Which SVS sub?
 

I am currently building up my HT equipment. I have so far a big TV and a Denon 3802 AVR amp. I plan on getting some Ruark Prelude reference floortstanders, Ruark Dialogue centre and some MK4 surrounds....

...but which sub?

It seems that SVS are flavour of the month - and well with my budget (£500 to £800 -or- $730 to $1,070).

Unfortunately there aren't any UK dealer so if I choose to go down the SVS route I'll won't be able to listen before I buy.

I want a sub that is going to play music as well as movies - and it is important to me that the sub is capable of going very very low - and clear. I want to be able to feel it.

I would appreciate any comments anyone has regarding which SVS sub I should go for - taking into account the size of my room and the rest of my system.

Is it possible that the 16-46CS+ would be too much for the size of my room - and my overshadow the rest of my system - and if so - would I quite easily be able to overcome this by ajusting the settings on the woofer?

And would anyone be able to suggest any rough guidelines to follow regarding integrating a sub with the rest of your HT components?

Any advice and help would be most appreciated.

...........sorry - my room is 12 x 12 !! :-)

Call them up and ask them, they are very friendly and are more than willing to help you select the right sub for you, your system and your room.

I am currently having an email conversation with them. I asked the question on here because I am after impartial advice.

I'm particualy interested in the 16-46PCi

:-)

I only know that I will be buying one in the future. I have no first hand experience with them as yet. My preference based on specs is the 25-31 pci.

As long as your sub is properly calibrated, it should not overwhelm the rest of your system. While some subs will definately play louder then others, if your sub will play at "reference" volume cleanly then you will not really benefit from buying extra headroom. In a 12 x 12 room there are many subs that will play low and loud at over 100 db's.

Before you buy an SVS, look into Hsu Research's new VTF-3 powered sub (www.hsuresearch.com). In a review by several people who one SVS subs, they all preferred the VTF-3 to the SVS. They say it has better control, more extension, and played louder then the SVS 20-39. Their VTF-2 is no slouch either.

Check out hometheaterforum.com for the review.

I own 2 SVS 16-46+'s and love them. I also have heard very good things about the HSU VTF-3. I've got some pictures of my SVS's below.

http://home.pacbell.net/rajeek/theater.html

I have a 25-31CS in my 12x14 room, and it provides as much bass as I could possibly want. This is not to say that it overshadows the rest of the speakers because, as someone already pointed out, if you have properly calibrated this will not be an issue.

The 16-46 will definitely fit the bill for your requirements of "very low and very clear", however it might have less of the mid-bass punch that is desirable for music, than the 25-31 would have. Tom and Ron should be able to help you out here, possibly with a custom tuning point for either sub.

As far as rough guidlines for integration, placement and calibration are the most important first steps. Usually, the best place to start for placement is in a corner. Try to use a corner of an unbroken wall. Another good suggestion is to put the sub in the primary listening position, and then walk around the room listening for the spot with the best bass response (for your ears, of course). Move the sub to this spot. You'll need an analog sound meter (Radio Shack) and either a Video Essentials or Avia DVD for properly calibrating the speaker levels (including the sub). Both discs have good step-by-step instructions.

Good luck!

If you have any DIY experience I would suggest building a sub with a Blueprint 1803 driver.

The driver, enclosure and a suitable amp would only run about $700-1000.

Done correctly that should give you the output of 3 SVS CS-Ultra subs at about 1/3rd the price.

That much bass in a 12' x 12' room is going to be incredible though:)

Very nice setup DVD-Desi :-)

did you buy both the subs at the same time? - Or did you buy one and then decided that you could have done with another? How, would you say does the one 16-46 perform on it's lonesome?

I also noticed that your SVS's are very close to your Front Right B&W - presumably you've had no adverse effects from positioning these speakers so close together?

I also plan to position my surround speakers high up on the wall - (not only are they out of the way, but I would imagine that you get a better dispersion from that position) did you consider pointing the side speakers down to the listening postion at all?


Thank-you everyone for your help and comments :-)

Tom & Ron (the owners of SVS) are actually very impartial with their recommendations.

They regularly suggest other competitors' products (like the HSU VFT-2 for those looking to stay under $500 total) when your situation doesn't allow ideally for their products (room size, type of music played, % music/home theater, $$$ situation, etc.). But your price point should make that a non-issue. I'd really trust their opinion. Their customer service is hailed nearly overwhemingly from those that've talked from them.

Generally, a 12'X12' room would work well with virtually any HSU, SVS, or Adire (consider the Dharman too) product IMHO.

The VTF-3 is one of the newest products released (& lauded as great product). In reponse to the review mentioned above, it sounded favorable when compared to an older SVS (with an outdated driver) that's roughly 1/2--2/3's the cost of the VTF-3 (not exactly a fair comparison...apples to apples I say). SVS will be releasing its PC+ series in the next month or so which should be more than equal (price & performance-wise) to the VTF-3. Ask Tom/Ron about them in your correspondence.

That said...not trying to sway you one way or another (both companies' products beat out any of the crap you'd find in a retail store, but you probably already knew that). You really can't go wrong with either.

I got both the 16-46+'s at the same time. I had dual 20-39's prior to that but sold those and upgraded. They are in a simple word AWSOME. Will really deep bass movies I can really feel the bass energy shake the room and you can feel that pressure wave rush by, it's quite an experience. I have never had only on SVS, but adding another gives you an extra 6dB of headroom.

I have not had any problems with them right next to my B&W's.

As far as the rear speakers. I like them higher up for the dispersion of the sound and really don't like them too low, because at $600 a price I don't want anybody near them to knock them over. That's just too expensive a mistake. With the custom made stands I made for them, the back rears do point down a bit, but the sides don't. Thats just the way they came out.