SVS driver upgrade story (1 Viewer)

[Brian Fellmeth]

My initial take was to leave my 25-31 PC (serial # 000003) as is since it pessureized my room to insane levels with clean musical bass, so what is the point of upgrading ? Then I saw side by side pics of the driver, and I had to have that big ass magnet whether I needed it or not.

After removing the old driver, I A/B ed the drivers in free air with bassy music and there is a obveous difference, esp at loud volume.

The driver comes with excellent instructions, but I still managed to mess it up. Put everything together- no sound at all. Turns out I fed a little too much wire into one of the spring clips so it was biting on insulation instead of metal. So there is a gotcha to avoid. And heed the warning about making the driver screws too tight- I think I nearly stripped a couple.

I was a fence sitter and almost passed on the upgrade, Glad I didn't. This is a real upgrade. The sub is actually more musical and sweet sounding.

 

[Bill Kane]

brian, I sent you email...

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Brian,

I have done the same thing once or twice...that is something we need to address in our driver swap out instructions. I'm glad it got worked out in the end though. Let me know hwat you think of the upgrade after you have had a chance to really push the new unit a little.

TV

 

[MikeAF]

I have another thing to watch out for when installing the new drivers. I installed two new drivers to my 20-39CS's and the first one went off without a hitch. On the second one however, I was almost finished and screwwing the long bolts of the base back into place and one of them would not tighten down. The little piece which the screw goes into had come loose on the inside of the unit. So I unscrewed and took the driver out and fortunately was able to find the piece inside and reinstall it. I almost thought I had lost it the second time but I did not. So be careful when pushing the bolts of the base back into place so you don't knock the inside piece out. I hope this might help a few people avoid what I went through. On another note, I am soooooo glad I did the upgrade. I have a large room and the bass is even better now. Thanks Ron and Tom.
Mike

 

[Chris Demaree]

The only problem I encountered was when I seated the new driver. It was a very, very tight fit and the rubber gasket kept preventing one side of the driver from seating correctly. After wrestling with it a bit, I finally got it seated correctly. The problem was the 'wrestling' had shifted the driver over a bit so the holes didn't line up anymore. It was an adventure getting the new driver back out so I could line up the holes again. Incredible upgrade, though! Thanks SVS!!

Now it's time to play with the BFD.

 

[Kevin_W]

I had the same problem as Chris. The gasket made for a very snug fit - almost thought the driver was too big. I used a tiny flat headed screwdriver as a "shoe horn" and guided the gasket in like that.

 

[Juan_R]

I had the same problem and used a screw driver as well to get the new driver in. My old driver had cut outs on the edge of the gaskets so the driver could fit.

 

[Lee Bailey]

I too took the plunge and upgraded my 25-31PC (#00010) last week. The only thing that happened was that one of the old feet took some black off of the bottom plate. Everything went very smooth. The hardest part was holding onto the driver while turning it to tighten up the wire connection! For the most part, the bass does seem louder now!

My thanks to SVS for offering such an upgrade to us customers without having to buy a whole new sub.

Bill Kane, if you're wondering, the upgrade is worth it!

 

[Bob-N]

Ahh, serial number comparisons. I had the same snug problem as three of the above installers. Tried to seat it about 5 times before I got out the pocket screwdriver and carefully pushed the gasket in to the channel.
BTW, I have a 20-39PC, serial number 00001. Beat that! (Okay, I cheated, I bought it used.....)
Thanks Ron and Tom for all of your help (weight and serial number pedigree!)
Bob

 

[Dave Koch]

I had the oposite problem: my OLD driver was too snug to remove. I even turned the darn thing upside down... it stayed fast.

Used the "screwdriver as shoehorn" routine, and was careful not to marr (too much!) the MDF.

But once it was in, wow!

I will be honest. I did not think the SVS was all it was cracked up to be. I could not listen to Toy Story Two open at reference without bottoming out. Grinds and pops- always a NASTY pop when Buzz falls through the false ceiling into Zurg's lair. Always.

I guess part was too big a room, and part only one 20-39 PC to fill it, part too high expectations and part naitivity (about what a sub could do) on my part. At -10 db, it sounded good, though.

But now, well, I CAN play Toy Story 2 at reference. Did I say can? I meant have. Never has this new driver bottomed or popped. THIS is what I wanted.

In fairness to Ron and Tom, they said I needed two PC's. Maybe now?

Best upgrade I ever made!

 

[Chauncey_G]

I just did my replacement on my 20-39CS and it went smooth as silk! In and out no problem in no time. Tested it out on the THX opening on The Phantom Menace and I was thrilled. The original driver bottomed out on that one with a big ol' CLACK! that scared the s--t out of me. Luckily, no damage done. The new driver passed the test without a hitch.
Thanks, SVS, for a great and (relatively) cheap upgrade for my HT!