SVS PB-13 Ultra vs JTR Captivator 2400 (with amp)

J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
Just to add on to SVS's Warranty on how they handle IN warranty replacements.

1.) You send us the amp using a pre-paid shipping label we'll email you. Once we receive the amp, we send you a replacement (shipping included). This methods takes the longest.

2.) You purchase the new amp on your CC, we send you the new amp. Once you get the new amp, throw the old one in the same box and ship it back using the included return shipping label. Once we get the old amp back, we will credit your card the full amount. This will get an amp in your hands much faster.

Obviously if its OUT of warranty same process only you pay for the replacement part which includes shipping in the price, so no additional shipping price to add on to the amp and driver. SVS also mentioned that upon purchasing of the driver and/or amp, you receive a new 5 year warranty with them.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
JTR's Warranty:
- JTR Speakers warranty only covers JTR’s labor to repair or replace deflective JTR’s components and those JTR’s components.
- JTR Speakers warranty doesn’t not cover abuse, misuse, neglect, shipping damage, lost, stolen, burnt (crossovers parts, driver voice coils, etc.), personal or business losses, or shipping charges of any kind.
- JTR Speakers return policy for standard speakers and components is a full refund within 30 days from the time received however doesn’t cover shipping charges. Custom speakers have a 25% restock fee. Speakers or components returned damaged will be have the costs to repair deducted from refund.
- Out of warrenty is: driver can be re-coned for $150, amplifier costs is parts dependant however it's not usually very much

Also if amp or driver is damaged you have to ship them for repairs or replacement whether in or out of warranty, you pay shipping charges regardless. If its out of warranty you'll have to pay for repair/replacement as well.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
I was curious to see if SVS had any future plans with upgrading their ported, cylinder or sealed subs. If SVS created a sub that had an 18" driver and 2400w Amp (matching JTR Captivator 2400) it could possibly be better in performance and build quality. I asked if possible 18 inch drivers and higher watt amps as a suggestion, this was their response:

SVS R&D has built many subwoofer prototypes with drivers up to 24" in diameter. The issue with offering subs with an 18" driver is overall size/weight/footprint, portability and ship-ability. There are a few brands offering an 18" driver, and overall their subs are very large. So it has to make sense from a go-to-market strategy and also from a world-wide market standpoint. It cannot just appeal to the ultra hard-core crowd who is chasing that last dB of max output. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that - it's actually a very small demographic in the universe of potential subwoofer buyers.
Our 13.5" Ultra driver is a technological tour de force, with sound quality and overall output matching or exceeding larger drivers from other brands. And the smaller overall size of our driver allows us to use a more compact overall cabinet with less visual impact in the room - something very important to many of our customers using our subs in living/family rooms.
To answer your question though, we have no current/imminent plans to offer an 18" driver, but we're always in a continuous improvement mode, so any future flagship offering from SVS will surely be an amazing performer, regardless of driver size.
We appreciate your interest in SVS and if you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Best regards…..
Ed Mullen, PE
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Not surprising. The PB13 itself is bigger than a beer fridge and triple the weight. I don't expect there's a big market for something considerably larger & heavier than that.

OTOH, they could do something on the sealed side. The old SB16U project would still be marketable IMHO, and obviously 18" sealed subs like the JTR S1 are still pretty compact compared to the PB13.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
I just thought that if SVS was to put out a sub with those specs, that it just might out due JTR's Captivator 2400 (which is a large 18" driver and ported). From what I've heard, JTR has consistent flow of orders for their subs so i guess there is some kind of market looking for this type of sub.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
From what I've heard, JTR has consistent flow of orders for their subs so i guess there is some kind of market looking for this type of sub.
Keep in mind that what JTR considers a consistent flow of orders would be a drop in the bucket for SVS. That said, even if it's entirely impractical for most, having a halo product or two might still be worthwhile.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
On a side note, I've been looking into getting a yamaha av receiver. On their website it states for just about all their aventage series that the rated output is: 20hz - 20khz. Does this mean the receiver will limit subs like the JTR and SVS from going lower than that frequency? My guess is that it doesn't but I am curious to why that's stated.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
Keep in mind that what JTR considers a consistent flow of orders would be a drop in the bucket for SVS. That said, even if it's entirely impractical for most, having a halo product or two might still be worthwhile.
I see what you mean. I also think others, myself included would like to see what halo subs (ported, sealed, cylinder) SVS would come out with. I may be wrong, but hasn't the 13 ultras been out for quite some time? I would like to hear where they are heading for future improvements with their subs. Ever since the 16" driver was canceled I haven't heard much else.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
A super sub for a company like SVS doesn't make that much sense. If you want a super sub, just stack a couple PB13s or SB13s. By doing so, you have just doubled the performance of a single unit.

A company like SVS can not release a new sub on a whim. They have a worldwide distribution network, and they have to be able to support their subwoofers everywhere they available. They need to get a hold of steady suppliers, they need to meet regulations and certifications around the world, there is all kinds of contracts which have to be drawn up. A new product for them has to be tested through and through, because to launch a new product on a large scale would be disastrous if that product turned out to have hidden problems. And as size goes up, shipping becomes an exponentially bigger PIA, so again a super sub becomes problematic. It's very expensive for SVS to develop a new product, so they have to be sure it will make enough sales to be profitable, and that involves a good deal of market research, which of course, is another expense. In the case of some high priced super subwoofer, it's iffy, and it's more difficult to gauge its marketability and sales potential. Hardly worth doing for something that would only ever going to have a small fraction of the sales that their other lines have.

The fact is, very few people want a huge sub in their living room. Keep in mind, in most places around the world, housing tends to be smaller than the USA. They don't have the sprawling suburbs that we have, and population density is much higher. Footprint becomes a much bigger deal in a smaller room, but what is worse is close proximity of neighbors. For these reasons, I don't see SVS developing a super sub on the level of a Captivator. Like I said before, if you want Captivator level performance from SVS, just stack two or three PB13s, it's essentially the same thing.

For JTR's business model, its is much easier to deal with massive subwoofers. Since there isn't a huge demand for them, JTR doesn't have to deal with large quantities of anything. As I understand it, they are mostly built to order, and they have a lead time. JTR is handling a niche market to which their style of manufacture is amenable.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
On a side note, I've been looking into getting a yamaha av receiver. On their website it states for just about all their aventage series that the rated output is: 20hz - 20khz. Does this mean the receiver will limit subs like the JTR and SVS from going lower than that frequency? My guess is that it doesn't but I am curious to why that's stated.
Any advice on this? Will either one of these subs be limited to only 20hz cutoff because the response of Yamaha Aventage receivers are 20hz - 20khz?
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Any advice on this? Will either one of these subs be limited to only 20hz cutoff because the response of Yamaha Aventage receivers are 20hz - 20khz?
No. The 20Hz-20kHz rating has to do with specifying the output of the Yammy's amplifiers. It's not meant to define the limits of the subwoofer preout.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
No. The 20Hz-20kHz rating has to do with specifying the output of the Yammy's amplifiers. It's not meant to define the limits of the subwoofer preout.
Thanks! How about my speakers that are rated higher than 20khz? Does the receiver cut those off at that frequency since it will be powered through the receivers amp and not pre out?
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Thanks! How about my speakers that are rated higher than 20khz? Does the receiver cut those off at that frequency since it will be powered through the receivers amp and not pre out?
Nah; take a look at one of the review measurements:
Yamaha RX-A1010 AVENTAGE A/V Receiver Review Measurements and Analysis | Audioholics

You can see the preouts are flat down to the measurement limit of 10Hz. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum, the power amp is ~3dB down around 80kHz.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
I also emailed Yamaha about the frequency response of the Aventage receivers and this is what i got back from them:

"Those are the frequency specs for it and it is not rated any high/lower then those specs."

To me that doesn't sound like what the Audioholics review on the receiver was, and as you stated flat down to 10hz around 3db down around 80khz. So I'm not too sure what he meant by that.
 
Last edited:
M

MidnightSensi2

Audioholic Chief
..you probably got a level 1 tech.. they're not going to say that their specs are wrong. That's just a nominal spec... it's not an engineering spec.
 
J

jasonr93

Junior Audioholic
For those considering the new Yamaha Aventage xx40 series, I contacted Yamaha to get an answer on the HDCP on their top of the line receivers.

"It will not be able to support HDCP 2.2."

Just for those of you who were wondering on this matter.
 
newsletter

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