subwoofer: SVS, Paradigm, or B&W? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Shellito]

Posting for a friend of mine, again. Our local hi-fi store has the Paradigm and B&W lines. I recently purchased the SVS PB10 based on it's reviews, having never heard it, and am quite happy with it. He is now deciding on the Paradigm PDR-10 ($379), PDR-12 ($479), B&W ASW-600 ($500), ASW-650 ($700), or the SVS (~$475 shipped). He's matching it with Vandersteen 2c1 mains, Paradigm ceiling AMS100 for surrounds, and a Boston Accoustics CR1 center, running on the Yamaha RXV-2500 or 1500, not sure which. We'll probably demo the Paradigm and B&W at his house against my SVS for comparison, but would like to hear some of your thoughts on these different speaker systems as well. Does anyone have any experience with these? Probably about evenly split between movie/TV use and music. Thanks.

Mike

 

[SethH]

Definitely try to do your comparison, but to really make things more fair you should throw one of the SVS 12" subs into the mix. For instance, the 20-39PCi is $600+shipping so it'd be less than the ASW-650.

Paradigm makes pretty good subs, and should be included in your comparisons, but I don't think it will hold up to the PB-10, 20-39PCi, or the B&W's that you mentioned.

SVS gives you about 30 days to try things out. If you've got the money to cover shipping you guys should order a 20-39PCi to or the PB-12 to compare to the other subs in your list.

 

[John Garcia]

How big is the room? Neither of those Paradigms are competition for the PB-10, and the 600 will also probably be a bit embarrased. I agree, if you're going to look at the 675 seriously, he would do well to go with a 12" model from SVS or HSU Research.

 

[Mike Shellito]

The room is 26x16, with open passages to a large kitchen.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Big room. Unless he always listens fairly low, I'd make the jump to a 12" SVS since it seems like the budget will stretch to $700. The PB12-ISD/V should do nicely, 20Hz tune with lots of porting.

 

[Jongyoon Lee]

I'm surprised Velodyne is not on the list. Velodyne used to set the bar that the other manufacturers needed to meet. I have the lower end CHT model, and I'm completely satisfied with its performance.

 

[John Garcia]

Have you heard an SVS? Velo makes great subs too, but they tend to tune most of their subs higher. I like them, but they are a little different from the likes of SVS and HSU.

 

[AlanZ]

Just take the Paradigm PDR-10 off the list....I used to own it. That sub is WAY overpriced. Same thing for the PDR-12. There is nothing that can touch the SVS PB10 in its price range. I have one in a 16x25 room and it is very impressive. Paradigms more expensive subwoofers may be great, I dunno. But their PDR line blows. And this is coming from a very big fan of their speakers, too. I've owned all sorts of Paradigm gear. The SVS will kick the crap out of them.

I've not heard the B&W product.

 

[Alan Pummill]

I've owned a Velo CT-120; Paradigm PW 2200; and a SVS PC-Ultra.

SVS....all the way baby!!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Basically what's been said already.

Paradigm makes some exellent subs, the PW series and the Servo 15 are very very nice, and high-value in the retail world such that I'd recommend them over B&W for sure.

However, SVS does it a lot cheaper than that, so I'd definitely go that route.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

They certainly did.

 

[Mike Shellito]

Finally was able to run this demo, for anyone that's interested in the results. Only able to test the B&W 650 (12" driver) against the SVS PB10. After calibration, we didn't do full frequency checks, but the B&W seemed to go as low as the SVS - used the downloadable test tones, ran from 10 to 30, and the SPL picked up at about the same point for both. Soundwise, they seemed pretty similar. Checked the opening scenes in Flight of the Phoenix, and a few good scenes in LOTR - Return of the King, and some music. It made me feel good about my SVS in that it held equally well up against another sub that was over $200 more with a bigger driver, in a bigger room. But, the WAF might play a role in his decision, given that the B&W is smaller.