I am not someone to write reviews but whilst sitting here listening to music today I felt compelled.

To set some context, in my house I am running Dolby Atmos with 7 x B&W M1s (Series 1s) and two very high quality ceiling speakers for the Atmos Channels. All connected to a Pioneer VSX-930 (bargain amp) as 7.2.1.

All music and films played through a 4k HTPC with Digital Audio via HMDI 2.0. I am not an audiophile (although I work in IT) but I do like good quality items, I have always used Paradigm (PDR-10 and PDR-12 - Canadian Manufactured) subwoofers.

I had always contemplated buying the PV1 but the Paradigms always seemed good subs, so kept with these.

6 months ago I finally bought a second hand PV-1, which was still quite a lot of money. I am blown away by how good it is, truly I am.

It took a while to match well, not due to positioning as it seems to be quite flexible in this regard, but in matching channel power and setting on the sub itself. I set the crossover on the amp to 110. When I finally found a seeming sweet spot (2 o'clock for power - 4 o'clock for Frequency) I was then able to run the amp through setup. Initially it seemed a real let down, but then I noticed the amp had set the front speakers to "Large". As soon as I changed this to "small" (as they should have been), WOW.

This is a remarkable sub woofer, and anyone who thinks not, is chasing too much "depth". Please don't think I mean anything bad by that, I know some people just love that.

The PV1 delivers real depth when it needs to, pumping out Electronica, Hip Hop, French Lounge House. It 's ability to generate "air wave" which you "feel" rather than "hear" (which is distortion through resonance) is remarkable. I struggle to understand how it can deliver such air pressure so easily. I cannot get anywhere near being able to drive the volume in my house to near full. It is wholly unfair on the neighbours at 45-50% max.

Where it just blows every previous sub woofer I have ever owned, or heard, is how it combines it's "power" with a level of agility and speed.

It is able to work through "multi-tiered" basslines (a slower less frequent deep bassline with a layered secondary bassline at high frequency but higher rate) that a lot of Electronica and French House tends to have. It's speed and ability to constantly deliver effortlessly is fabulous.

It is also incredibly impressive with delivering "drive" over good distance, placing bass where it needs to within the soundscape that the amp creates when setting the speakers up.

It changes how you "feel" the music as you "hear" all the detail through the 7 speaker channels but "experience" the effects the bass is supposed to deliver. This leads to a seemingly perfect balance between the layers of the tracks. The bass never over powers the rest of the sound, only ever aligning and enhancing.

When you watch movies, it is equally good. It is able to produce light small effects and then room shuddering effects no matter what the Digital Audio stream of pretty much any film thrown at it.

I cannot actually fault it. It is subtle when it needs to be, it delivers incredible bass, speed, agility, flexibility and removes resonance delivering a bass purity unmatched at this price point.

It has changed my view of what a truly capable sub woofer should deliver, and defines the standard.

For anyone that wants a really good audio speaker setup, I would urge you consider B&W PV1 and B&W M1s second hand. If you are into to quality, clarity, and purity then this is a bargain starting point.

I hope this review has been of use and worth the effort of reading.

J

Best subwoofer £500+, Awards 2010. A remarkable subwoofer in every sense, the PV1 has to be taken seriously – it's awesome
For
Extraordinary blend of power and speed
utterly clean, uncoloured sound
small and gorgeous
Against
Nothing whatsoever

Read more at http://www.whathifi.com/bw/pv1/review#zjwiUcO1RBWuWBLz.99

I don't understand any negative reviews of this sub. It's a small sub, so it's not going to shake the walls. But for it's size it's great. No distortion, great sound out of a small great looking sub. Works great for my home theater and pairs well with my FPMs.

Hello i had a Monitor Audio Radius 360 it was crap. I've also had Rel Q100E it bottomed out so easily absolute garbage. Then i got PV1 for £950 ,what a rip off.You can get much better sub for £450. What hi fi rated it as 5 stars, it should be called what pay off the PV1.It has got not no rummble what so ever ,yes you can hear bass but dont feel anything what so ever. The only thing the PV1 has got going for it is that it is the nicest looking sub out there but all that glitters aint gold.

Amazing sub and here's why, it's not completely made by B&W, if you take a nice look at the specs it said ICEpower amplifiers, which is created and made by Bang & Olufsen, a Danish company (and far better than B&W) Anyhow the ICEpower amp is what makes it possible for B&W to have a sub as compact as this. Look for all B&W speakers to be outsourced in the near future, they have been manufacturing the majority of their speakers in China the past few years. Sucks to see a good company shut down their R&D and outscource to cheaper companies. There's still some great companies out there! Definitive Technology is the future! check them out! USA too!

excellent bass quality,no distortion even in higher volume,good bass extention and versatile especially in music.i owned one since 2006 and never planed to replace.one of the best sounding subwoofer in the market.

Frequency response flatter than Kansas. Harmonically perfect bass, nothing more, nothing less. Simply beautiful styling (if it fits you decor)

Rather expensive since very large rooms esentially require 2.

Just purchased 2 PV1's As part of of a B&W home theater combo (XT4, 2 and C). The sound is quite simply fantastic. The mix of the XT4 with the PV1 is as melodic, full ranged and with better dispersion than the significantly more expensive B&W 802. The sound is breathtaking! As a bonus the styling is also a perfect match for our home decor, eclectic modern. Originaly I had ourchased only one sub but found it insufficient to fill our very large (1400 feet) entertainment room satisfactorily. The addition of the second sub was exactly what the "doctor ordered". Its performance in the home theater department is also fabulous, the bass is powerful, tight, deep and utterly transparent. The sound track of the "Lord of the Rings brings you right to the edge of your seat! Listening to the thunder in Grofe's Grand Canyon suite will bring to your eyes!
Caveat Emptor: If you purchase the matching XT4 be prepared to spend a nice chunk of cash on amplification. I originally purchased a Rotel 1067 receiver to drive the system (100watts x 5). It was completely inadequate to drive the XT4 to anything but moderate volumes (big room issue again). I returned the receiver and exchanged it for a Rotel RMB 1095 (200watts x 5) with a matching RSP 1068 surround processor. The result was striking! In my decades of hi fi fandom I still have to hear anything that sounds better regardless of price and definitely nothing in this price range (appx 10K) that sounds remotely close.

Similar Products Used:

Bose (not in the same panet);. Auditioned: Other BW subs,Velodyne, Klipsch, HSU.

Build quality, aesthetics, musical bass, easy to integrate into rest of system.

Not the best match for people that like loud, boomy bass. Also, may be overwhelmed in larger rooms. A bit pricey for the performance. REL offers better value, but in a more traditional package.

The PV-1 offers a compelling combination of performance and style that seems to be the perfect compliment for today's lifestyle systems. The sub is very easy to integrate into your system and provides very musical bass. The PV-1 may not be ideal for a large room, but is a good match for a smaller family room.

Similar Products Used:

Veldoyne HGS Series, REL Storm III