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SVS SB-3000's added to Catfisch Cinema (1 Viewer)

Clinton McClure

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Second post added to give more background than you want on why I chose this subwoofer. I can't do the audio expertise the way a John Dirk or Dave Upton or JohnRice can. But hopefully I can get into some lifestyle aspects that will be of interest and help people make pragmatic choices.
I’m waiting to read about how they sound beside the seating area.
 

John Dirk

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Second post added to give more background than you want on why I chose this subwoofer. I can't do the audio expertise the way a John Dirk or Dave Upton or JohnRice can. But hopefully I can get into some lifestyle aspects that will be of interest and help people make pragmatic choices.
I think you're in for a massive treat, regardless of placement choice but I would still recommend downloading and delving into REW. It's the only real way to get objective data concerning your subs performance especially since, like me, you're otherwise at the mercy of Audyssey.
 

DaveF

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I think you're in for a massive treat, regardless of placement choice but I would still recommend downloading and delving into REW. It's the only real way to get objective data concerning your subs performance especially since, like me, you're otherwise at the mercy of Audyssey.
I’m curious and interested. A friend has an REW laptop and microphone already, I think. I’ll keep it in mind for when opportunity allows to get into it.
 

JohnRice

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I’m curious and interested. A friend has an REW laptop and microphone already, I think. I’ll keep it in mind for when opportunity allows to get into it.
It's totally worth it. One of the things I've found especially useful is using it to fine tune the phase of the subs for best integration. That's after analyzing placement. You simply can't hear this stuff.
 

JohnRice

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This just reinforces my belief that hiring an installer never goes well.
 

DaveF

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It’s not that simple.

I gave it hard consideration: Spend five years of all my nights and weekends doing it myself? Or hire it out.

It went well. But not perfectly. Without an installer, I’d have *no* home theater. With the installer, I have a marvelous room that I’ve enjoyed for four years and counting. But as with other small contractors I’ve hired over the years, there is a higher risk of the company mis-bidding, suffering financial and schedule problems during installation, and etc.

If you have the wherewithal and time and interest in having a hobby of building your own theater room — and people definitely do and they do amazing things — then absolutely do it.

But if you know that realistically you can’t build the room you want, then hire it out. And as with any major purchase, ask others who‘ve already done it what worked well and what they’d do differently. :)
 

JohnRice

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I think you're including all of the construction with the "installer". Yeah, sure, get a contractor to do the construction part, but so-called A/V installers seem to be a problem. It seems to me, they all have installer exclusive lines, and that's what you get in your room. I've seen too many "Professional" installers equip entire, supposedly high end systems with all in-ceiling speakers, and who belittle any other option, for example. Cheaply made, overpriced, mystery brand speakers and low grade electronics.
 

DaveF

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I think you're including all of the construction with the "installer".
Yes. Installer can do full design, construction, A/V integration.

I looked into piecing out the parts: design, construction, hardware, installation. I did some interviews to explore it. And some people take this approach; it has its benefits. For me, I couldn’t manage multiple independent contractors while working my day job. :)
 

DaveF

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So Dave, where did you end up settling for your new sub locations and how does it sound?
The short answer is they’re still next to the front seats facing forward where I initially put them, and they sound awesome! I ran Audyssey on the entire system, and that’s all I’ve done to tune them.

I’ve listened to demos and watched a bunch of my normal content and some movies. But I haven’t had time to compose more detailed review / discussion comments yet.
 

DaveF

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When I have time to write a review it will start with this sentence:

It cannot be overstated how good subwoofers make all the speakers sound better.
 

JohnRice

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I am positively sold on sealed subwoofers. The old adage of sealed is only for music is a thing of the past. I think the one requirement is that they need to not be total budget models. Probably about $500 is where sealed starts to shine. You need enough power to get them to perform, since sealed designs simply need more power than ported. The benefit is that sealed should never get sloppy. Once you're getting into the higher end and you have large, stout drivers and tons of power, it's simply the way to go. Plus they're generally so much smaller and easier to fit into a room. Servo controlled models should overcome the weaknesses of ported designs, but servo controlled and sealed is another thing, though I've only ever had that with the Velodyne ULD-18 I had 25 years ago. The electronics on that were too limited and I was never able to blend it into the system properly.
 

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