"Clockwatching" - An SVS 20-39CS+ diary (LONG). (1 Viewer)

[Chris_B]

Jeremy,

You have a gift. Please keep posting. My newly upgraded 20-39PCi sounds great. I am sure the CS+ is kick as*. Now, how much for that Ultra? Hmmm........

 

[SkiingNinja]

Great post - Thanks

 

[NickSo]

very entertaining...
Man, now I want an SVS!!! Damn my age! Damn my $140 in my bank!
Ron, i think thats the best review you got there... This was the only one that made my stomach wrench imagining the Xanadu of sound your SVS' produces...

Another thing to add to my life's to do list:
#3. Buy an SVS Subwoofer

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Nick;

With that $140, you could buy that new driver upgrade for the PC and CS lines. It's not much, but at least it would be a start!

 

[Larry B]

Jeremy:

That was nothing short of brilliant.

Larry B

 

[NickSo]

Jeffrey: Hmm... interesting.. but when i say $140, i mean $140 Canadian, thats like $2 USD... :p)
What would an SVS driver do for my HT? Decoration?? :p)
My current sub is like 8" or 10", i forget which (its a crappy no-name 'AudioResearch' sub my dad bought from DAMARK), So i cant stick an SVS driver in there (They're like 16 inchers right?)... UNLESS... i can build my own sub-box...
Anyways, i would definitely spend all my money i have right now on an SVS Sub, seriously... Hey, im 16, ill get a job.. money comes and goes

 

[Dustin B]

Or for a $105USD you could buy a Dayton DVC12" that would perform just as well if not better than the ISD in the right enclosure (100L-125L tuned to 20hz with a flared 4" port and powered by 160-300 watts).

 

[RajeeK]

Bump. Still funny with a re-read.

 

[John Geelan]

Great read and very funny
An SVS sub does shock and impress. My cat flipped last night when I had on 15 Minutes and that explosion in the Chek girls apartment erupted trapping her and Ed Burns.
It woke her up from her nap and she started shrieking.
Just great bass!
JohnG

 

[Rick Radford]

I'm still wiping tears from my eyes from reading this thread. Heheheheheheheh.
However, from a purchase perspective, is there any reason not to use a cashier's check or money order easily available from the post office (if you don't have a credit card)?
BTW, I would be most reluctant to EVER use a debit card for mail order purchases. Look here for more info on debit cards.
Mind you, I use one routinely.. but never for mail order. This is no slam on SVS (one of my favorite places to spend $$), but is a general warning concerning usage of debit cards.
One credit card is good to have. Learn to manange it. Set up with your issuing bank to electronically pay it off in full every month and you will not likely get in trouble (knowing the full bill is due every month).
Usage of a cc for mail order provides much consumer protection.. and some cards offer an extra year of warranty coverage.. not to mention price protection (AMEX Blue, for example).

 

[David_Stein]

i read that about debit cards, and i dont see the problem. its _slightly_ less safe, plus that article is over a year old...

 

[MarcVH]

I think the cited source on debit cards is mixing them up with check cards; a "check card" is a card with a Visa or MasterCard logo but which is charged against a bank account instead of a line of credit. I've never heard of a mail-order merchant accepting debit cards, but many will accept check cards.

The risks of using check cards they mention are all true, but the risks of writing checks are also substantial -- a thief can use the account information on the check to make duplicate checks and drain your account that way, and paying with a check leaves you with no recourse if there is a dispute with the merchant.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

After tinkering a bit with the setup and levels, here are my impressions of the SVS 20-39CS+ subwoofer using the most common bass demo discs, as compared to my previous Polk PSW-350 sub. These results are with all speakers set with Avia to 75dB, subwoofer at 77dB (~5dB hot post-correction), no equalization (yet):

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace -- The THX intro emits a force through the room that hits you like a punch to the chest. I am completely impressed at how this sub can cleanly handle such high levels of deep bass. The pod race rumbles the room appropriately, making you feel like you are right there with these huge machines whizzing by. The closest thing I can liken it to is standing next to an eighteen-wheeler when the engine cranks -- you actually feel the engines rumbling. The lightsabers in the movie all resonate with deep bass, which the SVS sub renders into a nice tactile soundwave.

Toy Story 2 -- The title sequence in this movie is renowned for being a sub killer. When the titles flew in and hit the screen, the SVS stepped up to the plate with a resounding fast WHUMP, unlike my old Polk sub, which just produced an extended boom. Again, this is bass so deep you can feel it. When the doors to Zurg's fortress opened, I could feel the fluid in my right ear vibrate... and that's a good thing!

Jurassic Park (DTS) -- The corrected DTS pressing of this movie is a bass-lover's dream. When the T-rex first appears, the SVS treated me to an absolute you-are-there experience. If I'd had a glass of water on the table, I'm sure it would have rippled with each step just as it did on the screen.

Saving Private Ryan (DTS) -- At the end of the movie, the men are sitting around waiting for action, when the sound of rolling tanks makes them scramble. With my old Polk, there was barely any audible sound of these approaching tanks, making it look kinda' silly when the men all jump to their feet. With the SVS, you FEEL the tanks rolling in. Sure, you hear a nice non-directional rumble looming in the distance... but the tactile effect here is so pronounced that when the rocks start vibrating around the characters on the screen, you can understand why. In short, this sounds (and feels) better at home with the SVS than it did in the theater.

Unbreakable (DTS) -- At the beginning of the movie, there are several bursts of deep bass signalling the impending derailment of the train. With the Polk, these sounds were quiet and unassuming little hums. With the SVS, you are on that train and the low frequencies fill the room. Perhaps I had overall levels turned up a bit much, but this one made my eyes wobble slightly. Also, James Newton Howard's excellent score uses some nice deep bass, which the SVS rendered very accurately.

Steely Dan: Two Against Nature (DTS) -- Again, a complete you-are-there experience. One of the things that makes you feel like you're really at a concert is the presence of strong low-end, as if you were standing right in front of a big speaker stack. The SVS gives each pluck of the bass guitar and each hit of the drums a fast percussive reproduction, without any discernable boominess or extended decay.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: If I'd run my Polk sub at the same level as the SVS 20-39CS+, the result would have been a muddy mishmash of sound, overpowering the clean output of my other speakers. With the SVS, bass is deep and clean without overpowering the other speakers, making it absolutely top-shelf as both a musical and home theater subwoofer. My in-room response is far flatter with the SVS than with my Polk, and this is before I've done any tweaking to the ART-351 EQ. As much as I wanted to re-watch most of my demo discs, I ended up spending more time listening to just how nuanced this sub is for music. Extended listening sessions with some of my favorite discs (Radiohead's OK COMPUTER, TWILIGHT by The Twilight Singers, Poe's HAUNTED) made me understand why SVS has a reputation for high-end bass on a relatively modest budget. Simply looking at this subwoofer sitting in the corner makes a joyous smirk cross my face. I can not give a stronger recommendation for a product than this -- the SVS 20-39CS+/Samson 1000/ART-351 package is the best equipment I have ever installed in my home theater.

Ron, I hope there's something in that review that you can use. I didn't mention midgets or pedophile celebrities or anything! Now... when I finish writing my biography of Keanu Reeves (entitled A TALE OF WHOA), maybe I can afford something to replace my 31" GE television and my goal of home theater domination shall be complete! MU HU HU HA HA HA!

 

[Rick Radford]

You guys may be right about the debit cards. I'm thinking the laws have changed a bit regarding your exposure. OTOH, the cash does come directly out of your account.. so you may have some period of time when you're scrambling until the process covers your loss.
I've never had a problem of this sort with debit cards. But I have had a problem with check info being stolen and that info used to pay someone else's bills. Fortunately, they got info on an account I seldom use and it had little money in it. The checks bounced!
Jeremy, it's good to know that your hair can relax and the glue market is safe.

 

[David_Stein]

i always thought checkcards and debit cards were the same thing. that would be my mistake. i love my checkcard

 

[tom j r]

Jeremy!
I think you got my B-stock 20-39CS+ !!!!!!!!!!!!
Ordered mine 10 days ago, asked Erik to hold it until 3/21 as we were going on vacation, and come back to find out there is no shipping notice, just a generic email from Erik that some components were on backorder and the CS+'s probably wouldn't ship until the end of this week!!
Trying to look at the bright side; either my B-stock got sold before they shipped it and they are going to replace it with a new one at the same price or it has shipped and I didn't get a shipping notice to track.
If either of the above are true, I will still be happy
Hoping for the best, but it sure is hard waiting. I think I had better email Erik.
Oh, btw, loved your post!

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Tom, I feel your pain... I know the difficulty of waiting for that SVS to hit your doorstep. And if I got your B-stock, allow me to be the first to say "HA HA HA HA HA HA! IT'S MINE! ALL MINE!"
The longer I listen to the 20-39CS+, the more pleased I am with it. Perhaps it is me getting accustomed to the sound of it, but it seems that music sounds better with this sub every day. I spent three hours tonight listening to albums by Toad The Wet Sprocket and The Afghan Whigs, both of which have nice driving bass guitar, and every note comes out with a clarity I've never heard before from any sound system. The beginning of The Afghan Whigs' album BLACK LOVE has the sound of a elevated train fading in, and the SVS made it feel like I was standing under the tracks.
I played around with the ART-351 a bit, but the results were not good. Unfortunately, I don't have a test disc with 1/3 octave noise, so the EQ'ing was kinda' guesswork. I tried using a tone generator to create sine waves at each frequency, and after leveling it all out, the sound was not to my liking. I may tinker with it again soon, but for now, it sounds great as is.

 

[tom j r]

Jeremy,
I sent an email to Erik last night and of course he responded quickly (you come to expect that with SVS!) that they had determined during the final checkout that there was a problem with the driver of the B-stock I had ordered and they were waiting for another one to come in which would be any day now.
It's good to know they thoroughly check everything out before shipping.
Still hard waiting though!! Got my plate amp yesterday from MCM Electronics which TV had recommended so now I will have a few days to build its enclosure.
Guess everything works out in the end.
Tom

 

[Chris PC]

Wow. I own a fairly big powerful sub and I'm at least itching to hear one of these SVS beasts after reading this thread. Its true how silly we get with this equipment, but I become attached to good stuff. I'm sure that hair puller here will keep enjoying this sub for years. 4 years from now, he'll still be giddy about it and be amazed at how the performance still impresses him.
I'd love to hear an SVS subwoofer myself. Like I said before, when people like me say they want to hear an SVS, you SVS guys should ask us to forward our email and our location, then you can politely mention to any customers in our area that we are looking for SVS customers who will kindly demo [Show off ] their subs for us. The point is, you don't give US their email, you drop the owners a line a mention US curious folk. I think I know of at least a couple of SVS owners around here who have offered to demo. I definitely should take them up on their offer to give those subs a listen.