heavywear

Got the PB10 - very happy with my purchase, first speaker I've bought without ever hearing it, purely based on reviews.

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/subs_pb10_isd.htm

My favorite demo so far is the cannonball blasts in Master/Commander. Those suckers just hit me in the chest - BAM! Had an empty VHS box on top of the unit and it got blown off during that scene. Quite a difference in sound, I think my last unit was all about distortion, this one is just clean, punchy bass that yuou can feel. Thumbs up for SVS!

Big Worms

Nice sub! Congrats! SVS is going to be my next sub upgrade. What did you have before?

DthRdrX

Sounds good. I'm thinking of upgrading from a Kenwood HTIB to the new SVS 5 speaker system when it is released in the next month or so. I have a fairly small room so I have no idea which sub is the best to get. Any suggestions?

jas722

My friend has a Definitive Technology Supercube II, thought it sounded great. I was actually thinking of picking one up but its a bit expensive.

I heard great things about SVS, but a little weary since i never heard one.

Can anyone give some pros/cons who's heard these 2 subs.

My other hardware:

Fronts: Def Tech promonitor 700s
center: Def Tech C2 - gonna upgrade to a CLR 2500
rears: Def Tech promonitor 100
Reciever: Yamaha RX-V2500

Thanks

chipmac

I have the SVS PB10 also. I just got it a few weeks ago and it's one of those things that when you hear it you just start smiling involuntarily. I had the same reaction when I bought my 55" Mits which was my first big screen TV. My room size is 13' x 24' and it pressurizes it beautifully. I find myself going through my DVDs to find specific scenes just to hear how great they sound now. Some of the best have been Finding Nemo (the Darla scene), The Haunting DTS (shitty movie but damn fine bass), U571 depth charge scene, The Incredibles, Master and Commander, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars prequels, Jurassic Park trilogy and Minority Report.

I also bought it without ever hearing one based only on the rave reviews and decided on this model after emails to SVS customer service which is also fantastic. Sound is subjective for everyone and everyone's needs are different but I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a better sub at their price point. The PB10 is their smallest sub for now (they've mentioned that they're planning a smaller one next year sometime) but it goes so low effortlessly where as many other brands struggle to hit 25 to 30Hz.

chipmac

For those of us geeks that like checking out specs and tests results take a look at this AVS link about the SVS PB10.

DJ_Longfellow

Nice, I will upgrade eventually....Mine is an older JBL (actually running my speakers through the sub still). Although, it sounds pretty good in my house, so I'm not complaining...it's just me wanting NEW things always.

Spiky

Don't be too worried if you want to try an SVS. They have a 45 day return policy, no questions asked. You'd be out no more than shipping. Uh, you won't want to return it. Really.

SC II: $900 MSRP
PB-10: $430 MSRP
Bass capability: about equal
Volume capability: SV wins
Distortion: SV wins

The thing about SVS is they are designed with these goals, all at once:
Loud without distortion
Accurate
Low bass
Flat response

Size does not matter to SVS, only the best combination of the above 4 points with certain price points. Their subs tend to be somewhat large physically.

The Def Tech is designed with those in mind, but is also designed to be small, and suffers with higher distortion and less flat response in order to get that 12" cube size.

A different comparison:
At the $900 price of the SC II, the SVS 2039PC+ will crush it. Lower, louder, more accurate, although physically bigger. (17" diameter by 39" tall cylinder) There is no way a company like Def Tech can match the capability of an SVS at the same price. I'm sure they can match it, but they will charge far more. I've only heard one sub (Martin Logan) that could match the 2039PC+ that was not an SVS. And that one retails for $3000. (not that I've heard all that many subs, just a price comparison) And the ML couldn't go as deep, but matched well down to below 20Hz.

I have upgraded to a different sub, but I still think the 2039PC+ is probably the best deal in subs on the planet. Ridiculous, insane capabilities for the price. It literally took my breath away and scared the shit out of my children.

jas722

thanks for the info. I don't have the room for the SVS 2039PC+ but it sounds like a great sub, ugly thou.

I'm thinking of going with the pb10, It sounds great from the reviews and I don't think I have room for anything bigger.

heavywear

I had a Radio Shack powered 10-inch. Optimus I guess? It served it's purpose but what night and day difference between the two. The PB10 is quite large, I was surprised at the box size on my front porch. No way to hide that from my wife. (My goal was to simply swap one black box in the corner of the room with another...FOILED again!)

heavywear

chipmac, just curious what you have your settings at? I pretty much just plugged mine in and put the volume half way up

I also upgraded my front mains to a set of ascend acoustics CBM-170s. Just re-doing all of the wiring and I am Done! ( I think I may have a speaker out of phase somewhere, having to turn the sound up more than normal)

chipmac

After a little bit of calibration with Avia. I've got my receiver's sub output set at +4 on a scale of -10 to +10, the SVS's gain at the forth notch from minimum and the phase at about 70 degrees. I'm still trying to find an ideal setting for the phase to tame some nulls in the 40 to 60Hz range.

Spiky

Do you just mean the sub? If you are talking about overall volume, it could be your new speakers are not as efficient as the old ones. This would make them need a bit more juice to achieve the same volume. Normal, if true.

heavywear

Yeah, I was talking overall, thanks. sounds normal

thanks for the tips chipmac

Brian Shannon

Good choice! My 2039 is fantastic and I routinely get compliments about the sub during theater demos

B.A.

I keep trying to convince my dad that he should at least be running dual-PB10's or upgrade to a bigger sub. He thinks I'm nuts.

heavywear

My single pb10 is so punchy, i cant imagine 2 in the same room. Maybe in a huge room

jas722

Some people are crazy with the Bass, look at some of the theaters at Avs forum. People on their have subs for each individual channel and then a dedicated sub for the lfe channel.

In fact I see a thread over their now that has a contest on who can play the daria finger tapping on the fishtank scene the loudest. Some of the results are crazy.

But from what i hear of the sub one does plenty for even a large room.

Terrell

I almost bought an SVS. But since I already had a Velodyne HGS-18, I opted for an additional HGS-18, rather than mix n match.

Probably 5 years from now, I'll get an SVS.

Spiky

Shouldn't be much need if you have 2 Velo 18s. Price is the only factor in that comparison. MAYBE the SVS Ultras are better. But not much.

Hubcap

svs will be my next upgrade to my home theater. Just waiting until i can get the extra cash to purchase the one I want.

B.A.

My dad's room is huge - it's half (approximately 1000 sqft.) of a finished basement.