SVS sub questions (1 Viewer)

[Craig Beierlein]

I have a couple questions regarding the SVS 20-39-PC sub, and I know there are tons of owners out there to answer my questions.
1) As far as placement, do they need to be out in open space or can they be placed behind a chair or recliner in the corner of the room
2) I'm considering two units. I know SVS recommends placing two sise by side, but It's not possible in my listening room. Does anyone have two 20-39's in opposite corners ? What are the results (again,both would be behind chairs)
3)Does anyone have experience with the SVS in a head to head demo with the Sunfire True Sub Signature ?

 

[SVS-Ron]

Craig,
User input might be more valuable to you but I'll throw in what I have handy.
First, you can put subs in a more restricted area, as long as it's not a closet with the door closed you should be fine.
Second, you can put the subs in opposite corners but we highly recommend the infinitely variable phase control of the PC line if you do this. With a bit of phase tweaking you can get nearly as good response as with two subs together (nearly). On the other hand if you DON'T adjust them I found I could nearly COMPLETELY cancel ALL low bass by the perfectly wrong phase adjustment with two subs in opposite corners. I did this on purpose of course but it's scary to feel two subs cranking and not hear any bass at all.
Last, there was an extensive review that I meant to archive but I'm having trouble finding it at the moment. It compared a Sunfire "Siggy" to an SVS 20-39PC I think. In a high-end store no less. In short we trounced the Sunfire in just about every subjective evaluation, at a fraction of the cost of course. Here's a different review but it wasn't of a Signature sub: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/038587.html
Hope that helps a little, if the fine customer that posted the Signature review still has it on file I'd sure appreceiate you digging it out. (I might still find it here!) Starting next week we'll be offering free SVS T-Shirts to the best review of the month (here, e-mailed to us or on Audio Review), so keep those notes coming you just might find a new, rare and highly prized full-color t-shirt on your doorstep!
Those that just want to pretend they won the "SVS Review of the Month" t-shirt will be able to buy one for under $20. A bargain at twice the price!
Ron

 

[Craig Beierlein]

Ron,
Thanks for responding to my inquiry's. Upon further looking into the product line and post from this site, I'm thinking that the way for me to go is a single CS-Ultra sub instead of 2 20-39 pc units. From the post i've read it seems the performance would be comparable between the two setups.
I did see Parker's CS-Ultra PC sub but did not see it on the SVS website, is this available ?
Craig

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

>>>Ron,
Thanks for responding to my inquiry's. Upon further looking into the product line and post from this site, I'm thinking that the way for me to go is a single CS-Ultra sub instead of 2 20-39 pc units. From the post i've read it seems the performance would be comparable between the two setups.>I did see Parker's CS-Ultra PC sub but did not see it on the SVS website, is this available ?
Craig

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

I should have mentioned,
I'm guessing a SIG and a 20-39PC would have approx the same clean output capability down to about 20hz..under 20hz the SIG might have the slightest advantage...but it might not...just guessing.
TV

 

[SVS-Ron]

Craig,
Thanks to Rick Radford, we discovered the review I thought was lost. I pile up various writings for additions now and again to our reviews page and somehow misplaced this one by one of our customers named Adam. He did what you might expect, did his own testing at home. But then did something you might not expect. He actually took his sub down to a local home theater equipment dealer, (the same one that told him he'd "regret not getting the Sunfire Signature") and wagered his staff would pick the SVS as the better of the two, and at less than half the price. When the dust had settled Adam won his bet and got a CD changer below cost. The shop even asked to hold on to it a while and demo it some more.
So here's Adam's story. And since you asked specifically about Sunfire's great Signature subwoofer I felt it was a story worth repeating (and yes, I will post it to our site this time!)
--------------------------------
SVS 20-39 REVIEW
Part 1:
For audio testing I used CDs played via my Sony changer and DVDs played via my JVC 723GD. The test CDs were: Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, Eagles Hell Freezes Over, DMX It's Dark and Hell is Hot, and Titanic Soundtrack DTS. Movies used: Haunting DTS, Jackal DTS, Tomorow Never Dies (Silver Version), Titan AE, Armageddon Criterion, and Aliens. I opted not to use U571 because I felt that while it had a nice amount of low bass I found the other 5 channels lacking I wanted to see how the sub worked with the material as a whole.
Well the first thing that I have to say is they do a hell of a job packaging it. Double boxed with more bubble wrap then I know what to do with. The second thing that comes to mind is MY GOD IT'S BIG. I mean I thought my Klipsch RF3 were a decent size speaker but the 20-39 dwarfed it, I was in AWE.
Well first thing I tested was music. The Klipsch did a great job with Dark Side of the Moon and the 20-39 was a great match to it. As you know the Klipsch just sing and handle the mids and highs wonderfully, the 20-39 was the perfect match. The SVS didn't skip a beat with Eagles Hell Freezes over nor did it struggle with the wave after wave after wave of crescendos on Titan.
The SVS didn't skip a beat with Eagles Hell Freezes over nor did it struggle with the wave after wave after wave of crescendos on Titanic. Where it did have problems was with DMX. The SVS sounded like a "ghetto blaster" yes the bass was tight and it was on the money but it was so loud and boomy that I just felt like it reminded me of being in the inner city and seeing people with SUVs pumping rap music. Well in terms of bass reproduction with music I have to say it met and exceeded my expectations.
Moving to movies, it didn't struggle at all with any of the material, and I swear in the Jackal I thought for sure that I had been shot when Bruce Willis blows off the guys hand. It was that amazing. AS for the haunting well you can only imagine, yes I did the coming mother scene and I was more than impressed. I have to say that it blended perfectly.
The thing I really like about the SVS is the fact that it offers an auto power on function. My old Infinity HPS 250 had to be manually powered on which was a pain in the ass. In terms of features, build quality, and performance all I can say is for the 750.00 less the 300 I sold my sub for this is gotta be the best sub I have ever heard.
Part 2:
To continue testing the SVS I called the store manager over at my local Tweeter. He's a really nice guy and he told me I'd regret not getting the Sunfire. Well we have a bet going, I'm bringing the SVS with me to Tweeter to do a double blind test with 5 employees there, if they pick the SVS I get a Sony Mega Changer for half of list (about 125.00), if I lose I still win sort, I have to buy the M333ES mega changer. They get more "kudos" for selling ES. Either way I get a changer, my bet is on the SVS.
This morning at 6:3am I brought the SVS in to Tweeter. I had one of the guys (Jim) there set up both subs in one of the demo rooms. Another employee would be doing the sub switching and Mark and 4 other employees would be doing the voting. Me, I was there to keep track of the results and to switch CDs and DVDs.
EQUIPMENT USED FOR THE TEST: SVS 20-39, Sunfire Signature, Denon AVR-3801 - Two of them (one was connected to the SVS, the other to the Sunfire), Speakers used were the Klipsch reference line (RF3, RS3, RC3), DVD Panasonic RP91, CD Player Krell something or other (it's the 3000 single disc one).
CONNECTIONS and SETTINGS: DVD was connected via coaxial and the CD player connected via optical. Speakers set to small, for CD we used both direct and stereo mode, and for DVD we used the DTS track if available of the DD one if not. The system was calibrated this morning using Avia and the 75db (-12 on the Denons) was used for DVD while a 65DB setting was used for CD.
TEST CRITERIA: With 5 people voting a majority vote for either sub A(Sunfire) or Sub B(SVS) would indicate a win for that sub. None of the 5 knew which sub was witch and neither did eye. All of the 5 had to keep their eyes closed though, I didn't want them peaking at the Sunfire to see if it moved.
Everyone was pretty much just blown away at the size of the 20-39, it is damn large, and they felt that it was an unfair test because of it. However when I told them the amp specs they felt more comfortable.
TEST RESULTS PART I: CD Audio
Darkside Of The Moon: Winner by 3 to 2 vote the SVS. Comments were that Sub B (SVS) simply was too overwhelming and that Sub A lacked consistency and did not blend well. One comment about the Sunfire was that it seemed to be out of phase because it was simply not blending correctly.
Titanic DTS: Winner by a 4 to 1 vote the SVS. People agreed with my own thoughts that the multiple cymbal crashes and other deep passages made the SVS the perfect sub. The Sunfire while producing great bass was not able to keep up with the constant continual demands the soundtrack asked for.
Eagles Hell Freezes Over: By a 3 to 2 vote the Sunfire won, again people felt the SVS was just too damn overwhelming (guess they never knew what real bass was). The Sunfire they felt blended well.
It's Dark and Hell is Hot: As with most rap albums there is a great deal of consistent bass though not necessarily deep. I personally thought that things would end up as a push because based on their previous comments I figured they would again feel that the SVS was too overwhelming. Well I was wrong the SVS won buy a 5 to 0 vote. The felt that the SVS was reproducing exactly what it was supposed to whilst the Sunfire lacked punch.
TEST RESULTS PART II: DVD Audio
Jackal DTS: Two scenes were used the one with Bruce Willis is testing the gun and shoots off the guys arm. And the scene where Bruce unloads the bullets at the first lady. The SVS won hands down 5 to 0. It was amusing watching these guys jump when serious bass kicked in. Remember they were blindfolded or had their eyes closed so it was pretty cool.
Haunting DTS: Coming mother scene was used. Hmmm...guess who won? You got it the SVS. The ability to go low and bee loud simply won the guys over. The vote was 4 to 1.
Titan AE: Ice Crystal scene. Well you guessed it the SVS won by a 5 to 0 margin. Again the complaint was the Sunfire couldn't keep up with continuous bass with wave after wave of low LFE.
Tomorrow Never Dies: Missile firing scene in the beginning and the explosions in the first 2 1/2 scenes. Well the SVS won this one but it was close, there was a 3 to 2 vote. Both camps felt their choice gave things the extra umpf. The SVS comments were the felt the explosions.
Armageddon Criterion: End scene when the asteroid blows up. The SVS won again by a 3 to 2 vote. Again comments were along the lines of they felt the bass.
TESTING SUMMARY RECAP: For CD audio the SVS won 3 to 1 and for DVD Audio the SVS won 5 to 0. Comments about the SVS were it produced bass you could feel and was amazing at producing the repetitive wave after wave of LFE. The negatives were that it seemed to be too powerful and overwhelming. As for the Sunfire the general feeling was it lacked punch and the ability to produce clean bass in a wave after wave scenario.
So after the tests were done I had them open their eyes and showed them their winner. I know many of you are wondering, what did Mark choose. Well out of the 9 tests he chose the SVS 7 times and the Sunfire twice. The two times he picked the SVS were for Armageddon and for Dark Side of the Moon. The thing was these guys didn't know how much the SVS was. So after some chit chat, I said to Mark and the guys, "Hey how much do you think the SVS costs?" I got answers ranging from 1200 to 2000. When I told them 750.00 SHIPPED, they were amazed, wish I had a picture of what they looked like. Since I had to run to work, I told Mark he could keep the SVS at Tweeter till picked it up this afternoon. He's going to be demo’ing it out for people today. I think they'll be impressed.
MY THOUGHTS: The thing I really like about the SVS is the fact that it offers an auto power on function. My old Infinity HPS 250 had to be manually powered on which was a pain in the ass. In terms of features, build quality, and performance all I can say is for the 750.00 less the 300 I sold my sub for this is gotta be the best sub I have ever heard. In terms of bang for the buck I don't think I have ever spent 750.00 as well as I just did. I can only imagine what the 16-46 sounds like. Actually I'm scared to know. Would I do it again, hell I am in a few weeks, I'm gonna order another one!!!!
Adam

 

[SVS-Ron]

Server problem induced dual post!
[Edited last by SVS-Ron on September 09, 2001 at 09:43 AM]

 

[Tom Weeks]

I just hooked up my 20-39PC last week. If just one sounds this strong, I can't imagine what two would do. I have mine in a corner, but initially it was a tad too close to the walls. I pulled it out another 5 inches and it made a big difference. I don't know how large your room is but I imagine you would be able to break windows in your next door neighbors house with just a single 20-39.----TJW

 

[Rick Radford]

>>I imagine you would be able to break windows in your next door neighbors house with just a single 20-39.>initially it was a tad too close to the walls. I pulled it out another 5 inches and it made a big difference

 

[Tom Weeks]

Rick, My SVS is about a foot from either wall on the corner. Breaking windows might have been a slight exageration (but not by much).. At first I had the speaker sitting probably 5 in. from either wall and was not real pleased in its performance. When I pulled it out about another 7 in. it really made a difference. I was playing a scene from The Matrix for some friends the other night and was far below my reference point, my friends wife said it was hitting so hard it made her stomach sick. I read one post about an SVS making somebodys dog throw up, maybe it works on people too. TJW

 

[Doug_B]

Those that just want to pretend they won the "SVS Review of the Month" t-shirt will be able to buy one for under $20. A bargain at twice the price!

So should I buy a 25-31 shirt, a 20-39 shirt, or a 16-46 shirt? And when will those Ultra and SS shirts be available?
Oh, my mistake, I didn't realize that the shirt size dictated the sub.

------------------
"Today is a good day to die." ...Old Lodge Skins

 

[Rick Radford]

I pulled the SVS from being tucked into the corner to about 8 or 9 inches out from the corner walls, and I can already tell a major difference.

I wish I had more space, but I only have a 39" area for both my main speaker and the sub.. so I can only pull the main out so far into the room to allow the SVS some breathing room.
I wonder if the space from the corner is room dependent.. or if there's general space requirement for these subs?
------------------
--RR

 

[Shanthi]

Does anybody compared it to HSU TN1220, or any link where review of both the products are?
Thanks