A good sealed subwoofer is a beautiful thing. The SVS SB-2000 Pro is the latest “affordable yet premium” sealed design from a company that has always focused on delivering both great performance and a high level of customer service.

SVS designs and builds subwoofers in all shapes and sizes. The 2000 Pro series is the company’s latest line, it is an update to its best-selling 2000 series subs. The company makes subwoofers that combine high performance, excellent fit and finish, fair pricing, an extremely generous warranty. Plus they offer a distinct advantage over many other brands: SVS sells through via brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers and Internet direct including free in-home auditions and generous upgrade policies.

The SVS SB-2000 Pro is a 12” sub featuring a 550 watt RMS amp (1500 watt peak output). Sealed subs are compact, typically designed as a cube that’s barely any wider than the diameter of the driver. The SB-2000 Pro measures 14.6” H X 14.2” W X 14.6” D so it’ll easily fit in a tight spot.


SVS has a hard-earned reputation for making great subs and treating its customers right

When a sealed sub is equipped with a powerful amp and capable driver, you can get expect deep yet clean bass. But controlling that output is the key to great sound. The SVS SB-2000 comes equipped with powerful DSP that you can program using an iOS or Android app. It has the tools you need to get the best bass performance out of your subwoofer system.






Features and Specifications

The SB-2000 Pro is best for systems where you need a compact sub that digs deep and hits hard. Because there are tangible benefits to using multiple subwoofers, the small size and palatable price of this model makes to a worthy contender for use in a multi-sub configuration.

Unpacking the SB-2000 Pro is easy thanks to its modest size. It weighs in at 38.6 pounds, which reflects the solid build quality, but it's very easy for one person to handle. SVS is great about including instructions and helping set up subs for optimal performance, and that starts with unboxing. If you follow the directions on the package, starting by flipping the box and opening the bottom, you'll find it very easy to place the sub where you need it.

And finish made a strong first impression. A few years back I had compared the piano black finish on a JL Audio sub to SVS and thought "well fine, if you want to pay extra for a perfect mirror finish, JL has that in spades" but looking at my reflection in the PB-2000 Pro, it's just as smooth a paint job (essentially flawless). Between that, the rounded edges, and crucially a new cloth grill that's less fiddly and more discreet than the perforated metal grill SVS used to use.

The SB-2000 Pro takes what was great about the SB-2000 (compact size, powerful amp, capable driver) and adds app-based DSP, a new cloth grille, a redesigned 12” driver and 10% more power. The result is a subwoofer that can hit those deep bass frequencies required for a complete theater experience (and some music genres) while also offering the tight, accurate output that lets you feel the music or sound effects, regardless of what you listen to.

Subwoofer Specs
  • 19-240 Hz +/- 3 dB
  • Expect 2-3 Hz deeper extension in small to mid-size rooms.
  • 2-meter ground plane away from reflective structures (quasi-anechoic).
  • Roll-off slope specifically optimized to take maximum advantage of available room gain.
  • Premium Black Ash and Piano Gloss Black finish options
  • Protective non-resonant extra-thick ABS fabric mesh grille
  • Front-firing 12-inch high-excursion SVS driver
  • Rear-mounted amplifier with Intelligent Control Interface (ICI)
  • Iso-elastomer feet
  • Robust Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) cabinet construction
  • Dimensions (w/ grille): 14.6” (372mm) H X 14.2” (360mm) W X 15.6” (395mm) D
  • Dimensions (without grille): 14.6” (372mm) H X 14.2” (360mm) W X 14.6” (371mm) D
  • Shipped Dimensions: 20” (508mm) H X 18.8” (502mm) W X 22.5” (571mm) D
  • Weight (unboxed): 38.6lbs (17.5kg) with Grill
  • Shipped Weight: 47.2lbs (21.4kg)

Click here to see in-depth specs at SVSsound.com





Setup & Deep Listening

Specifications are handy, but they only tell you about the raw capabilities of a sub. For example, if you don;t typically listen very loud, then you may not need a ton of output but you crave a sub that plays deep and with authority.

I ran the SB-2000 Pro with a Denon AVR-X8500H, which has Audyssey XT32 room correction that includes bass management. I set the crossover to 80 Hz and ran the sub in my 5.1.2 home system. Long story short, the sub slots in easily and puts out great sound up to its performance limit. There's not a ton more to discuss in that regard, if you've read SVS reviews in the past you know the company offers accurate measurements. We know exactly what this sub can do because SVS does not ******** about specs in its marketing.

Full disclosure: My "regular" subwoofer system (i.e. when I am not doing a review) consists of a stack of three dual-opposed 12" subs, which is roughly equivalent to six of these SB-2000 Pro subs. What can one single 12" sub do when faced with that? Quite a lot, it turns out. Because if you get it integrated properly, the PB-2000 is able to deliver the same clean, tight, deep bass... just not at the same output levels (thanks a lot, laws of physics).

The in-room response of a subwoofer is typically boosted In the lowest frequencies by an effect called room gain. Depending on your room size and the subwoofer's position you can see significant gains in the lowest frequencies (and SVS provides a tool to compensate for that in its app). So long as you are using EQ to integrate your sub, rather than trying to work it out with positioning, you should be able to put this sub where you want within the room and get great sound at the listening position. More to the point, since the SB-2000 Pro has the tools you need to integrate it properly, you don't have to sweat where you put it as much as a sub that lacks these DSP-based features.

My hands-on listening time with the SVS SB-2000 Pro showed it to be a sub in the SVS tradition, it hits hard, accurately. The precision of its output complements music, movies, TV shows and video games equally. For many installations, the only questions regarding whether you need "more" sub capability than the SB-2000 Pro offers related to the room and peak output levels: As long as the room is not huge and you don't need to reach reference/concert levels you are in good shape. And if you want more subwoofer output, there's always the option of adding more SB-2000 Pros instead of buying one larger sub and if you stack them, they don't take up any more floor space than one sub.

For those keeping track, I watched the following movies with the SB-2000 Pro in my system: Hunt for Red October, Ready Player One, Mortal Kombat Legends, Mad Max Fury Road, Team America World Police, Midway and The Gentlemen. As usual, for music I listened to hundreds of hours of music but I would note that this SVS sub is very adept at handling electronic music that features near-continuous ultra-low bass. In a nod to reviewer nostalgia, I fed it "Disc Wars" from the Tron Legacy soundtrack and pumped the volume... as I've come to expect, the sub's programming keeps it from self--destructing (or just sounding distorted) while allowing it to wring every last dB possible out of the driver. For my musical taste (electronic & hip hop), preferred daytime listening levels (loud) and living room size (17' x 26' x 11'), two SB-2000 Pros would likely be ideal, but one does a lot.



A Quick Note on Stacking Subs

Since I brought up stacking subs, let's take a minute in this review to diverge from the usual blah blah blah about how various movies or albums sound when using this or that sub. Stacking subs is a fantastic way to add output, lower the overall distortion, and even reduce some room modes (peaks and dips) if you build a tall enough stack. All without taking up any more floor space than a single sub.

There's nothing new to this "stacked subs" approach, you'll see it used in  both in high-end 2-channel systems and high-performance home theaters. And the reason I'm babbling away about this—here—is because with it's reasonable price, highly programmable DSP, easy handling and good looks, there's no reason not to stack SVS subs. With the MSRP of $800, you can buy 3 SB-2000 Pros for $2400, instead of a single JL Audio E112 and I promise you the stack will outperform the single JL E112 sub (I reviewed a pair some years ago so I am very familiar with it).

No beating around the bush here... stacked sealed subs will get you where you want to go, bass-wise, and the SB-2000 Pro is a great choice for this sort of application. Thank you for indulging me on this.



Conclusion

Normal people who hand out in their living room just need one good sub to round out their audio system. Something that will cover the octaves typical home speakers dare not reproduce, yet stays out of sight and out of mind. If that sounds like what you want, grab a SB-2000 Pro and call it a day. SVS is a top brand in the subwoofer game because it delivers a complete product, with high performance and fit & finish to match. Feature-wise, you won't find similar capabilities at this price point—the "Pro" designation is not a misnomer, if you are handy with REW and a mic you can fine-tune the SB-2000 Pro to a very high level of calibration.

Given its performance, features and good looks, the SVS SB-2000 pro is a Top Choice 2020 selection for compact 12" sealed subs.



We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in our product reviews. Learn more about how this works here .