SVS PCI Plus or Ultra? (1 Viewer)

[Hugh Scrivener]

Basically the heading says it all. I'd be looking at the comparable size Pci Plus vrs. the Ultra. Although the on-board amp is a nice feature and actually provides more power than the Sampson 1000, just look at the woofer the Ultra houses. I'm sure its just astetics but to me the normal PC woofer looks beefier than the PC plus woofers, like I said I'm sure the plus out-performs the Pc as stated on the site, but is the Ultra really worth nearly twice as much?
A little more info....I'm in a pretty large 'family' room type setting with ceilings that run from 9ish to 16ish ft tall in a sloped peak thing. The woofer would be in the corner of the room with the lowest ceiling height. Cathedral ceilings I guess.
Any and all suggestions are welcome.
all right back to the grill, although its been so hot here in Central Va, I really didn't have to light it!!

 

[John F. Palacio]

Hugh. In trying to read between the lines of your thread I believe you are torn by the decision of getting the most bang for your buck or the sub with the better looking and beefier driver and slightly better performance.
The performance question between a 20-39 CS+ and the Ultra has been asked before. The answers have not been so obvious, specially since the Ultra received a driver upgrade not too long ago and the + driver kept getting better before they even released them (the term "keeps surpassing our best expectations" or to that effect were in SVS's site).
I would email Tom Vodhanel at SVS ([email protected]) and ask him what the SPL (and any other) differences are between the 20-39 CS+ and the Ultra. This would be an apples to apples comparison. Then you can factor in whether you want the PCi with the built in amp or not, if you decide against the Ultra.
If I was a betting man, I would bet on less that 2dB.
Then you would be left with only one variable and that is whether the better looking driver with the X gain in performance is worth the difference in price.

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

Hugh, I can't find anyone who wants to buy my *used* CS Ultra (purchased 11/01) for the price of a *new* 20-39 CS+ so that should tell you how close they are in performance--at least from the perspective of the market.

I own the CS-Ultra and a pair of CS+ subs and while a single Ultra sounds better than a single CS+ to my ears, I definitely prefer twin CS+ to a single Ultra--mostly because I have a very large HT room.

--Steve

 

[Dan Lindley]

John's response assumes that all differences can be captured in Db. Is accuracy, airiness, thump, whatever, not a factor in subwoofers? People often describe speakers more in terms of impressions than measurements (as if they are taling about wines), so are subs particularly invulnerable to 'subjective' terminology? Should we buy on Db alone (plus whatever aesthetics/waf apply)?

I ask this in part b/c my 16-46 pci is still within its 45 days, and I can't help but be haunted by the "+" version. Yet I have a small room, and can't play loud 99% of the time. Thus, accuracy and other issues might sell me on the plus, rather than Db. TV said there might be a little more accuracy, but since I explicitly gave him the oppty to upsell, he really didn't on this point. The Plus seems best for those pushing performance limits.

On looks, yes, the PCI basket looks better than the plus, but the plus looks better, IMHO, in the cone itself, the ports, and likely the amp, too. I'd love a plus, but not even TV could sell one to me (and that's a compliment). My waf is happy with the PCI, too.

Dan

 

[John F. Palacio]

"John's response assumes that all differences can be captured in Db. Is accuracy, airiness, thump, whatever, not a factor in subwoofers?"
Please do not misquote me and read my post carefully!
We are talking about the same enclosure with different drivers. So even a comparison based on SPL would be appropriate. I never mentioned dB's by the way.
But if you read my thread carefully, however, you will see that I recommended an email to Tom asking what the SPL AND ANY OTHER differences were between the two subs. Not just SPL.
If you bother to do some research on the SVS website you will also notice that the difference between the many models they offer boils down to bass extension and output (not my word, but theirs). They make no claims of the "accuracy, airiness, thump" that I could find. And Hugh is asking advice between to subs that share basically the same enclosure, but have different drivers.
To use the term "airiness" in a subwoofer borders on the comical, but that's another topic.
Maybe you know something that the designers-fabricators of the subs do not, in which case you should expand on what you say and give us some scientific facts to back up what you feel the differences between these two SVS subs might be.

 

[Dan Lindley]

John, no problems intended. I just find it interesting that your response (and those of SVS) tend to stress SPLs. Accuracy, etc, sometimes seem downplayed (except by non-comparative reviewers, including in posts by me as well). It does seem like your post emphasizes SPLs, although you do, as you rightly point out, have the part in parens about other factors.

So step back for a moment and think about what I meant by airiness. I mean where in all these comparisons are the types of subjective terms applied to subs as are often applied to wines. Is that so serious? All I wanted when I was asking about and researching SVS subs was some more of these subjective terms. I didn't want max Db/Spl (yes, I don't know the difference, yet) I just wanted accuracy and thump. It was hard to get that info.

What is serious is that Hugh asked for just such a comparison. And when I went through the exact same search process, few threads (nor my emails with SVS, including with Tom V -- and my emails to SVS asked the exact questions you ask Hugh to ask) yielded much in the way of subjective terms being brought to bear on the comparison at hand. TV likes measureable variables, and I respect that. But he had a hard time waxing with adjectives. Fair enough, and again, perhaps the best course.

Most threads have lots of adjectives about one's own sub, but few on the comparison between the PCI and the Ultra (or future plus). Lots of subjective terms in these threads, but few helpful comparisons.

I guess all I'm asking for is more subjective adjectives in COMPARATIVE reviews. Of course the more expensive SVS will kick out more SPLs. But if that is not a factor in one's given room, what else differentiates the subs?

Dan

John, that is all I meant. Maybe I wasn't clear. If so, please accept my apologies for these and any other misunderstandings.

 

[Mal P]

What would be interesting are distortion figures between the CS+ vs. the CS Ultra at say 20hz...

Cheers,
Mal