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3M views 37K replies 3K participants last post by  schroedernd 
#1 ·

If this thread already exists, please disregard. I looked, but couldn't find it.


I recently purchased a PB Plus/2, and have been itching to share my experience so far. Here's my 5.1 set-up:


Denon AVR 5803 (Purchased Used)

Panasonic BD-55 Blu-ray Player (Analog 5.1 Outputs)

Samsung 5687 DLP

GR Research A/V3S x 3

GR Research A/V1RS x 2

SVS PB Plus/2

PURE AV Power conditioner


Listening area is 14x17x8 living room with one 8' opening to kitchen/dining area, and one opening to hallway, laminate floor with large area rug, SVS position is RF corner next to ent center (very limited in where I could put it), listening position is center of 14' wall across from TV, Not an ideal HT room, but could be worse.


Settings:


All speakers set to 75 db, with SVS running hot at about 82 db

SVS Gain at 1/4, 20 hz tune (one port plug), used the included 3M rubber feet

LFE pre-out on Denon is -2.0 db


Listening is 90/10 Movies to Music



After more research than I care to get into, I settled on the Velodyne HGS 15x and the SVS PB Plus/2. I actually ordered the Velodyne, but it was discontinued. I had decided on the Velodyne mostly because of the smaller size and the positive experience a relative of mine has had with his. The SVS and the Velodyne seemed to be close in performance based on what I had read, but

the size of the SVS was scaring me off. WAF. She's been very patient with my hobby. After the Velodyne fell through, I decided to order the SVS rather than looking elsewhere for the Velodyne. Got the size past the wife by telling her it was a lot cheaper than the Velo. I'VE NEVER LOOKED BACK!


Support from SVS before, during, and after the sale has been outstanding. It was shipped fast, and arrived on it's own pallet, very well packaged. The manual and set-up were a snap. I have since contacted SVS a couple times with questions and comments, and they always reply quickly and seem very interested in my impression of their product. Not to mention the money I saved by going with the SVS.


It's performance so far has been excellent. I had a Klipsch KSW 15 prior to the SVS, and let me tell you, this thing blows it away, and the Klipsch was no slouch. From the sock explosion in Monsters Inc. to the Tripods in WOTW, I'm lovin my new toy.


Sorry if this was a puff piece, and again, I hope an owners thread doesn't already exist. If so, let me have it, if not, lets hear about your SVS!
 
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#81 ·
My SVS is currently in the front left corner of my room. While playing test tones, there is greater bass in other parts of the room instead of the dead middle of the room where the listening position is. The only problem is the size of the sub.. I really dont have any other place to put it. Are there any other options? How about this? With the Sub in the front left corner, should the driver be facing any specific direction?
 
#82 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by darthbrooklyn /forum/post/0


My SVS is currently in the front left corner of my room. While playing test tones, there is greater bass in other parts of the room instead of the dead middle of the room where the listening position is. The only problem is the size of the sub.. I really dont have any other place to put it. Are there any other options? How about this? With the Sub in the front left corner, should the driver be facing any specific direction?

try this tip: http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/...ubwooferpl.php
 
#83 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPainMD /forum/post/0


try this tip: http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/...ubwooferpl.php


Ive done this , but i really have no other place to put the sub beacause its so large.... How about the direction the front firing woofer is placed? Would that make a difference? Woofer pointing toward the back of the room, pointing toward the other side of the room, pointing toward the front of the room?
 
#84 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by darthbrooklyn /forum/post/0


My SVS is currently in the front left corner of my room. While playing test tones, there is greater bass in other parts of the room instead of the dead middle of the room where the listening position is. The only problem is the size of the sub.. I really dont have any other place to put it. Are there any other options? How about this? With the Sub in the front left corner, should the driver be facing any specific direction?

That's pretty common, actually.


Not much you can do other than installing bass traps, which is not a realistic option for many of us. The direction the woofer faces should have no noticeable effect, although it doesn't cost anything to experiment.


I have pretty much the same situation, and settled for calibrating to my seating position and living with the anomalies elsewhere. You might try contacting SVS to see if they have any suggestions. They are very helpful, although I doubt there is much to be done in this case, given your placement limitations (which I share).
 
#85 ·
That, indeed, seems to be the problem. The issue does not appear to be the sub... but rather the room. I would suspect that even if you had the room for it, moving the sub may only partially solve your present issue. If financially feasable, and if you have enough room, I would look into some bass traps or other viable room treatment.
 
#87 ·
Well... mine has made her first comment of "concern" this week. Was watching War of the Worlds, and the whole house was shaking. Not nearly as bad, though, as when I was running the AVIA tone sweeps on the sub. My puppies dissapeared to hide upstairs. Had to go and comfort them for half an hour...
 
#90 ·
Darth, do try spinning the sub so that the woofer fires in different directions. It can make a night and day difference. In my old apartment, I was extremely limited on placement options with my old sub, really the only thing I could do was spin it 180 degree, it made a huge difference in my seated position. My current sub, pb12+/2, being the huge monstrocity that it is, I only have one location that it can go. I have done some calibration on it, and did it with the ports firing into the room and then spun it so the ports fire against the wall (ie spinning 180 degrees) and there was a very noticeable difference. I went from +/- 7db's to +/- 4db's from 100hz to 20hz, just by spinning the sub. Also, if you can't totally change the location, try just a few inches one way or another if at all possible--it can make a big difference as well. Again, in my old apartment, the sweet spot in the room was almost night and day difference from the rest, and it was only about a 12" cubed area, that just happened to be about 6" behind my head in my recliner--could never quite get perfect. The point is, just a few inches SOMETIMES can make a world of difference. There are about 10,000 variables that go into how bass will sound from a sub in your home--it is a lot of experimenting and keeping your fingers crossed. One way to take a lot of luck out of the equation is to get a BFD or similar EQ to help with room issues if placement options are exhuasted. Best of luck with your new baby and in your search to get the most out of it.
 
#92 ·
If you have pets, make sure they are not in the room. They seem to hate the high level tone sweeps for the subs.
 
#93 ·
Just did a routine calibration of my speaker levels, and found that I had to knock my LFE pre-out on my AVR down from -3.0 db to -5.0 db. My PB Plus/2 has been up and running a couple months now. I initially set it up to run about 5.0 db hot over the rest of my speakers, and I guess over the last couple months its broken in quite a bit. Just an FYI for those of you who haven't calibrated in a while. I expected it to brake in, just not that significantly.
 
#94 ·
i actually called svs asking about brake in period. THey told me there isnt one, just to run the sub a little quiter than normal untill you get adjusted to it...
 
#96 ·
I have one of those Kill-A-Watt deals to measure power consumption and measured my SVS sub at 18 watts a normal levels and ~26 watts at full tilt reference levels...double-checked it even. I thought something was wrong with the meter, but my receiver was pulling 76-125 watts, my PC 150 watts at idle, Sony laptop - 47 watts so I think the meter is ok. Could the SVS be this efficient?
 
#98 ·
Keep in mind, that meter is reading consumption, and not amplifier output. Also keep in mind that is a class D amp, which doesn't generate a lot of heat. They run 90% efficient, where a class A/B amp as in your receiver is roughly 50% efficient.


A large, ported box should be extremely efficient, espeically with a BASH amp.


Try your meter on a hair dryer on high, an iron heated up, and toaster oven heated up. Also try it on a simple lamp with a 100 watt bulb.


Report back if you don't mind.
 
#99 ·
I played Tupac Shakur "Hail Mary" lots of ~20Hz bass. I totally forgot about the benefits of a BASH amp so I guess these result really aren't a surprise.


Those are all good suggestions to test, but I borrowed the Kill-A-Watt from a buddy and already gave it back so no more testing. The box did say 0.2% accuracy. I tried it on my brother's color laser printer while printing: 850 watts max. My 50" LG plasma takes 49 watts turned off (!) and 450 watts while on.
 
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