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Power Sound Audio Discussion Thread! - Page 7

post #181 of 2956
9/13/12 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by av addiction View Post

XV30 Mini Review

I was blown away! As I watched LOTR Trilogy, the XV30s had plenty of opportunity to flex its muscle. The movie is filled with lots of high-energy action and LFE channel activity. The XV30s had no problems coupling with and energizing my 3800+ cu-ft. Bass extension was deep and powerful, providing tactile sensations. I then loaded up a movie I have watched many time before, Iron Man 2; this soundtrack has lots of deep bass in connection with a variety of explosions and special effects.
I then watched Saving Private Ryan another action movie with lots of low-frequency energy. The attack scene is filled with numerous explosions and gunshots that gave the SV30s a real workout. The explosions as reproduced by the SV30s reached low, shaking my sofa pant legs flapping and causing buzzes, rattles and in my room. The firing of the heavy machine guns produced bass that was not as deep as the explosions but much sharper and more defined.

How did your XV30'S sound, when playing back the tripod emergence scene, from War of the Worlds and the plane crash landing scene, from Flight of the Phoenix?

I'am thinking about upgrading to four XV30's. cool.gif
Edited by coolcat4843 - 9/13/12 at 2:23pm
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post #182 of 2956
9/13/12 at 10:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MKtheater View Post

Hi Tom,
I was wondering if you remember what the old PB12/plus/2 did for 2m GP compared to the XV30? I used to own that sub as well as 3 16-46CS + subs. I know you think the sound quality is much better but I am just talking output.

I have 2 pb12+/2's in my room along with 3 xv15's. Tom said the 3 vx15's would be pretty equivalent to 2 xv30's. The 3 xv15's are easily the equivalent of the 2 pb12+/2's. I am not sure there will be 2m ground plane results for that sub as they are older.
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post #183 of 2956
9/13/12 at 10:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raynist View Post

I have 2 pb12+/2's in my room along with 3 xv15's. Tom said the 3 vx15's would be pretty equivalent to 2 xv30's. The 3 xv15's are easily the equivalent of the 2 pb12+/2's. I am not sure there will be 2m ground plane results for that sub as they are older.

Ask and ye shall receive.

25Hz Tune
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/998-svs-pb12-plus-2-25-hz-tune-plus-12-3-a.html

20Hz Tune
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/996-svs-pb12-plus-2-20-hz-tune-plus-12-3-a.html
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post #184 of 2956
9/13/12 at 10:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolcat4843 View Post

I'am thinking about upgrading to four XV30's. cool.gif

Four? Four?! Are you watching movies inside an airplane hanger or something?? tongue.gif
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post #185 of 2956
9/13/12 at 10:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve1981 View Post

Ask and ye shall receive.
25Hz Tune
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/998-svs-pb12-plus-2-25-hz-tune-plus-12-3-a.html
20Hz Tune
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/996-svs-pb12-plus-2-20-hz-tune-plus-12-3-a.html

Nice find. I have actually read that before. Not sure why I could not remember.

These are ground plane, but I wonder at what distance? I didn't think 2m was the standard back then. The max values don't seem all that impressive really.
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post #186 of 2956
9/13/12 at 11:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raynist View Post

Nice find. I have actually read that before. Not sure why I could not remember.
These are ground plane, but I wonder at what distance? I didn't think 2m was the standard back then. The max values don't seem all that impressive really.

Ilkka did indeed use 2 meters.
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post #187 of 2956
9/13/12 at 11:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson View Post

Four? Four?! Are you watching movies inside an airplane hanger or something?? tongue.gif

oh no.....probably in a 2kcuft room....need to blow the ear drums out before he reaches his 30's.....(guessing on age of course)
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post #188 of 2956
9/13/12 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raynist View Post

The max values don't seem all that impressive really.

PS: They were fairly impressive for the time I suppose, but the past few years have brought out some outstanding performers. Comparing the PB13U in 20Hz tune to the PB12-Plus/2 in 20Hz tune is a real eye opener.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/8150-svs-pb13-ultra-20-hz-tune.html

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-tests-archived/996-svs-pb12-plus-2-20-hz-tune-plus-12-3-a.html

20Hz: 106dB w/ 10% THD for the PB13U vs ~101dB w/ ~25% THD on the 110dB sweeps.
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post #189 of 2956
9/13/12 at 11:55am
Not a fair comparison, try the 25hz tune vs 25hz on the 20hz tune of the ultra. Why? Because the PB13 ultra in the 20hz tune has no ports closed which is ideal for output and the PB/plus/2 had one port closed for 20hz, not ideal. With all ports open it is a 25hz natural tune. I was told a long time ago that the Plus 2 was more powerful 25hz and above and the ultra was better down low. Of course the ultra is no slouch above 25hz and has better sound quality to boot!

There is a reason I went DIY, massive SPL for the price.
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post #190 of 2956
9/13/12 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MKtheater View Post

Not a fair comparison, try the 25hz tune vs 25hz on the 20hz tune of the ultra. Why? Because the PB13 ultra in the 20hz tune has no ports closed which is ideal for output and the PB/plus/2 had one port closed for 20hz, not ideal. With all ports open it is a 25hz natural tune.
The 25Hz mode does improve output a little, although most of the effect seems to be centered around the peak at 40Hz. Not exactly a great trade for the extension lost in my book, but someone else might choose differently I suppose. Also worth noting that with the Sledge amplifier, Ricci seems to squeeze as much output out of the PB13U in his long term compression test. I understand, different testers, equipment, etc, but still interesting.

http://www.data-bass.com/data?page=system&id=55&mset=53
Quote:
Originally Posted by MKtheater View Post

Of course the ultra is no slouch above 25hz and has better sound quality to boot!
Indeed. A very worthwhile trade in my book.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MKtheater View Post

There is a reason I went DIY, massive SPL for the price.

Yeah, but we don't all dream of living in a van down by the river tongue.gif
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post #191 of 2956
9/13/12 at 12:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve1981 View Post

The 25Hz mode does improve output a little, although most of the effect seems to be centered around the peak at 40Hz. Not exactly a great trade for the extension lost in my book, but someone else might choose differently I suppose. Also worth noting that with the Sledge amplifier, Ricci seems to squeeze as much output out of the PB13U in his long term compression test. I understand, different testers, equipment, etc, but still interesting.
http://www.data-bass.com/data?page=system&id=55&mset=53
Indeed. A very worthwhile trade in my book.
Yeah, but we don't all dream of living in a van down by the river tongue.gif

I agree, ultra is their best, the plus/2 was a 25hz and above monster but my 3 16-46CS+ were much better!
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post #192 of 2956
9/13/12 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MKtheater View Post

I agree, ultra is their best, the plus/2 was a 25hz and above monster but my 3 16-46CS+ were much better!

There is something horribly efficient about those cylinders. Wonder if PSA has any plans for that form factor. I know first hand its not popular with the ladies, but there's something to be said for a subwoofer that even a weakling like me can move around without too much cursing.
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post #193 of 2956
9/13/12 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve1981 View Post

There is something horribly efficient about those cylinders. Wonder if PSA has any plans for that form factor. I know first hand its not popular with the ladies, but there's something to be said for a subwoofer that even a weakling like me can move around without too much cursing.

I love that form factor, and they were tuned to 16hz with all ports open so it could hit true 16hz and have enough port area. In room they were great to 12hz. Of course for my needs I would have to 8 of them but tuned lower. So I went sealed and now have the equivalent of about 12 XS-15's.
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post #194 of 2956
9/13/12 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson View Post

Four? Four?! Are you watching movies inside an airplane hanger or something?? tongue.gif

A quad subwoofer setup is the only way to go! smile.gif

Why You Need Four Subwoofers
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post #195 of 2956
9/14/12 at 2:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by airgas1998 View Post

oh no.....probably in a 2kcuft room....need to blow the ear drums out before he reaches his 30's.....(guessing on age of course)

When it comes to home theater, four subwoofers is the ideal number to have in your setup.
Quote:
Enter Dr. Floyd Toole and Todd Welti. Dr. Toole has been an invaluable asset to the sound reproduction industry and has devoted a great amount of his life to understanding how sound propagates in a home environment*. Todd Welti did a lot of experimentation with subwoofer placement, numbers, and bass sound quality. This breakthrough work on bass reproduction is a true revelation that has allowed us as home theater designers to create a room where we can significantly minimize bass response problems. The resulting whitepaper on the topic was a culmination of countless tests and acoustical models of playing with multiple subwoofers in different locations in a room to improve bass response over a much wider listening area. In the end, Dr. Toole and Todd Welti concluded that the most ideal scenario for bass reproduction is to have one subwoofer located at the midpoint of all four walls. This configuration displayed the least amount of variation in bass response from seat to seat. Alternately, four subwoofers can be used in each corner.
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post #196 of 2956
9/14/12 at 5:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolcat4843 View Post

A quad subwoofer setup is the only way to go! smile.gif

Perhaps. However, it's actually 8 here; the XV30 is a dual driver system... wink.gif
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post #197 of 2956
9/15/12 at 3:25am
Great work for Power Sound Audio, now seems to be reviving the old SVS. The XV30 model reminds me of the PB12/2-plus/ultra.

I'm anxious to see how free field measured at 2m, SPL, THD, compression etc ...

Great job Tom Vodhanel.

Greetings from Spain.
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post #198 of 2956
9/16/12 at 6:36am
I'm really enjoying my XV15s.
Build quality is great. Plenty of output and they sound good too. Still tweaking my setup though, so too early for a more detailed review.

These seem to combine the best of both from my 2 previous subs.
I had a 15" dayton titanic with a 1000W amp. It had good output in my room, but the sound quality was horrible.

I also had a rythmik fv12. Sound quality was good, but it didn't have enough output in my room. I had thought of buying another, but still don't think that would have been near enough output.

The XV15 has a LOT more output than the dayton, and sound quality seems pretty good so far.

One issue that i'm having is with placement. A couple of the best sounding places puts a sub close to my door. The door is solid and won't budge if you press on it, but somehow the subs keep knocking it open eek.gif
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post #199 of 2956
9/17/12 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by coke View Post

I'm really enjoying my XV15s.
Build quality is great. Plenty of output and they sound good too. Still tweaking my setup though, so too early for a more detailed review.
These seem to combine the best of both from my 2 previous subs.
I had a 15" dayton titanic with a 1000W amp. It had good output in my room, but the sound quality was horrible.
I also had a rythmik fv12. Sound quality was good, but it didn't have enough output in my room. I had thought of buying another, but still don't think that would have been near enough output.
The XV15 has a LOT more output than the dayton, and sound quality seems pretty good so far.
One issue that i'm having is with placement. A couple of the best sounding places puts a sub close to my door. The door is solid and won't budge if you press on it, but somehow the subs keep knocking it open eek.gif

woow

That's good news, promise much these Subwoofers PSA.
The XV15 seems to compete directly with the PB12-NSD (But its 15 ", the PSA VX15 looks of my strongest)
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post #200 of 2956
9/17/12 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lecter83 View Post

woow
That's good news, promise much these Subwoofers PSA.
The XV15 seems to compete directly with the PB12-NSD (But its 15 ", the PSA VX15 looks of my strongest)

I think this is true in price. It will be interesting to see the detailed CEA 2010 results but I think it performs almost another rung up the SVS ladder despite it's price below the NSD line.

Here are the PB12 Plus and PB12-NSD CEA2010 Results from Audioholics (averaged to correspond to what PSA publishes on their site)

PB12 Plus
20 to 31.5 Hz 109.3db
40 to 63 Hz 114.9db

PB12-NSD
20 to 31.5 Hz 104.7db
40 to 63 Hz 107.3db

XV15 (from PSA website)
20 to 31.5 Hz 107.4
40 to 63 Hz 116.5

It will be interesting to see how the Audioholics numbers come out compared to the SVS subs numbers (when all are tested by the same individual).

--Ray
Edited by raynist - 9/17/12 at 1:42pm
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post #201 of 2956
9/17/12 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by raynist View Post

I think this is true in price. It will be interesting to see the detailed CEA 2010 results but I think it performs almost another rung up the SVS ladder despite it's price below the NSD line.
Here are the PB12 Plus and PB12-NSD CEA2010 Results from Audioholics (averaged to correspond to what PSA publishes on their site)
PB12 Plus
20 to 31.5 Hz 109.3db
40 to 63 Hz 114.9db
PB12-NSD
20 to 31.5 Hz 104.7db
40 to 63 Hz 107.3db
XV15 (from PSA website)
20 to 31.5 Hz 107.4
40 to 63 Hz 116.5
It will be interesting to see how the Audioholics numbers come out compared to the SVS subs numbers (when all are tested by the same individual).
--Ray


As seen on average XV15 behaves PB12-NSD than 20 to 31Hz, then is slightly higher than the PB12-PLUS in the higher frequency range.

It's a great performance in the case of SPL, but still remains to be seen as comprta with THD and harmonics, compression etc.

Having seen the XV15 has great performance, just missing a glossy black finish.

a hug
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post #202 of 2956
9/19/12 at 5:35am
I was hoping to see at this time more reviews on these subs.

I know plenty of registered AVS'ers own these subs. cool.gif

Why is no one really speaking out?

Jim, where you at buddy??
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post #203 of 2956
9/19/12 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shift View Post

Jim, where you at buddy??

Buried under a pile of 9 subs... smile.gif

The XS15 is in the on-deck circle now, and will be stepping into the batters box shortly. I had three subs sitting in my house waiting for reviews before I ever got the XS15; one of them is done and published, the second unit is also done and will probably be published this weekend, the third I'm working on as we speak (or in this case, type). Once that's been completed then I can spend some quality time with the XS15.

I did get a chance to run it for about 8-10 hours already -- because my curiosity got the better of me -- so if you have a specific question maybe I can answer that for you.
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post #204 of 2956
9/19/12 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson View Post

Buried under a pile of 9 subs... smile.gif
The XS15 is in the on-deck circle now, and will be stepping into the batters box shortly. I had three subs sitting in my house waiting for reviews before I ever got the XS15; one of them is done and published, the second unit is also done and will probably be published this weekend, the third I'm working on as we speak (or in this case, type). Once that's been completed then I can spend some quality time with the XS15.
I did get a chance to run it for about 8-10 hours already -- because my curiosity got the better of me -- so if you have a specific question maybe I can answer that for you.

Interested to hear your thoughts on this one. It's just a tad bigger in size than I really want to go (leaning towards a Rhumba 12, atm) but still curious to it's performance.
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post #205 of 2956
9/19/12 at 9:51am
I placed an order for dual XV15 this morning. It's definitely a leap of faith, but I trust the opinions I have read and the knowledge and pedigree behind the company, so I have little doubt that they won't tickle me pink. I should get them Monday and set them up to start breaking in that night. I'll be sure to post my impressions.

Me: biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif
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post #206 of 2956
9/21/12 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lylelljr View Post

I placed an order for dual XV15 this morning. It's definitely a leap of faith, but I trust the opinions I have read and the knowledge and pedigree behind the company, so I have little doubt that they won't tickle me pink. I should get them Monday and set them up to start breaking in that night. I'll be sure to post my impressions.
Me: biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif


Thank you very much for the order Lyle, Please don't hesitate to email me if you have ANY setup or calibrations issues. Jim and I check email 7 days a week although on the weekend it may take an hour or so for us to reply.

Regarding any CEA comparisons----I would be careful not to look at the SPL data and assume it correlates to sound quality. It is a "good to have" quantifier during testing to be sure but to me... FR shaping, waterfall, ringing will all mean more in regards to the actual "quality" of the bass. The idea is not to enhance one of the above at the severe determent to another. Rather, find the optimal balance that allows all important performance aspects to combine into a product that not only 'shakes the sofa" but also excels on the subtle nuances of music/more demanding aspects of subwoofer performance.

Tom Vodhanel
Power Sound Audio
Edited by Tom Vodhanel - 9/22/12 at 7:38pm
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post #207 of 2956
9/22/12 at 10:00am
Hi all,

Please note the apparent price increase on our website is not that at all. We have increased the pricing but we have also included shipping( to lower 48). This allows us to stream line our shipping duties/fedex work to a degree(which means a bit less overhead per order) and the end cost to the home theater enthusiast is actually a bit less now. So it is a "win win".

We got a few distraught emails this morning about this until we explained what we did and why we did it..smile.gif

Tom V.
Power Sound Audio
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post #208 of 2956
9/22/12 at 12:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Vodhanel View Post

Hi all,
Please note the apparent price increase on our website is not that at all. We have increased the pricing but we have also included shipping( to lower 48). This allows us to stream line our shipping duties/fedex work to a degree(which means a bit less overhead per order) and the end cost to the home theater enthusiast is actually a bit less now. So it is a "win win".
We got a few distraught emails this morning about this until we explained what we did and why we did it..smile.gif
Tom V.
Power Sound Audio


I think this is a good move. Other companies have the shipped price online also so it is easier to compare final prices to help with someones decision.

Of course I will still drive up to pick up any of my future purchases!
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post #209 of 2956
9/22/12 at 1:30pm
Quote:
I think this is a good move.
+1. Well done, PSA! smile.gif
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post #210 of 2956
9/22/12 at 5:10pm
That's probably a smart move to include shipping in the price. I would suggest you make note of that next to the price though, like "(price includes shipping to any destination in the continental US)", or something to that affect. I think it would be advantageous to let people know.
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