Underwhelmed with dual SVS SB-3000's, help!

[danzaman]

Hey all, I have a pair of SVS SB-3000's I'm trying out in my room. They're good... really good at times. But not quite epic enough for what I'm after (low-end extension/overall output). No limit on budget, just looking for ultimate performance in a small space. I'm at about 50/50 movies and music in a fairly small/medium room. I'm tempted to explore JTR...but think it might be overkill until I build my dedicated home theater.

I have an Anthem MRX 1140 receiver and diagram of the layout below:

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I’d say if setup is good, you’re finding why ported subs are just better. How long have you had them? I would use the bill of rights to try out the PB3000 instead. I also think JTR, Rythmik, PSA, and monolith are worthy contenders, but you’re already in the SVS ecosystem, so it makes sense to stay in that lane. Small room, PC4000’s might be worth a look too.

 

[danzaman]

So, I know this sounds crazy but I actually had dual PC-4000's in this room too and somehow was underwhelmed. That being said, I did have limited placement options since they're so large. It was almost as if the SB-3000's performed better. Room gain perhaps? The PC-4000's only really sounded good in the moderate - loud listening volumes.

My room is pretty hard, so I'm getting bass traps and have treated the entire ceiling.

Don't get me wrong, they're pretty amazing subs, but I guess I'm looking for EPIC sound. Might be a combination of setup and/or my expectations being very high...

 

[MalVeauX]

Hi,

Good sub output is the room, so really if you're underwhelmed its most likely not the subs in this case (for your sub size vs room size), it's the room response and placement. If you're not already measuring with a calibrated mic, you'll want one, so you can see exactly what your room is doing. Your sub can only show off based on the room. So if they're both sitting in nulls, you'll want to optimize placement and it starts by measuring so you know exactly what it's doing. You can probably fix this problem just with placement, but its so much easier to measure and get it right based on measuring response so you know exactly what is happening and what to do.

Otherwise, if you're wanting to get epic output these will demolish the room. But, you still need to optimize placement and not sit them in a null:

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Very best,

 

[depechefan]

Have you tried different positions? I have a slightly bigger room and I have 2 SB 4000s. They have plenty of output so I think the 3000s should be able to fill your room just fine. Very happy with the SB version myself.

 

[danzaman]

My understanding of going ported is that I'll get deeper extension but it might fight room gain a bit more? Whereas sealed will take advantage of room gain?

Would the FV18 still be incredible for music?

 

[Pogre]

My understanding of going ported is that I'll get deeper extension but it might fight room gain a bit more? Whereas sealed will take advantage of room gain?

Would the FV18 still be incredible for music?

How big is your room?

This is why I always go with ported. If you think a pair of SB3000s outperforms PC4000s then I would assume you have placement opportunities and/or some room modes. If I were you I'd invest in a calibrated mic so you can see what's going on in your room and if it's not too late trade those SB3000s in for ported.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

My understanding of going ported is that I'll get deeper extension but it might fight room gain a bit more? Whereas sealed will take advantage of room gain?

Would the FV18 still be incredible for music?

Wel room gain is room gain. All subs can take advantage of it. But sealed subs have a shallower roll off, so “theoretically”, you can get deeper extension and output. Imo this is often overstated and people mistakenly think they can stuff sealed subs in a corner and it’s just like ported. So no, ported subs won’t “fight” room gain, but they roll off a lot steeper(24db per octave vs 12 db per octave of sealed) so they benefit less in extension from room gain. Also sealed subs can take as many as four ported subs below about 35hz.
Yes. The fv18’s are awesome. All the way around. Kinda big though lol.

 

[danzaman]

I just downloaded REW and picked up a miniDSP UMIK-1 mic...now I just have to learn how to use it

 

[Pogre]

I just downloaded REW and picked up a miniDSP UMIK-1 mic...now I just have to learn how to use it

There's a learning curve but once you get your arms around it it's no biggie. The ability to accurately measure what's going on in my room has been invaluable for me for troubleshooting. Almost like I got a subwoofer upgrade just straightening out my bass fr.

 

[j_garcia]

My guess is, it is the room. It is too small and rectangular shaped that you get cancellation at multiple frequencies. The room isn't large enough to allow the deepest notes to fully develop, so you are always getting a partial wave and that will create more cancellation (20Hz is 56.5 ft). The closer you sit to the wall, the worse it will be IMO. Try adjusting your seating position forward or back around 6" and see if it changes. Placement of the subs will be critical as well. You might actually be better of with them collocated.

 

[lovinthehd]

Might also want to dive into just what you've done to setup/integrate your subs each time. Room/setup seem more involved in your setup than simply what sub/type of sub....but could be some odd expectations as well.