How much home damage can I expect from a SVS type sub? (1 Viewer)

[Joe]

Really now, what sort of physical home damage have you had with a sub such as an SVS? I have a Boston Acoustics PW600 sub now that has not caused any problems. Should I expect the same from an SVS? Thanks.

 

[TommyL]

No need to warry..just tie everything down and you'll be fine j/k I did have a clock fall off the wall, and our pictures rattle...and my dvd player screws unscrewed, but other than that, its all good Grab one, you won't regret it! any questions, email tom or Ron at SVS

[email protected] tell him tom L from MN sent ya

 

[LaMarcus]

The sub can really test the durability of your home. I discovered that my theater needs to be reconstructed. Everything in the room rattles now. And during some scenes I hear my door knob rattling sounds like it's about to pop out of the door.

 

[steve nn]

No physical damage Joe but it will go low and do it with authority. That's what imo is what we are looking for along with great sound and customer service.

 

[MingL]

My SVS sustained slight damaged because of its deep rumbles.

A heavy wall plaque hung just a feet above the SVS came crashing down recently. It must be rattled loose from the nail it hung from. Made a dent on the metal grill top........

Arghhhh

 

[Edward J M]

Off kilter picture frames, small items rattled off shelves, screws backing out of things, small cracks in plaster and drywall joints, and buzzing/rattling of anything and everything not somehow acoustically damped.

I've found the foam tape used for mounting truck caps works well behind loose items to keep them from buzzing. Even though I've tried to thoroughly "buzz proof" my house, the SVS always finds a way to excite the resonance frequency of "something" somewhere in the house. Especially on FR sweeps, it is really noticeable - something will just light off and start buzzing at 23 Hz or whatever.

As sub problems go, too much power is one I'd always like to have. :b

Ed

 

[Lynn Little]

A long time ago, a man who looked a lot like me (he had a little more hair and said hair wasn't quite as gray) had a stepdaughter. This sweet girl (no sarcasm, she really is sweet) was very, well, active. She was a bit of a tomboy, a fact that her step-dad (one heck of a nice guy) was very proud of. She enjoyed wrestling boys, and usually won.

During a particularly good wrestling session in my, I mean his, living room (which is now my HT/listening room), she threw a boy into the back wall. She threw him hard enough to leave a shallow (.25" at the deepest) impression. Her wonderful step-dad never fixed it as her evil mother took her away from him soon after. That impression in the wall is one of this guys fond memories, if you know what I mean. He really loved that girl.

Flash to Feb. 28, 2003. I rec'd a 16-46PC+ that day. It replaced a Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII that I bought during a painful divorce. After calibration, I ran some sweep type sounds through my new SVS. I noticed a weird buzzing coming from the back of my HT/listening room, where there were no objects of any kind that could be vibrating. It was my beloved impression!

As I'm a techie kind of guy, not a home improvement kind of guy, I did nothing about it. After a few days of running break-in noise through my new 16-46PC+, my impression quit buzzing. I don't have a clue why it stopped buzzing. I now have twin 16-46PC+s, and still no buzzing.

As far as I can tell, the sheetrock must have settled or something. My 16-46PC+ both pointed out and kind of "fixed" a structural problem. Weird. I still miss that girl...

 

[jeff_coil]

The Avia sweep is great for finding those little rattles.
During my sweep with my 20-39pc+

29 Hz the electrical closet door rattles
25 Hz fireplace starts to resonate and humm
22 Loud clanking form drywall on outside wall of bathroom

Pictures are always crooked on the walls after a movie showing. I have a couple of small dry cracks but can not say for sure if these are do to the sub. Additionally it seems like I go through a lot of light bulbs now

Jeff

 

[Kip Lackey]

I must say I'm glad someone actually brought this topic up for discussion. First, let me say that I would love to have a sub that produced this type of bass. I'm very concerned about the potential for damage to our house and this has caused me not to upgrade thus far. For one, our house is old; built in 1951 with plaster walls and ceilings everywhere. The house is very well constructed with full-scale lumber everywhere. If there is a 2x6 for a floor joist, the board measures 2x6, not 1.75x5.75 or whatever. Currently, I have a Boston Acoustics PV400 that I've had for a while. The theater is in a full basement. The Boston is a small sub but I'm honestly concerned about potential damage to my house if I were to use a sub as massive as some of you folks do. Any comments or can anyone relate with a house similar in age/construction to mine?

Thanks,
Kip

 

[steve nn]

Well Kip your house is going to fall apart anyway so what the hay. We built ours around five years ago and it is a constant chore to keep it up and it is built quit well in most regards. I think once you get a good taste of great bass you will decide that it is worth it even if you have to work a little harder on keeping your walls vertical and the plaster on them. Seriously I don't think it would ad any more of a work load to your day though..

 

[Edward J M]

Honestly, Kip - it is highly unlikely that any sub will cause actual structural damage to a house. About the worst you can expect is fine cracks in plaster or drywall joints where excessive vibration transmission occurs. Don't let it stop you from upgrading to a more powerful sub.

Regards,

Ed

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Ed,

I wouldn't be so sure about that... 4 of those B4 Plus's in
a medium room might do some damage

 

[Kip Lackey]

Thanks for the responses. The concern lies in simple economics: the house is the biggest investment most of us will make. A sub is truly inconsequential when compared to the long term (hopefully) appreciation a house affords. Perhaps I'll upgrade to somewhere between what I have now to the portable earthquakes some of you have:>)

 

[steve nn]

Nope! You cant do that Kip. We all have decided for you so which is it then? The PB2+ ? 25-31+ ? Your house will still go up in value but your neighbors might value ( YOU ) less if you were to go with a good performing sub.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

ALL SHOOK UP

One more thing: If loud low bass shakes structures, you might wonder what a big subwoofer will do to your home. Let me reassure you. I have used an 18-inch home-brew subwoofer capable of 110 dB SPL in the 16- to 80-Hz range since 1980 with no hint of damage. I have tested over fifty powered subwoofers in a single listening room over the past six years, including the four in this test, with no structural damage of any kind. I have friends with custom subwoofers capable of over 120 dB SPL at infrasonic frequencies who have experienced no damage (although one worries that his garage door will be knocked off the track at very loud levels, and another, who owns an old house, had a water pipe fill up with scale in a nearby bathroom during a particularly enthusiastic demonstration). In general there is no cause for concern -- at least about the structural integrity of your dwelling. How your friends and neighbors react is another matter.

Hope this helps,
Phil

 

[Kip Lackey]

Thanks for the informative reads but I'm still not sold. Perhaps I'll find a solution that is more middle of the road between the two extremes. If a vibration is close to knocking the garage door off track, there is absolutely no way it cannot be causing some other unseen issues such as gradually loosening nails, drywall studs, tile grout, and morter joints. Just my opinion but I would almost bet this type of vibration results in considerably more house maintenance in the long run. I really prefer to keep my house in tip-top shape. It's in a historic district and I'm almost sure my neighbors would have me deported with a sub that hits 20Hz as strong as some. Wish it would work but I'll find a more viable solution in time....:frowning:

 

[ColinM]

Kip - You can still idle an SVS and it'll purr like a kitten. They don't jump out of their shipping boxes and start ripping the wallpaper down on their own. It's like a bass guitar - a smooth jazz type player will bump along nice and smooth, but Entwhistle (RIP) would take the same thing and crank it to 11. You get out what you put in. I've had an SVS based sub for almost 2 years and I have had no problems. I CAN knock a mirror off the wall if I want to (have before), but it's intentional - 31hz sine wave @ 96db or better - never with movie material.

Do you listen loud?

 

[Joe]

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I find them reassuring??? (; Tile and grout issues would really cause me a lot of pain.

I'm looking at one of the SVS subs that go down to 20hz but if your typical Sci-fi movie sound track does not go that deep very often, maybe the 25hz is a better choice. What do you think? Thanks again.

 

[MingL]

I find recent movies go deeper than 20hz. AOTC, LOTRs and even panic room has got bass than go lower than 20hz.

Eitherway, its hard to go wrong with any of the SVS, be it 25s or 16s. I got a 16 coz I love to feel the deep bass.

 

[steve nn]

I run as a option the 25-31 CS+ and you will not miss much at all with any SVS sub. What you have to remember is although it is tuned to 25 Hz it will play much lower material than the 25 Hz F3> +- 3db ratting. The SVS has so much authority down lower I would not worry. You can also change the tuning if desired by plugging one of the ports with a SVS provided port plug. IMO a PCI 25-31 would serve you very well.