SVS Subwoofers, Popularity Justified?

After watching that video of course I had to listen for a hum or buzz. Nothing from seven feet away. When I got down on my hands and knees and put my ear up to the rear of my SB-3000 there was not a hum or buzz, but rather what could be described as a faint high pitch whine. But I had to put my ear within 6-8 inches of the amp plate with no music playing to hear it. My power amp's transformer is way louder than this.

I called SVS and asked them about it. Was told it was completely normal. They assured me it would not get louder as the sub got more mileage on it. There's no way I can hear the whine from two feet away, let alone seven feet away. And with soft classical music playing, I have to get my ear to within 2-3 inches of the amp plate to hear the 'whine'. Also, I'm not hearing any similar sound through the woofer. Whatever the reviewer in that video was hearing is something that I can not duplicate with my unit.

M. M.

 

Good thing you don’t listen with the subwoofers stuck to your head like headphones

 

Every sub that I own/have owned has been completely silent. As have all of my other class "D" amps.

No whine either from any of the plate amps.

 

My Velodyne DD12 finally died after 14 years. So I'm looking for a new sub, and SVS is on the short list. The SB3000 is looking like the sweet spot in the company's line of sealed box offerings. However, I do like the front panel control and handheld remote offered with the SB4000, but that thing is big and heavy, and I'm not getting any younger. Hence, my leaning toward the SB3000.

I wonder if I could get a remote with the SB3000 if I paid a little extra. Hmmm

 

the 3000s come with the app. control with phone or tablet.
no way do i consider the 4000s they look like a dam mini fridge,

 

I was just about to buy a SVS but came across a company based out of Manville, New Jersey who were able to save my Velodyne SPL-1200 sub I purchased in 2001. All that was needed was to have the caps replaced after years of use/decay. Love my Velo. It hits hard and digs DEEP. I'm sure it will quit on me again and when it does, looking hard at the SVS. The price is VERY attractive for the 12" sub I was looking at. Sealed enclosures are hard to beat.

 

Speaking of Mini fridges, got to experience JL Audio Gotham’s a couple weeks ago. They were big. Dealer said they were 500 lbs. Can’t remember if that was for the pair or each

 

Thought i'd drop a dime in here, and comment on SVS's excellent customer service.

I just purchased a pair of used SB13 Ultra's. While demoing the subs, I noticed that the dustcap on one of the drivers was starting to separate from the paper cone. While I knew it didn't affect the performance of the sub, I played the game and got the seller to lower the price. To ease the apprehension, the seller and I got on the phone with SVS, and they offered to send out a new driver no questions asked. I already had a tracking number before I left the guys house. On top of that, they answer any question I have in detail, and I usually get a response within an hour (during business hours of course).

SVS, you have a customer for life.

 

If anyone on here has the svs sb3000, what volume is it set at?

 

That will depend on such things as the room size, listening preferences, for music or for movies, etc.

What is yours set at?

 

Only music - 20

 

Ok, if it sounds good there then sit back and enjoy.

Ideally, you shouldn't notice a sub until you mute it.

 

That’s where I kept landing and by now I’m sure it’s right.

 

I bad mine to -16 to -20 with 1RCA to 1RCA cable but using a 2RCA to 1RCA cable where the 2 rcAs plug into the sb-3000, I had the volume set to -21 to -25 (in the iOS app of course).

I also frequently used the room gain compensation page in the app. Since I live in a 2 bedroom apartment having this setting off would literally make the bass be felt 2 apartment units over. So I typically used the default setting 25hz/12db but I also found much success with better integration with my Dynaudio bookshelves with only a small performance hit when listening to music using the 33hz/6db setting.

I never found any success or improvements using the PEQ’s.

I found great success messing with the phase setting. It being continuously variable was a real treat. I frequently used 45, 60, 90, 105, 135, 160, and 170.

my gripe with it wasn’t the power or specs you would see on paper, those were amazing. App was amazing too. My issue with it was for some reason it’s tone, or some other word that I don’t know because it’s hard to describe but it’s sound signature or tone or something just consistently sounded cheap and stuck out like a sore thumb when pairing it with Dynaudio speakers costing north of $3000. However, paired with the $800/1000 emit bookshelves, the svs sb-3000 integrated and sounded awesome with no nasty attenuations standing out. Bizarre I know but this is the truth I’ve observed. Worked great with $800/1000 emit m10/m20’s. Worked decent with $2000 evoke 20’s. Worked mediocre to semi disappointing with $3000 special fortys. Worked terrible with $5000 contour 20’s. I’ve had identical results with the SVS ultra center channel as well which is even more weird.

One more gripe was, the stand by setting in the iOS app does not work when in auto mode. It will always default to being on but in sleep mode. Only when using the ts mono cable input with an actual cable plugged into it, resulting in the app saying trigger cable mode or whatever, does it actually turn on and off at the appropriate times. The SB-1000 I also had did not exhibit this behavior and worked flawlessly as one would expect it to work.

a plus (or minus, depends on individual) is I clearly noticed a much larger, audible performance gain when using my Wireworld Electra 7 (OCC7N copper) 2 meter power cable with the sb-3000. Much larger of a performance increase than the sb-1000 with an equivalent c7 power connector cable (has the mini Electra 2 meter for that). The 1000 is say got a 10-15% increase but the sb-3000 I would notice like at least 30%+ increase in performance. Performance meaning the output volume level is louder to where I must lower the volume in the iOS app by 3-5. With the stock power cable I would need to use volume levels -10 to -15 but not so with the Wireworld Electra 7. Just food for thought since I’ve never shared these rather consistent findings I’ve personally noticed. Oh and ditching the stock power cable for the WW one made all bass notes become multi layered... which makes you wonder why the f do they pair their sub with the crap 16-18awg power cable that literally makes the sub have a 2dimensional, one note type bass sound signature? I understand cost cutting, but not at the expense of restricting the merchandise from spreading its legs.

fwiw my current REL subwoofers only benefit like 10% if that and sound great with their stock power cable. Must be because of the power output of the sb-3000s amp Vs the much lower output wattage in the REL T series and the sb-1000.

I wonder what brand/quality of the capacitors and other components that are used in the sb-3000 are versus like from another manufacturer like REL. the REL doesn’t have this tone issue that the SVS has. Also to note, the sb1000 also had the same tonal issue as the 3000 but to a lesser extent. Almost as if the power output scales with the intensity/noticeable impact factor...

If anyone has ever opened up a SVS SB-3000, could you share the details on what brand/model and size/values the capacitors and other components are? I do know SVS states the internal wires to the woofer or cone or something are silver plated litz wire, so maybe they also took a less cheapskate route than usual with the capacitors n stuff? If anyone knows please do tell


Ok time to sleep, was fun sharing my experience with dual SB-3000’s and for a brief moment a SB-3000 and SB-1000 setup. SVS customer service and the president of SVS are genuine and very good at prioritizing the customer and his/her needs in a realistic manner that shows real world results. I’ve always been impressed with their customer service, company/official website store customer policies and buyer/return policies, and with their products at their specific price points — specifically the SB-3000. The SB-4000 does indeed appear to be a mini fridge with a subwoofer outer costume shell and is far too heavy and large for most apartment living spaces (not including the increased neighbor complaints from lower Freq extension), but also I feel all models including the PB-3000 on up, just give me the impression I am overpaying for what I am receiving. So yeah north of $1000-1100, I start to look elsewhere for a subwoofer. I wish their iOS app would be cross platform to other subwoofers. I wish other subwoofers from other companies would adopt this app capability. I wish my last two sentences merged in a more cohesive and smooth transition. As a distant but very relevant analogy/metaphor, you could say those two sentences I wish to be merged smoothly but failed to do so is an accurate representation of how I managed to merge the sb-3000 with my Dynaudio bookshelves lol... ok good night cheers

 

Can you say who please?

 

Is this the place?
Velodyne, Sunfire, Krell, Adcom repair, Denon repair, Marantz repair, Philips repair, Mcintosh repair and services

 

I have had the SVS PB12 Plus for many moons now. It is enormous and works like a champ. It was one one the last subs they made in a cherry finish before they went to all black.

 

Three weeks ago I went from the SB-2000 to the SB-4000 and that was my fear that it would be too large.

But once I get it into the spot that the 2000 previously occupied it fits the spot very well and really does out preform the 2000 as well by a good amount.

 

the amp in my dd15 had issue a few years ago. since its not class d, i took it to a local repair shop. $200 and they had it working and its been great since. I borrowed an hsu vtf3 while it was out. was surprised at how nice the hsu was for the money, but in the end my dd15 sounded better when I got it back. I would recommend you get your dd12 fixed, or let me pick it up from you!

 

Actually, a couple of years ago I had sent the Velodyn DD12 away to be repaired. It cost several hundred dollars and then worked for only about a year and a half or so. I felt that at this point I'd rather throw $ toward a new sub rather than waste more $ on fixing a considerably older one. The DD12 has left the premises.

 

That's how I like to demo my system. I will play the Polk LSiM707's, powered by the Emotiva XPA-2, which is a 250-Watt, high current amp.

The LSiM's have plenty of bass on their own, as specially when powered by an amp like the XPA-2 (generation one).

Then I will unmute the sub and people will take notice at what a sub can bring to the party. Even though there are already hefty main speakers in play.

 

Back to the OP...

If it's not been mentioned before then it should be: SVS' customer support is outstanding!

Last week I bought a second used SVS 20-39PC+ and had it shipped to me in its original box. The box looked to be in great shape; the sub in very good shape. But when I did a quick check after unboxing it, using the bass-tortuous track Talking Body by Tove Lo, at a particular extremely low frequency the sub would let out a discordant "blatt" sound, rather than reproducing the note.

Prior to receiving the sub I had been in touch with SVS' Ed Mullen who provided very prompt and helpful information related to that specific discontinued sub of theirs. I was able to confirm that my existing sub had the upgraded "12.3" woofer and that, when it arrived, the new one had either a 12.1 or 12.2.

After checking a ton of things I had to conclude that it was the woofer itself that was faulty. (My existing woofer played the same track with aplomb, so it was not the source that was at fault.)

So I contacted Ed again and we iterated to a solution: I bought, and SVS shipped, a replacement 12" woofer (from their current line) that will be essentially equivalent to the 12.3 (which is no longer available.) Ed provided advice as to how to install it when it arrives (it has a different screw hole configuration.) I should add that my email conversations with Ed began before and ran right through the American Thanksgiving, and except for a well-deserved break on Thanksgiving Day itself, came at any and all hours. Ed was willing and able to deal with my being an "international" client in order to ship it directly to me if I had so wanted. His motto should be "I can and will help you."

A huge part of building brand loyalty.

Jeff

ps. In one of those D'Oh! moments, I contacted the seller of the sub to let him know what was up, and explaining what I was doing with SVS to replace the woofer etc. The seller told me that way back when, he had taken advantage of the SVS offer to upgrade to the 12.3 woofer, but did not hear a difference so he sent it back. In his defense, I should add that with just about any track that I've thrown at it, at anything up to moderate levels, the woofer never acted up, so I believe him completely when he said that he'd never heard it misbehave. I'm more than a stickler for these things and want to make sure that it can handle the toughest tracks at the highest levels (like my existing one does), so that it will always behave in normal use.

ps. When I finally get it working I'll update my Home Theatre thread. It's going to be used as part of a dual-sub stereo configuration within the highly-treated HT room, along with a NAD 2200 power amp and two Koss CM/1020 speakers that are already in use in a single-sub configuration.

 

Yep, that's the place. My Velo SPL-1200 has been brought back to life!

 

Comparing JL Audio vs SVS: I have two JL Audio subs F110 and F112 models and a SVS Ultra SB16. Both JL Audio and SVS are great subs but for half the cost over the JL F112, the SVS is a great buy. The only advantage i notice is the built in room correction of the JL Audio F series subs over SVS subs. If you use any outboard room correction (i use an Anthem 60 processor) there is no advantage at all. I have used service from both companies and JL Audio and SVS both have outstanding service. JMHO

 

SVS just unveiled their new SB-2000 PRO. Now works with the SVS Smartphone app. Price is up $100 to $799 for black ash, and $899 for Piano Gloss Black. Maybe deals can be had on the old SB-2000 (non Pro)...