Adire Rava or SVS 25-31 PCI (1 Viewer)

[greg baker]

I am looking to upgrade my Sub, and this is what I am looking at. I have JBL S26 mains and a JBL PB-10. It is adequate for HT but I am not real happy with it for music. I am looking to improve the music portion of my set-up. I am looking at the Adire Rava with the DPL-12 Driver or the Shiva Driver and the SVS 25-31 PCI. I don't need Thunderous bass, but I would like something substantially better than the PB-10. My room is 13.5 X 21 with 4 foot openings on each side. I know the SVS is a powerhouse but I have good thigs about the Adire and I have heard it is a bit tighter. I know the SVS would be much stronger than the PB-10, But would the Adire be much stronger as well? Also what is the difference between the Shive and DP-12 driver and is one bettter than the other Thanks,

Greg

 

[Chris Quinn]

You might find answers here- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=355843

 

[Benihana]

hey greg, used to have both the pb10 and a Rava, but not at the same time. The Rava is worlds better than the pb10, plays much louder and sounds much cleaner. I had the one with a shiva driver in it and the ava250 amp. The difference between the dp-12 and the shiva is that the dp-12 plays lower but it is less efficient, meaning with the same amp and enclosure the shiva will have higher spl's.

 

[Pablo Abularach]

my vote goes to SVS 25-31PCi, I own one, and I have them pair to S26, and the sub blends pretty nice with them, you will really enjoy the capabilities of this sub. Great sub for the money. Good luck.

 

[Chris Quinn]

If you go to the "audiophile" boards Adires are the first choice.

 

[Roger Q]

Chris,

What boards do you consider "audiophile" boards?

 

[Chris Quinn]

audio asylum, audio circle, harmonic discord, audiogon, madisound, etc.

The number of experienced and high-end users participating regularly is way up on this board in recent months.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I'd recommend the SVS 25-31PCi! It's not a bad investment based on what Dr. John E. Johnson, Jr. wrote about the SVS 25-31PCi @ Secrets of HT ...


My SVS 25-31PCi feels & sounds glorious in my 20' x 30' HT/family room. It's by far the best investment I've made for my JBL 6.1 HT System!

Phil

 

[Chris Quinn]

The Adire is an acoustic suspension design meaning, no porting. A port allows higher SPL but a faster roll-off. The acoustic suspension design has a gradual roll-off to make it a more natural sound. This is why "audiophiles" prefer acoustic suspension subs over ported subs.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Acoustic Suspended: Acoustic suspended speakers (aka. Infinite Baffle) are sealed enclosures which rely on back wave energies of the woofers to radiate within the cabinet to produce the bass frequencies. While this type of enclose has several advantages (IE. tight and quick bass response, easy to design, frees from port noise) it has some tradeoffs, namely a decrease in bass linearity vs applied output level and overall bass extension for a given sized enclosure.

Bass Reflex: Bass reflex enclosures usually have a port(s) or passive radiator to tune a cabinet to a specific frequency determined by the bass driver implemented and volume of enclosure. The obvious advantage of bass reflex systems over acoustic suspended designs is an increase in linear bass output for a given enclosure volume. However, unless properly designed, bass reflex systems may sacrifice some accuracy in bass response. In addition, if the port is not designed properly the system may suffer from port velocity problems resulting in unwanted port noise or loose and sloppy bass attributed to improper box tuning ratios with respect to port size and driver compliance.

=====

Both sub's (Adire & SVS) will probably perform well, but I'm a fan of a sub that has "an increase in linear bass output for a given enclosure volume." (Bass Reflex)

Feeling (air, cement floor, couch, walls, pant-leg, etc.) that linear sub-sonic LFE bass output is what give's us SVS owner's that familiar, ... "I've got an SVS" - Grin!!!

It's obvious in the relatively short time that SVS design(s) became a sub-woofer player, ... they have merited accolades from the 'audiophile' circle including Peter Staddon - 20th Century Fox, Tom Nousaine - "The $ensible Sound" June/July 2001, Issue #86, Guy Kuo - Ovation Software, Howard Ferstler - "The $ensible Sound" Nov/Dec 2001, Issue #88, David Bott's Home Theater - Audio Video Interiors as well as scored the Sound Stage Reviewers Choice 2003 Award!

Phil

 

[greg baker]

I have heard nothing about good things about the SVS subs. I saw a picture of a 20-39 in a living room and that thing looked huge. Is the PB-1 comparable to the 25-31. I have a box sub now and it may fit better in my room. 21x13.5 with a 4 foot opening at opposite ends. Thanks,


Greg

 

[yung cheng]

repeated post

 

[yung cheng]

Bass Reflex: "an increase in linear bass output for a given enclosure"

Does it mean for a given enclosure, a Bass reflex will be +/- 3db down to 25hz and -8db@23hz, -20db@20hz and an Acoustic Suspended will be +/- 3db down to 28hz, -4db@25, -6db@23hz, -10db@20hz which will give you much more feeling, tighter and faster overall energy?

 

[Chris Quinn]

Yung- you are correct. An acoustic suspension(sealed) and ported cabinets differences are that the ported sub's response tails off very quickly after the tuned frequency. The acoustic suspension sub starts to drop sooner (if both had identical drivers and amps) but tails off more gradually. Ported cabinets are more efficient and can generally go louder.


Phil- Acoustic suspension and infinite baffle are not the same. For infinite baffle you ideally want a space 10x or more of the total Vas of the driver(s). IB has a mininium of 4x Vas. The Shiva driver has a Vas of 151 liters = 5.33cuft. The mininium space to use a Shiva in an IB would be 21 cuft and ideally 210 or more. The Rava is approx. 3cuft.

Here is the link to the response graph for the Rava- http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio...eries/rava.htm

 

[Chris A H]

Yes, SVS states in their FAQ section that "they are virtually identical in performance."

BTW, you might think you're current set-up is adequate for HT, but until you try an SVS you won't know what you are missing. I was one of the skeptics two month ago, now with my PB1-ISD I am a convert. Hearing is believing. Music is more compelling in my set-up now as well, so I am very happy.

 

[greg baker]

Chris,
I don't know how much a good sub can make a difference because The JBL PB-10 is the only one I have ever had. It is ok for HT but I feel like something is missing when I listen to music. I have heard good things about my mains JBL S26II but it seems like something is missing and I think it is the low end. I can run them with or without the sub, and though their is a difference, there is not a huge difference. It makes me miss having floorstanders. I am hoping with the right sub, I would not miss the floorstanders anymore. The Rava seems like a good sub but I think I would probably later regret it if I didn't go with the SVS.

 

[steve nn]

If your having a hard time telling that much of a difference you might have some other issues going on also Greg? Placement, calibration and so on??

The 25-31 placed and calibrated correctly will make a huge difference. I have been doing a little experimenting just running one 25-31CS+ in my 2880 cf room and it is absolutely incredible what one can do. I guess I have forgotten because I run multiple. I would be very surprised if you were not quit impressed with the 25-31.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Greg,

Steve's correct. You may have some placement issues. Also, the PB-10 probably doesn't do much below 35-40Hz.

The Rava is an excellent sub and should literally be a night and day difference from the JBL. If music reproduction is your biggest concern, the Rava would be my first choice. Having said that, I would expect the SVS to be an excellent performer as well. I'd give the Rava the edge for music and the SVS the edge for movies.