SVS PB13-Ultra worth it? - Page 2

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=293-666

Appear to be back in stock.

How much more is needed?

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It's probably the most tested driver I know of. Not difficult to figure out what it would do with X wattage based on the above.

3800ft^3 is too big for a pb13-ultra?!

If you want reference levels, in my opinion, yes. Outside of possibly the Cap, it's too much room for any single sub at those levels.

to do this?


yes...unless you sit on it.

Ah gotcha.

My room is 35' along one wall and 27' at its widest but the main area is basically 25'x23' and my PC-13 ultra rumbles my gut and yes, you can feel it. Is it what you experienced????? but I can definitely feel my SvS. That being said I am now addicted to bottom end...I luvvv bottom end......hmmm.....what??? oh yea, I am now thinking about getting a Captivator or a SubMersive. Hope this helps.

This tells me that the Cap has much higher output capability than the PB13, which I have no doubt is true. Larger driver, larger enclosure, more power.

Could you tell me how the Cap sounds and feels if it is level matched to the PB13?


I've read your experience with interest. I suppose the dual PB13s didn't "provide that tactile response that blurs your vision and shakes your clothes" because they were output limited in your room?

So in order to get that kind of tactile response in your room, did you have to turn up the volume more with the Caps (since they have the extra output capability)?

That's really a tough one to answer. In my opinon at the same volume the caps are much more tactile, but is that a headroom limitation? I don't know. I can tell you this and it may be pertinant: with the SVS PB13 Ultra pair I always turned the subs up from Audyssey MultiEQ EX calibration preformed many times on my Onkyo TX-NR1007 receiver. I turned both sub outputs up between 2 and 6dB to find the bass sound I liked. With the JTR Captivators I've found myself turning both sub outputs down about 1dB from the Audyssey calibrated levels to suit what I can stand. That could be headroom, amp, whatever. But my ears never hurt with the PB13's when I watched movies at -7 or -10 from reference even with the subs turned up hot by 3-6dB, and I never heard the SVS PB13's make a bad sound with watching movies either. With the Captivators and the default reference calibration as preformed by Audyssey I can't watch movies at that level without actually hurting my ears, feeling like it's too much bass and having my ears feel "hollow" the next day. Perhaps their dynamic capabilities are so much more leading to much higher SPL peaks??? Those max clean dB ratings I provided taken in my room were listing to dubstep music - specifically a Flux Pavilion song. So those were continual repeating spl peaks and not just a once in a movie dynamic peak. I've never tried to measure dynamic peaks in a movie scene to compare, and no longer have the SVS to try it now. With the Captivators I've noticed my floor upstairs, the table, the chairs, everything seems to feel like it vibrates more, and at lower main AVR volumes, this when the the cap subs turned down a dB or so from audyessey's reference calibration. I can't say this even proves anything. I've preformed Audyssey calibration many times on both SVS PB13's and JTR Captivators using all eight calibration positions --- it is possible (though unlikely) that the Audyssey mic doesn't calibrate them equally for some reason, but more likely they are just capable of more dynamic and that dynamic gets to be too much for the listner in my room, before the sub ever hits its limits!

Very interesting Archaea, particularly what you said after running Audyssey.

One would imagine that Audyssey calibration would level match whatever sub was in the system. Yet with the PB13s you had to up the trim by 2-6dB post Audyssey, whereas with the Caps you reduced the trim by -1dB post Audyssey. Very curious indeed.

I have dual PB13s in a 2000 ft3 sealed room. I'd imagine that in such a small room, the dual PB13s still have a lot of headroom left. Moreover, I watch movies at -7 on the volume. I'm assuming I'm not output limited currently. I'm very curious how a Cap would perform, running under the same conditions (where no doubt the Cap is not even close to its limits). Would the Cap be even more tactile or punchy given the same volume?

In a 2000 cubic foot room with dual PB13's, you've probably already got all the headroom you need from 15hz up.

I originally had a single PB13 in a 1700ish cube family room and it could play scenes like Pulse pretty darn cleanly at reference levels in the 15hz tune, whereas in the 4,000 cubic foot room she was farting at -10/-15ish in any tune with 20hz tune starting to make those unwanted noises closer to -10is IIRC (all the subs were, including the F113, EP600, DD18 - with the latter two having heavy limiters kick in to reduce the SPL and thereby eliminate unwanted noises). Now, that 4000cubic foot room was heavily treated as well and sealed and likely wasn't giving as much boundary gain as none of the subs were placed in a corner.

Moving to my current setup, what I've gained is considerable output into the single digits.

The shipped to Canada Price is actually $2970 for the Funkywaves since the OP lives in Montreal.

Interesting how the output became insufficient so quickly when going from 1700 cubes to 4000. The output requirement to fill a larger space must go up exponentially. Is there any general formula for this, e.g. doubling of volume equals XX dB drop in capability?

What do you have in your current setup?

Coming back to my situation, yes I guess that dual PB13s give me all the headroom I need in my room. Hence, I'm wondering if changing to something else (like the Cap) will yield any better? The other intangible is SQ.

I found I never liked the SVS PB13 Ultras for music. Was it their ruler flat EQ? I don't know --- Four subs I owned at the same time as the SVS I liked better for music than the SVS. This included JTR Captivators, Jamo D7subs, Yamaha CW218V, and Infinity HPS-1000 --these all preformed better in my subjective opinion for music to varying degrees. The SVS destroyed all those subs (except the Captivators) in movie preformance though. Are you satisfied with your music playback? Most subs have a gradually upward slopping frequency response --the Captivator does as well. I seem to prefer that sound for music.

Reference vs. Preference.

The Captivator met my subjective preference for music sound and had the tactile presence for movies that the SVS had - so it was the best of both worlds for me. I'm just now learning about EQ functions, but it may be worthwhile for you to invest some time in researching EQ options since your smaller room will allow the SVS to not be headroom limited. It is possible you may find that integrating some EQ on the SVS may do the trick for you.

My statement was in response to Auditor55 post #16 who wanted the funkywave tested similarly to Audioholics.

Personally, I have no need for reviews of the funkywaves.

My statement was simply in response to Auditor55's comment in post #16 about wanting an Audioholics type test. Personally I have no need for an Audioholics type review of the funkywaves.

that's an interesting thought. It seems like a "reverse house curve" is sometimes more preferred for music. For music, most of the tactile feel is the punch region around 40Hz and above.

My system is primarily for movies. Hardly ever listen to CDs or music files. Occasionally I do watch a concert on bluray, during which the PB13s perform just fine for me. I've had a Rythmik F15 before, which was better for music but subjectively the PB13 isn't too far behind.

As for EQ options, at the moment I only use the Audyssey XT32 in my AVR. Is there something else I should consider?

Wattage alone doesn't tell the whole story. The F113 is a sealed sub, it does need a lot of watts in order for it to perform as it does. In terms of moving air, the PB13 moves more.

Sounds like you've made your choice

I was at someone's house and he had the theater in the sub basement. I was visiting his daughter while he was at a gun club meeting so I didn't stay long...the theater was beautiful though and I was able to watch an episode of 24.

Not staying long was a wise choice.

pdude, I just left you a pm. I'm living in Montreal and I have 2x PC13-Ultra.

I'm selling them, but you could also come by and hear them before they are gone!

If you like the sound that it puts out, there is no reason to change it for anything else. As far as EQ'ing subs, it's considered one of the best processors. The only knock against Audyssey is that there is no real means for tailoring the sound to different taste beyond what it considers "reference" response. The only thing I've done is boost up the sub level to give me a slight house curve.

Dynamic eq adds a house curve...also xt32 comes with sub eq ht.

how much u selling them for?

+3. For $1500 and another $300 for a capable amp, I just don't see how you can beat the Cap in sheer output and fine musicality under
$2,000.

The PB 13 is still a superb value though, no doubt about it.

James