SVS Customer Suport Is SUPERB!!!!!!!!

speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
I own an SVS PB12-NSD and have had it for several months now. One thing I have noticed is that it is spetacular when watching movies BUT I was not too impressed with its music performance. Notice here I sad "was" NOT "am" which means things have changed. Like many of you I have read various forums about how the actual room environment has on sub performance. Long story short, I have not only learned a great deal regarding this BUt have gotten to hear or shall I say see with my own eyes and ears just how profound room interaction is. With that said lets just say things are much much better.
How did I do this you ask? Well, I have been busy corresponding with Ed Mullen quite a bit over the last several weeks. The first thing I did was send hime a lot of pics of my set-up. I did this to show Ed exactly where I have my PB12 placed. Then, I explained in great detail what it is I am not satisfied with. I prefer a sub that is very articulate and punchy where there is not even a hint of boominess when listening to music. Further, I also like a lot of definition that includes distintness with respect to transients. In other words, no (1) note wonders here. Lastly, I informed Ed about some of the subs that I had previously owned which includes a Paradigm PDR12, Paradigm PS1000 v.4, Mirage S12, (2) Acoustic Research 8" subs, and an 8" Cerwin Vega I didn't even care to mention.
I re-ran the MCACC on my Pioneer 1015 and sent Ed the results. He made some suggestions and I followed them exactly. Yet, I still was NOT happy. The main thing I complained about is the "thinness" of the bass when listening to the kick-drums. And, there just was not enough "presence" if you will to suite my needs. But, things were beginning to sound better. So, I calibrated the levels to 80 db on my RS meter and plotted the frequency response using the Rives Test CD2. Sent the levels to Ed for his suggestions. He got back to me very quickly made some more suggestions and thus the changes were made. He also suggested I recalibrate the levels to 75 db with my RS meter and replot the frequency response. Therefore, once again I did this. Things were better sounding BUT the bass was still somewhat thin. Ed then suggested I calibrate only the sub to 78-79 db and when I did things improved a ton!!!!! Keep in mind the level on my receiver was set at - 5 and the gain on my PB12 was sure enough about 1/2 way just as Ed said it would probably be.
In closing, I just want to thank Ed Mullen for all of his help. Heck, he even tried to reach me by phone on (2) different occasions. I am like WOW!!!! Erik K has also been quite helpful. The customer service at SVS is just AWESOME period. According to Ed Mullen my frequency respone is now almost ruler flat from 20-160 Hz and is louder or as loud than the 160-630 Hz region. Although there were a couple of dips at 200 Hz and 315 hz respectively the response is almost picture perfect from 20-630 Hz. This is about as good as it gets OR at least the best I have ever been able to ascertain. Kudos to the SVS design team for building an oustanding product at a very reasonable price. I can't thank you enough. :):)
 
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speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
OOPS .............sorry for the typo.......LOL!!!!!:p:p It should be Support not Suport.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Speakerman,

That is great news, and I'm glad that your system is working out so well for you! I'm eagerly anticipating my first SVS sub that is schedule to arrive on Monday. Perhaps I'll be able to get them to help me out, too, if I need it.

I completely agree with you about their service. I also was blown away by them. I e-mailed them a month or so ago to ask them about the pre-order pricing on their new speaker line due out this fall. Ron Stimpson answered the e-mail personally, first sending me a short e-mail the next day to say that it would take a little longer to respond, and then sending another e-mail the next morning that answered all of my questions. He apologized for taking so long and offered me a free hat or shirt on my next order. He got back to me in a day and apologized! Incredible. I've sent e-mails to Emotiva and Impact Acoustics that seem to just get sucked into the ether...never to be heard from again, but SVS always responds fast and thoroughly. Top-notch experiences so far. I really look forward to my first audition of one of their products.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Speakerman,

That is great news, and I'm glad that your system is working out so well for you! I'm eagerly anticipating my first SVS sub that is schedule to arrive on Monday. Perhaps I'll be able to get them to help me out, too, if I need it.

I completely agree with you about their service. I also was blown away by them. I e-mailed them a month or so ago to ask them about the pre-order pricing on their new speaker line due out this fall. Ron Stimpson answered the e-mail personally, first sending me a short e-mail the next day to say that it would take a little longer to respond, and then sending another e-mail the next morning that answered all of my questions. He apologized for taking so long and offered me a free hat or shirt on my next order. He got back to me in a day and apologized! Incredible. I've sent e-mails to Emotiva and Impact Acoustics that seem to just get sucked into the ether...never to be heard from again, but SVS always responds fast and thoroughly. Top-notch experiences so far. I really look forward to my first audition of one of their products.
That is great Adam. Welcome to the SVS family. I am sure you will be happy. If there are any problems they will be more than happy to help you through them. One very important thing I forgot to mention in my update is that all this time I have gotten used to hearing bass that is NOT flat. In other words, there was some boost or midbass hump bulit into the design. It has taken a lot of work to get things they way I prefer them BUT it is all worth it. The sound I am getting now is just amazing. Now I get to experience what linear or flat bass is supposed to sound like and it makes all the difference. Even Ed Mullen said many would kill for the results I am getting. BTW, I have a shirt and cap BUT had to pay for mine..............LOL!!!!!!:p:p Which sub did you get???? Be sure to let us know what your observations are. It does take a bit of time for the sub to break-in so keep that in mind. Congrats once again and thanks for posting.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I'm getting one of the new PC-Ultras. I will definitely be posting pics and my impressions!
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
I'm getting one of the new PC-Ultras. I will definitely be posting pics and my impressions!
Wow, you are one lucky guy. Please be sure to do that. BTW, I also have a Pioneer 1015 and just love it. How do you like yours? Have a good night.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Wow, you are one lucky guy. Please be sure to do that. BTW, I also have a Pioneer 1015 and just love it. How do you like yours? Have a good night.
Lucky...with a lighter wallet. :D I've waited a while to treat myself to something, and the day that I saw those new Ultras announced, I knew that I was going to get one. I ordered mine within about 20 minutes of their website offering the preorders, and I'm just so happy that the production lines are up and running!

I really like the Pioneer 1015, too. Great unit.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Lucky...with a lighter wallet. :D I've waited a while to treat myself to something, and the day that I saw those new Ultras announced, I knew that I was going to get one. I ordered mine within about 20 minutes of their website offering the preorders, and I'm just so happy that the production lines are up and running!

I really like the Pioneer 1015, too. Great unit.
Be sure to let us know what your impressions are. Maybe one day I can own an ultra. Until then I am happy with my PB12-NSD. Have a good day.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
"family?" Brings a tear to my eye to see so much emotion over a subwoofer.
Yeah Clint it is so true. Even my boss pointed out to me that all I ever seem to do is think about "audio" all day long. :eek::eek: After giving that some more thought he is right..........LOL!!!!!!!!!! This hobby keeps me going. :):)
 
GlocksRock

GlocksRock

Audioholic Spartan
so where are the pics???

SVS does indeed have top notch customer service, too bad more companies can't follow suit.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
so where are the pics???

SVS does indeed have top notch customer service, too bad more companies can't follow suit.
I posted several pics lately. Just do a search and you can see my set-up. I tried to post more but it says I have reached my limit. On the members sytems forum there are some pics. :):)
 
J

jake5717

Audioholic
Awesome you got a pretty flat response. Do you have any room treatments?
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Awesome you got a pretty flat response. Do you have any room treatments?
Hey Jake, how are things? Hope all is well there my friend. Yes, got some very good results just by doing what Ed Mullen suggested. In fact, I now know what the significance truly is with respect to ascertaining a "flat" in room frequency response. It is one thing to read about this very important issue on various forums BUT quite another when you get to experience it for yourself. I have not done any room treatments whatsoever just played with sub placement. I originally, had the PB12 in the front left-hand corner and tried a few other places . The weird thing was things really did NOT sound much different so I was not too happy when listening to my music. However, I have learned that speaker placement is paramount to obtaining optimal performance. I got lucky in that I did not do any room treatments NOR do I own a BFD/SMS-1 to help me find the best location. However, I am now looking into buying a BFD which should improve things even more so. Likewise, I am also learning more about room treatments to hopefully squeeze even more performance out of my set-up. Anyways, sure is good to hear from Jake. Have a great day my friend.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I just wanted to add in my recent experience with SVS from this past week. I got my new PC-Ultra on Monday, and with wide eyes, I unpacked it. What a beautiful piece of equipment. Unfortunately, the top grill had a small dent along the rim. So, I called SVS and asked them about the grill, and Erik told me that they'd certainly send me out a new grill but that he wanted me to get it all hooked up and check out the sub because anything that could cause that dent during shipping might have damaged something else. Initially, everything seemed to work fine, but I started to experience some behavior from the amp that I didn't expect. As one example, the second time that I switched on the main power switch (after being off all day), it didn't come on - and it took some time to get it to come back to life. Also, there was a possible indication of damage on the top of the cylinder near that dent (as if it had been pushed down by whatever caused the dent), but it was slight enough that I couldn't say if it was normal or not. So, I e-mailed SVS on Wednesday to ask them about it. Tom V. has been responding personally over the past two days, has always been very prompt and complete in his responses, mentioned in his second response that they might want to replace the unit just to be on the safe side, and this morning said that they'll be shipping me out a new unit next week. I mentioned that I didn't want to put them through the hassle of replacing it if I'm just doing something wrong. Tom responded that the unit might be okay, but that he didn't want to take any chances. He's even going to throw in a couple of shirts for the inconvenience!

To me, this whole experience has been a delight. Sure, having a perfect sub would have been nice, but to be able to find out what a great company SVS is has made this worth it. For me, this has already been a far better experience than when a local "high-end" dealer sold me a defective sub about ten years ago. That dealer (and staff, with the exception of one guy) denied for over two years that there was anything wrong with the sub until I finally contacted the manufacturer, who immediately acknowledged that my sub (based on serial number) was part of a bad production run.

I already thought that SVS customer service was outstanding before this, and this experience has certainly been no exception. I would not hesitate to recommend them.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
Another Customer Service Award to SVS

I was dusting my sub yesterday and notice that the wood veneer was cracking in places on one side :(. I looked up the warranty information on the SVS website and a calm came over me since I was still covered. That itself speaks volumes for SVS. At 9pm PST I send SVS an e-mail with a photo and got a reply at 11pm PST :eek:. Erik replied with the option to replace the shell and asking me to call them to complete the transaction. Basically, they were sending me a new shell matching finish at no cost, no shipping (but, I decided to upgrade to the Black piano gloss finish for $100 :cool:).

Here is the icing on the cake. I spoke with Erik for a few minutes on the options around upgrading (yes, when I saw the cracks, first emotion was surprise and dismay, immediately followed by a sever attack of Upgraditis :D). After discussing the pros and cons Erik actually talked me out of doing a lateral upgrade to a PB-12 Plus/2 or upgrade to a PB-13 Ultra. Impressive honesty, what more can you ask for.

Fantastic experience. Kudos to SVS Customer Support.
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
I thought only wifes were allowed to dust?
 

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