SVS Subs, Cyclinder or Box???

[Giuseppe]

I have heard a lot of you guys saying that SVS subs are by far the best subs for your $$$. But, I havn't heard many people arguing which are better, the cylinder or the box? Say id you were trying to make more of a movie and games system which style would be better?

 

[j_garcia]

Whichever one fits your price. They all perform very well and you wouldn't go wrong with either. They are somewhat staggered in price so they don't compete directly with each other, but the respective performance of the various models in their price category are similar. The cylinders take up less floor space, but they are taller.

 

[pearsall001]

Call SVS direct. They are great folks & will answer all your questions. I have the 25-31pc+. Cylinder vs box is strictly a personal preference as to the look. Before I bought mine I asked the identical question & was given the above answer. Pick their brains a little, give room dim & taste in music & HT sound you like. They'll hook you up good.

 

[Josuah]

You might take a trip to avtalk.co.uk to look at their subwoofer reviews. A few different SVS models (as well as models by other manufacturers) are there, and you might be surprised at the differences in performance. Unfortunately the models you're interested in may not be included.

 

[mkossler]

I went with the cylinder (20-39), primarily because of the guidance provided by SVS on their site. At the time (and probably today), they presented the cylinder as being slightly higher performance at the respective price point, mainly due to the simpler job of making a cylinder-shaped sub structurally sufficient. The lower cost of development and production were passed on to the buyer.

Esthetics are a significant factor. If you prefer (big) furniture, the box will likely appeal to you more. The cylinder has its own appeal, in my (biased) opinion, but you won't find any pretty wood veneer covering it.

The good news? Whichever you choose, when you put that movie or music track on, you'd better hold on.

 

[Ron Temple]

I own the cylinder and couldn't be happier with it's performance. Esthetically, I prefer the box, but SVS boxes take more floor space are harder to move and, in my case, are too big to fit in my front soundstage. So I have the tube hidden behind my EC in a corner. It's very cool to have massive bass with no discernable sub in sight .

 

[patnshan]

I went with the cylinder (20-39), primarily because of the guidance provided by SVS on their site. At the time (and probably today), they presented the cylinder as being slightly higher performance at the respective price point, mainly due to the simpler job of making a cylinder-shaped sub structurally sufficient. The lower cost of development and production were passed on to the buyer.

Esthetics are a significant factor. If you prefer (big) furniture, the box will likely appeal to you more. The cylinder has its own appeal, in my (biased) opinion, but you won't find any pretty wood veneer covering it.

The good news? Whichever you choose, when you put that movie or music track on, you'd better hold on.

Tubes are cheaper because they are less in demand and are made of cardboard. I think they would be more bang for the buck because of this. More money left for amp and driver

Pat

 

[Ron Temple]

More margin for SVS too, but that's ok, they need it for R&D .

 

[shokhead]

I love plant stands.

 

[j_garcia]

I wouldn't be putting any plants on top of any of the big SVSs, althogh a dancing plant might be funny. Ron almost lost a clock

Tubes are only in less demand since they came out with the box versions, but a cylinder is much more efficient for the amount of air volume needed. A box needs a lot of bracing to achieve the same capability of a cylinder, making it much heavier.

 

[daman4799]

Cylinders weigh less hence easier to move around & cheaper to ship too.

Later, Daman

 

[j_garcia]

They weigh less, but they are physically large (long), so they arent a LOT less to ship.

 

[mulester7]

Tubes are cheaper because they are less in demand and are made of cardboard

.....where did you get the SVS cylinders are made of cardboard?....the 16-46 pluses I had were of a quality build using a hard thick plastic compound for the cylinder bodies.....

 

[patnshan]

They weigh less, but they are physically large (long), so they arent a LOT less to ship.

They are a lot less to ship, at least in my case. The 20-39 ships to me for like $27 and the PB-12 for like $55.

Pat

 

[PENG]

They weigh less, but they are physically large (long), so they arent a LOT less to ship.

SVS does charge less to ship a cylinder than an equivalent box.

 

[patnshan]

.....where did you get the SVS cylinders are made of cardboard?....that's ridiculous....the 16-46 pluses I had were of a quality build using a hard thick plastic compound for the cylinder bodies.....

According to the website, they are polymer (plastic) wrapped. I believe that inside that is very thick cardboard. Obviously a higher grade than the box it comes in, but cardboard none the less. I will try to confirm, but am certain that I read that somewhere. I think that is why they cost the same but perform better than the same priced boxes.

Pat

 

[mulester7]

According to the website, they are polymer (plastic) wrapped. I believe that inside that is very thick cardboard. Obviously a higher grade than the box it comes in, but cardboard none the less. I will try to confirm, but am certain that I read that somewhere. I think that is why they cost the same but perform better than the same priced boxes.

Pat

.....Pat, I just shot an email to Tom at SVS....you done got my curiousity up....will report when I receive....if there is cardboard on the inside, it's black....I looked down through the top ports more than once with a flashlight, and all I ever saw was black....you may be correct, I don't know......

 

[mulester7]

.....can Tom answer an email quickly or what?....I guess I showed my ignorance, but cardboard they ain't....let's call it a draw, Pat....from Tom Vodhanel at SVS.....


"The cylinder subs at SVS are comprised of a very dense thick layer of compressed paper. You can lay one of our cylinders on its side and use it as a seat with no endcaps in it. That is how strong they are."

.....edit....and Gentlemen, let me assure you, were you to order two SVS 16-46+'s for Home Theater DVD's, you would be done....anybody's sub can perform well with Motherships blowing up, but the faint subsonic rumbles during quiet scenes are what I remember from the 16-46+'s I had, that I gave to my son-in-law....I've been tempted to go knock him out and take them back at times, but that would be the easy part....then I would have to take on my daughter, and she don't fight fair......

 

[mulester7]

.....well, I just received an email from Ron Stimpson as he burns the midnight oil at SVS/Denver.....


"We prefer "wood pulp based, extreme high density, ultra low air content,
compressed fiber cylinder, laminated under extreme pressure, polymer
wrapped and CNC cut proprietary tubing." About .25" thick they
have been shipped all over the world, in thousands, and not one, not ONE
has ever been damaged in shipping or in subsequent use.

If someone say's "hey your sub is made out of cardboard"... just reply
"yeah some people would be misinformed enough to say that, but at least it's
not made out of 'sawdust and glue' (MDF)".

You malign what you don't understand in life we've learned at SVS."

 

[Giuseppe]

All the looks and stuff aside, what type of sub would you recommend? I am thinking of going with the PB12-ISD/2 or the PB12-PLUS, which one would be better for movies and games? I have a 14' by 12' room with 7' ceiling.