SVS

[coalmike]

I am planning to purchase either two SVS SB12-NSD or one SVS SB-2000. The price is about $600.00 either way but I can't decide which to do. Should I buy two of the cheaper ones or one of the better ones? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks, Mike

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hey Mike. IMO, I would rather start with one better sub, and immediately start budgeting for a second one. The 2000 series is a significant upgrade to the nsd and again, IMO two lesser subs won’t be as good as one better sub. Having said that, it would help a lot to know your room size and listening habits, like music vs movies, and how loud etc. duals can improve the experience, but it’s not plug n play, and while headroom is definitely a benefit, smooth response over multiple seats is the biggest advantage. If you have mostly one seat to worry about, a properly integrated single sub can be great.

 

[shadyJ]

I am planning to purchase either two SVS SB12-NSD or one SVS SB-2000. The price is about $600.00 either way but I can't decide which to do. Should I buy two of the cheaper ones or one of the better ones? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks, Mike

2 SB12-NSDs vs a single SB-2000 is a no-brainer; get the SB12-NSDs. They will have a significant advantage over a single SB-2000.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

2 SB12-NSDs vs a single SB-2000 is a no-brainer; get the SB12-NSDs. They will have a significant advantage over a single SB-2000.

Just for the sake of conversation, what if he’s able to pick up another sb2k in 6mo or a year. Do you still think it’s worth 2nsd’s now vs 1 SB now and one later? Still wondering about room size and habits etc.

 

[shadyJ]

Just for the sake of conversation, what if he’s able to pick up another sb2k in 6mo or a year. Do you still think it’s worth 2nsd’s now vs 1 SB now and one later? Still wondering about room size and habits etc.

Let's put it this way: in a $/SPL ratio, 2 SB12-NSDs have a very significant advantage at that pricing. Anyway, he could get the dual SB12s now and just add a SB-2000 later if he wanted. They would work pretty well together.

 

[KEW]

Let's put it this way: in a $/SPL ratio, 2 SB12-NSDs have a very significant advantage at that pricing.

That is a one dimensional determination. It may be the most relevant dimension or maybe not. Until the OP responds, we won't know.

CoalMike,
You should give SVS a call and ask them about differences between the sound of the two! I think you will be impressed by the level of tech-savvy customer service they provide and feel better whichever sub you end up with!

 

[lovinthehd]

That is a one dimensional determination. It may be the most relevant dimension or maybe not. Until the OP responds, we won't know.

CoalMike,
You should give SVS a call and ask them about differences between the sound of the two! I think you will be impressed by the level of tech-savvy customer service they provide and feel better whichever sub you end up with!

Differences between the sound of the two? Over the phone from a customer service rep? Really?

I'm also of the opinion the advantages for the OP are with the two SB12NSD. A separate question would be why sealed particularly....

 

[shadyJ]

Differences between the sound of the two? Over the phone from a customer service rep? Really?

I'm also of the opinion the advantages for the OP are with the two SB12NSD. A separate question would be why sealed particularly....

The SB-2000 does not look to be using as severe of a high-pass filter as the SB12. This should give it a bit more deep bass. The high-pass filter also causes quite a bit of group delay in the SB12, probably not audible, but its still worse than quite a few ported subwoofers that have been tested. The extra low end of the SB-2000 should make it sound a bit different than the SB12, on the right content.

 

[KEW]

Differences between the sound of the two? Over the phone from a customer service rep? Really?

I'm also of the opinion the advantages for the OP are with the two SB12NSD. A separate question would be why sealed particularly....

Yes really!
The times I called, I spoke with Ed Mullen and he provided excellent information.
My conversations with Brian Ding and Tom V have also been informative.
Is it that strange that the manufacturer's people might know their product or are you saying that there would be no difference in sound?

I had the same question. If minimum $/dB is the objective, it seems that ported would always be the winner (although the OP asked about two sealed units).

 

[speakerman39]

I have owned (4) of the SB12-NSD's and really liked them. Yes, the low end was very smooth. But, my room is NOT very big either. I agree in that it all depends on the size of the OP's room, the layout of the room albeit open to other areas, and how far the MLP is from the front-stage where most place their sub(s). The driver on the SB12-NSD is rather limited when compared to that on the SB2000. That is what Ed Mullen told me himself. The cabinets are exactly the same size though. At least, that is my understanding.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[KEW]

Differences between the sound of the two? Over the phone from a customer service rep? Really?

I'm also of the opinion the advantages for the OP are with the two SB12NSD. A separate question would be why sealed particularly....

The frequency response curves are dramatically different. The SB2000 has more of a standard/natural sealed sub roll-off (although it is EQ'ed a bit) while the SB12-NSD FR looks much closer to that of a ported sub.
I can accept that they might end up sounding the same after using a miniDSP to match the FR (though I am not sure), but why would you expect them to sound the same and why would not you expect their personnel to be familiar with them? SVS, Rythmik, PSA, Hsu are not like Sony's customer service reps where they probably don't know anything about any given product. You can speak to extremely knowledgeable people with these companies.

 

[KEW]

I have owned (4) of the SB12-NSD's and really liked them. Yes, the low end was very smooth. But, my room is NOT very big either/ I agree in that it all depends on the size of the OP's room, the layout of the room albeit ope to other areas, and how far the MLP is from the front-stage where most place their sub(s). The driver on the SB12-NSD is rather limited when compared to that on the SB2000. That is what Ed Mullen told me himself. The cabinets are exactly the same size though. At least, that is my understanding.


Cheers,

Phil

Refresh my memory, was this with Audyssey XT or XT32 (or nothing)?

 

[speakerman39]

Refresh my memory, was this with Audyssey XT or XT32 (or nothing)?

I think it was XT32 from what I can remember. Honestly, the smoothing effect was so very cool. But, as I have mentioned before (2) PSA S1500's and or (1) PSA S1500 AND (1) Hsu ULS 15 MK2 had noticeably more output and just sounded much better to me ears.

Keep in mind, that I initially owned the ULS15-MK2 and then ordered a PSA S1500. Later on decided to order a 2nd PSA S1500 and I sold the ULS 15 MK2 off. However, even a single ULS 15 MK2 coupled with a single PSA S1500 had more output than the (4) SVS SB12-NSD's. Maybe I am just more of a sealed 15" guy now.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[lovinthehd]

The SB-2000 does not look to be using as severe of a high-pass filter as the SB12. This should give it a bit more deep bass. The high-pass filter also causes quite a bit of group delay in the SB12, probably not audible, but its still worse than quite a few ported subwoofers that have been tested. The extra low end of the SB-2000 should make it sound a bit different than the SB12, on the right content.

I'd probably say the sub digs a bit deeper rather than have a significantly different sound, but I was thinking of sound not in terms of more extension/spl, which to my mind would be the bigger difference than a different sound....semantics to an extent.