Sealed subwoofers offer simplicity, compact size and predictable performance. The SVS SB-1000 Pro is a new subwoofer from SVS that pairs a powerful 325-watt amplifier with an all-new 12” driver and a highly capable DSP to deliver clean, tight, deep bass.
The SB-1000 Pro is powered by a Sledge STA-325D amplifier that offers class D efficiency and 820 watts peak output, which allows the sub to fully utilize the capabilities of the driver while keeping distortion at bay. The other piece of the puzzle is the DSP tuning, which factors in room gain to ensure that even when playing the lowest notes, the subwoofer keeps its composure without sacrificing performance.
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Features and Specifications
The headline feature/spec for this sub is its ability to cover 20 Hz to 270 Hz with a +/-3 dB tolerance. SVS is notable among subwoofer manufacturers for posting response charts of 2-meter ground-plane measurements, which allow for performance comparisons between its various models. According to this chart, the SB-1000 Pro is a sub that begins to roll off around 27 or 28 Hz, with the gentle slope associated with sealed designs.
When compared to its predecessor, the SB-1000, you’ll find that the biggest difference with the new Pro model is the SVS App (for iOS, Android and Amazon devices). With it, you can custom configure your subwoofer system, and even craft multiple profiles that you can activate on demand. It even supports multiple subs within one system, giving users the ultimate in control over their entire subwoofer system. Moreover, SVS will gladly work with any of its customers to help use this tool to get the absolute best performance out of its sub(s).
The SVS App connects to the sub via Bluetooth, and it has all the capabilities found on other SVS models that support it. With the app, you can fine tune the bass to your space, whether it’s a single subwoofer or multiple subs. This sub is available in Piano Gloss Black, Piano Gloss White and Premium Black Ash finishes, and the piano gloss finishes do add an extra $100 to the price ($599.99 vs. $499.99).
An outstanding feature of buying any SVS sub is the company’s Customer Bill of Rights. You get first-class customer support and very generous price matching and trade-up policies that you won’t find at Best Buy or Amazon. Plus, you get an unconditional 5-year warranty.
I could go on, but the easy way to get the scoop on the full feature set is to visit the SVS website.
Hands-On
Full disclosure, I now live in an apartment and gave up my dedicated home theater a year and a half ago. I won’t be levitating any carpets while testing monster subs anytime soon. But, that does not preclude hands-on experiences, or nearfield measurement for that matter. Plus, I see the SB-1000 Pro as the exact sort of sub that many music and movie lovers would “get away with” adding to a living room environment, and then be super pleased with the results. That’s because, like its predecessor SB-1000, this is basically a 13” cube, which allows it to fit in more spaces, and blend in more easily (visually) than a larger ported sub, like the just-released PB-1000 Pro.
Unpacking the, I was impressed with the quality finish of the SB-100 Pro. The Piano Gloss Black finish is immaculate. In the past I had found the paint job on SVS to not be as glass-smooth as on JL Audio subs, but this finish is as smooth and mirror-like as it gets. So, overall, it’s a great looking small sub.
My “regular” sub is a dual-opposed 12”, but I never, ever use it to its full capacity in this apartment. So, the hope I had when hooking up the SB-1000 Pro is that it would offer a similar listening experience, but with perhaps less headroom.
My AVR is a Denon AVR-X8500H, and I also have REW with a miniDSP UMIK 1, for hands-on measurements. The latter is a good tool kit for both verifying what room correction (like Audyssey on the Denon) do, or else for tuning the sub directly using the tools in the SVS App. The latter approach is especially relevant for 2-channel music lovers, many of whom would strongly benefit from adding a subwoofer to systems that typically do not offer room correction. Similarly, powered speaker often offer a subwoofer output, but no way to fine tune the integration. With SVS you can get very precise with how your speakers and sub(s) interact.
My first hands-on act was to use the UMIK-1 to perform a nearfield measurement. The result is quite stunning, it looks exactly like chart SVS has on its site (2-meter ground-plane measurement). It’s practically flat from around 26 Hz up to 160 Hz – 170 Hz or so, where it starts to roll off. Moreover, I measured with the sub volume turned up, so that the driver is flexing, to ensure that the measurement is not one derived at a lower output, but unachievable when the volume is up. So, my thought here is simple: This sub is doing what SVS promised, it’s even got a bit of “feelable” output at 20 Hz, and by the time it reaches 26 Hz, it’s “cooking with gas” as chefs like to say.
![3096655]()
Here are four close-mic measurements (about an inch from the driver) of the SVS SB-1000 Pro, taken from slightly different positions
Of course, a measurement from the main listening position reveals all the effects of the room on subwoofer response. Subwoofers operate entirely underneath the “transition frequency” aka the “Schroeder Frequency” which is the point where the room itself becomes the dominant factor in a speaker’s response. The actual frequency varies depending on the room size and shape, but it’s safe to say that if you use a typical crossover (80 Hz) your sub is 100% in the zone where the room dominates. And this, in a nutshell, is why you need tools to adapt a sub’s output to your specific system, and the room that contains it.
I placed the SB-1000 Pro against the right-hand wall, near the front of the room. This is the exact spot where I keep my own subwoofer. A cluster of four REW sine wave sweeps showed a +/-7 dB fluctuation, with various peaks and valleys from (roughly 34 Hz on up). I really liked what I saw down deep, thanks to room gain the in-room response remains essentially flat right down to 20 Hz. It may not be a super loud 20 Hz, but what this sub does is give you the ability to make a speaker system play “full range” (20 Hz to 20 kHz) at modest volumes. I’d think adding one more SB-1000 Pro would smooth things out and add some extra output, to the point where it seems like a very good way to spend $1000 on subwoofer(s). And frankly, I could easily justify going with four of these in a home theater setting, given the performance of just one. This is a great sub, one that plays clean and tight.
I run a 5.1 system, but with a phantom center, so it’s really 4.1. The speakers are GoldenEar Triton Seven, which have served me well for years. Anyhow, I tried both Audyssey XT32 and using the tools SVS provides, and the point is either approach works to smooth out the response within the range covered by the sub. Of course, using Audyssey lets you correct for more than just the sub, but even if you take the AVR-based room correction path, you can still use the SVS App to fine-tune.
In actual use (movies, music, video games) it turns out the SB-1000 Pro truly does offer everything I need for just about anything I’d dare do in my apartment. Now, if I lived in a standalone house and had a dedicated theater of course I’d seek more output than this one sub offers. And one does have to accept that while it digs deep, it’s not some infrasonic beast that simulates earthquakes through pulsed barometric pressure changes. But it is a sub that sounds tight through the audible spectrum, and most definitely shows some “gusto” when given the chance to shine, like with action movies and all the thuds and crunches and bangs that go with it. It handles all that with ease at normal, or even a bit above normal listening levels.
I’m particularly impressed with how the SB-1000 Pro can serve music lovers by turning 2.0 systems into 2.1 systems. The sub has high-level inputs, so even the most basic 2-channel systems will work with it. The sub also has stereo RCA inputs plus outputs, offering another path for systems that don’t have dedicated subwoofer outputs. There’s no bookshelf speaker I know of that would not benefit from the extra extension that adding a SB-1000 Pro can offer.
In summary, I find the SVS SB-1000 Pro does the vast majority of things that I seek from a sub, including digging deep, playing clean, and offering a robust platform for tweaking with the SVS App. It does all this up to the limits of its capabilities, which should not be underestimated based on size, price or the fact it is sealed. This is a sub that “takes care of business” in more modest setups, or in situations where very high output levels are not needed, but other qualities of a good sub—depth, clarity, impact—are all present.
Conclusion
The SB-1000 Pro is the sort of product you see from a company that is at the top of its game. SVS can afford to make this, its most affordable subwoofer, as good as it is, and as packed with features as it is, because the models above it are indeed more capable in tangible, measurable ways. But SVS has surely shrunk the gap between the SB-1000 Pro and the step-up SB-2000 Pro (versus the SB-1000 that it replaces) and in the process created a sub that’s small yet truly mighty. This is a subwoofer that’s spec’d to get down to 20 Hz, and indeed it does exactly that, in my room, because “physics”... i.e. careful DSP tuning that gives it a super well-behaved response once you factor in room gain. And then it adds the full power of the SVS App, which takes customization of this compact sub to a whole another level.
There’s more to an SVS subwoofer than specs. It’s the totality of the ownership experience that makes it a such an excellent choice. Starting with the fact you can get free shipping to demo their products for up to 45 days, and culminating in the reality that you can call SVS and they will work with you to get the best setting for your specific system, and how SVS will accept gear for trade-ups, they remove barriers to getting started with better bass for both stereo 2.1 and multichannel systems. This is why the SB-1000 Pro gets an AVS Forum Top Choice Award for 2021.
The SB-1000 Pro is powered by a Sledge STA-325D amplifier that offers class D efficiency and 820 watts peak output, which allows the sub to fully utilize the capabilities of the driver while keeping distortion at bay. The other piece of the puzzle is the DSP tuning, which factors in room gain to ensure that even when playing the lowest notes, the subwoofer keeps its composure without sacrificing performance.
We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in this article. Learn more about how this works here.
Features and Specifications
The headline feature/spec for this sub is its ability to cover 20 Hz to 270 Hz with a +/-3 dB tolerance. SVS is notable among subwoofer manufacturers for posting response charts of 2-meter ground-plane measurements, which allow for performance comparisons between its various models. According to this chart, the SB-1000 Pro is a sub that begins to roll off around 27 or 28 Hz, with the gentle slope associated with sealed designs.
When compared to its predecessor, the SB-1000, you’ll find that the biggest difference with the new Pro model is the SVS App (for iOS, Android and Amazon devices). With it, you can custom configure your subwoofer system, and even craft multiple profiles that you can activate on demand. It even supports multiple subs within one system, giving users the ultimate in control over their entire subwoofer system. Moreover, SVS will gladly work with any of its customers to help use this tool to get the absolute best performance out of its sub(s).
The SVS App connects to the sub via Bluetooth, and it has all the capabilities found on other SVS models that support it. With the app, you can fine tune the bass to your space, whether it’s a single subwoofer or multiple subs. This sub is available in Piano Gloss Black, Piano Gloss White and Premium Black Ash finishes, and the piano gloss finishes do add an extra $100 to the price ($599.99 vs. $499.99).
An outstanding feature of buying any SVS sub is the company’s Customer Bill of Rights. You get first-class customer support and very generous price matching and trade-up policies that you won’t find at Best Buy or Amazon. Plus, you get an unconditional 5-year warranty.
I could go on, but the easy way to get the scoop on the full feature set is to visit the SVS website.
Hands-On
Full disclosure, I now live in an apartment and gave up my dedicated home theater a year and a half ago. I won’t be levitating any carpets while testing monster subs anytime soon. But, that does not preclude hands-on experiences, or nearfield measurement for that matter. Plus, I see the SB-1000 Pro as the exact sort of sub that many music and movie lovers would “get away with” adding to a living room environment, and then be super pleased with the results. That’s because, like its predecessor SB-1000, this is basically a 13” cube, which allows it to fit in more spaces, and blend in more easily (visually) than a larger ported sub, like the just-released PB-1000 Pro.
Unpacking the, I was impressed with the quality finish of the SB-100 Pro. The Piano Gloss Black finish is immaculate. In the past I had found the paint job on SVS to not be as glass-smooth as on JL Audio subs, but this finish is as smooth and mirror-like as it gets. So, overall, it’s a great looking small sub.
My “regular” sub is a dual-opposed 12”, but I never, ever use it to its full capacity in this apartment. So, the hope I had when hooking up the SB-1000 Pro is that it would offer a similar listening experience, but with perhaps less headroom.
My AVR is a Denon AVR-X8500H, and I also have REW with a miniDSP UMIK 1, for hands-on measurements. The latter is a good tool kit for both verifying what room correction (like Audyssey on the Denon) do, or else for tuning the sub directly using the tools in the SVS App. The latter approach is especially relevant for 2-channel music lovers, many of whom would strongly benefit from adding a subwoofer to systems that typically do not offer room correction. Similarly, powered speaker often offer a subwoofer output, but no way to fine tune the integration. With SVS you can get very precise with how your speakers and sub(s) interact.
My first hands-on act was to use the UMIK-1 to perform a nearfield measurement. The result is quite stunning, it looks exactly like chart SVS has on its site (2-meter ground-plane measurement). It’s practically flat from around 26 Hz up to 160 Hz – 170 Hz or so, where it starts to roll off. Moreover, I measured with the sub volume turned up, so that the driver is flexing, to ensure that the measurement is not one derived at a lower output, but unachievable when the volume is up. So, my thought here is simple: This sub is doing what SVS promised, it’s even got a bit of “feelable” output at 20 Hz, and by the time it reaches 26 Hz, it’s “cooking with gas” as chefs like to say.
Here are four close-mic measurements (about an inch from the driver) of the SVS SB-1000 Pro, taken from slightly different positions
Of course, a measurement from the main listening position reveals all the effects of the room on subwoofer response. Subwoofers operate entirely underneath the “transition frequency” aka the “Schroeder Frequency” which is the point where the room itself becomes the dominant factor in a speaker’s response. The actual frequency varies depending on the room size and shape, but it’s safe to say that if you use a typical crossover (80 Hz) your sub is 100% in the zone where the room dominates. And this, in a nutshell, is why you need tools to adapt a sub’s output to your specific system, and the room that contains it.
I placed the SB-1000 Pro against the right-hand wall, near the front of the room. This is the exact spot where I keep my own subwoofer. A cluster of four REW sine wave sweeps showed a +/-7 dB fluctuation, with various peaks and valleys from (roughly 34 Hz on up). I really liked what I saw down deep, thanks to room gain the in-room response remains essentially flat right down to 20 Hz. It may not be a super loud 20 Hz, but what this sub does is give you the ability to make a speaker system play “full range” (20 Hz to 20 kHz) at modest volumes. I’d think adding one more SB-1000 Pro would smooth things out and add some extra output, to the point where it seems like a very good way to spend $1000 on subwoofer(s). And frankly, I could easily justify going with four of these in a home theater setting, given the performance of just one. This is a great sub, one that plays clean and tight.
I run a 5.1 system, but with a phantom center, so it’s really 4.1. The speakers are GoldenEar Triton Seven, which have served me well for years. Anyhow, I tried both Audyssey XT32 and using the tools SVS provides, and the point is either approach works to smooth out the response within the range covered by the sub. Of course, using Audyssey lets you correct for more than just the sub, but even if you take the AVR-based room correction path, you can still use the SVS App to fine-tune.
In actual use (movies, music, video games) it turns out the SB-1000 Pro truly does offer everything I need for just about anything I’d dare do in my apartment. Now, if I lived in a standalone house and had a dedicated theater of course I’d seek more output than this one sub offers. And one does have to accept that while it digs deep, it’s not some infrasonic beast that simulates earthquakes through pulsed barometric pressure changes. But it is a sub that sounds tight through the audible spectrum, and most definitely shows some “gusto” when given the chance to shine, like with action movies and all the thuds and crunches and bangs that go with it. It handles all that with ease at normal, or even a bit above normal listening levels.
I’m particularly impressed with how the SB-1000 Pro can serve music lovers by turning 2.0 systems into 2.1 systems. The sub has high-level inputs, so even the most basic 2-channel systems will work with it. The sub also has stereo RCA inputs plus outputs, offering another path for systems that don’t have dedicated subwoofer outputs. There’s no bookshelf speaker I know of that would not benefit from the extra extension that adding a SB-1000 Pro can offer.
In summary, I find the SVS SB-1000 Pro does the vast majority of things that I seek from a sub, including digging deep, playing clean, and offering a robust platform for tweaking with the SVS App. It does all this up to the limits of its capabilities, which should not be underestimated based on size, price or the fact it is sealed. This is a sub that “takes care of business” in more modest setups, or in situations where very high output levels are not needed, but other qualities of a good sub—depth, clarity, impact—are all present.
Conclusion
The SB-1000 Pro is the sort of product you see from a company that is at the top of its game. SVS can afford to make this, its most affordable subwoofer, as good as it is, and as packed with features as it is, because the models above it are indeed more capable in tangible, measurable ways. But SVS has surely shrunk the gap between the SB-1000 Pro and the step-up SB-2000 Pro (versus the SB-1000 that it replaces) and in the process created a sub that’s small yet truly mighty. This is a subwoofer that’s spec’d to get down to 20 Hz, and indeed it does exactly that, in my room, because “physics”... i.e. careful DSP tuning that gives it a super well-behaved response once you factor in room gain. And then it adds the full power of the SVS App, which takes customization of this compact sub to a whole another level.
There’s more to an SVS subwoofer than specs. It’s the totality of the ownership experience that makes it a such an excellent choice. Starting with the fact you can get free shipping to demo their products for up to 45 days, and culminating in the reality that you can call SVS and they will work with you to get the best setting for your specific system, and how SVS will accept gear for trade-ups, they remove barriers to getting started with better bass for both stereo 2.1 and multichannel systems. This is why the SB-1000 Pro gets an AVS Forum Top Choice Award for 2021.
