Picked up an SVS PB 10 NSD (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Dunlop]

So I met up with Mason at Sonic Boom (store sign says Electronics for Less)
and bought a PB 10 on Wednesday night

Very nice guy - had a short talk about different subs, cables and speakers
He stayed late at the store to meet me, since I couldn't get there before closing

2 SVS guys were on their way to his store that night, to talk about the new products - I didn't have time to stick around and say Hi

Wednesday night -
So I get the beast home and couldn't set it up until 9:30pm - grr -no time to test it out that night - I found that the gain setting needed to be set to 75% and still didn't hear much - oh well, not calibrated yet, so not worried

My old sub was an Energy 8.2 - very happy with it, so it got moved upstairs to my stereo setup.

Thursday night
I had a chance to run the Auto Setup from my Denon 2307
My old sub setting was at -2.5db - this is definitely why I wasn't getting much out of the sub the night before

So I set the PB 10 gain to 40% and ran the auto setup
This time it bumped the receiver setting to +9.5db
Played a couple of Eagles songs in DTS and it sounded GREAT
Then watched some HD TV (Dolby Digital) at relatively quiet volumes - still sounded excellent - very clean bass

So - I have read that you should manually set the sub setting on the receiver to -5db to limit distortion - I need to see if I can do this, AFTER the auto setup has run - the screen I view after auto setup is info only - no editing

I will be messing around with it tonight - some serious loudness testing at 4:30pm

I have the HD NIN concert using TRUEHD and it sounded awesome before - cannot wait to try it with the new sub!

I will post some pics of my setup and more info on Monday

Room size is W=8' H= 7' L=16' - open to the rest of the basement by about 10' on one side
Sub is placed beside the Left Front speaker (on the inside) and is on the closed wall side.
Phase setting is at 0 - have not tried to adjust that yet

 

[Gary Shipley]

Welcome to the SVS family Paul! I know you'll better extremely happy with it. I got a PB12 Plus about a week ago and cannot begin to express how great is it to have a sub of this caliber. You'll want to rewatch alot of movies and listen to your favorite cd's again.

 

[douglas-b]

Yea, I love my twins...two 20-39PCi's.

 

[MikeNg]

Welcome to the SVS family Paul!

Do consider getting a PEQ for the sub. You'll be amazed at the improvement...

 

[ladyg11]

What's PEQ? My SVS sub 10" is on the way!

 

[SHS]

PEQ = Parametric Equalizer--
Recommended reading

http://www.ethanwiner.com/equalizers.html


at least by me...

 

[drobbins]

After reading all the excitement about SVS for years, I just received my PB12NSD yesterday. I just moved into my new house, so I will have to wait a few days longer. :frowning: The receiver should arrive today, I will hang the projector tonight, Daughters band dinner friday night, and put the screen up on saturday. Then I need to calibrate both the projector and the sound. I remember setting up the BFD last time took a few hours. I am thinking first movie time late sunday afternoon. In the mean time the PB12 is sitting patiently in the living room waiting to be let loose.

 

[ryan.p]

I also just received my PB12-NSD yesterday. I did have the PB10-NSD but sent it back for the PB12-NSD. I can say that based upon my intial impressions the PB12-NSD does nearly everything the PB10 does but with more impact. The ONLY exception is with music-that is, the PB10 sounded to me to be a bit more articulate. Perhaps not by a tremendous amount but noticable nonetheless. However, I watched "The Fountain" yesterday and can easily say the PB12-NSD is better when watching movies. My room is just a bit under 2000 cubic feet with openings to a small hallway closet and my dining room. I may just get another PB12-NSD in the very near future. The PB12-NSD was a bit sluggish with some of the music I listen to. Hopefully, dual PB12's will fix that problem as well as offer more output above 35-40 Hz. Dual PB12-NSD's will also offer a smoother frequency response once things get dialed in just right. Anyways, thought I would share some of my observations. Have a great day everybody.

 

[Edward J M]

Hi Ryan:

While there is little empirical data to support subwoofer break-in, many customers do report an improvement in the mid/upper bass quality after running the subwoofer hard for a few hours. Give it a try and report back with your findings.

Duals will also (obviously) help with headroom, and will also help to more effectively deal with room modes if they are strategically placed. Also, a parametric EQ can be used to apply a mild boost to the 50-80 Hz region, which will emphasize bass detail in that bandwidth.

 

[Edward J M]

Hi Paul:

With an auto-cal system, setting the sub to -5 after auto-calibration won't work. The AVR set the sub level to +9.5 because the gain level was set too low on the SVS, and it was trying to compensate for that.

If you want the AVR subwoofer level to end-up around -5 after auto-cal, it's an iterative process. Bump the gain from 40% to around 60% and run the auto-cal again. The AVR will naturally select a lower subwoofer level setting in order to keep the overall SPL the same.

Note the results, adjust the gain accordingly, and re-run auto-cal until the AVR sub level ends up somewhere in the -6 to -2 region (this will keep the pre-out signal nice and clean).

 

[ryan.p]

Ed, thanks for the info and your time. This is phildog_38 btw as we have been conversating via e-mail for a couple of days now. The PB12-NSD is really begininng to settle in and have it sounding great. I can NOT thank you as well as SVS enough. Erik K has also been a gem and has provided me with top-notch customer service. Thanks SVS very much.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Maybe I'm masochistic because it will be awhile before I will ever be able to splurge on an SVS sub for myself (just too much else on my financial plate at this particular point and time). But, I am so looking forward to hearing more reaction from Paul and Ryan about their new subs...and, in particular, their reaction to the difference between their old sub and the new SVS.

I guess I'll just continue to live vicariously through others! I guess I'm figuring that it will just further whet my appetitie and make me all the more certain when I'm ready to pull the trigger in the future.

 

[drobbins]

I hooked up my new PB12NSD over the weekend. Due to a ground loop issue I haven't had a chance to set it up with my BFD. I have isolated the issue & I hope to calibrate the sub this weekend. Previously I was running a 12" Sony up front & center with a 10" JBL in the center back in a 16' x 22' room. The PB12NSD is the only sub in a 14' x 19' room. I have been reading all the hype about SVS for years now and finally purchased one. Even with out the BFD, I noticed a big difference over my other subs. The bass is much clearer and I can hear/feel the lower frequencies. So far it has lived up to my expectations.

 

[ryan.p]

I have owned several subs over the last couple of years. I started with a 8 " Cerwin Vega sub that was not very good. Then, I moved on to a Paradigm PDR12 12" sub that would do nothing but make chuffing sounds so back it went. I then paid the difference and got a Paradigm PS1000 v.4 10" sub that was decent. It was good at ht but sluggish with music. Decided to get rid of it because my neighbors were complaining and even called the police. So, got rid of the PS1000 v.4 and bought (2) Acoustic Research ARPR808 8" subs and I am like wow these little guys pack a punch. In fact, they walked all over the PS1000 v.4. That is, the AR 8" subs were stellar w/music applications and very good for ht. It also did not seem to bother my neighbors near as much which was a good thing. However, they ended up moving so I got a Mirage S12 12" sub. For the first time I really had a great sub. The S12 was so punchy and tight yet offered great extension when watching movies. The S12 blended well with the AR 8"s for a smooth and even frequency response. Later, sold the Mirage S12 then the AR 8" subs and got an SVS PB10-NSD. One thing I noticed right off the bat is that the PB10 was better than the Mirage S12. Maybe not by much but noticeable nonetheless. Keep in mind the PB10 is a 10" sub whereas the Mirage S12 is a 12". This says a lot about what SVS is all about. I decided to send the PB10 back and get the PB12-NSD and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the best sub I have owned to date and I could NOT be any happier. The performance as well as the build quality is outstanding to say the least. Thank You SVS for taking care of me as I am a fan for life. That just about sums it up to this point so I hope it helps those whom are on the fence so to speak. SVS's customer service is also great. Both from Erik K and Ed Mullen. They truly do care about their products.

 

[LanceJ]

If your receiver also automaticallyadjusts the sub's phase, then you shouldn't need to mess with this.

But if it doesn't, you could be missing out on some upper bass. Since the crossover between the satellites and the subwoofer overlap some, if the sub's phase - or distance as a receiver sees it - isn't set correctly, there could be some attenuation, or complete cancellation, of certain frequencies.

This is especially true if you ever wanted to run the front mains using their large setting, or the "double bass" setting many receivers have now. But this time the low bass can also be affected.

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

Finally took some pics

 

[Mike Frezon]

Very nice, Paul.

The room seems so narrow! I checked your OP and saw the dimensions.

I imagine you sitting in a deep, comfy chair with your hair and a scarf being blown back...like the guy in those Maxell ads!



Any new fun listening/sub experience?!

 

[Ennsio]

Congratulations, Paul.

Your tv has a nice sparkle to it.

I'm in Canada too so I've been looking at Sonic Boom's website. Have you found them to be quite helpful and knowledgeable? Everybody on HTF raves about SVS's customer service, so I'm wondering how the Canadian distributor compares to the US guys.

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

HAHA - nice

It does sound pretty damn good - I was demoing it for some friends last week
I just kept turning it up and up - stayed nice and clean until their ears started bleeding

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

Thanks
Yup - didn't feel like getting out the tripod and going without flash

Definitely recommend them - call and speak to Mason
I actually picked mine up, since it was close - talked to him for about 20 minutes

Sub was double boxed and packed very well, so I wouldn't worry about shipping

You can also email SVS with your room size and HT/Music preferences - they will reply with some model suggestions