SVS CS-Ultra Driver? (1 Viewer)

[Joe-T]

This might have been asked before, but I haven't seen anything about it yet. I just went over to SVS's new website (great job by the way) and was looking at the new pictures of the drivers. I found that in place of the original TV-12 driver for the CS-U the new SS driver was pictured. Is the new SS driver now the official "TV-12" driver with the original version discontinued? If so, putting the new SS driver in the CS-U and charging the same price as before is an incredibly large and generous upgrade (like with the improved driver for the CS and PCi series). Makes my want a CS-U now. If this is true, I'm surprised it is not mentioned in the "Latest News" section, as IMO it is big news.

Another question I have is regarding the enclosure tubings. Besides the SS subs, are there any differences between the enclosures (thickness, strength, material) of the CS, CS+, and CS-U subs? In the CS-U info section it states the use of a new 50% thicker tubing. I assume the birch end caps are in all the subs from all categories.

 

[Thomas F]

I looked at the page and it certainly appears that the driver has been upgraded. I hope my new Ultra scheduled to ship in the next few days will have the upgraded driver.

 

[John Cain]

I just looked at the SVS Web page.

I thought the Ultra always shared the same driver with the SS, am I mistaken???

Did the SVS folks change/upgrade the driver for the SS and the Ultra??

I haven't heard them mention this, but I guess it is a possibility.

-- John

 

[MikeKaz]

i was wondering the same thing. heres a good way to check to see if its just a website mistake if someone from svs doesnt respond here- anyone with a cs ultra from a while ago, look at the box and check the shipping weight on the label. the ultra that will be arriving tomorrow for me weighs 76 pounds on the ups tracking site. if this weight is very different from other ultras, theres a good chance it's a different driver. im thinking more website mistake though. so, anyone- how much does your ultra weigh??

 

[Joe-T]

John,

I know that SVS originally developed the TV-12 woofer for the SS and in the mean time developed the Ultra using the same woofer at a lower total cost. But between the release of the Ultra and the completion of the SS, SVS developed a different driver for the SS with ~30% more linear excursion. It is the best driver SVS has developed so far. Now it seems that "SS" driver is being called the "TV-12" driver and the original "TV-12" is no longer shown (well, actually the original TV-12 is the driver pictured in the SVS banner at the top of the home page screen - it is the larger one with an aluminum dust cap and clear cone material, the smaller looking one is the SS driver).

 

[John Cain]

Hi Joe thanks for the note.

SVS folks you can answer this, but I think Joe is thinking that you changed the TV-12 to a newer/better driver but you are still calling it the TV-12.

Have you made any changes to the TV-12 since its introduction, and is the driver in the Ultra still the same driver in the SS ??

Thanks,

-- John

 

[MikeKaz]

well, here's the answer. looks like SVS actually is more on top of their news section than I thought they'd be- Look at their site now.

"In some cases the look of SVS (the company, the website) is slicker than ever, as evidenced by these very pages. But in other ways you need to look close to notice that we're still up to our old tricks. Like what's this new SS driver doing in our CS-Ultra? Well, the CS-Ultra was always meant to be most of the SS performance in a less costly package. So when our "Plus" driver turned out to be very VERY good, a new design for the SS driver (ultimately, for the Ultra as well) was a natural project for the SVS R/D shop. Sporting cutting edge voice coil technology and one of the most massive basket and magnet structures we've ever seen, this new TC-Sounds driver can now be had in two models. You didn't think we would let the CS-Plus subwoofer steal all the performance thunder this year did you??? Look at the CS-Ultra if you want our highest output sub, but don't want the hand-finished look of real wood of the SS. We hope you like the new and the old stuff here at SVS."

friggin awesome

(I BETTER BE GETTING THE NEW DRIVER VERSION ON TUESDAY!!!)

 

[Thomas F]

I will be receiving my Ultra on friday and Tom verified that it has the new driver.

 

[MikeKaz]

oh boy am I nervous

edit- tom just confirmed that i have the new driver. oh thank god.

 

[Thomas F]

This is really good news. I guess the new Ultra driver has the extra 30% excursion capabilities that the SS driver was said to have if I understand this correctly. If true, that is great! I'll never push mine that hard, but it's nice to know I won't have to worry about bottoming. Let us know how it sounds! The shipping notice said both packages weighed 120 lbs. Wow!

 

[Andy Anderson]

Sweet merciful crap! I can't imagine improving on the existing Ultra driver! The current one kicks ass! Anyway, hmm--I wonder if a driver upgrade is possible for those of us with the old driver. You know, PCi style. I'd be all over that.
Andy

 

[Andy Bell]

I'm with you Andy!

I have the original Ultra also and would be very interested to see if we can upgrade to the new driver.

The new driver is very impressive looking!

 

[Tim_S]

If you look on the site under "Parts and Accessories":
Link Removed
It has it listed at something like $480. This looks like an indication that they would let existing CS_U owners buy it, but seems like a pretty hefty price unless they start an upgrade program. For me, it would have to be a very generous discount to get me to bite. I'm pretty happy with mine as is.
Tim

 

[Andy Anderson]

$579 actually. Yup, that's expensive as nuts. Hmm--it would take a good upgrade incentive program, but I'd definitely be intersted if there's a significant improvement. However, I hear you Tim, I'm pretty darn happy with my current CS_U driver. Never had any problems rattling the windows.

 

[Richard Goode]

I'm going to email tom and see if there is any discount for

upgrading to the new speaker. It sounds like the improvements would be worth it. I was just getting ready to order my second cs-ultra. I guess it was good that I didn't order a pair because of the cost of the upgrade. So I will only have to upgrade one of the speakers. Also on the site you can order the port plug at no extra charge.

 

[Adil M]

I would like 5 miyyyyion port plugs please.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

He guys,
sorry to take so long in commenting...been an interesting weekend to say the least.
As you have astutely noticed, the new *SS* driver has already trickled down to the CS_Ultra. Although it does cost considerably more to manufacturer...we just couldn't resist the chance to put this in as many SVS subs as we could
We will consider an upgrade for existing CS_U owners as soon as we have time to crunch all the numbers. This won't make a day/night difference though...a dB maybe 2 of more clean output capability. So the *diminishing returns* factor is something to consider here...although we've found out there's quite a few CS_Ultra owners who don't seem to care about that and just want the absolute best performance possible from their SVS product.(we've already received a bunch of emails asking when we'll have the upgrade package in place!).
TV

 

[MikeKaz]

got my CS ultra with the new driver today

HOLY #%$!@*& $!&# !!!

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

>>>HOLY #%$!@*& $!&# !!!

 

[Joe-T]

Careful lifting that! Don't want to get a hernia, must be very heavy, and that's just the new driver.
Enjoy Mike!