Official SVS Ultra 13 thread - Page 3

Tweakophyte, I had quad TV-12 Ultras -- but I'd much rather have 2 PB13 Ultras.

FWIW I am not reporting or judging on SPL capabilities; IIRC Tom said dual PB13's will do around 120dB at 2m outside on the ground, and when Illka finally gets one and does a complete test we can discuss output capabilities in great detail. With maybe a couple exceptions I have no plans to discuss comparative performance either, Craig has that well under control.

Aetherhole, I'm talking about attack/decay characteristics -- impulse response. How 'sharp' is the leading edge of a transient? Please examine Illkas data and discuss this with folks more expert than I, but there does seem to be correlation between decay time (how fast the woofer/enclosure system stops) and perceived sound quality. To my ears, in the 15 Hz tune which is all I've tried so far, Tom has found a sweet spot between rise time and decay time for this system.

To me, subjectively more articulate that the TV-12, may help put this discussion in perspective

I'm with you gg. And based on my listening observations, "sharp" is the term I have repeatedly used that most correctly describes the sound of the new Ultra. I saw it too on REW low freq waterfall plots where the lowest octave displays less ringing.

Tim

I've had a little more 'seat time' with the PB13's.

First up was Susan Nigro playing the Contrabassoon on "The Big Basson".

In my opinion the basson is one of the hardest instruments to record or reproduce. The PB13's gave good pitch definition and differentiation and produced a seamless blend (80Hz x-o) with my Onix Ref3s. Still, the tonality of the instrument was not quite as accurate as the pair of ACI Titans I had in this room about a year ago. I have not had time yet to adjust anything and try again; I suspect that more of a low end roll off might have brought me closer, but, ahem, I was enjoying Ms. Nigro's performance too much too fool with it!

This brings up the general subject of EQ. The PB13's are subjectively more improved over the TV12s than I expected -- good enough to disappear into my (decidedly imperfect) room acoustics. Good enough, IMO, to justify the expense of 1/12 octave room equalization if you are that picky about music reproduction.

On movie music soundtracks the PB13s just disappear into the (improved) virtual soundstage.

I've tried to be as critical as I can of the PB13, but I can't not mention that to me, and my wife, they enhance our subjective enjoyment of musical performances unexpectedly well. Playing the Yellowjackets "Blue Hats" CD,
after track 6 "Savanna" I stopped playback and my wife and I just looked at each other. A great performance with great emotional impact.

I took pictures highlighting the grill, the SVS logo on the driver and relative size to my old subs. My old subs are the Technique 100watt and Bix 160 watt subs. The size of the PB13 Ultra exudes power.

The grill is attached by 8 magnets. 4 magnetic disks on each vertical side. See first picture grill off. The grill "snaps" on once the grill gets close enough to the sub.

With the grill on, there is a silver SVS monogram on the bottom face of the grill.

Side Note: With regards to the PB13's Rosenut color compared to Boston Acoustics Cheery, they are close, but the Rosenut has little more red under bright lights. From a distance, they are close enough in color so as not to notice the difference. The Rosenut finish is a high quality furniture grade color, as are the cherry BA speakers. The cherry BA look little more orange than the PB13's rosenut. The differences are subtle.

What are the chances one of the major magazines will test the 13?

Did anyone order the Oak Finish? I haven't seen any pictures of that one yet in anyones house... We need more cow bell... I mean more pictures!!! lol Where is my glossy black

Craigsub got oak and posted some pics in this shootout thread.

Here is the pic. Hope Craig doesn't mind.


Bill3508

oh man.. that looks awesome!!

Even though the 15 Hz tune is deliberately overdamped, you might want to try enabling the room gain comp switch to further damp the response below ~30 Hz. Try Large first, and then Medium and see how each responds when playing those basson tracks.

Interesting comment from Tom over at SVS Sound:

Hi guys,

Based on JL's own measurements of the F113 (around $3,400 ea) ...a single PB13Ultra (around $1,300 each) will match or exceed its output capabilities. Both will have exceptional *SQ*. The advantage for the JL is its smaller size and auto-EQ. The SVS is less than half the price and has some cool features of its own(PEQ, Room comp,ect).

Tom V.
SVS

The verbiage in parenthesis and the are mine and not Tom V.'s. The rest is from Tom.

Hey, any word about the Textured Black? Has anyone received shipping info? That was supposed to ship on the 27th..

I was told yesterday by SVS that it depends on when you placed your pre-order...that will dictate when yours will be shipped. They are starting to ship this week but to those first that preordered months ago. I am anxiously awaiting mine as well!!!!!!!!

I didn't order mine until about two weeks ago, bet it will be september

I ordered mine months ago and still have to wait until Sept .. Join me my fellow SVS brothers.. Let us comfort one another.... lol I am dieing for my sub!!!

I'm not sure if this is the place for this question, but I'm in need of some good advice. I've had my mind set on buying an SVS Ultra 13 sub for some time now, and have waited and waited. However, yesterday I had someone tell me that the Sunfire Signature sub would wipe the floor with the SVS. This seems hard to believe based on all I've been reading, but would like an honest review of this statement. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I have two Sunfire Signature subs now and have just ordered tow PB 13U subs. I will be able to tell you in about two weeks how the two compare. I have been happy with the Sunfires however they do not seem to have much output below about 23 Hz which is where I think the new PB 13U will have the advantage.

Pab1--Thanks so much! I would really like to hear what you have to say after receiving the Ultra. I just started reading this forum, but I'm assuming there's a 2-week backorder on the Ultras? Also, why did SVS switch to a forward-firing setup versus a downward-firing setup? Is there an advantage to either? It seems downward-firing would be less directional (I'm prob wrong there, but it just seems to make sense--especially for the higher frequencies).

There is no way the sunfire will best the svs. The ultra is a bigger box with a very capable driver and lots of porting. Thats not even considering the sound quality I have no doubt that the new ultra will best the sunfire in sound quality, spl and depth.





The front firing alignment allowed more box volume with out a big increase in box size. In other worlds without the base plate it allowed svs to have inlarge there box with out making the entire box lager. Oh it also allowed a slight deeper tune and better efficiency.

Directionality vis-a-vis the woofer firing orientation isn't really an issue at the typical XO frequencies for home use subwoofers.

The front-firing/vented design allows more internal cabinet volume for a given set of external dims (particularly total height), as compared to down-firing with a base plate.

Also, the front-firing/vented design lends itself to placement within a custom cabinet on the front stage, something many customers are increasingly moving toward.

Thanks for everyone's input thus-far. Ed--do you have any idea what the wait would be on an Ultra 13?

Just got home and 2 huge boxes are in the livingroom, they showed up about 3hrs ahead of schedule. The driver told my wife the shipping supervisor said "get those subwoofers outta here and delivered before they disappear"

Gotta get unpacking!!

That depends on the finish - some finishes are launching later than others and some are more heavily pre-ordered than others and will take longer to clear the backlog. Contact us in Sales for more information.

Dual PB13s

Calibration to start shortly

Those look great. Now that I'm back in town, I should be able to take delivery of my PB tomorrow. I had to put it off since last week.

WOW. Those are sweet!

Now can you give us some Graphs and any other data?

Those do look sweet. The original Ultra with the pin stripes is a fine looking box as well. Looks like the size of the box is the same. It is just shorter because it doesn't have the base plate and spacers of the down-firing design.

Yea, except that the pinstriped one in those pictures is an Ultra/2. That gives you a good idea of just how big of an enclosure they used for the PB13 Ultra box.

Tim

All Hail SVS - I visited their showroom this past Easter holiday, and they hinted at the new Ultra coming out. I have been holding my breath ever since. It sounds like it is time to exhale...

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/...r_2007_19_.jpg