SVS subs The Bad News (1 Viewer)

[James Zos]

I'm sick of everybody on this forum bashing SVS! All I ever hear around here are negative/anti-SVS comments. Doesn't anybody have anything GOOD to say about SVS?

 

[Donald Shrum]

I have something bad to say!!! I don't HAVE ONE!!!!!

Donald

 

[Leif Wall]

I have a 20-39cs. It's pretty nice. I think I'm going to go with dual or quad Tempests next though.

 

[Andrew Walbert]

I wouldn't mind seeing a B2-Plus, just so I can brag that I have a B2 (as in the Stealth Bomber). Actually, if I could, I'd get four B4-Plus's and construct a sofa over them. Talk about feeling the bump!

 

[Lynn Johnson]

I actually have a bad report on the SVS. My mom has a 25-31PCi, and while I was there, an older cousin of hers had to have it turned nearly all the way down as she said she felt it in her chest, and felt scared she would have a heart attack or something. Lucky for me, whenever I visit, usually my mom is the only one there, and she cranks it ALL the way up! She is a bass-head, as it applies to movies and old music. Go figure...so, in a nutshell, they are fantastic subs.

 

[elMalloc]

holy smokes we watched toy story 2, it shook the room. I'm going to be playing that stuff again soon so I can find out the rattling I heard in the room to get that stuff fixed. It can shake your legs and you can feel it in your chest..just an amazing sub.

 

[Guy Usher]

I do have an issue with this sub, although its response is flat (+/- 2db) to 20hz the sound seems a little "spongy" for lack of a better word, however I have only had it for 1 week and still have work to do, moved it around a little today, ran pink noise thru it for the first 24 hours at a level of about 1 watt just to loosen up the surround, calibrated it about 3db higher than the other speakers. One problem is my crossover cuts at 80hz and my NHT super Ones start their roll off at about 125 which is leaving a hole about 6db at 100 hz making the system appear a little thin. The NHTs are rated down to 57 ya right, they will go to 60 but down about 20db when set to large.
Also I dont think I have enough amp, I am using one side of a 981 Rotel (130@8), I am going to fill the hole at 100hz first to fatten it up a little then go from there.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[DavidAM]

If your SVS is collecting dust on the baseplate, that just means you're not playing it loud enough

 

[Luke_Y]

The only bad thing I can tell you about SVS is that they are: Highly regarded, An excellent value, Backed by apparently excellent customer service,
And they come in a physical form that there is absolutely not a snowballs chance in hell of me getting past the SAF :frowning:

 

[elMalloc]

My receiver cuts only at 100hz. I have infinity studio monitor mains (20 years old) and are rated to go down to about 40hz with around 100db sensitivity. I have norh rears which roll off much higher I presume, but it's doing a decent job of integrating. THe subwoofer is "overpowreing" me right mainly because I didn't really have a subwoofer before (home theater in box). It's an amazing thing to be so quiet sometimes and then come alive during a scene, then just add subtle effects to the sound the rest of the movie.

-ELmO

 

[CaseyLS]

My complaint- We dont have enough room in our dorm to throw that bad boy in a corner. At school it sounds good but at home it's just terrific.

Oh my other complaint is my mom keeps making me put it back under the Christmas tree after my dad leaves for the week.
mom=mean dad=cool

 

[SVS-Ron]

Elmo,

The key in this case (if you haven't already) is to beg, borrow or steal (JK) a Radio Shack sound meter. It is simply the ONLY way to be sure your mains and sub levels are set correctly. It's impossible to do by ear.

Likewise, see if your receiver allows for different bass level settings with different inputs or playback modes. Many do. You can set your sub level lower for CD/Stereo playback for instance relative to what yo run for movies (Dolby Digital/DTS DVD).

Ron

 

[Guy Usher]

Although my sub/amp connections were correct according to red is right theory I reversed the polarity, actualy I moved it from the left channel to the right channel and it woke up, what a difference, I have had amps and speakers in the past that the + and - were backwards thats all I can figure here, one or the other (amp most likely) was backwards, no more "spongy" bass as I called it earlier.
Also I pushed my NHTs closer to the wall helping to fatten up the thinness it had at 100hz, helped. Most houses I have lived in or been in have all been hot at 50-60hz not this one no "room bump" even with my other subs. It has a slab floor (carpeted) and is brick on the outside, also insulated verywell. I have had to live with that 6to 8db bump at 50 for so long I have to get used to what a flat response really sounds like.
This phrase is getting wore out but I am impressed with the 2039s performance at any price and I am not new to subs, been using them since the early 70s, set up right they can be fine, wrong they can be a nitemare. If it is there I want to hear it if not I dont.

 

[BryanZ]

ELmO,
Just one quick thing regarding the 3.0s. They do go down to 75Hz so when they roll off shouldn't be an issue if you have the receivers crossover set somewhere between 80 and 100Hz. I used to own a pair.

 

[JeffMuller]

the space between the baseplate and the speakers has a tendency to collect dust

I was just noticing that this weekend

 

[John Geelan]

Their only drawback is their size, the Wife usually doesn't go for large round towers in the living room.

I bought the smaller 25-31CS+ and my wife could live with that one.

I couldn't imagine what a 16-46 would look like in a room.

Other than that its a great product with excellent customer service.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

Well, the drawback I've noticed on my 25-31 (tuned to 22HZ) is that I once left a copy of the New Republic on top of it. I then put on Toy Story 2 and during the opening scene the magazine shot about 2 feet into the air. Scared the crap out of me.:b Since I hate being startled it was quite annoying.
If you subscribe to TNR or other journals of opinion; and you aren't completely careful with where you put them; and if you don't like be startled, this is something to consider. Ron should really have taken this into consideration when he designed the things.

 

[Robb Roy]

The guilt you can feel for selling your more expensive, but not as good, subwoofer to someone who you like. You try to console yourself with the knowledge that his wife would never let him have an SVS, but still... If I had done that after the announcement of their boxed line, I don't know that I could've done it...

 

[Steven Simon]

LOL!!! What a thread...
The Bad:
1: They shake my Kitchen Wear one story up while playing low LFE.....
2: They wake people up out a dead sleep.....
3: They are breaking the Wood Framing of my House....
4: What more can you ask for??? SVS rocks!!!!!

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Though I don't own one (I built a similar clone) I bet most of us who have great performing subs most likely will answer neighbors, neighbors are some of the bad news of owning a great sub (I feel sorry for those in apt, duplexes, and townhouses as I bet it's very rare to unleash the full potential of the beast).