Interesting conclusion, but useless. The PB-13U comes in many different finishes on top of the normal black, and even with the High Gloss Piano Black, it still retails for less then the top Axiom units. Seems that was the only pro for Axiom, that and size. It also is pointless to base audio system purchases on aesthetics, considering it has no bearing on sound. I realize some of you have guidelines, but if you're going to throw down $2200 on a subwoofer, you're obviously serious about the hobby. That amount of dedication normally would yield a more dedicated resolve.
Unfortunately, your comparison doesn't hold much merit without it being conducted blind. We all try to be honest, but you just can't know for sure (well, some are not honest, but think they are right. These are the worst kind of people, unwilling to hear anything else). Hopefully you will realize why these are important, not just for pride, or the sake of being right, but to help others seeking guidance, that are desperate for information. You'd be surprised what people will believe.
SheepStar
Sheep, thanks for reminding me why I quickly tire of most internet forums... your post not only is unnecessarily abrasive, it also doesn't take into account much of what I wrote in my review. If you disagree with me, that's fine, I'm entirely used to that, but your response took it to another level that makes having a civil discussion about the merits of both subs somewhat difficult.
So, to reiterate:
1) The testing was done blindly.
2) In total, 6 different people including me participated, all with varying degrees of HT knowledge and experience. The goal of the session was not to post the results in a scientific journal, it was for a group of guys to have fun listening to a pair of very nice subwoofers.
3) In my posts on the Axiom boards, I clearly pointed out where the SVS was superior and where to me the two subs sounded very similar. Not only that, I posted the response curves in my room showing how much louder and deeper the SVS could go... I'm not sure how much more unbiased I could be.
To repeat the summary of why I decided the way I did, to me, at normal listening volumes and on 95% source material, there was little if any discernible difference between the two to my ears (which I'll state again is all I can base my opinion on, if others have more sophisticated hearing, their opinion will definitely differ). The SVS is capable of hitting louder and deeper, however when I started listening at high volumes (~100 dB peaks) and at the ultra-low frequencies (15-18hz), both subs start to exhibit their very minor (and different) shortcomings.
The Axiom is limited in that at ~15 Hz, it becomes subject to port noise, an ugly attribute indeed. Similarly, around the same frequencies, when pushed hard, the SVS can be heard noticeably "bottoming out" as the driver reaches its maximum excursion and begins to distort. The Axiom sub has a DSP in it that keeps it from distorting like the SVS does, but this limits SPL at those frequencies as well, so neither situation is perfect.
To reach distortion, you have to be playing the SVS extremely loudly, way louder than I listen to in normal circumstances. Similarly, to reach the point where port noise can be heard on the Axiom, you have to be listening to extremely LOW bass, which is present only in 1 or 2 DVDs out of my entire collection (one of which (The Pulse) was purchased specifically for testing, not because I like the movie or will ever watch it for any other reason).
So, to refer back to my summary, performance between the two subs during normal listening (for me) was very very similar, which pushed the decision to another factor, aesthetics. I don't expect everyone to agree with my choice and was not trying to evangelize that Axiom is a better speaker. In fact, I don't think I could have said more clearly in my lead in to this thread that I felt both speakers were excellent and that I'd be happy to own either. The fact that you read all that, plus my review, and came back claiming that the review was useless and possibly indicative of bias to me says you are just spoiling for a fight. If so, I decline.
To the rest of you who read the review for what it was and posted comments to that end, thanks, I'm glad you found it useful. If anyone has questions about either sub or other suggestions about my future setup, I'm happy to continue discussing them.
Jason
