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Dual SVS SB-3000 or Dual PSA S1512 ?

syzygetic

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I’ve googled around a lot, and I can’t find anything empirical about the performance of these two against one another. The PSA data, in particular, seems to be unavailable.

So, I trust this crowd! In a 25x22ft room, a trifield of Meridian DSP5200.2, what two subs would you add (basically 3.2 system)?

these two seem to be the most appropriate candidates, so I’m especially interested in opinions or data between them, but if you have a compelling third option in a similar price range, I’m happy to consider.
 

Slayer

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I’ve googled around a lot, and I can’t find anything empirical about the performance of these two against one another. The PSA data, in particular, seems to be unavailable.

So, I trust this crowd! In a 25x22ft room, a trifield of Meridian DSP5200.2, what two subs would you add (basically 3.2 system)?

these two seem to be the most appropriate candidates, so I’m especially interested in opinions or data between them, but if you have a compelling third option in a similar price range, I’m happy to consider.
Take a look at HSU subs and Monolith. Nothing wrong with what you listed, just a little over priced for what you get.
 

milan616

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Take a look at HSU subs and Monolith. Nothing wrong with what you listed, just a little over priced for what you get.

SVS customer service is legendary, and Tom of PSA (and the V in SVS) is also super responsive to customers. To some people the added safety can be worth the cost. HSU doesn't have a bad track record by any means, but Monolith does and you don't want to get stuck with a bum sub from them.
 

Matias

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SVS rules. Bought my first sub from them recently and I regret not buying from them years ago.
 

HooStat

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Take a look at the Arendal subs. They seem to be nicer looking, if that matters to you. Obviously subjective, but they are side firing so the finished side faces the room and they have both gloss and matte finishes. They have a dual driver 13.8" sub which looks interesting.
And Rythmik makes excellent subs in a variety of sizes.
 

Promit

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I've loved SVS subs for many years. But I don't know how a 13" woofer with 800W is supposed to compete with a 15" woofer and 960W. SVS marketing makes a lot of tall claims about those long excursion 13s and I just can't see it. Then again, the two subs are priced to reflect that aren't they?

I will say that going off the SVS and PSA subs that do appears on Data-Bass, I have every reason to believe that both are excellent choices at their respective price points. Subs are a lot easier that way, honestly.
 

Slayer

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SVS customer service is legendary, and Tom of PSA (and the V in SVS) is also super responsive to customers. To some people the added safety can be worth the cost. HSU doesn't have a bad track record by any means, but Monolith does and you don't want to get stuck with a bum sub from them.
Yes, monolith had a rocky start a few years ago when they first started with subs. They had issues with a particular batch that was resolved. Now there is no reason to complain about their product or service. If you have a bad driver or amp module, they will send out a replacement part, rather than sending in the entire sub.
 

milan616

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they will send out a replacement part, rather than sending in the entire sub.

Ah well that's a big change! They were notorious for making you send things back in at your own expense. I had the gain knob on my SVS PB12-NSD go bad and got someone on the phone right away. They asked just a few questions and next day shipped me a new plate amp and return shipping for the bad one. I'm glad Monoprice is stepping up to something similar!
 
OP
syzygetic

syzygetic

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Take a look at the Arendal subs. They seem to be nicer looking, if that matters to you. Obviously subjective, but they are side firing so the finished side faces the room and they have both gloss and matte finishes. They have a dual driver 13.8" sub which looks interesting.
And Rythmik makes excellent subs in a variety of sizes.

Those Arendal units do look nice, for sure.

One of the things that's been really confusing here is the spec on the SB-3000. The only review I can find of it indicates that the CEA-2010 results on the SB-3000 are just blowing everything else out of the water. At the same time, there has been some healthy skepticism on this site, and others, regarding those results. I'm no expert on subwoofers, but I do understand a decent amount about speaker construction, and I have to say, SVS has either done an amazing job on the SB-3000, or there's a mistake in the measurements floating around. Anyone ever come to a resolution with an independent test on an SB-3000?
 

SynthesisCinema

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Those Arendal units do look nice, for sure.

One of the things that's been really confusing here is the spec on the SB-3000. The only review I can find of it indicates that the CEA-2010 results on the SB-3000 are just blowing everything else out of the water. At the same time, there has been some healthy skepticism on this site, and others, regarding those results. I'm no expert on subwoofers, but I do understand a decent amount about speaker construction, and I have to say, SVS has either done an amazing job on the SB-3000, or there's a mistake in the measurements floating around. Anyone ever come to a resolution with an independent test on an SB-3000?

The AH numbers are correct ones similar to what SVS has got. Just send email to SVS - Ed Mullen or find him at AVSForum and PM him to double check if you still hesitate. Erin is new to measure subwoofers as there is certain things to consider for CEA2010. He should talk with James so no more errors in future. 106,5db at 20hz is not possible even for SB16Ultra which put out 100.1db 2m RMS and you can add 3db for 2m peak result.
 

richard12511

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Those Arendal units do look nice, for sure.

One of the things that's been really confusing here is the spec on the SB-3000. The only review I can find of it indicates that the CEA-2010 results on the SB-3000 are just blowing everything else out of the water. At the same time, there has been some healthy skepticism on this site, and others, regarding those results. I'm no expert on subwoofers, but I do understand a decent amount about speaker construction, and I have to say, SVS has either done an amazing job on the SB-3000, or there's a mistake in the measurements floating around. Anyone ever come to a resolution with an independent test on an SB-3000?

Unfortunately, I don't think we ever figured out what was different about Erin's(Erin's Audio Corner) SB-3000 measurements, but I wouldn't compare them to CEA-2010 results from other sources. It may take Erin measuring a few more subs that other sources have also measured to track down where the difference comes from.
 

Sal1950

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these two seem to be the most appropriate candidates, so I’m especially interested in opinions or data between them, but if you have a compelling third option in a similar price range, I’m happy to consider.
I'm running a pair of SVS SB2000 in approx the same space as you and have never felt like I was running out of gas playing any type of music or movies. I'm sure you'd be very pleased with a pair of 3000's. The subwoofer market is very large today and when you start comparing apples to apples in size and power I don't believe you'll find a world of difference between them. I ran a pair of HSU's up in Chicago for close to 20 years, and another pair of HSU's here in FL for a few more. I always found Dr Hsu and the rest at the company to be great people to work with. I only went to SVS this time around as I got a killer close-out price on them when they got replaced by the new Pro model. SVS also has dynamite customer service so you wouldn't be disappointed by either company.
 

Beershaun

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Astrozombie

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The general thing i'm getting is get ported unless you don't have the space or the WAF doesn't approve. I'm kinda wondering though, I have SB1000s and they seem a little boomy at times. I'm going to get a DSP to get them dialed in better but if i were to upgrade it just seems like you get more from 20-30hz.......everyone says Ported is a huge leap. At that price I might just check out Rhythmik................though an interesting thing they write ontheir main page.

"
Combined systems

For combined music and home theatre systems, many of our 15" sealed subs are a good all round compromise. Our dual sealed 15" F25 is a very good choice, offering the LFE output of our vented subs but with the added bonus of greater midbass efficiency and output.

" Not quite sure what they mean... some people would say it's BS. Or a PB-3000 in Piano finish?
 
OP
syzygetic

syzygetic

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Man, the more I look at this, the more this is turning in to a “HSU ULS15 MK2 or PSA S1512” thread. SVS looks great, but I agree, if those numbers from Erin aren’t solid (no disrespect, it may only be an errant data point), the value prop goes down. Anyone ever cross shopped the 15” sealed from PSA and HSU?
 

hardisj

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Yea, I need to ask @sweetchaos to take my numbers out of his spreadsheet. Since I am doing a big round of subwoofer tests next month, I’ve revisited the SVS test and think I found the error but I can’t recalculate things to verify so I think it’s best to chalk that up as a loss on my end and re-test at a later date. I’ll have to remove them from my own spreadsheet as well.
 

Benedium

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Is it possible SVS changes some things in the older models when new models are released so that each model's performance aligns with its price?
 

sweetchaos

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Yea, I need to ask @sweetchaos to take my numbers out of his spreadsheet. Since I am doing a big round of subwoofer tests next month, I’ve revisited the SVS test and think I found the error but I can’t recalculate things to verify so I think it’s best to chalk that up as a loss on my end and re-test at a later date. I’ll have to remove them from my own spreadsheet as well.
I've updated my spreadsheet, crossed out the questionable data (for PB-2000 Pro, SB-2000 Pro, and SB-3000), and made a note that the SVS subs will be re-retested.
Thanks for your efforts on this.
 
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