SVS New PC12-NSD Owners - Page 4

Wait a couple months. After you see the house won't fall down, then you'll realize the NSD is SVS' low end sub and it's time to upgrade.

Ok, so I read the manual and it stated that I wouldn't have to put the gain past the 12 o'clock mark. It said that 11 o'clock was place to put it in. That is where I initially had it. I watched Kung Fu Panda from the bluray and it had very nice bass. I did feel some vibrations on the sofa. Then I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and it had good bass too. I think it was lacking in some parts, but I haven't calibrated it yet for my room. I'll skip the SPL meter now and just keep the setting I have. In a few months I will get an SPL meter and calibrated my system.

I have to say that the sub is better than the Klipsch Sub-12.

I think anyone who has a sub should read the manual as you will learn interesting things about it. I learned that when you switch the sub off, you have to wait 5 minutes before switching it back on. I think it has to do with the capacitors discharging. Now I apply the same procedure to my AVR, since the AVR has capacitors too.

One thing I realized is that the source matters. I played MP3s of the songs I knew had a lot of bass, but since it's an MP3 it doesn't have a good spectrum. I used 320kbps MP3s and lossless audio like FLAC converted to WAV. DVDs were just a little bit better, but Bluray had the better audio. On my Denon AVR-789 I do have a RESTORER which fills in gaps of compressed lossy audio formats like MP3.

I haven't tried TrueHD or DTS-HD MA on it yet, but once I get a real bluray I'll try it.

Then when you upgrade you will be like WOW this is awsome... I wonder what a second PB13 would do?

OK, so I got the PC12-NSD and.....it is WAY bigger than I imagined. I don't know why 16" diameter didn't sound big to me when I read the specs, but this thing is LARGE. My wife flipped when she saw the box.

That said, I can't wait for my new Mythos speakers to get here so I can get down to business and annoy my neighbors.

Now you got the idea. After a few of these upgrades, then you go over to the dark side. Yes, DIY.

Ordered one of these last night. Upgrading from a boomy Polk sub that I've wanted to replace since the day I got the thing... realistically because my room opens up to the other side of the basement I will probably need a second one at some point. Just hoping to get rid of the boomy bass I got right now for something a lot smoother.

i ordered 2 of these on monday and UPS says they should be delivered by tomorrow. if thats true, i would be very pleased with the quick turnaround.

I have the SR5003 as well, but for me right now I have the Klipsch KSW-300 and want the Ultra 13. I'm sure someone answered this so I'll just ask if you thought about the SR6003 as well, I really wanted that one but at the time (back in December) I could not see spending over 200 more for a USB port, 10 more watts and a door.

Now I can get an SR6003 for about 80 bucks more so of course I would have have gone for it, so much for timing!

You lose nothing going with the single RCA from AVR sub out or LFE out to either the left or right low level input on the sub. The sub/LFE channel is mono, so connecting to both won't change the sound. I use a Y to connect to both, but that is just due to having my old sub connected that way and I just removed the old and hooked up the new. The two sides are just summed in the preamp, so it is rumored that you will get a little higher input level from the same output level and that may help with the auto-on feature. Mine has never failed to turn on and that can't be said by everyone.

I will also be getting the PC12-NSD in the near future so I wanted to know where all of you bought yours from?

When I google the sub I don't get any stores that sell it. Can I only buy it directly from SVS?

Thanx

Yes, all SVS speakers are available from the factory only. That's how they keep their prices reasonable.

Just need to know...

If I am in an apartment and have no neighbours beside (corner unit) but neighbours above/below (separated by concrete), is it better to...

A) Get a Forward Firing Box Subwoofer (SVS PB12-NSD)

or

B) Down/Up Firing Cylinder Subwoofer (SVS (PC12-NSD)

I have hardwood floors.

Thanks!

Right - there is a voltage summer on the inputs (at least on SVS amps), so the SPL increases 6 dB with a Y splitter. This naturally will wake-up the auto-on circuit more quickly/sooner. Of course the gain needs to be reduced by 6 dB to compensate to keep the overall calibration level the same.

I know there was a couple of people asking for some pics of the sub in a room so I thought I would post mine. Just got it this week along with my Marantz SR-7001 and I am absolutely loving it! Thsnks for looking.

Roque

I was being facetious with my 'it has been rumored' remark as this has been discussed many, many times here. My question is, why are they summed instead of overlaid? If you were feeding a stereo input, would you really want the combined amplitude of both channels summed to the amps input versus combining the two signals without summing the voltages?

Any comments on the down/up firing of the PC vs. the PB front firing?

I have hardwood floors and neighbours above and below?

Would this make a difference?

Thanks!

Thanks for posting the pictures. The unit reminds me of my old water softener brine tank, only nicer.

Unlike most down firing subs, the SVS has a bottom plate that the sound wave hits. As long as you have decent floor isolation (the included rubber feet should be sufficient) to reduce any mechanical vibrations, it won't be much different from a front firing sub. Your other problem has to do with the acoustical transfer of the sound wave as it is propagated through the air and will bleed through your walls, ceiling, and floor. This will happen regardless of the driver orientation. Your only solutions are to turn it down, move to a house, or say 'Damn the neighbors' (or neighbours in your case).

Ransac,

Thanks for the response.

I am in an apartment and the floors and ceilings and most walls are concrete.

I can hear the person above occasionally if they drop something or are running around (kids). Never have heard person below.

I am trying to decide between the SVS PC12-NSD and the Paradigm DSP3400.

The SVS is about $100 more.

Any suggestions?

I also have a 120G aquarium in the room - a problem at all for this kind of sub?

Thanks!

The low frequencies are still going to bleed through concrete, but not as bad as with soft walls. In your situation, and capable sub is going to make you listen at reduced levels. So, out of your two, choose your poison. The most neighborly thing to do after you get your sub is to go in your common hall way while playing an action movie or RAP music and hear what your neighbors will hear. Then you can find your upper volume level.

I don't believe there is any problem for the aquarium unless it has weak glass. The fish might not like it, especially if you watch the Finding Nemo 'Darla tapping' scene. They may actually like the LF. Watch them while playing a movie. If they pull out some lounge chairs and watch the movie with you, they probably like the sound. If they all hide in the castle, then it might be disturbing to them. Or they just don't like the movie.

I thought the neighborly thing to do was to invite them over to watch the movies so they aren't below you pounding on the floor with broom handles.

Not sure about the fishes. Good question.

i just got my dual PC12-NSDs last night. they were packaged very nicely and seemed like they were very well protected. i got them wired up (replacing my previous dual 12 inchers - not even worth mentioning the name) but have not properly calibrated it yet. it was late and i only had a few minutes to play a couple kanye and basstronic tracks. then i popped in kungfu panda and played the prison escape scene and the skadoosh scene.

the music aspect was definitely much more effortless and provided solid umph to midbass. definitely a huge improvement over my other dual 12s.

the movie aspect... i am still undecided. i probably need more time to get adjusted to the new sound and calibrate it properly. the prison escape scene was way better, especially the parts with the chain/rocks scraping along the side of the pit and the tnt explosions were way deeper and shook the house considerably. however, the skadoosh scene sounded completely different and i am not sure if i like it better. it didnt seem any louder, just more vibrations.

again... probably needs more calibration.

i did play some street fighter 4 at medium levels and it felt like i just installed a rumble pack for my living room!!!

I think the pc12-nsd is the sub I really want to order. I have a question about the packing. Online specs say the sub is 59 lbs, shipping is $51 so I figured the shipping weight to be between 74-75 lbs. I'm gonna tote this baby back to Japan and will have to pay A LOT in excess baggage fees (>$200) if it's over 70 lbs. Is there any way to take out some of the weight -I know the power cord can be placed in another piece of luggage, the manual also. I read in one forum some subs used to come with a T-shirt. Anything that could translate into a 4 or 5 lb weight loss? I'm also thinking of modifying some of the protective material in the box might be possible. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

dannyjl,

aside from the things you mentioned, manual and powercord, there isnt much else that could be removed to reduce weight, other than the protective styrofoam (which is probably best left alone).

not sure if you will be able to remove 5 lbs without sacrificing its durability while transporting.

I guess you could remove the grill and port plugs and power cord and CD but anything beyond that and you would have to remove parts or the subwoofer.

it comes with port plugs???

i didnt get any with mine. are you sure we are talking about the NSD, not the Plus or Ultra?

Knowing how the airlines toss cargo around, I would not reccomend removing anything other than the few loose items inside. There was minimal packing material in mine. Nothing to remove for any noticeable weight reduction.

It does not come with port plugs. You are right, only the plus and ultra.

The PC12-NSD was not as easy to blend ito my older Klipsch system as I had hoped. The best setting I used was to set my crossover in the reciever to 40Hz and only allow the sub to fill in at what my mains were not built to reproduce.

After a month of playing music and movies on a daily basis I can say that I feel it was perfect for the room and met all my needs. More sub would be overkill. All the positive things that have been said about this new version are, in fact, true!

I would like to point out one negative thing that has not been mentioned.
The overall weight of this sub is not enough to prevent it from "dancing alone" on a smooth surface floor. At levels at or above 85db with only the 40Hz and lower being fed to it, it will move around the floor till it finds a resting spot againt another piece of furniture or a cable pulls tight restricting its movement. This is only noticeable to any degree while playing music due to the extended amount of time the sub is active.

I have access to 1-1/2 inch steel plate and will have an add-on base plate built to be mounted to the bottom of the orginal base. Using a little elbow grease, a grinder, some paint, and countersunk machine screws from the bottom of the plate up thru the base of the sub it should be enough weight to "hold'er down". As it stands now, it's hard to tell if it's bass or the sub pounding the floor.
Other than that small problem I feel it was the best sub for the price, and would buy it again.

Tim