Help understand subwoofer output review RSL 10E vs SVS SB1000 Pro

[Soldar]

Hi all,
I am/was on the fence between buying an RSL 10E which is currently on blemish sale and an SVS SB1000 Pro for home theatre(living room movies) and some music use.
Audioholics have reviewed both but their measurements seem to be contradicting and confusing so maybe I’m likely understanding them.
https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/svs-pb-1000-pro-sb-1000-pro

$300 RSL Speedwoofer 10E Subwoofer Review

RSL's Speedwoofer 10E is an entry-level sub that still has a beefy 10" driver, an intricate enclosure, and a 300-watt amp. Is this the best sub money can buy for $299 shipped? Read our review to find out!

www.audioholics.com

The low end +-3db spec for each sub frequency is 26hz for the RSL and 20hz for SVS

The table of SPL output for each frequency however seems to distinctively show the RSL having more output on the low end at 20 and 25hz (it’s also lightly ported compared to sealed)
But the frequency graph and sustained output graph seem to show completely different results with the SVS having significantly higher output at the low end.
So I’m at a loss as to whether or not I made the right choice of going with the RSL, can anyone explain to me how the measurements make sense and which of these subs will actually have higher low bass output for movies?

 

[Laika2]

Hi all,
I am/was on the fence between buying an RSL 10E which is currently on blemish sale and an SVS SB1000 Pro for home theatre(living room movies) and some music use.
Audioholics have reviewed both but their measurements seem to be contradicting and confusing so maybe I’m likely understanding them.
https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/svs-pb-1000-pro-sb-1000-pro

$300 RSL Speedwoofer 10E Subwoofer Review

RSL's Speedwoofer 10E is an entry-level sub that still has a beefy 10" driver, an intricate enclosure, and a 300-watt amp. Is this the best sub money can buy for $299 shipped? Read our review to find out!

www.audioholics.com

The low end +-3db spec for each sub frequency is 26hz for the RSL and 20hz for SVS

The table of SPL output for each frequency however seems to distinctively show the RSL having more output on the low end at 20 and 25hz (it’s also lightly ported compared to sealed)
But the frequency graph and sustained output graph seem to show completely different results with the SVS having significantly higher output at the low end.
So I’m at a loss as to whether or not I made the right choice of going with the RSL, can anyone explain to me how the measurements make sense and which of these subs will actually have higher low bass output for movies?

The Speedwoofer has slightly more output at 25, everywhere else the SB1000 ties or has more output. I have 3 of the latest 10" speedwoofers and room gain will help at 25, normally 20-40.

The SB1000 will have a higher output in the vast majority of the 20-80 range.

QUESTION: On the chart they show the PB1000 Pro leading in all ways including felt bass. If it's just for movies that ported often hits lower and sounds better, Sealed is normally for music but that's a rough rule.

For what it's worth I had a SB 1000 and preferred the tightness of the Speedwoofer better (But my setup is split music and movies which is a factor, plus I was running 2 which leads to a 3db gain over the chart number or 6 db if you stack them)

If you are just movies why not the PB 1000 pro? Hits lower everywhere, hits below 20 for bass that you feel but don't hear which is a blast in movies.

I am running 3 Speedwoofer MKII's and one Arendal 1723 ports that has two 14 inch drivers. The speedwoofers are more for cancellation n Dirac ART.

For movies unless you are in a tiny room I would buy another Speedwoofer (can be added latter) or go with the PB 1000. I did run 2 stacked RSL MKII's in my upstairs system stacked and they worked quite well for movies and music. A single one not so much.

 

[Soldar]

The Speedwoofer has slightly more output at 25, everywhere else the SB1000 ties or has more output. I have 3 of the latest 10" speedwoofers and room gain will help at 25, normally 20-40.

The SB1000 will have a higher output in the vast majority of the 20-80 range.

How does this correlate with the output table though which seemingly has the RSL outputting more DB then the SB1000 is what I’m tryin to understand?

QUESTION: On the chart they show the PB1000 Pro leading in all ways including felt bass. If it's just for movies that ported often hits lower and sounds better, Sealed is normally for music but that's a rough rule.

For what it's worth I had a SB 1000 and preferred the tightness of the Speedwoofer better (But my setup is split music and movies which is a factor, plus I was running 2 which leads to a 3db gain over the chart number or 6 db if you stack them)

If you are just movies why not the PB 1000 pro? Hits lower everywhere, hits below 20 for bass that you feel but don't hear which is a blast in movies.

I am running 3 Speedwoofer MKII's and one Arendal 1723 ports that has two 14 inch drivers. The speedwoofers are more for cancellation n Dirac ART.

For movies unless you are in a tiny room I would buy another Speedwoofer (can be added latter) or go with the PB 1000. I did run 2 stacked RSL MKII's in my upstairs system stacked and they worked quite well for movies and music. A single one not so much.

The PB is way out of budget and also likely out of wife approval, the 10E with the sale was only $259 which made the MKII at $500 not really make sense and the SB1000 was also around $500+, for the same price I could technically get two 10E but that’s also not wife approved, at least at this point of time
If a single SB1000 (or for that matter 10S MK2) is much better than a 10E(considering double the price) that’s what I’m trying to understand.

 

[No. 5]

The table of SPL output for each frequency however seems to distinctively show the RSL having more output on the low end at 20 and 25hz (it’s also lightly ported compared to sealed)
But the frequency graph and sustained output graph seem to show completely different results with the SVS having significantly higher output at the low end.

The SPL output table is the results of a CEA-2010 test, this uses tone-bursts at proscribed frequencies at gradually increasing output level until harmonic distortion reaches a defined threshold. If memory serves, that threshold is the audibility threshold for harmonic distortion at the given frequency, so CEA-2010 numbers are the maximum "clean" output.

The sustained output graphs are showing the results of a slowly swept sign wave at progressively increasing levels until the output stops increasing. This differs from CEA-2010 in at least two specific way: first, the maximum SPL a subwoofer can produce at a given frequency may be accompanied by more harmonic distortion than CEA-2010 allows, and second, an amplifier may be able to produce a short term burst of power for high SPL but be unable to sustain it. So both tests provide qualitative data about a subwoofers performance from different angles.

Applying that to the two subs in question, since the SVS shows 88dB maximum at 20Hz on the CEA-2010, it can be concluded that the higher SPL level shown on the sustained output graph is also accompanied by more distortion than CEA-2010 allows, and since the RSL shows a maximum of 94dB on the CEA-2010 test but ~89dB for sustained output, it's reasonable to conclude that its amplifier would have difficulty maintaining sustained high output.