SVS PB1-ISD will be home soon! (1 Viewer)

[JimW]

Well, I finally received the sub after many days of snow delay (I'm in Maryland). Although I'm kind of leery of posting a review since I'm not really an audiophile, I'm just a guy that loves HT! But I guess I'll never learn till I jump into the world of SPL's, & db's, etc... So here goes:


Here's what I measured with my Radio Shack sound meter (my room is terrible for HT, 15x22 with a kitchen (just a bar seperating them) off the 22' end that's another 18'... I have it placed in the corner of the room):

Hz-Db

80 - 95.5

70 - 94

65 - 93

60 - 95.5

55 - 99.5

50 - 97.5

45 - 96

40 - 101

35 - 101

30 - 98

25 - 97

20 - 95

OK, now, if those numbers don't mean anything to you without some other data, let me know and I'll get it! Also, I've heard that there's some problem with the readings of the radio shack meter, but I don't know what the conversion is so these are 'raw' numbers.




FIRST IMPRESSIONS

As for the way it sounds/feels, I'm very impressed. My previous sub was a Mirage PS-10 so this is, of course, much louder. But I love the way that it 'moves the air'. I can feel my shirt collar moving from the bass when I'm watching LOTR (I'm about 10' away from the sub in my couch). I really love watching movies again!




My old sub used to 'bottom out' at certain bassy scenes, but (as you would expect) not this one. I actually find myself turning the sub down a little because of 'ear fatigue' from all the bass (never thought I'd be doing that!). Now I have to go around and secure all the knick-knacks in the room so they're not jumping around/falling off all the time. These are good problems to have!




PROS


[*]SVS - What more can you say about a great company with great customer service. I don't know if they get tired of (or maybe they're just 'used to it') hearing what a great job they do in this area, but it is true. My little 'problem' that was worked out by Ron & Tom was that I had ordered the 20-39PCi right before they announced that they would be coming out with the PB1-ISD. I emailed them to ask about it and they told me that I could keep the 20-39 until the PB1 came (even if it was after the 45 day 'trial' period). That was great to hear since I had sold my Mirage as soon as the 20-39 arrived! So, although I still haven't gotten an RMA for the 20-39 (I'm sure they're extremely busy, and I only just emailed them 2 days ago), I trust that it will be coming soon. Actually, as I'm writing this, Tom V. responded to say that Erik will be contacting me. And he has...

[*]PB1-ISD - I still haven't found a way to push it too far. Sure, it's no B4, but on my budget this is the closest I can get, and without hearing the B4 I don't know what I'm missing, right? Actually, if I think about it, I don't think I'd be able to get a B4 even if I had the money for it. I don't have a dedicated HT room (maybe a lot of us have this problem?), so I'm forced to find ways to make my hobby blend in with it's surroundings. The PB1 does that nicely. The finish is cool (almost like my Line-X bed liner for my pickup truck! ), it seems to be well built (the thing weighs 4x what my Mirage did), and it sounds great! I'm a happy customer...[/list]

CONS


[*]It makes me want to upgrade my mains![*]It doesn't have the cool SVS logo on all three sides (the way I have to
turn it hides the logo...)[*]The little rubber nubs that came with it to put on the rubber pads already
attached to the box keep coming off when I move it (ok, I'll stop moving
it!). This isn't a quality issue, they're 'customer installed' things that
raise it a little (maybe 1/2") higher. I'm glad they included them because
I have to put it on a brick hearth and the unevenness of the bricks might
scratch the bottom of the sub.[*]It makes me want to upgrade my mains![*]Since I ordered the sub, my HTF 'lurking' has increased[*]The 'rumble from downstairs' keeps my daughter up at night[/list]

OK, so they're not really cons, but I had to come up with something...

 

[ChadLB]

Well Jim I think this is what people were looking for including Tom V.
I hope you enjoy the PB1 as much as I enjoy the 25-31pci.
If you get a chance and want to hear great music with it get the Blueman Audio disc from amazon.com. A great dvd that is DD, DTS, DVD-A for showing off your new sub. If you have not already watch the Pod Race scene and The Matrix again ....wow I didn't realize the engines roared like that in TPM..
I really have not had any friends over to watch anything yet. I still need to watch LOTR again and U571. I don't own them but my parents due....
ENJOY your new PB1.:b

 

[JimW]

Chad,

I've heard people mention that disc before, sounds interesting... I just went to amazon and did a search on 'blueman' but nothing but books came up? Do you possibly have a link to it?

Thanks!

Everyone,
Oh yeah, I mentioned it in the first post, but the reason I switched to the PB1 is because the 20-39 wouldn't fit in any of my corners. Because of that fact it'd be difficult for me to compare the two (unfortunately) because I never had the 20-39 setup properly (in the right position).

 

[ChadLB]

Here is the link.....it will shake it will rattle your house down......:b

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...266193-3336755

 

[Samuel Des]

Tom Nousaine to measure. After all was said and done, here's the results of the 10% SPL tests:

Adire Dharman

Average SPL 25-62 Hz: 107.9 dB
Average SPL 20-62 Hz: 105.9 dB
Bass Extension: 20 Hz @ 96 dB SPL
Maximum Output: 114.6 dB SPL @ 32 Hz

Here's the 10% THD limit SPLs Tom measured in his large 7500 cubic foot room:


20 Hz 96 dB SPL
25 Hz 102 dB SPL
32 Hz 114.6 dB SPL (system at maximum)
40 Hz 111.8 dB SPL (system at maximum)
50 Hz 108.1 dB SPL
62 Hz 103.1 dB SPL

Is the Dharman as competitive?

 

[chrisden]

Hello everybody,

I just got my PB1 yesterday afternoon and wanted to post my initial impressions. I know some of you have been waiting.

My system consists of: Marantz SR8200, Paradigm Studio 60's up front, CC-370 center (upgrading to Studio CC soon), and some old Polks for the rears.

I calibrated the sub and the speakers this morning with a Radio Shack SPL meter to 70db at my seating position. I set all my speakers to small. The PB1's gain is set at about 1/3 up.

I am no technical guru or anything, but these are my thoughts:

Music: In stereo mode with the sub on, it has added both incredible weight and depth to the recordings. The match on the "quality" and "tightness" of bass between the 60's and PB1 is very close (really speaks well of the 60's). Also, because I am using the crossover of my receiver, the treble and midrange seem clearer, more dynamic and detailed.

Movies: This is the area where I felt the PB1 really shows what its made of. The Pod Race scene from Star Wars is unbelievable, from the rumble of the engines, the explosions, the crowd and other special effects in this scene. I'm gonna have to watch this again later today. I also watched The Matrix in its entirety. Again, the sub added substantial depth, realism, and that bottom end wallop to the action sequences.

To say that I'm impressed and completely satisified by both the quality and quantity of bass would be an understatement. This sub, IMO, is very similar (size, sound and output wise) to the Paradigm PW2200 (the other sub I was considering)and it costs less.

 

[TommyL]

Chris...have you tried any external amplification to that 8200 yet? I have the same receiver...By the way, what size is your room? I had the 2039pci, and it rocked...moving to a bigger room...gonna grab the B4+ Monday. Email me about the crossover portion, as I'd like more info. thanks! [email protected]

 

[chrisden]

Tom,
I tried to email you but it wouldn't go through. Anyway,
I have not yet added an external amp to my receiver, though I have been
wanting to for the last six months. I believe that the crossover
setting in our receivers is 80 hz. I used to listen to all my music through
'source direct' but I find that using stereo (this setting allows a sub
to run) now sounds better with the addition of the PB1. In all
honesty, I love the way this receiver sounds and it is way more than enough
power for me and my room (about 19 by 12), so I may hold off on an amp
for a while.

Regards

 

[Mark KU]

Samuel, you can't compare those 2 sets of numbers at all. They were taken in 2 different rooms in what I can imagine are 2 completely different testing methods. As in microphones, distance from sub, source material, etc. The only way you could get a comparison is to have both subs in the same room with the same testing method.

 

[MattCPT]

Chris,
Thanks for the review. I have been waiting on some reviews before I purchase the PB-1. I was also wondering if adding a sub to my Def. Tech. BP-30s would make a significant improvement if I ran my mains as small through my Marantz 8200, and judging from your experience I would think that I would hear an improvement as well. I was a bit worried that the 80Hz crossover in the Marantz may restrict my options and sound quality, but you don't seem to have that problem.

Have you tried running your mains as large with the sub? What does it do to the sound?

 

[chrisden]

Matt,

With our receivers, you cannot have the speakers set to large and have the sub active. That's a bummer. I tried to set the speakers to large and run the sub. The sub did not activate. I was a little bummed, but with the speakers set to small the bass with the PB1 is substantially lower, tighter and louder. I really have no complaints. When I talked to Tom at SVS before buying the sub, he recommended setting all speakers to small. The logic behind this is that the receiver has less of a load and the highs and mids are actually more dynamic and clear. This appears to be true given my listening tests. I also thought that the 80hz crossover was a little high because the Studio 60's reach down to 30hz. There are some recordings that have a lot of bass and so I listen to those recordings in 'source direct' and run my fronts full range. With bass anemic recordings, running the fronts at small and having the PB1 pick up the bottom end is very nice.

 

[TommyL]

Thanks Chris! tom

 

[TommyL]

Chris...try my email again...it should go What kind of rack are you using for the 8200? the damn thing is DEEP...can't find anything that I don't have to [email protected] that is a "L" after tom may be the one thing ya had wrong thanks Chris! tom