SVS 25-31PC-Plus Review Link (1 Viewer)

[SVS-Ron]

All,

Since the most common questions SVS get surround "which SVS to buy?" (fair questions to be sure!), I thought some at HTF might have interest in the latest professional review on one of our mainstream products.

Sound Stage generally covers high end gear (not that a $800 subwoofer is chopped liver as an expenditure for most people) but it's clear they don't let that get price points in the way of their opinions. We're always happy to be compared to $3,000 subwoofers after all!

Anyway, it may be worth reading if you have interest in SVS products: http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi...2531pcplus.htm

Ron Stimpson

 

[Joey_N]

Thanks Ron for the link, very interested in what they have to say

 

[ChadLB]

Ron,
I read the review...and like the end quote

Rarely do I get so excited about a product that I call my buddies to tell them about a new find. This case was different: "You’ve got to hear this sub. It is blowing my mind," I told my bass-freak friends

have to agree with the review....that is the way I feel with my 25-31PC Plus....thanks SVS

 

[Edward J M]

Great review Ron - thanks for the link.

Heck, why is it taking so long for the on-line audio and HT magazines to discover what we at HTF have known all along? That SVS currently has no commercial peers in each price category.

And the way you guys keep raising the bar (witness the PB2+), I'm sure your enviable position will remain secure.

Two comments on the review:

1) If he used a subwoofer cable and was filtering at the receiver or pre/pro, he should have disabled the sub's filter instead of setting it to 80 Hz. Otherwise this will result in "double filtering", creating a large sag in the FR at 80 Hz.

Using the sub's low pass filter is only appropriate with speaker level connections and the mains set to "large" and the sub set to "no/off". This connection method is not really that common anymore with the flexibility of digital bass management available in today's AVRs and pre/pros.

In fairness, he might have been connecting via speaker level, but the review did not specify the connection method, making me wonder.

2) I don't know how big the review room was or how far from the sub he was taking his SPL readings, but 107 dB in an average size room is a piece of cake for the 25-31PC+. It wasn't even breaking a sweat, probably. Heck, I've hit 112-113 dB clean in my 2,000 ft3 HT at 11 feet away with my 20-39PC+. I guess he's just used to wimpy subs...:b

Regards,

Ed

 

[Eric C D]

[/b].

ROFL! I'm with you Ed - it's certainly taken them time to notice. I'm not normally catty, but it must be the advertising $ taped over their ears.

Congrats to Ron & Tom (and your employees as well). Your success is well-earned. Keep up the good work, and I hope you get time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

OK, back to my measly PC20-39, no plus. [edit: Just realized that might not sound right - I only meant that my "measly" SVS (eq'd btw) sounds to me the way that the reviewer described - I am extraordinarly fond of it]

Eric

 

[SVS-Ron]

In fairness to the reviewer, I'm reasonably sure he was using uncorrected measurements there. Given the scene he was recording (which we've documented ourselves) I'd guess he was actually getting peaks of 112-113dBs there himself.

Not sure about the crossover situation. Given this is a web-zine and not a hardcopy one, the reviewer may well make additions/corrections based on comments the public submits. Suffice it to say I think we're all better off for knowing about Sound Stage as a resource. They've issued equally glowing reviews about other killer gear us more value oriented types have long known of. The Ascend CBM-170 is one we spotted. That these guys have the balls to make waves is something we like that's for sure.

Ron

 

[MikeLi]

That is really cool Ron.. you guys are the greatest!

 

[steve nn]

Great review and hats off to SVS for the well deserved notoriety. You deserve it.
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107 db though????? This can be achieved very easily with the 25-31+.. Maybe he was afraid to really give it a work-out?? Still a very nice review.

 

[Edward J M]

107 db though????? This can be achieved very easily with the 25-31+.. Maybe he was afraid to really give it a work-out??

In retrospect, I went through the same process with my 20-39PC+. I was hitting 108-109 in the 25-30 Hz region and I thought the roof was going to come down over my head. Only over time and with extreme caution did I eventually learn there was another solid 4-5 dB left in the tank.

FWIW, I still only use just C-weighted fast for peak SPL monitoring, with no unweighted correction factors. Any correction factor for peak SPL would just be an educated guesstimate anyway, since it would have to be integrated over the actual frequencies/amplitudes present in that particular bass passage.

I did however recently adopt the policy of using unweighted values for plotting frequency response, thanks to "DougBW" who stayed up until 1 a.m. one night researching and developing the complex logarithmic equations required to convert C-weighted values to unweighted values, since the commonly available "RS Correction Factors" are inappropriate for my particular SPL meter. Many public thanks to DougBW for this much valued piece of research. It will make my pending PB2+ review all the more accurate.

Regards,

Ed

 

[Josh Wolfman]

Great review for SVS! I wish the reveiwer would have done a couple of things, though....First, describe the room he was testing & Second, compare it with some more subs in the $2,000 price category (Velodyne, M&K, etc). Going against the $799 pretender is NO MATCH for ANY SVS and we all know it. BY beating up on the so called "champs" of the subwoofer world, SVS would get a bit more recognition (imho of course). Anyway, I am going off on a tangent. Once again, great reveiw!!!!

 

[Reginald Trent]

As the proud owner of a 16-46PCI, these are the comments that I found most interesting to the unenlightened.

"I was also prepared to quickly ramp down the volume level in case the subwoofer driver started to cry uncle. The SVS responded to my challenge by producing even more bass, easily hitting 107dB cleanly. I was astounded.

The SVS rocked like a muscle car on a Saturday night on "Cherry Twist." The bass was completely void of extraneous noises such as cabinet rattles and port chuffing. I could hear and feel what seemed to be effortless and clean low frequencies engulfing the room. The bass was not just filling the room, but controlling the room with iron-fisted authority.

This kind of bass quality, coupled with prodigious output capability, is rare in my experience. I’ve heard subwoofers that exceed the 25-31PC-Plus’s level of performance: Wilson Audio’s XS can pull the same trick and then some, controlling an entire house, but then again it’s $18,500 without a crossover! I certainly have not heard this kind of bass from a sub-$3000 subwoofer, ever -- and the SVS 25-31PC-Plus is $775!"

 

[steve nn]

IN retrospect, I went through the same process with my 20-39PC+. I was hitting 108-109 in the 25-30 Hz region and I thought the roof was going to come down over my head. Only over time and with extreme caution did I eventually learn there was another solid 4-5 dB in the tank.
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>
Yes! This is so true and well put. It's hard to fathom so much bass and SPL coming out of one 12" driver that it is just a little scary trying to find the potential limit. I don't know how SVS does it but " they do it " bottom line.
>

ChadLB---I have been waiting for your take on the 25-31+. I guess I have my answer now. Thats very good to here. I bet you realize more than 103 dB on the Fly-by scene now? :p)

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Guys,

One thing to remember, even if the crossover was active and set to 80hz, in theory worst case scenario is a very shallow dip as the FR nears 80hz. In 99% of HT rooms, this dip will usually be swamped by typical room interactions. As noted, this probably isn't the best setting for the sub in most cases though...but once in a while if there is an upper bass peak...you can tame it like this.

From what I understand about the review, no compensation was applied to the readings of the RS SPL meter. So 107dBs at 20hz is more like 115dBs(for example).

Tom V.
SVS