Two 10" sub comparrison - SVS vs. ED (1 Viewer)

[Cpt.America]

Since I am on a relivatilvly tight budget, I have narrowed my choice of subs down to these two based on many recommendations I have found via searching my tail off on the forums here. Out of these two, which would you pick and why? It looks like one is a tad more powerfull, but a tad more expensive. Lets keep apples to apples and figure the price into which you would choose. I am on a budget, and if you tell me the cheaper of the two will perform JUST as well... so be it

Elemental Designes A3 - 250 Subwoofer : $375

or

SVS Sound PB10 - NSD : $429

Thanks for the tips!

Cpt.America

 

[Cpt.America]

FYI, this will be mated up to a pair of Polk FTi10s, in a small/medium sized living room.

 

[Robert_J]

SVS for two reasons - 1. The owners of SVS met here. You can go back to the forum archives and see the passion when building their own projects. That is evident in their current products. 2. If they are still using the same driver engineer, then he is amazing. I've used some custom built 15" drivers of his when he was employed by TC Sounds.

eD isn't bad. But they are relatively new to the home theater market.

-Robert

 

[Cpt.America]

Robert.. thanks for the recommendation. It appears to be the better driver to me as well. I have the NSD-10 in my budget for my new setup... and I think it is what I am going to go with. Do you think it will make a good match with a pair of Polk RTi10s? I don't see why not?

 

[Robert_J]

You don't match the sub with the speakers. You match the sub with the room and your expectations. The SVS will provide a good foundation for your sound system. Will it provide Earth shaking bass at reference levels in an open floor plan room? Absolutely not. it's only a 10" sub. It can't defy the laws of physics.

What size room do you have? Is it open to other rooms? Action movies? Music? How loud do you like to listen?

-Robert

 

[Cpt.America]

Ok, thanks. That of course makes sense. Right now I rent, so there isn't really a fixed size room my home theatre will live in. I would have to say the room wouldnt be larger than something like 14 or 15 feet on the long edge. I think a 300 watt 10" driver will certainly be plenty. I listen to music loud on occasion, but not roof shakingly loud. I'm pretty confident that a ~300 watt 10" will be enough, I just dont' want to buy a crappy product. I am just looking for the most bang for buck for around $400.

 

[Robert_J]

Then the SVS will provide the best bang you can get for that price.

I'm a bass snob so I'm a little more critical of certain subs' designs. I have two working subs, five subs in construction, parts to build 7 more and then about a dozen drivers that don't have a project planned for them yet.

-Robert

 

[Cpt.America]

Thanks for more info, Robert. I am definitly leaning towards the SVS subs for bang-for-the-buck, but I don't want to make the mistake of getting the 10, then only ending up wishing I had the 12" driver. At what point (room size, application, etc) would the 10 become inadequite?

 

[Robert_J]

There is no hard and fast rule on what size sub works best in what sized room. It's always best to go too big. With proper calibration a dozen subs will never overpower the rest of the system. Too much sub just means that it doesn't have to work as hard. The harder you push a speaker, the more it distorts. If you take a 10" and push it to 90% of its mechanical capabilities and take a 12" sub and it only uses 50% of its mechanical ability to equal the 10" model, then the 12" will sound better. It will have much less distortion than the 10". .01% and .1% distortion can't be discerned by ear. Not even 1% is audible in the sub range. But when you start to reach 10% that's when you can hear it. And that's what happens as you reach limits.

I still recommend the SVS 10" because it is in your budget. If you want more, you can add another later. There is also a good resell market here for SVS subs. Or you can buy used or B-stock 12" SVS subs. The only way to get a better bang for the buck is building it yourself.

-Robert

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Hey Brandon,

Drop us a line with your room dimensions and we can give you an idea of what you can expect from either the PB10 or PB12-NSD. No one ever regrets having more headroom.

 

[Robert_J]

Hey Jack. When did you join the SVS team? Is that why you disappeared from most of the forums? Is Stephen still designing drivers for you guys?

-Robert

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Hey Robert,

Been with SVS a few months. Very busy, but my primary distraction from the forums turned 2 a few months ago.

Yup, Stephen's here. Some scary smart people 'round these parts.