It's been a long journey with lots of help along the way from forumites of various races, culture, and creed to sway me to my decision to purchase the SVS PB10 NSD. It's one of the most popular subwoofers in the Home Theater circle and for good reason: Price to performance ratio, there are few challengers.
So what makes it so good? Let's take a look at the specs:
-Proprietary, SVS long-throw 10" NSD woofer
-300 watt BASH digital switching amp
-CAD cabinet with CNC brace and 1" front baffle
-Front-firing design with flush fit woofer and vent
-Patented 3" ID, wide-flare port fittings
-Six removable, compliant floor isolation points
-Extra heavy-duty, removable 8 foot power cord
-Contemporary, "seamless" cabinet styling
+/- 3dB from 20-100 Hz anechoic (in room extension will be 2-5 Hz deeper)
-Size: 15" wide x 19" high x 21" deep
-Weight: 60 pounds
It is essentially a 10" woofer residing in the body of a 12" sub. Or to use an automotive analogy:
It's like throwing in a puny 2.0 4cylinder engine into a Boss Mustang or Cuda.
But... what if that sucker was supercharged to compete against V8 monster engines? Wouldn't that be something!? Well, people do it all the time, with a little bit of elbow grease. Lucky for us, the good people at SVS did the same with the PB10. It's a hybrid monster of a sub that looks plain jane actually, with its boxy exterior and simplified rear panel, which consists of only the sub input, the master gain and phase control alongside the auto/on toggle switch. A bright Red LED turns Green when the sub goes into its
HULK Smash mode.
The PB10 NSD's ability to go deep into the 18hz range - FLAT - with plenty of output at $429US and $499CAN is a remarkable achievement indeed. And this is precisely why the PB10 has been one of the most recommended subs out there for most situations.
Now let's get to my
situation. My room is an upstairs bedroom that is 12x14 feet with 8 feet ceiling for half the room and 11 foot ceiling for the rest. It's not the most ideal room - and I wasn't certain that the PB10 would be up to the task. I was drifting between the PB10 and the PB12. Eventually, I decided that the PB10
should be enough for such a small room, despite the oddities of the room itself. Afterall, I've read countless posts from PB10 owners being completely satisfied with the performance in rooms that are more than twice as big as mine.
So how did the PB10 NSD do when I unboxed it and fired it up?
Buckle up!!!
It's very well packed! Great job by SVS on this one. It was double boxed with foam at each corner and spine. The goodies include the power cord and a ziplock bag with the manual, SVS pen, and a couple fuses. The manual itself is very informative, and goes in-depth into setting up the subwoofer - moreso than any manufacturer manual I've seen. It gives the reader the impression that SVS really wants you - the owner - to experience the most from this piece of gear.
However, to do some of the advanced calibrations listed, one requires the use of a Sound Pressure Level Meter (SPL for short) - something I don't own, but plan to get eventually. Let's get this out of the way first, I'm a home theater
enthusiast not an
afficionado; thus, I represent the majority of the PB10 target audience, who are not "Experts" in the field of calibration.
At this point you're thinking
"blah blah... get to the goods already!!!. Ok fine. But...Don't you think Pandas are just some of the cutest animals ever? I mean look at those black circles around the eyes...
Reminds me of myself after sitting through a marathon of
The Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy, back-to-back.
So let's start there. We all know the scenes from
Fellowship of the Ring:
- Sauron's finger cut/ring drop
- Sauron exploding
- Bucket down the well (in Balin's Tomb)
Simply stunning! One of the best DTS tracks on DVD has some of the most chest pounding, low bass scenes around. Brilliantly mixed and the LFE just flows. It's always there in LOTR, and in the opening few chapters, it's a feast for the eyes, ears and arteries....
As you can see, my setup is aimed at maximum Tactile impact due to the placement of the PB10 in accordance with my HT couch. There is a 6inch clearance that gives the sub enough room to breathe while sending each LFE pulse right through the wood and fabric of the couch.
When the ring is cut, it's such an amazing LFE moment as it continuously transitions from low bass to impacting bass (30hz+) then into nothing... The PB10 delivered it clean - with no hickups.
The bucket scene is regarded as a real test of subs. The instance where the camera pans over the dark stony walls of Moria, the bass is really low there. My door started creaking. No problems. It sounded great!
Next up, my Go-To scene for Bass: The Queen's Ship landing sequence in
Star Wars: Episode 2, Attack of the Clones.
There are varying levels of bass here around the 1:50 - 3:30 into the movie. All of it deep and really satisfying to "feel" since you can't hear much of it. My favourite is the ship about to land. My body felt like it was being tazered from the relentless low bass attack during this scene. Just a fantastic scene, and I was pleased to finally experience it the way it was meant to be.
Now to everyone's favourite: The relentless pounding of
War of the Worlds. Love him or hate him, Spielberg's movies always sound good and gets excellent DTS tracks with great separations. The Pods emergence sequence is one of the longest and bass heavy scenes ever put to film.
With the PB10, the result is damn near Catastrophic! I was literally squeezing the armrests of my couch as I experienced the whole scene. My walls felt like they were going to come down. I think my vision was also blurring. My media rack was vibrating non-stop! It was an experience, to be sure! The Death Ray blasts were super fun! I don't remember them being so "shocking" but they were. Great tactile effects here! I can't wait to hear this on Blu-ray with a DTS MA track. I can't imagine how much better it would sound! If I had any concerns about lacking power with a 10" woofer and 300w amp, I wasn't anymore. Even at just past 1/2 gain, the PB10 is VERY LOUD!
