SVS 25-31 PCi

Customer Review: By Robb, Home Theater Spot Member

I've always enjoyed audio equipment, and got truly hooked with the advent of home theater for the masses (i.e., reasonably affordable). Before home theater, it was my car. In college I started playing around with making my own sub boxes. I'm not what you'd call a cabinet-maker, so they were ugly, but that was OK since they were hidden in the trunk of a car. For the house (especially after I got married and milk crates were no longer viable pieces of furniture) I knew someone else would have to build my subwoofers.

I went through several cheap and not-so-cheap subwoofers until I got the Boston Acoustics PV1000 subwoofer. At the time, I knew if I were going to spend a lot of money on a single speaker, my wife had better approve. The PV1000 is a small cherry wood (my wife loves cherry wood) box with a 10 inch woofer powered by a 1,000 watt amplifier to make up for its small size. It was a lot of money, but my wife approved the purchase.

The Need

At first, I was happy as could be with the PV1000. I think anyone would be impressed with the amount of sound coming from such a tiny box. I have a few friends who are into home theater (though not as fiscally irresponsible about it as I am) and certainly none of them had a subwoofer that could touch the PV1000.

Over time, however, I started to sense I was missing some of the real deep sounds in a handful of my movies (The Lord of the Rings, The Phantom Menace, etc.). I was hearing plenty of bass, but I wasn't getting that vibration in my chest real deep sounds make. I had done everything I could with the subwoofer using the AVIA setup DVD and a Radio Shack® SPL meter.

The Search

I went to the local dealers (the usual suspects of Ultimate Electronics, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) and could find very little, if anything, better than the PV1000, and nothing better that I could afford. The high end stores made the idea of an affordable replacement pure fantasy (I work for a living, after all).

Given that I make my living on the Internet, I finally did the obvious and began searching there for a replacement subwoofer. There were a number of makers discussed in the discussion forums that I had not heard (or even heard of) whose owners were delighted with their products. As I kept searching the forums, one subwoofer manufacturer in particular stood out: SV Subwoofers. People not only raved about their products, but about their service. Professional's reviews of SV Subwoofer's products glowed as well.

I decided to look at the discussions of the folks at SV Subwoofers (Tom V. and Ron S.). These guys were helpful to other participants in the forums, weren't making ridiculous claims about their products, and never insulted another manufacturer's product. The real kicker was when there was a rare problem with one of their products (I had to search pretty hard, but there were some). Each and every time the complaint was handled quickly, and with customer service you would not expect from a company that wants to make money. Tom V. and Ron S. aren't customer service representatives for a large manufacturer -- they are the owners of the company and designers of the products. I made up my mind to buy an SV Subwoofer.

The Decision

I was pretty certain as to which SVS product I wanted to buy, but thought I'd ask the guys at SVS their opinion (how many times do you get to ask the designers of a product which one is best for you?). Tom V. emailed back almost immediately with requests instead of answers: he wanted to know how I used my system and if I could send him a floor plan. After so many emails that Tom V. should have charged me a consultation fee on top of the price of the subwoofer, I made a decision to buy the SVS 20-39PC+. Not only were these guys very helpful and knowledgeable, they talked me out of a more expensive subwoofer since the 20-39PC+ would better fit my actual needs!

The Result

First things first: always calibrate new equipment. I removed the PV1000, set the SVS's amp to about 1/2 volume, and started the test tones. I have no idea how loud it actually got in my house, but I was seriously concerned for some of our more fragile belongings as I tried to turn the volume down as quickly as possible. There was no way this subwoofer needed the volume as high from the receiver as the PV1000 needed in order to make reference.

Once calibrated, the real joy began. I grabbed some of those more bass intensive DVDs and played those more difficult passages I'd heard about. Wow! It wasn't just the real deep stuff I was missing, but the whole range of bass was cleaner than anything I'd heard in my house. There were elements to movies I thought I knew by heart that were new to me. The SVS shines with music as well. I guess I had grown accustomed to the "boomey" sound of most home subwoofers, because the quickness and tightness of the bass actually surprised me. Instead of a boom, I heard a bass drum. I had expected an improvement over the PV1000 in really deep passages, but not the level of improvement I got with all sources.

Comparing the PV1000 to the 20-39PC+ may not seem fair. After all, the PV1000 is a tiny (and pretty) little box, and the 20-39PC+ stands 39 inches tall with a 16 inch diameter. Size isn't the only difference between them: the 20-39PC+, after shipping, cost over $100 less than I what I paid for my PV1000 (which I got on sale). Mind you, the PV1000 is a great unit -- it just goes to show how fantastic the 20-39PC+ is compared to other subwoofers that cost more.

Check out this internet discussion as it develops, and note Robb's homepage link!

In that continuing discussion, Robb added something we'd like to share further:

"Quick soap box: I find it interesting that as my audio gear gets better, more of it’s made in America. SVS exemplifies how American business should be done: excellent products, excellent service, competitive prices, and honest concern and compassion for their consumers. End soap box."

RobbRoy 

See more on this internet discussion group as it happens!