Time to choose sub-need advice

[jpaul]

I'm just about ready to make the jump for a new Sub.
Price range is from $500 to $899. No less than a 12" driver with
a plenty of power.
Strong points needed are: great with Movies
(it should place you right next to the Runway and feel the experiance)
and it should reproduce a tremendous bass quality when listening to music, Jazz fan, Rock, and symphony.

Room size: 24ft x 23'8 1/2" with 8ft & 9ft ceiling (10X10 tray ceiling).
Can be closed (has 1 pocket door, 1 entry door and a set of french door)

Sub I'm looking at are: SVS Cylinder subs 16-46PC-Plus at $875. This is my top choice, but can it perfom with a room that big and still have the bass quality that I'm looking for?
Also, SVS box sub PB12-Plus. Which is a better choice between them?
I like the PB12-Plus\2 but I don't have the extra cash (about $400 needed)
I'm thinking that the 16-46PC-Plus will be more than enough.

I prefer "sound quality" above loudness but I want to have enough volume also.
At 46 yrs of age I'm not into the heavy metel volume, But some music sounds
great at a higher volume. Movies, I would most likely crank X-men 3 up!
Can I have some views or advice on what would be a good choice?

 

[Mort Corey]

Shoot an e-mail to SVS with your specs and I'll wager you'll have a response in a very short time. Guessing they'll suggest one of their duel driver units....which may be out of your price range. Myself, I ended up with the 29-39 PC Ultra in a 10X12 room that's open on one side to the kitchen & living room (can't be closed off) and it's perfect in my sound field area.....and probably the neighbors at times as well.

Mort

 

[j_garcia]

I might consider actually stepping down to the 20-39 Plus, because as you go up in size and down in tuning with the cylinders, you lose a little output. The 20-39 Plus should give you a good all around mix between ouput and extension, though they are all configurable too, so you could use the 16-46 in a higher tune if you chose. I promise you, you won't have any problem performance wise in that size room with either of those subs, though with it being nearly square, you may have room mode issues.

 

[jpaul]

re:

I sent an e-mail to SVS to see what advice they would give.
What about the Rel subs, T2 series?

 

[jpaul]

compare

Can anyone give me some insight between:
SVS, Velodyne, REL & Def Tech subs. I can find a retailer for all of these
except the SVS.

 

[j_garcia]

SVS sells direct, no retailers.

 

[Seth=L]

Def tech is at the bottom of that list, IMO. SVS will be the best bang for buck, but many lay claim the REL subs are great for music. The REL will not likely touch the SVS on movies. Velodyne is a very good sub company, but will not get you the same performance that SVS offers with it's lower price.

 

[jpaul]

Yes I knew that, There are a lot of great reviews with SVS.
The Velodyne DD series seems to be out of budget. Is the Deg. Drive
something that the SVS doesn't have?
The REL seems popular for music, But the T series only has 300 watt output.
I didn't see anything in the REL specs that stood above the SVS.
Now the Def techs, This is a hard to choose. The Supercube 1 seems
to have a lot of power and has deg. techology. No ports, one 10" driver
with 2 10" bass radiators.
How does this compare with the SVS sub?
It's confusing.
If I could build a diy project I would. But I couldn't be sure if I would get the
same quaility as a professional company would give.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Ron Temple]

I highly doubt Rel or DT have a sub in your budget that performs as well as SVS, I know Velo doesn't. The DLS5000R has the SPL, but the dropoff in the 20s is pretty steep. I agree with John, the 20-39+ or PB12+ are a better solution than the 16-46+...a couple db more headroom in your room is noticeable. You might consider the NSD/2, it moves a ton of air and the NSD driver closed the gap with the 12.3.

Really the only sub(s) that compete in your budget, IMO, are the Outlaw LFM 1 Plus and the Hsu VTF 3.2 or HO. They objectively and subjectively get high marks.

 

[jpaul]

Thanks Seth,
I'm leaning towards the SVS. They seem to have a continous line
of good reviews in the forums. Are they up to date in technology?
The cylinder 16- in my price range and has a 525 bash amp, but if it wont give the chest thump then I will need the box dual 12" drivers.
I haven't heard back from the SVS e-mail tech yet with their suggestions.
My only draw back is not being able to audition them first.

 

[jpaul]

Thanks Ron,
I'll take a look at those also.

 

[Seth=L]

Up to date in technology, yes, very.

The Cylinder should work very well, and there is that 30 day trial period. So if you don't like it you can return it for you money back, minus shipping fees.

 

[Seth=L]

Ok the thing with Def Tech is they are overrated. The power is exagerated and the extensions are based on optimum conditions. They have similar ratings to Sunfire true subs. Do they perform well for their size, yes they do, but for the money they do not. I was rather unimpressed with how little the super cubes weigh, they feel as though they would just walk across the floor.

 

[jpaul]

Yes, the size on the supercubes did concern me. I don't mind the size of larger subs, I'm more concerned with performance.

 

[j_garcia]

Chest thump is really not something you will get with a good sub. That is often a result of a big peak higher up. A sub that has a relatively flat response will not have this effect (unless you have some serious room modes).

 

[jpaul]

I just spoke with SVS, They recomended that if I went with the cylinder
sub to go with the 20-39 pc-plus. The 12.3 driver is better than the long throw. This would do the job but, the dual 12 box plus would perform
more because it has dual 12" drivers. More intense. The cost is 426.00 above
what I have now. This included shipping. I'm wondering if saving up the cash
or raise the cash would be worth it. I naturally want to push the limit, but
it may not be worth the difference but then again???????

 

[Ron Temple]

For intense power the +/2 is tough to beat for the money. It equates to ~ 1.7 single pluses. The 20-39+ is an awesome sub, but if you're going to suffer "What if", save your pennies and get the mini-freezer.

 

[mazersteven]

I just spoke with SVS, They recomended that if I went with the cylinder
sub to go with the 20-39 pc-plus. The 12.3 driver is better than the long throw. This would do the job but, the dual 12 box plus would perform
more because it has dual 12" drivers. More intense. The cost is 426.00 above
what I have now. This included shipping. I'm wondering if saving up the cash
or raise the cash would be worth it. I naturally want to push the limit, but
it may not be worth the difference but then again???????

Is the PB12-Plus/2 worth the extra $426? It's worth every penny and more.

It's a Beast.

Look at my avatar.

 

[abboudc]

That's a big room.

Any reason not to look at the NSD/2? It's within your stated budget (except the shipping).

Shipping going to be $100+ with the boxes and about $60 or so with the cylinder.

 

[jpaul]

I thought about the NSD/2, but from what I understand, the driver is not as good as the 12.3 driver in the PB12-Plus. I'm having some serous thoughts on the PB12-Plus/2. The two sub that I'm looking at are the PB12-Plus and the 20-39 PC-Plus Cylinder.
Eric at SVS preference is the PB12-Plus (box) above the cylinder.
If there is a good upgrade with Plus/2 then it is worth saving for.
I'm thinking it will take about 2 months mabey less to save up the cash.
The wait is tough!!
So, my question is, is the difference worth the wait for the plus/2?
If I went with the NSD/2, which has the long throw drivers vrs the 12.3 drivers is their enough difference for me to notice? I have no idea what the difference is between the long throw and the 12.3.