Advice on near future purchase for A/V system - sub-woofer or amplifier?

[nwgarcia]

I was wondering if I could get some advice about a future purchase I am planning on making. I currently have a 5.0 system made up of the following speakers and components:


SVS Ultra Tower Fronts

SVS Ultra Center Channel

SVS Surrounds

Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier

Emotiva MC-700 A/V processor

Sony UBP-X800 UHD Bluray Player

55" Ultra High Definition LG TV

My room is small: 12' x 12'

I am thinking of either purchasing a quality sub-woofer (probably SVS SB-2000) or adding too and/or replacing my current amplification with a better amplifier.

I have the ability to do the following:

• Turn my 5.0 system into a 7.0 system by setting my SVS Surrounds in duet mode. I would need another 2 channels do this. So one option would be to get a second amplifier that is either a 2 or 3 channel amplifier for my SVS Ultra Towers and maybe my SVS Ultra Center Channel speaker. I spend at least 50% of my time listening to 2-channel music.
• Keep my system 5.0 and replace my Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier with a better amplifier that would improve overall sound quality.
• Replace my Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier with a better quality 7 channel amplifier and take advantage of the duet mode the SVS Ultra Surrounds offer.
• Finally keep my current amplification and instead turn the system from a 5.0 system to a 5.1 system with a high quality sub-woofer?

I will definitely be doing a system upgrade in next month or so. But I want to make sure I make a decision that will produce the greatest improvement in my sound system.

If you would be willing to address each of the above options and make a recommendation that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Phase 2]

Add a GOOD sub! Nothing's wrong with your electronics. You have a nice system, plus I'm digging all your little people's! Nice! Especially that little dude on your right speaker. What is he/she?

 

[tiggastylez]

If I were you, I would purchase the subwoofer. It’s the most important channel. While I’m sure your ultras are giving you decent bass right now, there is no way it can produce clean notes down to the 20,30, or even 40 range that the dedicated sub will shine on.

I’ll give you an example. I thought having Polk audio A9 with 3 woofers on each of those front channels were enough. But when I added two very entry level subs...and I mean no where near the quality of the 2000’s you’re contemplating, the HT experience became so much richer. Don’t forget to ensure your avr is setup to send all the lfe sounds to subs instead of sharing it between sub and fronts.

 

[Verdinut]

Welcome to AH,

If you want to improve the performance of your system, the first step would be to get the SVS SB2000.

Then, when you decide to go for the 7.1 system, I would suggest the Monoprice Monolith 3, a three channel amp to be used on your front channels. That amplifier has very good specs and was positively reviewed on this site and others as well. You could use the UPA500 to amplify your surround channels.

It's no use replacing the Emotiva amp as you won't get any noticeable improvement. This amplifier is acoustically transparent, and powerful enough in your small room. Should you want to improve further, you could get a second SB2000 to obtain not a louder but a smoother bass response in your listening space.

 

[lovinthehd]

Another vote for a good sub. Why the SB2000 particularly? How big a room?

 

[snakeeyes]

Another vote for subs. I’d also look at HSU Research VTF2.5 or possibly go to the SVS PB2000. Good luck!

 

[Verdinut]

Another vote for a good sub. Why the SB2000 particularly? How big a room?

@lovinthehd,

The OP indicated 12' X 12' in his first post.

The reason, I guess, he was thinking of the SB2000, is that his main and surround speakers are SVS products.

He could also get the PB2000 instead, but taking account of the room size and the fact that the sealed box is reported as having a response down to -3dB at 19Hz, I don't see the need for the ported unit. However, I have no reservation either against the PB2000.

 

[lovinthehd]

@lovinthehd,

The OP indicated 12' X 12' in his first post.

The reason, I guess, he was thinking of the SB2000, is that is main and surround speakers are SVS products.

He could also get the PB2000 instead, but taking account of the room size and the fact that the sealed box is reported as having a response down to -3dB at 19Hz, I don't see the need for the ported unit. However, I have no reservation either against the PB2000.

Thanks, missed that. Agree with that small a room the sealed sub might work fine, altho I'd probably be looking at a Hsu VTF 2 Mk5 for the price of the SVS which I think is a bit high.

 

[keepamonte]

What percent are you enjoying movie to music?
Are you currently using your room correction software on the preamp?
What's the chance you will be moving or changing rooms in the near or distant future?
What's your budget?
What do you feel you are missing now that you would like to gain?

I would start with a powered sub! For both movies and music, I think you would find instant gratification with a nice powerful sub. If there's a chance you'll move or possibly go to a larger room, I would buy a nice sub with the thoughts of adding an additional sub later on ( if you buy a sealed sub now, probably buy another sealed later versus possibly mixing a sealed and a ported in the same room together). I added a second sub and WOW, what a difference! Lastly, will your next purchase make you want a bigger or 4K tv to to match the sound?

 

[ryanosaur]

I like PC2000 from SVS, Hsu vtf2... maybe monolith 10"? But because of room size, the PC2000 has the smallest actual footprint and performs just as well as the PB.

But definitely sub/subs first!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

@lovinthehd,

The OP indicated 12' X 12' in his first post.

The reason, I guess, he was thinking of the SB2000, is that his main and surround speakers are SVS products.

He could also get the PB2000 instead, but taking account of the room size and the fact that the sealed box is reported as having a response down to -3dB at 19Hz, I don't see the need for the ported unit. However, I have no reservation either against the PB2000.

Just thought I’d touch on this due to experience with the SB2k. Albeit my room is much much larger, the sb2k has to work very hard to make use of 19hz. I thought the poor thing was gonna inchworm across my floor! Anyway, It’s a very nice little sub and sounds excellent with music and movies(although it is NOT an output monster). I’m gonna echo @ryanosaur and recommend a PC2k. Although 2 would be sweet!!!

 

[nwgarcia]

Add a GOOD sub! Nothing's wrong with your electronics. You have a nice system, plus I'm digging all your little people's! Nice! Especially that little dude on your right speaker. What is he/she?

Add a GOOD sub! Nothing's wrong with your electronics. You have a nice system, plus I'm digging all your little people's! Nice! Especially that little dude on your right speaker. What is he/she?

Add a GOOD sub! Nothing's wrong with your electronics. You have a nice system, plus I'm digging all your little people's! Nice! Especially that little dude on your right speaker. What is he/she?

Thanks for your input. The dude on the right speaker is Treebeard.

 

[nwgarcia]

Welcome to AH,

If you want to improve the performance of your system, the first step would be to get the SVS SB2000.

Then, when you decide to go for the 7.1 system, I would suggest the Monoprice Monolith 3, a three channel amp to be used on your front channels. That amplifier has very good specs and was positively reviewed on this site and others as well. You could use the UPA500 to amplify your surround channels.

It's no use replacing the Emotiva amp as you won't get any noticeable improvement. This amplifier is acoustically transparent, and powerful enough in your small room. Should you want to improve further, you could get a second SB2000 to obtain not a louder but a smoother bass response in your listening space.

Thanks for your detailed reply! I really appreciate it.

 

[nwgarcia]

Another vote for a good sub. Why the SB2000 particularly? How big a room?

The people at SVS said that they felt that would be the best sub for my room and person like me who listens to music as much as they watch movies. My room is small: 12" x 12" with high ceiling.

 

[nwgarcia]

What percent are you enjoying movie to music?
Are you currently using your room correction software on the preamp?
What's the chance you will be moving or changing rooms in the near or distant future?
What's your budget?
What do you feel you are missing now that you would like to gain?

I would start with a powered sub! For both movies and music, I think you would find instant gratification with a nice powerful sub. If there's a chance you'll move or possibly go to a larger room, I would buy a nice sub with the thoughts of adding an additional sub later on ( if you buy a sealed sub now, probably buy another sealed later versus possibly mixing a sealed and a ported in the same room together). I added a second sub and WOW, what a difference! Lastly, will your next purchase make you want a bigger or 4K tv to to match the sound?

- I listen to music at least as much as I watch movies.
- I had my Emotiva MC-700 do all the calibration of correction
- There is little chance I will be changing the placement of the system. I will only try to improve what I have to work with over time.
- Ideally I would like to spend under $1,000 but could be talked into spending more.....
- That is the problem. My wife and I have both talked about how you don't miss things if you haven't actually experienced it. I do know I don't want musical instruments to sound real and not bloated. Anyway the following is a quote from my interaction with a SVS representative:

"With the room size and your listening to music 50/50 or so, the SB-2000 should be more then enough to pressurize the room and provide you good clean deep bass for both movies and music."

- I am already set up with a 4K TV and my Sony UBP-X800 UHD Bluray Player does HDR.

Thanks for your detailed reply and questions. All of you are really helping me in this process.

 

[keepamonte]

- I listen to music at least as much as I watch movies.
- I had my Emotiva MC-700 do all the calibration of correction
- There is little chance I will be changing the placement of the system. I will only try to improve what I have to work with over time.
- Ideally I would like to spend under $1,000 but could be talked into spending more.....
- That is the problem. My wife and I have both talked about how you don't miss things if you haven't actually experienced it. I do know I don't want musical instruments to sound real and not bloated. Anyway the following is a quote from my interaction with a SVS representative:

"With the room size and your listening to music 50/50 or so, the SB-2000 should be more then enough to pressurize the room and provide you good clean deep bass for both movies and music."

- I am already set up with a 4K TV and my Sony UBP-X800 UHD Bluray Player does HDR.

Thanks for your detailed reply and questions. All of you are really helping me in this process.

With SVS's generous return policy, you have very little to lose by trying the SB-2000. I would be very surprised with proper room calibration that you and your wife wouldn't hear or feel a noticeable improvement!
Good luck and let us know your outcome!

 

[markw]

Go for the sub. It won't affect the overall sound but it will extend the lower range so music or movies that have information "down there" will sound much, much fuller. You may find that you don't have to play the system as loud as you now do because of the added fullness.

 

[Sef_Makaro]

I was wondering if I could get some advice about a future purchase I am planning on making. I currently have a 5.0 system made up of the following speakers and components:


SVS Ultra Tower Fronts

SVS Ultra Center Channel

SVS Surrounds

Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier

Emotiva MC-700 A/V processor

Sony UBP-X800 UHD Bluray Player

55" Ultra High Definition LG TV

My room is small: 12' x 12'

View attachment 28521



I am thinking of either purchasing a quality sub-woofer (probably SVS SB-2000) or adding too and/or replacing my current amplification with a better amplifier.

I have the ability to do the following:

• Turn my 5.0 system into a 7.0 system by setting my SVS Surrounds in duet mode. I would need another 2 channels do this. So one option would be to get a second amplifier that is either a 2 or 3 channel amplifier for my SVS Ultra Towers and maybe my SVS Ultra Center Channel speaker. I spend at least 50% of my time listening to 2-channel music.
• Keep my system 5.0 and replace my Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier with a better amplifier that would improve overall sound quality.
• Replace my Emotiva UPA-500 amplifier with a better quality 7 channel amplifier and take advantage of the duet mode the SVS Ultra Surrounds offer.
• Finally keep my current amplification and instead turn the system from a 5.0 system to a 5.1 system with a high quality sub-woofer?

I will definitely be doing a system upgrade in next month or so. But I want to make sure I make a decision that will produce the greatest improvement in my sound system.

If you would be willing to address each of the above options and make a recommendation that would be greatly appreciated.

If it were me I’d add a sub or two. The rest of your system is already solid.

You’ll get a dozen different recommendations for subs from different companies and they’ll all likely be good. All I’ll add is that if it were me I’d go for a ported sub. For me at least they seem to be easier to tune to that sweet spot of being subtly present in most content and powerful when appropriate.

 

[nwgarcia]

A big thanks for all of you who have provided insights and input. You have made my decision to go with a subwoofer an easy one. I plan on taking a bit more time to make sure which one to get. I love my SVS Ultra Towers, so I may stay with the SVS brand, but I will try to be objective about that decision.

I actually really appreciate the fact that SVS didn't just tell me to by the PC-4000 because I have all their ultra series speakers. They actually seem to be trying to give aim me towards what they think would work best in for my room size and listening prefrences.

I orginially thought of the PC-2000 but SVS did not suggest that subwoofer to me. My assumption is that they may have felt that my room size is small and also I have wood floors. I think that might negatively impact the sound of the PC-2000.

Maybe I will do as one of you suggested, try out the SB-2000 and see if it works for my family. If not, I have 45 days to send it back without charge.

 

[Sef_Makaro]

A big thanks for all of you who have provided insights and input. You have made my decision to go with a subwoofer an easy one. I plan on taking a bit more time to make sure which one to get. I love my SVS Ultra Towers, so I may stay with the SVS brand, but I will try to be objective about that decision.

I actually really appreciate the fact that SVS didn't just tell me to by the PC-4000 because I have all their ultra series speakers. They actually seem to be trying to give aim me towards what they think would work best in for my room size and listening prefrences.

I orginially thought of the PC-2000 but SVS did not suggest that subwoofer to me. My assumption is that they may have felt that my room size is small and also I have wood floors. I think that might negatively impact the sound of the PC-2000.

Maybe I will do as one of you suggested, try out the SB-2000 and see if it works for my family. If not, I have 45 days to send it back without charge.

I personally prefer the sound of a ported sub. I just swapped out an SB-2000 for a PB-2000 in my second system. The SB-2000 sounded great but I like the slightly lower rumble from the PB-2000. It seems to have better subtle presence. The room my second system is in is a smallish bedroom (maybe 12’x14’x8’ roughly)