of the box that have been taped over. After a thorough inspection I find that the sub is in good condition with only a small scratch near where one of the holes in the box was. Now since this is a B stock sub it is possible it was there before it got shipped to me. I'll bring this to the attention of SVS Tom and Ron Temple from AGS.
The sub itself is impressively built. Very sturdy looking and the black finish is nice. I really like the way these things look. Although I knew the physical dimensions it's still a lot bigger then what I imagined but that's ok. I have room for it. I load it up on the hand truck and into the house it goes.
So I'm in the house now and it's time to wire this bad boy up and start on the calibration. Plug in the cable to the sub out on my HK receiver, in on the sub, power plugged in, power switch on, set the receiver to know it has a sub now and start up the tests. Hmmm... it doesn't seem to be very impressive at all. So after beating my head against the sub (it's sturdier then my walls) for a bit I figure out it must not be getting power. I check the fuse in the sub with an ohm meter and it checks out ok. Then it dawns on me that the outlet I plugged the sub into is a switched outlet. After smacking my hand to my forehead in a "Wow I shoulda had a v8" fashion, I turn on the switch. Oh nifty, there is a green led that I never noticed on the amp. Ok, now I know we have power. Back to the calibration tests.
I calibrate it via the Avia disc and notice that even though my sub level in the receiver is set at -5 I still only have to turn the sub gain up to the second hash mark. This seems pretty low to me but I'll roll with it cause the SPL meter says that's what it's supposed to be at. Now that we are calibrated, let's watch a few test clips. So I load up my favorite clip, Star Trek Insurrection, the scene where Picard blows up the Sona particle collector. Hmmm.. That was ok. Better then just the Polk's but not what I was expecting. I blow through a few different clips (Contact, The Matrix, Apollo 13) and the results are all the same. It's better then what I was used to but just not what I was expecting. At this point I decided to just watch a full movie and see what I thought.
I plop in SW:TPM, crank up the volume (I watched at 10db below reference) and away we go. One thing I did notice though that worried me before we even started the movie itself was the THX demo clip. The one with the exploding sphere, etc. When the sphere first explodes I noticed that the sub bottomed out. Now according to the meter I'm not running hot and I'm set volume wise at 10db below reference but this worries me a bit. I'll take note during the movie to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Well after the movie I come away with a mediocre reception to this sub so far. It's better then what I had before but not what I was expecting. I ask my wife what she thinks and she just says to me "I was expecting more." My expectations were mind numbing bass. Something that would just rattle the fillings out of my teeth. I had these expectations based upon the reviews I've seen here and the fact that I sized this sub 3 sizes higher then the minimum recommendation for my room. After conversing with SVS Tom we determined that my room size of 13x15 would only require a PB10. Now this was if I listened at -20 db below reference. Since my theater room opens up to the kitchen on one side of it I decided to step up to a PB12/Plus just for extra headroom but ended up getting a B stock PB12/Ultra as it was a good deal.
Tonight the plan is to try some different locations. I have a longer interconnect cable so I'm going to try placing the sub where I normally sit and walk around with the spl meter and see where is best to put it. Maybe location will make a difference.
Also, can phase cause an overall diminishment in bass output? I tried playing with the phase knob during the Avia phase tests but did not notice any difference.
I really want this sub to work and I know I still need to do some tests/tweaking to see if it will work for me. I'm overall impressed with the product, It's just not what I was hoping for. Just a little info on my setup for you folks so that if you have any hints and tips you can give you'll know what I have.
Harmon Kardon AVR 65
Polk Audio RT2000 fronts
Polk Audio CS400 Center
Polk Audio M1 surrounds
The HK is set to small all around and the sub output is turned on. The internal crossover is not adjustable and is set to forward everything below 100hz to the sub. I do not know what the crossover slope is. The sub gain is set to -5 in the receiver (can go all the way to -10) and the gain on the sub itself is set at the 2nd hash mark (I'm thinking this is 1/4 of the way) The phase is currently set at 0. PEQ is set to minimum (effectively off) and the internal crossover is disabled.
Tom