Very deep and very loud clean bass.

Big and black

First a little background - originally I had the SVS 16-46 & was very happy with it. One day I took it over to a friends house for comparison to his HSU 12VA sub & on the first scene of Lost in Space it bottomed out. That was a bit disturbing. Of course we were listening to it extremely loud & he has a very large room, so that should not be that suprising. After talking to Tom Vohandel, the designer, it made more sense - they 16-46 is designed for extremely low extension, but it trades off a bit of volume in the 20-50hz range for ULF (ultra-low-frequencies). Tom agreed to send me a couple of different ports that I could switch out with the 16-46's port & re-tune it to either 20 hz or 25 hz, in addition to the original 16 hz. First I switched out to the 25 hz tune. Mind you, the original tune of 16 hz had never bottomed out in my room, but in the back of my mind I knew that it had bottomed out in my friends room (my room is much smaller - 15x12 feet - so it is much easier to pressurize with bass). So, in went the 25 hz tune. The sound changed pretty radically - instead of being very smooth, deep, enveloping (and the 16 hz tune would also make me queasy - bass that deep litteraly made my stomach feel funny), the sound was very punchy, pulsing, LOUD, and very much of the "kick you in the chest very hard" variety. It made watching action movies very exciting and visceral. But still, I missed some of that really deep extension. So, in went the 20 hz tune. Now we are talkin'! It is a perfect blend between the punchiness of the 25 hz tune (the 25-31), and the 16 hz tune (the 16-46). Now, when the soundtrack is supposed to be loud and punchy, I hear loud and punchy. When it is supposed to be deep, menacing, and enveloping, it is just that. And I never worry about it bottoming out. It has more than enough headroom in my room for me to never, ever worry about it hitting its limits. And I listen to movies LOUD! There are certain companies out there that offer extreme value for your money - SVS is certainly one of them. It makes sense, in that they are an internet direct company. All of the other companies that offer performance all out of proportion to $$ are also internet direct companies. For amps/receivers, Outlaw Audio is very tough to beat (www.outlawaudio.com), for main speakers, nOrh pretty much reigns supreme (www.norh.com), and for interconnects and speaker wire, either bettercables.com or puresilversound.com will give you great cables, whether you prefer copper (bettercables), or silver (pure silver sound). Just as SVS destroys all of the competition in its price range, I have found that these other companies do too.

Similar Products Used:

Many others. . . .

High impact bass, goes loud when needed, ultra deep frequencys while playing clean loud bass.

shipping takes a while but it's well woth the wait

One of the best looking subs on the market.
Gives me high impcat bass thats fast and clean & deep.
Took it to my friends to compare his hgs-12 and mine killed his just like that.
I like the type of bass it has ( just like the theaters ) and i have this beast in a 22 by 29 foot room and fills every inch of that room with deep loud clean bass.
Great sub

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch LF-12, Velodyne CT-150 , Velodyne HGS-12 ( the svs blows all of these subs away & i'm only using 200 watts to power it )

Chest thumping bass you feel, not hear. Tight, not boomy
Cool looking tube
Incredible attention to detail

None

Bought 2 used for $380 a piece. These were actually custom tuned to 18Hz by SVS instead of 20. Huge upgrade from my previous 15" sub. Even though these are technically smaller at 12", they put the SW-15 to shame. I have them hooked up to a Fidek 300x2 amp, and when I play them in my basement, you can get a foot massage by going upstairs. Incredible amount of clean, tight bass for a very small amount of money.

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AudioSource SW-15

Smooth deep bass. Blends with movies and music equally well. Very efficient.

Very Very VERY big. Did I mention that it's big?

When I set this up and calibrated it I thought I had made a huge mistake. "HUGE" as in having this in the family room was like sitting down for coffee with Darth Vader.

I have NHT SuperOnes on stands flanking my electronics across the narrow end of my 11 by 28 room, and I plopped the sub in the front left corner. That's where I had the best success with the previous sub. Like many before me, I heard practially nothing at first, especially with music. I thought the movies had SOME low end, but I had no idea what all the hype was about. In fact, I was so upset that I had blown nearly $500 on little or no improvement that I asked for a return authorization.

That was on, say, Wednesday. That night, I packed it back up and returned the ol' Opty sub to it's corner and commenced listening to some of the same material I had tried with the SV. THEN I realized what was going on. The only thing that the Optimus does is add volume to anything above 35 or 40 Hz.
Volume is good, as long as it complements everything else. This did not, and now I was aware of it. I went through my entire CD changer (I am a 75% music, 25% movie kind of guy) to re-learn what Mr. Optimus sounded like. Then I went and UN-re-packed the SV. Now I took the time to listen to it in several different locations, not just within 3 feet of the same corner. Where did it wind up?
Along the wall to my right, and slightly behind. Totally NOT what I'd expect, but it pays to experiment with the location. I had to dig up some nasty old speaker wire to do it, but I'll be stopping by Home Depot later for some of the fat stuff. Back to the CD changer and after about an hour of some vary familiar tunes from The Wall, Boston, Joe Cocker, SRV, CSN&Y, some Unplugged stuff with piano, it was clear that this kind of bass is very different. It is very subtle, but when something comes across the CD that is supposed to be deep and loud, it is. If it's not supposed to be loud, but only deep, it is. Nothing more. That is the difference, and it will not blow you out of the chair, it will not crack the sky, it will not make your eyeballs explode. It will be just right. The Goldilocks of Subwoofers.

If you like BOOM in your movie, yup, this'll do it. Jurassic Park 3 and Enemy at the Gates were the first I watched with it. I had it calibrated flat, and it was perfect. The fight between the 2 dino's was GREAT! I still have the bruise from where the wife smacked me for not turning on the compression.

Buy one and take your time moving it, tweaking it, and listening. Really listen, like with your eyes closed, and it will be a totally new experience.

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Old (1996) Optimus 10" 120w ported

Deep, clean, and musical bass. Great e-mail support.

None.

I'll echo what most others have said about this sub. This is a top performer producing wonderful, deep, clean bass that is very musical. HT performance is also great.

This sub has a relatively small foot-print considering the deep bass it produces. Build quality is excellent and the cloth cover looks very elegant.

SVS also boasts very responsive e-mail support. Ron and Tom provided excellent advise pre and post sales. As a cost saving measure, they even suggested that I power the sub with a stero amp I had lying around.

Hi's, mid's, and low's of the world that is bass. Tight accurate bass. Price.

My dog's courage to stay in the room when I watch movies now.

As with everyone below and anyone in the future, I never got to audition this subwoofer. I went with only the reviews here and at other forums. Wow, what a pay off.
I know there is no other sub on the market that can compete sonically or financially with this one. I don't even have mine calibrated or set out far enough from the corner yet and this woof is frigging awesome. Super accurate and finds the right bass for each scene/music. Incredible extension too.
I was watching a taped hockey game the other day and kept hearing my girlfriend upstairs bumping the walls. It started to bug me so I yelled at her to stop (I mean what the hell was she doing?!). She persisted so I went upstairs into the spare room where she was and found her fast asleep. Huh? So I run back downstairs and stand in the middle of the room waiting for the "bump" again. Sure enough one hockey player checks another into the boards and "bump", there's that sound. Un-believable. It sounded like someone being checked into my walls. The bass was recreating a hockey game in my house.
Love this woofer. Own this woofer. Be one with this woofer.

-Skip

Similar Products Used:

Definitive Technologies PF 15tl+

very low bass, does not boom, beats fast 45 day money back
3 year warrenty, (wish it was a 10 tear warrety like my Thiels load speakers

me, i want another one

I love this thing it just at my mtx up with speed and lows mid and hi bass. it my cost 200 more bucks but its worth it that mtx only lasted a couple of months because it costantly blows fuses so its for sell 150 bucks. One other thing i mite add is the you should not be affraid of the internet pechase these guys really care about costumer service.

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Mtx ps15

Clean, deeeep, powerful bass. Customer service that extends beyond the realm of belief.

Size

I can't really add much to the reviews below, just that it's all true! The last review I read had me laughing out loud - the same exact thing happened to me as well. The first time I hooked up the 20-39CS, I expected to get blown away, but that didn't happen... til a couple days later. I used my SPL meter and did some adjusting and was, well, "pleased" with what I heard, although my expectations were through the roof. Now, I'm bewildered as to how the roof over my head is still there. I'll explain.
Subwoofers in general are boomy (which is not necessarily a bad thing), and that was something I had simply been used to. At the beginning of the "Armageddon" DVD, just before the beginning of the movie, the Valhalla Motion Pictures ship is shown, wind fills the sail, and then you get this "boom". This was the FIRST audio I auditioned with the SVS. Well, didn't hear the boom, thought that was a bad thing. Albeit a lame example, it's yet another difference between boomy, distorted (whether you realize it or not) bass, and clean, crystal-clear bass the 20-39CS provides. Just like others have said, IT TAKES A LITTLE TIME TO GET USED TO THE CLEAN, DEEP BASS. It is so true. It is soo true. After about 10-12 hours of total listening time and testing, ALL my expectations were met.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
After reading numerous reviews at several sites on SVS, I decided to email Tom, Ron & co. Over the next 2-3 weeks, I probably emailed them 12-15 times and they replied EVERY TIME, willing to help me with ANYTHING concerning my setup. I mean (beleive it or not), these are guys you can trust. They will even try to save you money if you have something else you can use for an amp. You wont find better customer service anywhere.

THE PACKAGE
I decided to go with the TWIN 20-39CS subs with the Samson 700-watt amp (with shipping I think I paid around$1,250). Ordered Monday afternoon, got everything that Thursday (they emailed me saying they forgot to pack the silver-serpent adapter, so (guess what) they sent it next-day air so it would arrive with everything else). I unpacked one of the subs and the amp that weekend. When I turned on the amp, the rear-left fan sounded like a machine gun. I could hear it throughout the house. I emailed Tom, Ron, and Eric, and they asked me if I wanted to (1) send it back, then they would send me another one, or (2) just send me another one immediately and they would wait for the first to come back to them for full credit. One of the guys mentioned that maybe the fan was screwed in too tight at the factory and I might want to unscrew it a little. I backed out ONE screw about a half turn - gone. This amp is COMPLETELY SILENT. Excellent amp. Initial setup is very easy, but you will want to spend some time tweaking things a bit. You can NOT use banana plugs on the sub, but who cares??? How often are you going to want to disconnect the thing, right?

THE DOWNSIDE
This sub is big, very big. It's two-thirds the height of my 53" bigscreen. It takes up very little floor space, but it is very tall, very big. I thought I would not like the cloth exterior, but it is quite nice, very high quality. A good touch on such a mammoth sub. If you are the man of the house, get it. If your wife is the man of the house, well, get it anyway because SVS gives you 45 (that's forty-five) days to return it for a full refund if she says it has to go.
Also, you will want to keep the rest of your system up to par with your SVS. Already, I have replaced my Pioneer receiver with the B&K AVR307 (awesome) and, when I can afford it, I am looking to replace my Boston Acoustics with some B&Ws. If anyone is selling their 604's, let me know.

THE UPSIDE
Everything else. This sub is simply amazing. It is very musical when listening to audio CDs. It's incredibly rare to find a sub that can provide clean bass lines (i.e. bass guitar) AND the punch of every kick on the bass drum without taking away from one or the other. This sub does the job, from orchestral to jazz to pop to double-bass heavy metal, you're gonna love it. Home Theater, OH MY GOD!

THE VERDICT
Listen to me, people. This is the only no-brainer in the world of HT. Pure, clean bass you can hear and feel. My old sub would knock bottles off the shelves in the kitchen, but the SVS has taken me to a level beyond comprehension for the money. It blends seamlessly with my Bostons, almost "hiding out" like a monster from your worst nightmare, then, when called upon in a scene, it will pound you into submission. That may sound a little over-the-top, but it's not. It is very real. It's a strange thing when you are listening to something that is so clean and clear, yet the futon you are sitting on is moving underneath you. The pod-racer scene in Star Wars will jiggle your eyeballs. The depth charges in U-571 could make you sick to your stomach if you're not careful. Ever puked with a smile on your face??!
I could go on and on about this CD and that DVD blah blah. The truth is, I am now listening to every audio recording I own in a different light, like my entire collection was brand new, experiencing sounds I had not heard before. Oh yeah, the other 20-39CS (the room I am currently in is too small for it - possibly ANY room) I bought is sitting, packed in the box, in my old room at my Mother's house. When I go to visit her I go back to look at the box, and I am afraid...

BOTTOM LINE
If you are made of money, you may lean torward the Velodyne HGS-18s or possibly the HGS-15s. If you are stupid, you could spend triple the money for a pair of Carvers or M&Ks and you will be, in my opinion, no better off. SVS gives reference-quality bass for THOUSANDS less. A TRUE giant killer. A quality American product built in the USA, bud. When you add the 45-day return policy and customer service that is second to none, how can you go wrong?

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tried out Velodyne, M&K, Infinity, Sunfire

Incredible low end output. Tight, and very controlled.

definitely the looks. Whilst some may like the looks of these tubular subs, I definitely do not, and neither does my wife.

Hello all. Let me first start off by saying these subs are not very nice to look at at all. When they arrived and my wife first saw them she wasn't happy. They are tall and will not be easy to hide. Unfortunately this is a major drawback as far as I'm concerned, as aesthetics are always a factor in my home. I know I'm being harsh here, but this was my experience.

Okay, if you can get past the looks (and both my wife and I have) there simply isn't anything out there that I've heard that will compete for the $$$, not even close. I used to own twin DT PF15TL+ subs. They were good subs for the price. I STILL say they are a pretty good sub for the money (as for those stated specs of 14hz, forget it, they don't even come close). Watching movies was truly an experience through the DT's. The whole room would shake, vibrate and the bass would overpower you, literally. Same with music, bass was sometimes just too much though. I really couldn't find that middle ground with the DT's between good low end thump with movies, and enough, but not too much punch with music. I was constantly adjusting channel levels and volume output on the subs......

I had heard all the rage about SVS, and 1 day just decided to drop an email to SVS and ask their opinion. I was interested in their subs, and wanted to see what they recommended. Music being the first priority, but ht is also very important. I know it is extremely hard to have the best of both without getting into the stratosphere in cost, but I thought maybe SVS could offer me both without breaking the bank. Tom at SVS was excellent. He asked some questions and after getting some details from me, he recommended the dual SVS 20-39CS with Samson. I decided to sell the DT's (and got more than I paid for them brand new, gotta love that!) and ordered up the SV's. I was nervous, I mean I had never heard these things, but figured all those people who rave about them can't be wrong.

They arrived, I unpacked em, and connected them, and fired up. Well I was pretty disappointed at first. I had done my calibrations, and knew I had everything connected properly, but I just wasn't getting that slam that I expected. I emailed Tom and we went back and forth, and he said to set the gain on the Samson at full throttle. I set the gains to full and that did improve things. But I still wasn't satisfied. Tom and Ron were both stumped. I explained that I just wasn't getting blown out of the room like I expected. Well the next day, I recalibrated, and sat down to really give a listen, at my normal listening levels. It was like all of a sudden, bang there it was! I hadn't really been listening at my normal volume before, I just popped in a few dvd's, some music, and didn't really have my processor at my normal listening levels. When I look back now, I realized the bass I was hearing was just so clean, accurate and deep with the SV's. It was something I wasn't used to. The DT's were loud and powerful, but it was mostly distortion I was hearing. I had always mistaken that for great low end bass. You don't realize what true, ultra clean bass is, until you hear it, and your ears adjust. This took some time getting used to on my part.

Now that I have had the subs for 6 months, I can honestly say they are incredible! Bass just hits very hard, and then moves on. No more rumbling and hanging around, bass is so much smoother and clean. On certain dvd's like The Patriot, during battle scenes the DT's would just go as low as they could and bottom out and just hang around. I never noticed this until I played those same scenes through the SV's. They hit incredibly hard, and just stop, until the next cannon shot, or musket fire. The DT's would just rumble throughout the whole battle, and I was missing so much, I never knew.

Although the SV's get more press for their ht ability, I find these subs to be quite musical. They are tight, smooth and accurate. Same deal as dvd's, bass hits and stops. The bass is so controlled through the SV's, and I think that's the key to their performance is that they keep the lfe controlled throughout. They never bottom out, and simply present the bass as it was ment to be. And when they hit low, you feel it. Dvd's have taken on a new level of performance for me. Although it's been said many times before, I have had to go back through my whole collection of dvd's, and felt like I hadn't truly experienced them until hearing and watching them with the SV's. With cd's, they keep right up with my Dynaudio's and add that extra punch for a very pleasureable listening experience. I listen to alot of jazz and rock, and the Dynaudio's simply sing, with the SV's filling in that little bit extra on the bottom end to compliment the Danes nicely.

I can't recommend these subs enough, especially for the price. These subs are a rareity in that you actually get more than you pay for. Take a chance, they are the real deal! And the customer service is first rate! You get personal responses from Tom and Ron the owners.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Please feel free to email.

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Paradigm PW2200, dual Definitive Technology PF15TL+, PSB Subsonic 6

none.

I purchased a pair of 20-39's in September 2000. When they arrived I had some trouble getting them calibrated, tech support was superb.

I found that one of my rca-1/8" phono adapters was bad, SVS mailed out a replacement set of adapters, and even included a complimentary copy of Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition DVD(the one in the tin case). How many companies are that nice to thier customers? Not many.

The subs (paired with the Samson S700 amp), are superb. Deep, rich bass, without a hint of boominess.

Thanks SVS for making such great subs, and for providing such excellent customer service.

JP

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Paradigm Servo-15, PS1000. Energy ES8.