expressively deep and solid bass. tight musicality. well built. great shipping. customer service is great. the price is astonishing! Highly recommended

boring looking sub, until you friends come in and say "what is that?!"... then you get to show them the goods and they understand.

I started my home theater research over a year ago and a subwoofer was the last item on the list to get. i spend a good 5 months deciding which to go with and i decided on an SVS, chose the 25-31CS because my bedroom is 12'x12'x8' (only about 1200cu.ft. and because i'm 19 so i and in college so i cannot afford the CS-Ultra as i would love to. I also e-mailed Tom V. from SVS and he was great on advice for which sub to get and what to power it with. he never took more then 12 hours to repond to me(which is impressive) and he patiently answered about a dozen meticulous, annoying, and forward questions from me. again i bought this sub unheard so it was a risk, but with a 45day return policy, i figured why not. week later it came in, pretty big box and it was their smallest model sub too. it was packaged securely with foam pieced bracing on the walls of the inside box to conform to the cylinder shape to keep it from moving. i also bought a 5 meter BetterCable interconnect with it for $32 instead of $85 at bettercables.com. Even though this is only good from SV sub owners and buyers, its a great value for an amazing cable. I use a PartsExpress subwoofer amp, 200 watts. Tom suggested it since he knew i was on a budget, its a good deal at $120. Also i opted for a 22hz tuning more for the movie aspect. I have yet to calibrate it and my system, but i have to say this is a very impressive sub. I had my doubts even with all the reviews i read, but the bass really is as deep and as clean as they say it is. it has blended very well with my setup(below) and i am not disappointed. I probably could have gotten the 20-39, but i wanted to make sure not to lose the high freq capabilities of the sub, the 80-100 range. i am completely satified with my decision. Since i listen to about 70% music and 30% movies, I used my major listening cd's to use as a sort of reference for my taste. worked beautifully with rockish sounds (Tool A Perfect Circle) as well as the jazzy styles i listen to(Sigur Ros). stayed tight and very musical. i need an equalizer to make the response more linear, but i can't imagine it being more accurate then it is. I played a few of my action/drama DVDs including From Hell, Saving Private Ryan, Fight Club, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cast Away(all that i have for bassy movies). Sounds awesome, i can hear no audible distortion and this thing plays loud. I really can't stress enough how well this sub plays music and movies.

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Sony, JBL, DIY w/Alipine sub. (i think it is important to list the setup, because i hooked it up to my brothers Sony STR-DE485 that i gave him for his birthday, and his amp made the bass extremely muddy! that even he, at 16yrs old noticed. i used all the exact equipment you see below except with the sony receiver, i had a little problem with my DTS decoding on my onkyo and tried the sony, found out later when i unplugged by DVD player it was on PCM not DTS, novice mistake) Onkyo TX-SR500 (Receiver) Klipsch SF-2s (Mains) Klipsch SC-1 (Center) Cambridge Soundworks S300s (Surrounds) SVS Model 25-31CS(22hz tuned) PartsExpress 200watt amp Sony DVP-NC655P DVD Changer Microsoft XBox + Nintendo 64 Sharp 27U-F500 Flat-Screen TV Better Cables Silver Serpent Cobalt Cable Interconnects Acoustic Research Component + Optical

Great deep powerful bass, can be powered with a relatively week amp, shortest SVS sub, $329 B-stock price.

None!!

Bought this as a 'B' stock item from the SVS website. I use this in my second theatre room (Living room). I have the 16-46PC+ in my main room. This sub is used mostly for Xbox games and occasionally DVD movies. I am only running this with an old JVC Prologic receiver rated at 100w x 5. It trully shakes the room. It certainly does not produce the super deep bass that my 16-46PC+ does as evident by playing the same scene on both of them, but it is not supposed to. I had SVS tune it to 22hz and could not be happier. It is in a corner of my living room and looks quite good. I would like to have gotten the larger models, but since it was out in the open, I needed to get the shorter version.

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Paradigm PS-1200 SVS 16-46PC+

Fantastic bass reproduction

None

I ordered my unit tuned to 22hz thru their customer service. ( great service dept.) I'm powering it thru an Acurus amp at 300W@4 ohms. The sound at first takes getting used to because it's clean deep bass. My previous encounters with other manufacturer's subs was a boomy bass. But now I can appreciate the real differences in tonal qualities in both Movies and Music. I have my sub in a fairly large hometheater room, but if you pop in a heavy bass driven action flick this baby will rock the foundation from under you. End of Story.

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Various manufacturers subs.

Highest performance vs. cost ratio of any subwoofer available.

The only trade off I see is the enlosure sizes might be considered large if your accustomed to traditional box subs.

I have owned both the original driver and the new improved standard driver versions of this model subwoofer. Both are excellent performers but the current version has several enhancements combined with a lower pricetag that makes this far and away the best bang for your buck sub available. The original sub was good at $400.00 . The new improved sub at $329.00 is unbeatable. The driver has been beefed up signifigantly larger voice coil, much heavier magnet. You could bottom the old one on certain bass heavy dvd's.The new driver has headroom to spare. The tubing and endcaps have been signifigantly improved in quality. The new grill damping system gives a much cleaner look as well as the ability to quickly remove the grill if needed. The binding posts are now recessed and I can now fit bannana plugs into them. Overall fit and finish and attention to detail is improved . I don't see any of the grooves of the tubing under the fabric covering. Customer support is exceptional.

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Many commercial subs as well as DIY projects.

Clarity, very efficient, high power handling, flat response, LOUD!

A sure-fire way to get me evicted.

Nothing much else can be said about this sub that already hasn't been. This sub is about loud, clean, fast bass that will definitely show you which pictures on your walls need to be reinforced. No 'boom' here. I'm using an el cheapo Sony 100w amp to run it, and there's no problem playing loud. It's a shame I can't really 'stretch it's legs' since I live in an apartment. But, i'm sure looking forward to stress testing my new house.
Ron and Tom are all the help you need. I don't think i've ever gotten an e-mail reply from them longer than 24 hours after I sent them a question; from the owners, no less. Just that fact alone speaks volumes about the company.
I have it paired up with a set of 4 of the AR.com DIY speakers, and blending them has proven to be very simple. I couldn't be happier about my purchase. I will be buying from them again. Do believe the hype!

Strong, Pure Bass

sometimes too much bass for my poor apartment, and it's big

I bought this sub sight unseen after reading all the great reviews on htforum. I had listened to Klipsch's, JBL's, and some Polk's at CC and BB - granted, not ideal listening conditions, but they all sounded horribly boomy, which just wouldn't do since I listen to about 75% music, 25% movies. Originally I had two and the Samson amp, but it was just too much, and one sounded just as good to me, so I sold one and returned the amp and am now powering my sub with an Adire AVA 250 plate amp. From the moment I hooked it up, it was clear that the SVS provides all the bass you could want. Once I got it calibrated to my 5 Klipsch speakers, it blended really well. Whether it's Massive Attack, Diana Krall, Digable Planets, or Weezer, the sub plays deep and fast. I definitely hear things now that my little bookshelf speakers could never play. For $400 plus the cost of an amplifier (anywhere from free for an old receiver to a few hundred for something more sophisticated) you'll add a really impressive low end to your system. The only reason I give it a 4 for Overall Rating is that I have quite an imagination, and the reviews prepare you for an astonishing performance. The sub certainly delivers, but I don't think anything could surpass the hype that's been generated about the SVS line.

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none

Clean, tight, accurate, and POWERFULL BASS

NONE

For the price, nothing can mach these subs. I have two of the 25-31's powered by the 700 watt samson amp and the basss is just unbelievable. these subs easily match subs costing hundred's and even thousands more. They are THAT good. You will not regret your puchase. I sure don't. If you want a good punch and very deep and accurate bass, then SVS is for you.

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Velodyne, Cerwin Vega, KICKER(custom),Acoustic Research

Tight, musical, powerful bass.

Unusual looks(cylinder). You might love it, be neutral or dislike it. I am neutral.

I have waited 6 months before posting a review after I bought this puppy, because I wanted to live with it for that long before giving my opinion. Basically nothing has changed from my initial impression since day one, which is:
Very clean, musical but powerful bass. I have a single one of these in a large 16'w x 12'h x 30'l room with an opening into another room. Never thought a single one of these babies would cut it, but it does.

I am trying to find an excuse to upgrade to the CS-ULTRA($959) model, but its hard to find fault with these 25-31CS ($399). It even does justice to "The Phantom Menace." This has got to be the bargain of the decade. I play 70% music & 30% movies and I have this sub with a set of PSB's Gold i's.

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Petroff Labs.

Very clean, non muddy, non boomy bass. Great customer support!

None so far.

The above price reflects their Dual 25-31CS with Samson S700 amp package.

I am totally amazed by what the smallest sub in their line up can do. This is an incredible company with an incredible product.

Setting everything up was easy. Instructions were well written and not confusing. Their customer support is beyond reproach. This is how customer service should be!

The package consists of two 25-31CS subs (I opted for the 22Hz tune instead of the 25Hz. Roughly 22-31CS subs) a BetterCables cable and the Samson S700 amp rated at 350w p/channel @ 4ohms. All contents were packaged very very well.

I got them set up in a corner, ran them through an AVIA setup disk test and then proceeded to try out some movies.

First up was the "Phantom Menace" THX beginning scene. My little Klipsch sub did OK here but the SVS website said there was some pretty low bass in this logo scene. Well they were very correct. The thunder clap shook the whole house! It startled me because I wasn't expecting it. By the way, my room is 4500cu.ft. House is 2400sq.ft.

Next up was the Ice Field parts 1 and 2 from Titan AE. The wow factor kicked in big here. It was shaking the couch like bass shakers. No muddiness. No boominess. Just pure clean, very low bass.

And just for grins I tried out an old "Techmaster PEB" CD that I have from the early '90's. Again unbelievable. They sounded phenomenal.

I chose the 25-31CS's because of the slightly higher SPL in the upper freq's as compared to the other SVS subs. I listen to a lot of music so this was a major factor in my decision. And I chose the 22Hz optional tune because I wanted it to go as low as they possibly could without sacrifing to much up top. Of course the 16-46CS will go quite a bit lower but you have to give up some of the higher SPL's in the upper freq's. For a pure HT setup I probably would have gone 20-39 or 16-46.

Two big thumbs up!!

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Klipsch KM-S (8" sub)

Seamless Integration.

Might collect cat hair?

I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the sub checking the UPS tracking all the way from Ohio. It was packed very securely with a big "Made in USA" sticker on it. I hooked the sub up to one side of my old H/K Citation 16 (150/channel?)and connected the amp to the subout of my cheap Kenwood, which is a 120Hz cutoff. Slapped in a Marylin Manson and started jammin.

Seamless!

It matches up with my little Pok5JR's wonderfully. I did a little tweaking and slapped in Toy Story 2. The intro gave me goose bumps. Even the Wife had a big smile on her face. Since then, I have listen to a variety of music and a few more DVD's and have never been disappointed.

I was a little concerned about the 120 cutoff on the Kenwood but the folks at SVS said it shouldn't be a problem. It hasn't. The other point I should make about the sub is that it rolls of really quick at about 23-25 Hz (I know it's tuned that way). I bought the 25-31 because of the extra decibels/watt since I had an existing amp. If you are a hardcore HT nut. You might consider one of the other two (20 or 16). I don't feel that I am missing much but I am sure that there is some information below 25Hz on a few movies that I am not going to hear. Just my two cents.

For any body who has an old 100 watt amp lying around, this is the product for you.

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I used another sub but it wasn't similar except that they called it a sub.