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Martin Dew

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Martin Dew

New SVS 4000 Series Subs 'Shake Audio World's Foundation'
4000_series_pg_hero-1024x707.jpg



SVS has today announced the availability of three brand new subwoofers to add to its portfolio, namely the 4000 Series. The three new models which, the company claims, include many advanced features and technology proprietary to SVS, will come in at a price which will 'redefine' the cost of entry into reference quality bass for music and home theater fans.

All models in the line will incorporate 13.5-inch high excursion drivers, 1,200 watts RMS, 4,000 watts peak power amplifiers with discrete MOSFET output, Analog Devices audio DSP, and proprietary SVS smartphone app for advanced subwoofer tuning and control.

The SB-4000 is a sealed cabinet subwoofer, the PB-4000 a ported cabinet subwoofer, and the PC-4000 a ported cylinder cabinet subwoofer. With all three able to produce 'effortless' low frequency output below the threshold of human hearing, these stylish bass boxes include tech advancements to the drivers, amplifiers and cabinets.

The units are powered by a Sledge STA-1200D amp, which incorporates discrete MOSFETS with Class D efficiency, and a sophisticated 50MHz Analog Devices DSP engine (with 56bit filtering). According to SVS, this vast processing power allows the ideal amount of acoustic energy to be produced 'at just the right moment with no overhang, at the exact playback level and frequency the artist, director or sound engineer intended'.

With drivers designed for 'serious output and punishment', the subs include a dual ferrite magnet motor assembly weighing just under 40lbs, which deliver the magnetic 'force' to 13.5-inch drive units.

Like the award-winning SVS 16-Ultra subs (CES Innovations Best of Innovation for High Performance Audio, and EISA 2017 Best Subwoofer), the 4000 Series feature control and custom presets via SVS subwoofer DSP smartphone app for Apple and Android devices. Meanwhile, Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) facilitates onboard line conditioning, surge suppression and voltage regulation.

Dave Upton gave a determined thumbs-up to the flagship SB16-Ultra earlier this year, and the critical consensus on that product consistently pointed to its ability to go really low, while also being tight and fast.

Let us know if you think the 4000's will fit your needs...

Pricing and Quick Specs:

SB-4000: Premium Black Ash - $1,499.99, Piano Gloss Black - $1,599.99

PB-4000: Premium Black Ash - $1,899.99, Piano Gloss Black - $1,999.99

PC-4000: Piano Gloss Black - $1,799.99

SVS SB-4000 Subwoofer: Sealed Cabinet
Chest-thumping slam and extreme low frequency extension with pinpoint accuracy and refined musicality. The SB-4000’s sophisticated DSP amplifier, innovative driver and a sealed box design master room gain and command a space with deeper bass and higher output levels than what is typically possible from a subwoofer of its size. Sets all performance benchmarks and leaves larger and more expensive subwoofers trembling in its wake.
  • Frequency Response:
    • o 19-310Hz +/-3 dB


  • Max Low Frequency Output:
    • o 8dB @ 32Hz 1/8 space 1m



SVS PB-4000 Subwoofer: Ported Cabinet
Staggering low-frequency output and subterranean deep bass extension down to 13Hz with an amazing degree of subtlety and finesse to thrill both action movie buffs and ardent audiophiles. Includes three port tuning modes, each with individual response curves to achieve the most accurate in-room frequency response possible. It’s like having three subwoofers in one.
  • Frequency Response:
    • o 16Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (standard mode)
    • o 13Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (extended mode)
    • o 18Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (sealed mode)


  • Max Low Frequency Output:
    • o 5dB @ 32Hz 1/8 space 1m



SVS PC-4000 Subwoofer: Ported Cylinder Cabinet
With a footprint measuring just 16” in diameter, the iconic cylinder subwoofer design is only available from SVS and achieves matchless low frequency output and deep bass extension per inch of floor-space. The PC-4000 features three port tuning modes and comes standard with the SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System for cleaner sounding bass with increased definition and more punch without room rattle and reduced bass bleed to the rest of the house.
  • Frequency Response:
    • o 17Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (standard mode)
    • o 15Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (extended mode)
    • o 16Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (sealed mode)


  • Max Low Frequency Output:
    • o 1dB @ 32Hz 1/8 space 1


 
Last edited:

TroyH4

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I'm thinking of upgrading to a pair of these subwoofers. I currently have the Klipsch R-112SW subwoofers, if I upgrade to a pair of these, what improvement in bass will I get from them?
also, not sure if I should go sealed or ported? any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks,
 

Robert_J

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I'm thinking of upgrading to a pair of these subwoofers. I currently have the Klipsch R-112SW subwoofers, if I upgrade to a pair of these, what improvement in bass will I get from them?
also, not sure if I should go sealed or ported? any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks,
Compare the specs - http://images.klipsch.com/R-112SW_-_Spec_Sheet_635467157732240000.pdf

Right off the bat, I notice that you can adjust the tuning of the PB-4000 for low tuning 13 hz to 200 hz + or - 3db. The Kipsch can do 24 hz to 200 hz and they do not provide a standard deviation so it could be up to 10db swing over that frequency range (not good at all). If you aren't good with number, you can go 1/2 octave lower with the SVS.

You have ported subs now, why not stick with ported?
 

TroyH4

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Compare the specs - http://images.klipsch.com/R-112SW_-_Spec_Sheet_635467157732240000.pdf

Right off the bat, I notice that you can adjust the tuning of the PB-4000 for low tuning 13 hz to 200 hz + or - 3db. The Kipsch can do 24 hz to 200 hz and they do not provide a standard deviation so it could be up to 10db swing over that frequency range (not good at all). If you aren't good with number, you can go 1/2 octave lower with the SVS.

You have ported subs now, why not stick with ported?
My room isn't very big, it's only 13'x14'x9' . I think the ported version would be too much. I only got the ported version klipsch because of the deal I got on them. I have since sold my pair of Klipsch R-112's, and thinking of going back to a sealed sub like I had with a 18" Velodyne years ago.
I also have this notion that ported subs seem to be bloated and can have that sound where they are baffling when pushed to hard. Please convince me otherwise.
 

gadgtfreek

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Klipsch subs are not very good for the money, I have had them. Love my Rythmik's, better performance for the cash (SVS is great is overpriced IMO), and now Rythmik has even bigger subs than the 15" models I got a couple of years ago.

I was torn between then PB13 Ultra and FV15HP's and studied specs for awhile, and used data-bass. Went with the FV15HP's at the end and saved a good bit of change by doing so. My usable bass in my room is 12 hz, and it is 5300cuft.
 

Robert_J

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My room isn't very big, it's only 13'x14'x9' . I think the ported version would be too much. I only got the ported version klipsch because of the deal I got on them. I have since sold my pair of Klipsch R-112's, and thinking of going back to a sealed sub like I had with a 18" Velodyne years ago.
I also have this notion that ported subs seem to be bloated and can have that sound where they are baffling when pushed to hard. Please convince me otherwise.
You always want too much. You should be able to turn a sub down so it is not working hard. If you get just enough then you will be running your sub close to its max output which will also give you max distortion.

Bloated sound from ported subs are just poor designs. It's too small, tuned too high and the port is too small. Why? Large ported subs cost money to build, ship and store. A properly designed and built ported sub will be at minimum twice as large as your Klipsch sub. Second, any sub can sound bloated if it is in the wrong location in the room.

All subs need to be calibrated in your room. It takes about $60 in testing equipment and some free software to start measuring. That small investment along with a couple of hours of time can make even your bloated sounding sub sound better. If you have an in-room peak at a specific frequency then a $100 equalizer can make a bloated sub sound great. In fact, my first DIY sub sounded terrible until I measured it in-room and applied 5 filters of EQ. Now it sounds great on anything from acoustic stand-up bass on music to blowing up spaceships in movies.
 

Luke Cool

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I'm thinking of upgrading to a pair of these subwoofers. I currently have the Klipsch R-112SW subwoofers, if I upgrade to a pair of these, what improvement in bass will I get from them?
also, not sure if I should go sealed or ported? any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks,
In a well made sub; to me "Sealed" is a compromise you make to get a smaller size unit. If you push it hard, "Sealed" is hard on the speaker cone's suspension. And with the restrictiveness, you lose volume and frequency spans. Momentum resistance is faster though because the pressure of the cabinet favors the driver structure being in its static position.
Ported gives the speaker a much freer movement. In a well designed ported sub, momentum resistance is minimize by the use of big magnets, larger diameter coils, a well calibrated port and cabinet size, and a supper lite driver structure.
In a cheap to mid range sub, you get a cheap speaker and a cheap amp. Music is normally better in a sealed box, and ported boxes do theater better.
I've owned many subs including Klipsch and Velodyne, the SVS PB2000s I bought a while back makes all the ones I owned before it sound like junk. The SVS line is famous for Tight performance, effortlessly producing bass that you can feel, and sounding great with anything you play on it.
 
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theJman

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In a well made sub; to me "Sealed" is a compromise you make to get a smaller size unit. If you push it hard, "Sealed" is hard on the speaker cone's suspension. And with the restrictiveness, you lose volume and frequency spans.

What are "frequency spans"? I've never heard that term before.


Momentum resistance is faster though because the pressure of the cabinet favors the driver structure being in its static position.

Is this a reference to the physics behind acoustic suspension? If so, there is no 'speed' (faster) associated to resistance. Resistance to movement is a measure of force reduction, not static positioning.


Ported gives the speaker a much freer movement. In a well designed ported sub, momentum resistance is minimize by the use of big magnets, larger diameter coils, a well calibrated port and cabinet size, and a supper lite driver structure.

A low MMS (super lite driver structure?) is not necessarily ideal for a ported alignment because when it unloads at port tune you're likely to introduce harmonic distortions that will be audible. If anything, a higher RMS is preferable.
 

Luke Cool

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What are "frequency spans"? I've never heard that term before.
Span specifies the range between the start and stop frequencies. Google it. You learn something new ever day. Ported goes to lower frequencies.

Is this a reference to the physics behind acoustic suspension? If so, there is no 'speed' (faster) associated to resistance. Resistance to movement is a measure of force reduction, not static positioning.
In a sealed box, the pressure in the cabinet resist the driver structure from being in anyplace other than its static position. An outward movement creates a negative pressure inside the cabinet, and an inward movement creates a positive pressure inside the cabinet. The negative and positive pressure restricts driver structure's movements and facilitates a faster return to the static position. This is why the volume is reduced and some sealed boxes play music better, when compared to its ported counterpart.

A low MMS (super lite driver structure?) is not necessarily ideal for a ported alignment because when it unloads at port tune you're likely to introduce harmonic distortions that will be audible. If anything, a higher RMS is preferable.
On this, we will have to disagree. The perfect speaker has no weight or momentum. It does exactly what it is electronically told to do. If it does this, distortion is not possible. I own a set of HPM 1100s made in 1983. The speakers are made of graphite because it is very stiff, strong, and lite. Speaker makers have been working toward this end for over 40 years. I've seen speakers that look nothing like what most of us are use to, including a film speaker that excites electrons to recreate sound. Excluding acoustics problems like poor room placement or cabinet tuning issues, a muddy sounding sub is always a driver structure momentum problem. The less weight, the less momentum.
RMS is maximum continuous power output. This does help. With a higher RMS at the same voltage level, the volume would be the same, but there would be a higher available current. Please provide a source for the low MMS part. Thank you
 
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theJman

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Span specifies the range between the start and stop frequencies. Google it. You learn something new ever day. Ported goes to lower frequencies.

You have that backwards; sealed alignments play lower than ported. Bass reflex have more output, specifically above port tune, but due to their respective roll off characteristics the sealed alignment drops at half the rate of a ported subwoofer. If you want extension, you want sealed. It would require multiples to achieve the same output as a ported alignment above its port tune, but extension definitely favors acoustic suspension. You learn something new every day.
 

Craig Chase

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Jman - Actually, you are both right in the context of what we actually experience with our ears. Keep in mind that we are dealing with linearity, and a properly designed ported box will play deeper with linearity than will a sealed box. One can take a ported design using a given driver and almost always get much deeper, linear bass than with a sealed design. One can tune a subwoofer to 7 Hz in a ported box, and a comparable driver in a sealed box, even the same size as the ported box, would require a lot of EQ to hit the 7 Hz signal, and it would be at a much lower level in SPL.

BUT ... taking the above subwoofer, that driver in a sealed cabinet would continue to put out bass to 2 Hz, while the ported would not.

I used extreme examples, as I am unaware of a real world ported sub tuned to 7 Hz, but it makes the illustration easier. A look at the output from 16-25 Hz on the Powersound Audio V-3601 (ported) to the S-3601 (sealed) shows an 8 dB difference across that frequency span, even at that deep bass - 125.2 dB for the ported sub to 117.3 for the sealed.
 

Luke Cool

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You have that backwards; sealed alignments play lower than ported. Bass reflex have more output, specifically above port tune, but due to their respective roll off characteristics the sealed alignment drops at half the rate of a ported subwoofer. If you want extension, you want sealed. It would require multiples to achieve the same output as a ported alignment above its port tune, but extension definitely favors acoustic suspension. You learn something new every day.
From post 1
SVS SB-4000 Subwoofer: Sealed Cabinet
Frequency Response:
o 19Hz - 310Hz +/-3 dB

SVS PB-4000 Subwoofer: Ported Cabinet
Frequency Response:
o 16Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (standard mode)
o 13Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (extended mode)
o 18Hz to 200Hz +/-3dB (sealed mode)

Discussions like this are good for the forum. Learning something new every day is a useful goal.
If 13Hz is lower than 19Hz, then post one and numerous other spec publications disagree with you.
My SVS PB2000 moves and makes noise with a 2 Hz signal, although I'm not sure I would call it usable. I perceived the numbers in post one as usable, in tune bass tones. Yet Creig suggest the numbers are really much lower.


Jman - Actually, you are both right in the context of what we actually experience with our ears. Keep in mind that we are dealing with linearity, and a properly designed ported box will play deeper with linearity than will a sealed box. One can take a ported design using a given driver and almost always get much deeper, linear bass than with a sealed design. One can tune a subwoofer to 7 Hz in a ported box, and a comparable driver in a sealed box, even the same size as the ported box, would require a lot of EQ to hit the 7 Hz signal, and it would be at a much lower level in SPL.

BUT ... taking the above subwoofer, that driver in a sealed cabinet would continue to put out bass to 2 Hz, while the ported would not.

I used extreme examples, as I am unaware of a real world ported sub tuned to 7 Hz, but it makes the illustration easier. A look at the output from 16-25 Hz on the Powersound Audio V-3601 (ported) to the S-3601 (sealed) shows an 8 dB difference across that frequency span, even at that deep bass - 125.2 dB for the ported sub to 117.3 for the sealed.
I have owned both and listened to both in show rooms. Ported plays louder and lower, and ln many cases, the larger sizes are boomy and not as tight. I gave the best answer that I could to post two. I told the man the differences that I saw between sealed and ported. I've seen very little detail written on this subject, so I draw conclusions mostly from my own experience and logic.
Why are your numbers different from post one? And If someone knows where I can find a better detailed rant, on the differences between sealed and ported, please point me to it. I'd love to read it.
 
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Craig Chase

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Luke ... Taking a look at a sealed and a ported sub, and we have two "knees" at which the response curve starts dropping. In a sealed box, it is typically around 40-80 Hz (that will vary based on size of box, drive used, etc ...) and will roll off at 12 dB per octave below this point. This is without any EQ being added. Let's use 50 Hz as an example for the "knee" where response begins to drop.

This means the sealed box will be -12 dB at 25 Hz, -24 dB at 12.5 Hz and - 36 dB at 6.25 Hz. In a standard DIY project in a sealed box, this is where the enthusiast starts. In commercially available subs, the manufacture then makes a decision regarding the EQ he wishes to apply for a "flat" response curve to a certain frequency - let's call it 19 Hz. He would need about 18 dB of boost in the sealed sub to achieve that +/- 3 dB to 19 Hz as quoted.

Keep in mind, the larger the box, the lower the "knee" will be.

The same sub as a ported design will have a much flatter response curve before EQ down to its tuning point because it has the larger cabinet plus the effect of the port. Note that SVS quotes an 18 Hz / -3 dB for the PB4000 in sealed mode vs. 19 Hz in the dedicated sealed box, which is smaller. The "knee" in the ported sub is going to be close to the tuning point. Also keep in mind that the tuning point changes based on port length / port area. This is why the PB4000 has a lower "knee" when plugging one port. Most commercial ported subs still apply some EQ to get the flat response to, let's use the PB 4000 ... 16 or 13 Hz. 6 dB is probably about a good average for boost in this type of sub.

For the remainder of this discussion, let's use the 16 Hz / -3 dB point on the PB4000. Its tuning frequency is probably a bit above the 16 Hz point, and below that tuning point, the natural response curve will fall at 24 dB per octave. SVS (as would any sane manufacturer) will apply a high pass filter to further protect the driver, because after one goes about 1/5th octave below the tuning point, the driver will easily be driven into over excursion and may be damaged.

In the case of "most" commercial subs, the ported unit will play lower in a real room than will the sealed unit, especially for higher SPL requirements.

NOW ... let's get to Jman's point about sealed playing lower and getting infrasonic bass. Sealed subs tend to work well with ROOM GAIN. Let's say we have a room with a single largest dimension of 20 feet. Room gain is half the speed of sound divided by this maximum dimension. Speed of sound at sea level is about 1130 feet/second.

1130/2 = 565. 565/20 = 28.25 Hz.

In this room, room gain will start at about 28 Hz. Room gain will add 12 dB per octave below this level ... up 12 dB at 14 Hz and 24 dB at 7 Hz. This is ideal for a sealed subwoofer as long as its design is properly done. A Dayton Audio UM-18 22 driver in a sealed cabinet of about 6 cubic feet will have that knee of 28 Hz. Below that, with no EQ being applied, it will roll off at 12 dB per octave, while this room would give it a 12 dB per octave gain.

This means, in room, this subwoofer will measure relatively flat to well below 10 Hz, and possibly to 2 Hz. This driver is capable of delivering (ground plane at 2 meters) about 112 dB at 28 Hz, 100 dB at 14 Hz and 88 dB at 7 Hz.

Put this subwoofer into the room mentioned, and at 2 meters, one will measure 112 dB at 7 Hz with the room gain added back in.

One caveat on this: room gain numbers work assuming a very solid room - concrete walls, basements ... etc ... if it is wood walls/drywall, there will be some loss of room gain.

BUT ... back to the point ... now take 4 of those subs and co locate into two pairs. Now one can add 9 dB to the max output available from 7 to 28 Hz ... 6 dB for the co-located units and another 3 dB for the separated pair of units. Suddenly, we are getting 121 dB from 7 Hz and up.

If we were to try this with ported subs, no matter how hard we try, we are not getting the 7 Hz floor.

This gets back to the statement "You re both right". You both are, it just depends on circumstance.
 

Technosponge

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The SVS 4000 series is excellent. Go listen to them if you can. I can’t hear specs. I’ve never been able to . In different environments, temperatures, input signal, listening preferences, type of content provided, other subs, other speakers etc.. one will have different opinions of what they like. To directly say that one thing is better than the other purely on paper in the world of audio is fooling themselves. How does that sound?
 

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