SVS SB12-NSD Subwoofer Review

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
As the smallest subwoofer in the entire SVSound lineup and also the one requiring the least amount of cash outlay to own, one might reasonably expect that the SB12-NSD would exhibit a few tradeoffs in its performance. However after spending a few weeks getting intimately acquainted with the review unit provided by SVS, we found very little to gripe about and a whole lot to like. The SB12-NSD makes use of a proprietary 400w class D Sledge amplifier and 12†aluminum cone driver in a tiny sealed cabinet to produce satisfying and exceptionally well rounded bass reproduction, at reasonable cost and with very little floor space occupied in the process. At the end of our term with the SB12-NSD we came away impressed with the overall build quality, look and behavior of this small sealed unit. Highly Recommended.


Discuss "SVS SB12-NSD Subwoofer Review " here. Read the article.
 
Marshall_Guthrie

Marshall_Guthrie

Audioholics Videographer Extraordinaire
Great review. An excellent benchmark sub for sealed contenders. It even out performs some vented designs w/re: to output and low-end extension.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jonnythan

jonnythan

Audioholic Ninja
Cool. The DSP and limiting they do is pretty impressive.
 
P

Pio

Audiophyte
Great review! I am so enthusiastic about SVS - I ordered a pair of PC12-NSDs on Friday, they should get to me today, I can't wait!!! Their customer service was awesome responding to my questions - I spoke to both Ed and Dough - top notch!
 
R

rnatalli

Audioholic Ninja
A great review as always. SVS has always made a quality product, but I personally feel that the Epik and Rythmik offerings at the $500 mark offer more bang for buck. However, the SVS does take up a lot less real estate.
 
HexOmega

HexOmega

Audioholic
These are indeed great little subs - I recommend a pair for those intending to use them for both music and home theater.

I am slightly confused how a single SB12-NSD achieved a "Medium" room rating in this review while Gene gave the EMP ES1010i a "Small" rating in his. Granted, the quality of the SVS driver is unquestionably better and the amp nearly twice as powerful, but I find it hard to believe that the SVS is capable of more output given the sealed enclosure and single driver.

Thoughts?
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
These are indeed great little subs - I recommend a pair for those intending to use them for both music and home theater.

I am slightly confused how a single SB12-NSD achieved a "Medium" room rating in this review while Gene gave the EMP ES1010i a "Small" rating in his. Granted, the quality of the SVS driver is unquestionably better and the amp nearly twice as powerful, but I find it hard to believe that the SVS is capable of more output given the sealed enclosure and single driver.

Thoughts?
Audioholics Subwoofer Room Size Rating Protocol — Reviews and News from Audioholics

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/subwoofers/sb12-nsd-subwoofer/Audioholics Excel compilation-061212.pdf

the SB12NSD "exceeded 103db" at 25hz (actual is 96.3)
the 1010 does 5db less at 25hz (actual is 91)
(+6db to the measurement in the pdf to equal 4 meter corner-loaded in-room (1/8th free space))

on that note, how does one get the 31.5Hz to 63Hz output using just the PDF above? or does AH use a specific test for this?

Determining Subwoofer Room Size Rating
Now that we have made our assumptions and set our desired benchmark goals, let's recap and discuss our procedure going forward.

Recap of Assumptions

Target reference level is 115dB for large room and 123dB for Extreme room Bassaholic rankings.
Test signal is CEA 2010 with RL data centered between 31.5Hz to 63Hz using the following criteria:
RL (dB) from 31.5Hz to 63 Hz with no greater than -6 dB @ 25 Hz.
Subwoofer is corner-loaded (1/8th freespace)
Listening position is 4 meters away
Boundary Gain from corner loading sub: +12dB compared to groundplane measurement
Other room gain influences not factored since they are highly variable depending on room dimensions and loading
Room size de-ratings happen in -6dB intervals for halving of volume which requires a sub with 6dB less output accordingly (Pressure (SPL) is directly proportional to the volume in which it is confined.)
Adding an additional identical sub corner-loaded will increase system output by +6dB which can upgrade a single sub room size recommendation to a higher level if combined output meets the requirement.
Procedure for Determining Subwoofer Room Size Capability

Measure the sub 2 meter groundplane outdoors using CEA test bursts
Translate CEA 2 meter outdoor groundplane peak SPL data to 4 meter corner-loaded in-room (1/8th free space) by adding +6dB (+9dB for RMS values)
If the 4 meter 1/8th freespace SPL equals/exceeds 123dB then the sub is suited for "Extreme" room size
If the 4 meter 1/8th freespace SPL equals/exceeds 115dB then sub is suited for "Large" room size
If the 4 meter 1/8th freespace SPL data equals/exceeds 109dB then sub is suited for "Medium" room
If the 4 meter 1/8th freespace SPL data is below 103dB then sub is suited for "small" room
 
M

mpstein

Audiophyte
Mike,
I'm sorry but now I'm a little confused on this issue as well.

From what I understand, the sb12 scored a raw score of 96.3db at 25hz. From there, are you adding in the +12db from putting it in the corner as well as adjusting it +6dB for the conversion?

Is its total score 102.3 or 104.3?

Thanks,
-Matt
 
Ricci

Ricci

Bassaholic
In a nutshell you add +9db to the outdoor 2 meter "rms" CEA-2010 measurements and compare with the (peak) SPL levels needed for the room ratings.

the CEA-2010 measurements presented here are taken at 2 meters outdoor groundplane and are "rms" not peak values. This is equivalent roughly to a 1 meter anechoic (free space) SPL measurement.

The indoor SPL levels are considered to be a corner loaded subwoofer which puts the sub in 1 meter 1/8th space which adds +18dB over a 1m anechoic (free space) measurement. We are considering the listening distance from the subwoofer as being roughly 4 meters in most cases which drops the spl by 12dB (18-12= +6dB at this point.) A peak SPL report of the same signal reported via an rms calculation method will produce about 3dB higher numbers. (Add 3+6= +9dB) So that is why we are adding 9dB to the reported CEA-2010 numbers to compare them with the indoor peak SPL numbers required.

Note that if a sub just barely misses in one frequency band by a single dB or less, for example falling short by 0.7dB at 31.5Hz only, we will go ahead and give it the benefit of the doubt as long as it meets the other criteria since it is a drastic 6dB drop back to the next smaller room size.
 
T

TulsaSKD

Junior Audioholic
Would anyone know how this sub compares to the Velodyne Optimum 10?
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top