PBC's SVSound SB13-Ultra User Review!

billy p

billy p

Audioholic Ninja
Nice review Steve....having sat in that room and subjected to some of that exact test material with your set up...GAWD....:eek: Pushing that SB13u to near reference levels using that disc is virtually a torture test...I'm not surprised it held its own even for you....lol...because your "NO" average Joe....:)

Again...great review Steve...well done Svs!

Bill...:)
 
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raynist

Junior Audioholic
Great review!

I am a bit concerned with the price of this however. It will be interesting to see Josh's review and the CEA numbers. If this is equivalent to two SB12's like i have heard the SB12's beat this in price by about $450 and seem like a no brainer if you co-locate them.

That said I have a pair if the SB13+'s and love them (at a much cheaper price though)!
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
Great review!

I am a bit concerned with the price of this however. It will be interesting to see Josh's review and the CEA numbers. If this is equivalent to two SB12's like i have heard the SB12's beat this in price by about $450 and seem like a no brainer if you co-locate them.

That said I have a pair if the SB13+'s and love them (at a much cheaper price though)!
How much were the SB13+s? Thought they were $1549?
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
The sub I would like to see this compared to is the JL Audio F113. While it is interesting to see this compared to the PB13 and PC13, that just isn't the type of sub the SB13 is in competition with. It does look like this thing may be able to equal the performance of a F113,and at half the cost. A pair of these would make for a beautiful bass system that would no doubt walk all over a single f113. Anyway, very nice review, thanks.
I think the SB13 will hold its own against the F113, but the F113 according to Illk's tests will still out-gun the SB13 by 2-3db from 25hz down from the looks of it in terms of CEA max output. Be interesting to see how they compare compression wise.
 
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raynist

Junior Audioholic
How much were the SB13+s? Thought they were $1549?
$1199 when I bought them about 1.25 years ago (not including repeat buyer discount, so about $1140 each.
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
$1199 when I bought them about 1.25 years ago (not including repeat buyer discount, so about $1140 each.
Nice. I thought they were $1549 based on what I had read here...

Review: SVS SB13-Plus Subwoofer | Sound and Vision Magazine

Colocating of the SB12s do look like the option to beat here, unless you're looking for output below 25hz where it drops much faster than the SB13. even though it may "only" be 6db or so below the SB13 in terms of max-output, the nautural FR is still down more than that, so I'm fairly certain you can't just stack them and expect to get the same output as the SB13 response (without a further boost via external EQ).

I could be wrong though!
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
Thanks man.

Just watched "The Lorax" with my son, and am just loving the sound of this subwoofer. :cool:
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
Thanks Gigabit, had a great time.

Interestingly enough, watched "Cars" (first movie) with my son over the weekend. One thing I did notice was that during the Snotrod scene where the hot rods try to run Mac off the road, there is a part where Snotrod's exhaust flames out that I recall getting more "oomph" out of the PB13 in ported tune. Could be because I wasn't listening very loud this past weekend though. I seem to recall the same thing at Jakeman's house when we did a blind shootout with other subwoofers. The sealed subs (F113/Velo DD18) didn't seem to have the same amount of oomph in that scene as the PB13 did in 20hz tune.
 
J

jakeman

Junior Audioholic
I think the SB13 will hold its own against the F113, but the F113 according to Illk's tests will still out-gun the SB13 by 2-3db from 25hz down from the looks of it in terms of CEA max output. Be interesting to see how they compare compression wise.
A well written incisive review, Steve. Well done! Having sat in your room a few years ago for the subwoofer comparison tests (time flies!) I can appreciate the depth and care you took to write this review. It does shine in its quantitative analysis and commentary which makes a strong case for just how good a sealed sub SVS can produce.

One mild criticism is your presentation of the CEA 2010 comparison and any conclusions you can draw. While I know you did not carry out the requisite testing to derive the data, making a simplifying assumption of a linear 6db difference could be a bit of a stretch since the results can vary, perhaps significantly depending on frequency. It's not clear that the difference sub 25hz will be 2-3db compared to the FL113. Maybe it will but its best to wait for the data. It would be good to see SVS numbers in this regard. In any event the rest of the data/analysis is quite impressive.

Based on the rest of the specs/graphs the SB113 looks like one helluva fine sub and should give the FL113 a great run for the money. It sure looks like SVS has made a product designed to compete directly with the Fathom. Indeed subject to hearing it first hand and given the price differential and feature set, it may be enough to stop me from continuing to recommend Fathoms.

Anyway curiosity has now gotten the better of me. If you still have that SB113 it may be worthwhile for me to haul one of my FL113s up to your place for a direct comparison.

Also I'm withholding voting until I take a close read of the other two reviews. :)
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
Thanks for the comments John! I considered whether to put in the CEA-2010 estimation. Ed provided the "estimation" of what the numbers would look like versus Josh Ricci's SB12-NSD review and said they'd be 5-6db across the board higher. So just plugged the numbers since many people put a lot of stock in, solely, the CEA-2010 numbers (too much IMO). I'm not sure when Josh will be providing his analysis, but I'm looking forward to seeing the details!

I don't know how much longer SVS is allowing us to keep the subs, if I still have them next weekend and you're around I can drop by your place or vice versa. I forgot you had the F113, thought it was just Asher who had them for some reason!

The SB13-Ultra is an impressive little subwoofer, especially at 17.4" cubed! The gloss black finish is quite impressive as well.
 
J

jakeman

Junior Audioholic
Sure I should be around next weekend. Let me know what is convenient.

I read the other two reviews and really liked both. I ended up voting for yours because it has more in depth technical analysis.
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
Thanks for the vote John. I certainly need them! Pretty sure I still have your email address and phone number. I'll check with my wife to make sure we aren't doing anything next weekend and that she's okay with me heading out for a few hours (just had our second child a few months ago so things are busy!) and let you know. Should see if Asher can make it as well? Jesse would probably not be as interested in these "puny" subs! ;)
 
T

tistru

Enthusiast
I too am interested in seeing how the SB13 ultra stacks up against the fathom f113. Honestly, I wouldn't expect that it will exceed or even match the f113 in terms of raw output and low end extension. But if it comes pretty close for less than 1/2 the price, that is something the guys at SVS should be very proud of. That would put the SB13 ultra in a class by itself when it come to sealed performance for the money. Look forward to hearing your comments :)
 
T

The Bogg

Audiophyte
If it's anywhere close in terms of output and/or quality then the SVS would be a winner b/c of the price.

Pbc, thanks for all the graphs and technobabble, it's that stuff that keeps us subwoofer-nerds amused. :)
 
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GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Man, that was as comprehensive a review as I could ever envision! Excellent job!
 
G

Gord Gee

Enthusiast
I think the SB13 will hold its own against the F113, but the F113 according to Illk's tests will still out-gun the SB13 by 2-3db from 25hz down from the looks of it in terms of CEA max output. Be interesting to see how they compare compression wise.
In another review that you once did on your PB13-Ultra, you stated "...the PB13 more than held its own and in my opinion and others outclassed the other offerings in particular for Home Theater, and was rated a “tad” behind the F113 for “musicality”...."

I just wondered, in you opinion, how does the SB13 do in terms of musicality compared with the F113?

Thanks
 
pbc

pbc

Audioholic
In another review that you once did on your PB13-Ultra, you stated "...the PB13 more than held its own and in my opinion and others outclassed the other offerings in particular for Home Theater, and was rated a “tad” behind the F113 for “musicality”...."

I just wondered, in you opinion, how does the SB13 do in terms of musicality compared with the F113?

Thanks
So tough to tell given that I haven't heard the F113 since 2007. I think it sounds outstanding. Was hoping to compare it directly to the F113 this past weekend but life got in the way! :(
 
G

Gord Gee

Enthusiast
So tough to tell given that I haven't heard the F113 since 2007. I think it sounds outstanding. Was hoping to compare it directly to the F113 this past weekend but life got in the way! :(
Well, if you do happen to get the chance to compare them musically, please let us know. :)
 
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