Can an SVS sub do this? (1 Viewer)

[JohnMM]

I was at a parade where one of the marching bands had someone banging on a big bass drum strapped to his chest. As he passed by, I could feel the thumping banging me in the chest. This is the exact experience I would like to have in my home theater. Will an SVS sub (or others) do this with explosions, etc?

 

[Chad Isaacs]

yep
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[Chip E]

John, it absolutely will do just THAT!
- Chip
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[Ron Stimpson]

Just keep in mind that the size of your room will greatly determine how MANY SVS's (or any brand) it'll take to achieve an effect like that.
That it can be done is certain. That it can be done with one's room and budget, that's the trick.
Ron

 

[Vin]

Just keep in mind that the size of your room will greatly determine how MANY SVS's (or any brand) it'll take to achieve an effect like that.

After listening to an SVS Ultra yesterday I certainly got an appreciation for what you're saying Ron. The Ultra sounded unbelievable but the slam in the chest was not there even though the sub was right behind me and we had it cranked pretty good! Now don't get me wrong, it rumbled like mad during TS2 and Fight Club, just to name a few that my friend and I demoed with his new SVS Ultra, and provided plenty of clean, tight bass for music as well.
The limiting factor obviously was the size of the room, which has cathedral ceilings and is also open to two other rooms and a hallway. I'm just guessing here but I would say we're talking about something in the area of 8000 cubic feet!
As a matter of fact, I felt it's performance was similar to what I experience with my CT-120 in a 2000 cubic foot room....again, this also results in excellent performance falling just short of a slam in the chest.
Now, I can only imagine what that Ultra would do in my room.....

Vin

 

[Deon]

 

[Deon]

"After listening to an SVS Ultra yesterday I certainly got an appreciation for what you're saying Ron. The Ultra sounded unbelievable but the slam in the chest was not there even though the sub was right behind me and we had it cranked pretty good! "
Oops. Forgot the quote for the above response.
PS, Hi Ron.
Give me a shout.

 

[Ron Stimpson]

Deon hit on something we often discover with customers used to "normal" subwoofers.
The SVS's produce bass far more balanced and much more cleanly than nearly anything out there...and it can sound damned strange at first.
Imagine a concert soundtrack that has a ton of 40-60Hz bass, hooked up to a typical sub that likewise will emphasize that range. Now imagine that same sub calibrated at 75dB reference level...while an SVS is calibrated using the same tones, but with virtually no mid-bass "peakyness".
What you might well get is the less accurate sub "sounding" louder simply because it's peaky in the very area so much pop and HT bass resides. This is NOT to say this is an accurate reproduction of the soundtrack however. The bass below 35Hz with the hypothetical commercial sub is often weak to the point of being missing entirely. And the lack of true low frequency balance with such a sub tends to fool the ears into emphasizing the mid-bass even more.
We often hear from folks that tell us "at first I thought something was lacking, but then when my ears adjusted (it can take days, weeks even), I finally started HEARING and FEELING the bass in subtle and accurate renditions of the soundtrack in a way I'd never appreciated before". Some folks pick up on this right away, others take more time, some NEVER get it. I'm personally convinced the sort of materials you usually listen to make the most difference in how long this process can take.
If you never listen to programming that HAS lots of high amplitude, low frequency bass for instance (concerts, pop studio music, VHS movies often have NO deep bass) then you can save yourself alot of time and effort and get any of 100 subs out there.
If you DO want clean, low frequency and high power bass (as is so critical to HT now, and more and more to modern music), and want it affordable, then the list is shockingly short indeed.
The fact, as Deon also points out, that there are at least a dozen odd ways crossovers, bass limiters, subsonic filters etc all can conspire to get in the way of real bass reproduction just means tweaking is a given.
In the case mention above, where the bass might not have been as "chest pounding" as you might imagine would be most pleasing, the most you can say is "are we comparing bass drums to bass drums??", or if other subs are involved, "are we comparing the same soundtracks in the same room, with the accurately calibrated subs sharing the same location?". Vin rightly noted this "X factor" too.
There are so many variables, not to mention personal auditory memory and bias, that it's nearly impossible to definitively say what's what sometimes.
This is why we put so much faith in objective testing done in controlled and repeatable circumstances. If we know how two subs perform in terms of low distortion SPL at say 40Hz (in the exact same accoustical environment) of a bass drum beat, then we can accurately predict what the "chest thumping potential" is, of say a CT-120, in one room versus an SVS in the same room, or one larger even.
One thing's for damn sure. If you are trying to produce reference level deep bass with 8000 ft3 you need a boat load of woofage. Just guessing (Tom doesn't guess) I'd imagine, twin CS-Ultras would be a prerequisite and that's if they're ideally situated with room peaks tamed and subsonic filters dialed in as is possible with our full up CS-Ultra package. That's a VERY large space. And they don't call it "Sound PRESSURE Level" for nothing. The bigger the space the more air movement it takes to build up that pressure.
Few subwoofer makers will tell you the brutal truth: Theater level sound, in theater-sized spaces, is neither easy or cheap to pull off. We like to think we make it as cheap AND as easy to do as is possible. That is all.
Ron
[Edited last by Ron Stimpson on July 29, 2001 at 03:51 PM]

 

[Vin]

That's a VERY large space. And they don't call it "Sound PRESSURE Level" for nothing. The bigger the space the more air movement it takes to build up that pressure.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make Ron...actually I was just reiterating YOUR point from your earlier response in this thread.
I hope you didn't read anything more than that into it. As a matter of fact, based on the capabilities of the Ultra that I witnessed in this unusually large area, there's no doubt that there's an SVS in my future.
Regards,
Vin

 

[Ron Stimpson]

Not at all Vin.
I knew we were in violent agreement from the start. Just wanted to make sure it was clear to anyone else happening by. Hope I added a bit that was useful anyway.
Thanks for the comments about the Ultra. We try not to bill them as SPL monsters, OR subs that will flatten you from the first moment you hit "Play". Rather, they (like all our subs) are meant to be the most accurate and natural sounding bass you've heard, and at levels from sublime, to downright extreme. (But as noted, EXTREME is largely defined by how much space you have, and how much money you have to get there).
Sounds like you got a chance to see/hear this yourself.
All the best,
Ron