Yee-Ming
Senior HTF Member
no, not a typo, my SVS25-31PCi was tuned to 22Hz.
I finally fired it up and gave it a proper workout after it sat in my office for almost a month supplementing my miserable mini-compo -- excellent results, though, the bass was much better and right now in the office the system sounds so anaemic without the sub. :frowning:
reason for the hiatus was that I was waiting to sort out my new condo, and then take delivery of the rest of my HT gear. for the record, Marantz SR8200, Mission 782 + 78C + 78DS (a.k.a. Mission Cinema 8)
as many do, I fired up a known bass-heavy disc first. in my case, U-571, depth charge scene. impressive boom with the depth charges. and I wasn't anywhere near reference levels (no, I didn't calibrate, just estimated everything, since I haven't got an SPL meter. will be borrowing one soon). at this time, the sub's gain was set at around 2 o'clock, i.e. probably about 60% of the way up.
the fellow from the hifi shop who delivered and installed my system was suitably impressed. nothing in his boss's shop comes anywhere near the SVS, one of the reasons I bit the bullet, took a leap of faith and ordered online sight unseen (or should I say ears unheard).
I put in Phantom Menace, pod race. WOW
for the first time, I found out why this is always cited as a sub-killer. it was downright SCARY! the whole apartment shook (believe me I am NOT exaggarating), the doors rattled, I could feel the vibrations in the sofa I sat in, my pants leg flapped (well, shivered a bit). it got to the stage where I opened doors to avoid them rattling in the frame as it was getting annoying.
Toy Story 2 and Titan AE were similarly impressive. by this time, I was seriously worried about neighbours' complaints, although this was in the middle of the afternoon and it's a barnd-new condo so very few people have moved in yet. I turned the sub's gain down to about 11 o'clock, i.e. less than 50%. still frightening bass though.
I had to leave to pick up the SO, so with speaker break-in in mind, I left the receiver on to a radio station, volume was very moderate, practically background listening.
when I came back, as I approached the front door, I felt this incredible pounding/thumping, typical in a disco where the music's way loud. I kid you not, door still closed, remember the volume is practically background music level only. for just a moment, I was wondering if something had gone wrong...
I quickly opened the door. yes, the music was still quite soft, but there it was, the SVS was just pounding the bass rhythm out effortlessly (the radio was playing some nameless boy band). curiously, once inside the flat it didn't seem as fearsome, but the thumping feeling when outside was positively frightening, if you didn't know what it was.
I then had a go with some music concerts, the Eagles and Roger Waters both sounded incredible. at the lower gain level, the SVS added just enough oomph to the bass notes without being boomy. in retrospect I suppose I must've run the pod race with the sub several dbs hot. I finally pulled out Avia, and based on ears-only calibration, seemed to confirm that the sub was now at a more ideal level than earlier. the low-frequency sweep sounded fairly even, though I think I got a big dip around 60Hz, went back up and was more or less flat until rolloff, which seemed to be around the high 20s. or perhaps I just can't hear that low.
what can I say, thank you Tom and Ron! another satisfied customer! (although one who now has to look over his shoulder in fear of irate neighbours... )
BTW Tom, I didn't optimize positioning, the sub's just standing between the TV console and the left front main, and not in the "nook" we'd previously discussed. WAF will probably not allow for placement there. heck, she hasn't seen the sub yet, I am awaiting an earful for buying such a huge monster
and actually, if the object of corner placement is to naturally augment the performance (SPL-wise, not freq. response), with an SVS, you don't need to worry about that, there's more than enough dbs!
I then tried some CD music with DPL2. Wacko Jacko's Thriller :b has never sounded so good. I must say the added ambience is brilliant.
and all this without even going into proper calibrations or settings. I wish I could take two weeks' vacation right now and just play with my new toys...
I finally fired it up and gave it a proper workout after it sat in my office for almost a month supplementing my miserable mini-compo -- excellent results, though, the bass was much better and right now in the office the system sounds so anaemic without the sub. :frowning:
reason for the hiatus was that I was waiting to sort out my new condo, and then take delivery of the rest of my HT gear. for the record, Marantz SR8200, Mission 782 + 78C + 78DS (a.k.a. Mission Cinema 8)
as many do, I fired up a known bass-heavy disc first. in my case, U-571, depth charge scene. impressive boom with the depth charges. and I wasn't anywhere near reference levels (no, I didn't calibrate, just estimated everything, since I haven't got an SPL meter. will be borrowing one soon). at this time, the sub's gain was set at around 2 o'clock, i.e. probably about 60% of the way up.
the fellow from the hifi shop who delivered and installed my system was suitably impressed. nothing in his boss's shop comes anywhere near the SVS, one of the reasons I bit the bullet, took a leap of faith and ordered online sight unseen (or should I say ears unheard).
I put in Phantom Menace, pod race. WOW
Toy Story 2 and Titan AE were similarly impressive. by this time, I was seriously worried about neighbours' complaints, although this was in the middle of the afternoon and it's a barnd-new condo so very few people have moved in yet. I turned the sub's gain down to about 11 o'clock, i.e. less than 50%. still frightening bass though.
I had to leave to pick up the SO, so with speaker break-in in mind, I left the receiver on to a radio station, volume was very moderate, practically background listening.
when I came back, as I approached the front door, I felt this incredible pounding/thumping, typical in a disco where the music's way loud. I kid you not, door still closed, remember the volume is practically background music level only. for just a moment, I was wondering if something had gone wrong...
I quickly opened the door. yes, the music was still quite soft, but there it was, the SVS was just pounding the bass rhythm out effortlessly (the radio was playing some nameless boy band). curiously, once inside the flat it didn't seem as fearsome, but the thumping feeling when outside was positively frightening, if you didn't know what it was.
I then had a go with some music concerts, the Eagles and Roger Waters both sounded incredible. at the lower gain level, the SVS added just enough oomph to the bass notes without being boomy. in retrospect I suppose I must've run the pod race with the sub several dbs hot. I finally pulled out Avia, and based on ears-only calibration, seemed to confirm that the sub was now at a more ideal level than earlier. the low-frequency sweep sounded fairly even, though I think I got a big dip around 60Hz, went back up and was more or less flat until rolloff, which seemed to be around the high 20s. or perhaps I just can't hear that low.
what can I say, thank you Tom and Ron! another satisfied customer! (although one who now has to look over his shoulder in fear of irate neighbours...
)BTW Tom, I didn't optimize positioning, the sub's just standing between the TV console and the left front main, and not in the "nook" we'd previously discussed. WAF will probably not allow for placement there. heck, she hasn't seen the sub yet, I am awaiting an earful for buying such a huge monster
and actually, if the object of corner placement is to naturally augment the performance (SPL-wise, not freq. response), with an SVS, you don't need to worry about that, there's more than enough dbs!
I then tried some CD music with DPL2. Wacko Jacko's Thriller :b has never sounded so good. I must say the added ambience is brilliant.
and all this without even going into proper calibrations or settings. I wish I could take two weeks' vacation right now and just play with my new toys...
