Johnny Mac
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
- Messages
- 114
The Internet is a strange beast. For just about every interest imaginable there seems to be a dedicated message board for folks to share their knowledge and personal experience.
Lucky for me, I came to the HTF looking for info on subwoofers and was quickly inundated with messages touting the prowess of the SVS. I had spent two years with an entry level Boston Acoustics and was ready for something better. But I didn't think the SVS was the answer.
After listening to everything commercially available for around $500, I couldn't decide whether to build one, buy an internet-only model, or plunk down my cash for a commercial model.
I decided on a commercial model, the DefTech ProSub 200TL. I was immediately impressed with the subs sound and build quality. But the bass bug had bit me hard and although the DefTech was nice, I didn't feel it was a huge upgrade over my Boston.
So I sold the DefTech to some lucky guy for cheap and decided to give the new SVS 25-31PCi a shot. As expected, I was extremely nervous as i unpacked it. Could it live up to the hype?
I quickly calibrated it and popped in Nelly's "Country Grammar." Even if you don't like rap, you should at least listen to this once. It's a strong 50hz beat that sounds kind of like the Beastie Boys "Brass Monkey."
Well, all I could do was laugh because it sounded so deep and so clean. Almost like a warm blanket of bass filling the room. Any small box sub can pound out 50hz with no problem but most of the time it sounds like it's coming out of a small box.
Then it was on to my favorite band, Dave Matthews. One of the things I didn't like about the Boston was that it was kinda boomy on certain tracks and the only way to cure it was to turn it down. Well, the SV passed this test very well too. Not boomy at all. It just added a fullness and weight to the music. The kick drums sounded especially nice.
Later that night, my wife and I decided to rent "Toy Story 2" because I had read it contained some relatively deep bass. Again, I was nervous. What if it was too loud? What if it just didn't live up to the hype? My friends were already giving me crap about the revolving door of subwoofers.
Then, all of a sudden, during the Monsters Inc. preview, I felt it. A wave of bass filled the room. The knocking on the door in the preview moved me in my seat and pounded my chest. My sliding glass door rattled a little bit and again, all I could do was laugh. My wife, who is usually pretty neutral on these things, even cracked a smile. I think she finally got it.
Needless to say, I think i'll be keeping this one for a while. It will take me a while to get used to the looks (ironically, my wife thinks it looks fine) but I do think the performance of the SVS 25-31PCi is astonishing for the price and definitely helps overshadow any aesthetical concerns. Even though nothing could ever really live up to the hype, the SV sub is a well-made product that delivers what is advertised and certainly deserves of all the recognition it gets.
** Many thanks to Tom and Ron for putting up with my steady stream of questions over the past week. The customer service raves are true. No e-mail went unanswered and all the silly setup questions I had were answered nearly immediately.
Lucky for me, I came to the HTF looking for info on subwoofers and was quickly inundated with messages touting the prowess of the SVS. I had spent two years with an entry level Boston Acoustics and was ready for something better. But I didn't think the SVS was the answer.
After listening to everything commercially available for around $500, I couldn't decide whether to build one, buy an internet-only model, or plunk down my cash for a commercial model.
I decided on a commercial model, the DefTech ProSub 200TL. I was immediately impressed with the subs sound and build quality. But the bass bug had bit me hard and although the DefTech was nice, I didn't feel it was a huge upgrade over my Boston.
So I sold the DefTech to some lucky guy for cheap and decided to give the new SVS 25-31PCi a shot. As expected, I was extremely nervous as i unpacked it. Could it live up to the hype?
I quickly calibrated it and popped in Nelly's "Country Grammar." Even if you don't like rap, you should at least listen to this once. It's a strong 50hz beat that sounds kind of like the Beastie Boys "Brass Monkey."
Well, all I could do was laugh because it sounded so deep and so clean. Almost like a warm blanket of bass filling the room. Any small box sub can pound out 50hz with no problem but most of the time it sounds like it's coming out of a small box.
Then it was on to my favorite band, Dave Matthews. One of the things I didn't like about the Boston was that it was kinda boomy on certain tracks and the only way to cure it was to turn it down. Well, the SV passed this test very well too. Not boomy at all. It just added a fullness and weight to the music. The kick drums sounded especially nice.
Later that night, my wife and I decided to rent "Toy Story 2" because I had read it contained some relatively deep bass. Again, I was nervous. What if it was too loud? What if it just didn't live up to the hype? My friends were already giving me crap about the revolving door of subwoofers.
Then, all of a sudden, during the Monsters Inc. preview, I felt it. A wave of bass filled the room. The knocking on the door in the preview moved me in my seat and pounded my chest. My sliding glass door rattled a little bit and again, all I could do was laugh. My wife, who is usually pretty neutral on these things, even cracked a smile. I think she finally got it.
Needless to say, I think i'll be keeping this one for a while. It will take me a while to get used to the looks (ironically, my wife thinks it looks fine) but I do think the performance of the SVS 25-31PCi is astonishing for the price and definitely helps overshadow any aesthetical concerns. Even though nothing could ever really live up to the hype, the SV sub is a well-made product that delivers what is advertised and certainly deserves of all the recognition it gets.
** Many thanks to Tom and Ron for putting up with my steady stream of questions over the past week. The customer service raves are true. No e-mail went unanswered and all the silly setup questions I had were answered nearly immediately.
