SVS 3000 Micro Subwoofer (announced)

[More Dynamics Please]

Only in the smallest of rooms with the tightest of spaces is a 10"-11" cube a major physical advantage over a 14"-15" cube. For many it's as much an issue of esthetics as space constraints, and that's fine.

 

[HooStat]

And imagine trying to place 2, 3, or 4 subs. Yet another reason for small subs for people who don't want subs to be so visible in their room.

 

[mkawa]

small rooms exist! try fitting a 15" cube in a loft in manhattan

 

[prmfeddema]

And here is a user comparision between the Kef and the SVS 3000 micro

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/mgpp79/_/gtm616u

 

[kokoon]

Only in the smallest of rooms with the tightest of spaces is a 10"-11" cube a major physical advantage over a 14"-15" cube. For many it's as much an issue of esthetics as space constraints, and that's fine.

You've obviously never had to solve a real life problem that is finding space for another box, in an already furnished family living room. 1" can be the difference between "yes, we can fit the sub in the room" and "we can try to rearrange a few pieces of furniture / buy a new couch / get rid of the plants corner ...". I'm not talking about dedicated listening rooms btw, that's probably easier to accept some compromises.

 

[MrPeabody]

I think the new SVS micro 3000 is a smart offering. I'd consider getting one if I needed a really small sub somewhere such as a bedroom, office, or tiny living room. However, I think many people are too focused on getting micro subs when there is no reason to. For example, I saw someone mention something like "hey, these are small enough that I can use them on either side of my couch!". Personally, I think these are so small they would look silly flanking a couch. Would anyone buy end tables 11" all around to put on either side of their couch? No, this would look completely stupid. I think a much larger, normal size sub like PSA S3012 would blend into many decors better than a miniscule cube when used as an end table:
PSA S3012
Close to proper size for an end table, inert so things won't vibrate off, world class performance with dual B&C 15DS115" Neo pro audio high excursion drivers. Standard finish is basic but comes in very nice wood veneer as well.

If we are looking at $1500 for KEF's micro cube, I'd rather have the PSA sitting beside my couch as an appropriate sized piece of furniture rather than a tiny little of out place cube.

I realize there are situations where there may not be enough physical space to fit an 18" wide sub vs an 11" wide box. But the size limitation is also often simply self imposed rather than necessary.

And yes, I realize that a large, $2100 sub is not necessarily a direct competitor/comparison to the micro subs, but in some cases, perhaps it should be a consideration.

Some good points you made there. Most end tables, though, aren't square and don't extend out away from the sofa nearly as far as a square-ish subwoofer would. And most subwoofers aren't enough to be useful as an end table. Although there are certainly a few that are about the right HxWxD to match an end table. One thing I like about one as small as this is that if you have shelves built into a wall, you can possibly place it on the shelf. Of course you have to leave open the space on other side, and owing to the force cancellation, it would just sit there and not vibrate or bounce up and down even if you put it on a higher shelf. You could even put it on a high shelf and as long as the shelf will support the weight, no problem.

 

[MrPeabody]

I just can't wrap my head around how hard it is for so many people to at least accept (if not understand) that some rooms / apartments just don't allow for a typical 12" sealed sub box. It's not about trying to have cute subs, it's not even about saving space... it's about physically fitting a sub at all!

The amount of comments I read so far that say how weak those micro subs are, how expensive they are and how much more SPL you could get for much less money... why don't they ask first if it even is about SPL? Why don't they ask if the budget is even limited?

Good post! I will add that for some people the reason for a subwoofer as opposed to two big stereo speakers is to reduce the conspicuity of the speakers. If that's the reason, then you obviously want the smallest subwoofer that will work adequately well. If small is good, then the smaller the better. You can never have too much of a good thing. If the response turns out to be flat up to 150 Hz or so, then I could see this small sub and a pair of small satellites like everyone buys these days. Small in size but big in sound, that's what I want!

 

[More Dynamics Please]

You've obviously never had to solve a real life problem that is finding space for another box, in an already furnished family living room. 1" can be the difference between "yes, we can fit the sub in the room" and "we can try to rearrange a few pieces of furniture / buy a new couch / get rid of the plants corner ...". I'm not talking about dedicated listening rooms btw, that's probably easier to accept some compromises.

You're right. When I was younger and couldn't afford much living space I also couldn't afford a lot of things to over-stuff that small living space. Now that I'm older and can afford a larger living space I choose not to over-stuff that space to the point that I have to obsess over a few inches difference in subwoofer footprint. I try to plan ahead and not paint myself into corners.

 

[Bear123]

It's cool, no reason to get all bent out of shape about anything. As I said, I'm sure there are situations where only a tiny sub will literally fit. Its a cool product and I'd buy it if I had a need for it. However, I'm also open minded enough that I see the other side of it. A lot of the size constraint is self imposed and not necessary, and in fact a larger sub would actually fit into the decor *better*. For example, every marketing photo I can find of the micro 3000, a normal size sub such as the PSA S3012 would actually look better, fit better and/or be useful as an endtable:

S3012 would fit perfectly fine here.

S3012 would fit fine here.

S3012 would fit better here and could be used like a normal end table. The tiny cube actually looks out of place like a small box on the floor.

Very cool idea if trying to hide though, or fit in a small shelf, bedroom, office, etc. Will be interesting to see some objective data on this one. KEF vs SVS shootout!!

 

[jbattman1016]

I have been looking for something to replace my Cambridge Soundwoks p1000 sub when (if) it dies.

 

[mkawa]

if i wasn't having so much trouble getting this sub to scale volume well vs my monitors, i would heavily recommend it. if you have a completely unbalanced system though, i highly recommend it. if you have balanced monitors that you don't have independent volume control over, then it's really hard to match volume.

the app is amazing though. i really love it.

 

[weasels]

as far as size goes there is one crucial factor to consider:

can i use this as a foot rest under my desk?

Standard subs are too tall and mess with my seated ergonomics. This (or the KEF) would be perfect.

 

[mkawa]

yah, as long as you're not wearing shoes you're in the clear. my footrest is lower otherwise i'd use it. i've put my smsl stack on top of it to get them off my desk. very convenient.

honestly if i could just figure out how to balance the volume between the balanced and unbalanced outputs of a preamp dac i'd keep it. i've tried turning the genelecs to minimum sensitivity and still have to max the volume on the sub. i'm thinking of trying an ART balanced to unbalanced box that looks like it has a small amp in it and splitting the balanced output from the sp400 i'm using as a preamp, but i'm also kind of fed up of playing with it.

i doubt most people will have this problem, but it is really annoying that SVS subs don't seem to have unbalanced inputs. neither does the kc62

OH, once i do tweak the volume running it at line level unbalanced, to match the genelecs, it sounds _really_ good. obviously it doesn't challenge my living room sub but it's a perfect companion for compact monitors, in near and medium field. it is outstanding in mid field. i have no idea what it does long field because there's just not enough room in my office to get that far back.

 

[Kachda]

as far as size goes there is one crucial factor to consider:

can i use this as a foot rest under my desk?

Standard subs are too tall and mess with my seated ergonomics. This (or the KEF) would be perfect.

this is what you need

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Ss...rds=monoprice+subwoofer&qid=1617905251&sr=8-3

 

[mkawa]

hah. down firing is guaranteed to bug the neighbors.

 

[kokoon]

if i wasn't having so much trouble getting this sub to scale volume well vs my monitors, i would heavily recommend it. if you have a completely unbalanced system though, i highly recommend it. if you have balanced monitors that you don't have independent volume control over, then it's really hard to match volume.

the app is amazing though. i really love it.

What exactly are you struggling with?

 

[mkawa]

What exactly are you struggling with?

the genelecs (8040s) are balanced XLR in. The SVS is unbalanced RCA in (and stereo, i'm not sure what that's about). so line level on the SVS is 2v and 4v on the monitors. the only way for me to get both balanced and unbalanced output at the same time right now is to connect everything directly to my M400 dac. however, there is no independent volume control on the genelecs, so i'm at the mercy of the volume control on the M400 to control the monitors. this means about 14-17 on the dial, which means that the -10db of the unbalanced output is giving it something like 4-7db of signal. the amplifier on the SVS, bless its heart, can't amplify this signal to match the genelecs, it maxes out about 10-15db under the monitors, or less.

the genelecs do have a gain dial on their internal amplifier that goes to -6db, but even there, and maxing out the SVS amp, I have to apply a +6db wideband PEQ on the SVS DSP to get within +/-5db of the monitors, and the wideband PEQ isn't flat, so without using the other two PEQs, I end up boosting a room mode I have at 60hz.

the temporary but PITA solution i've come up with is to use the SP400 as a preamp for the monitors, to then feed the SVS full 2v line level from the unbalanced outputs of the m400 and then tune the volumes of the preamped monitors and the sub via its amplifier by hand, separately. using this i've gotten some pretty nice curves (for my room, which is a disaster). see:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0sjc8maowwft5gs/Screen Shot 2021-04-08 at 3.06.09 PM.png?dl=0

the green is with the SVS a little low to keep it from getting boomy in the room. note this is still from a blue yeti so take it with a grain of salt (my umik is coming on saturday).

obviously what i want is to be able to control them with a single volume dial and not have to deal with significantly lower levels on the sub. so far i haven't been able to get that to work. as a substitute i've added a bit of peq boost to the low end of the 8040s to get them to extend to the advertised 41db without proper wall spacing, and it sounds pretty good. it doesn't vibrate the desk like the SVS does, but it gets them to sound a bit more full that i would get with proper positioning.

 

[Kachda]

hah. down firing is guaranteed to bug the neighbors.

Isn't bass omnidirectional - i.e. bug everyone if the walls are not great ?

 

[mkawa]

the center of the radiator is much lower than front firing designs

 

[kokoon]

I see now, so basically your problem could be framed as either of:

• The Genelec mains are too loud/powerful (and trim does too little)
• The SVS sub is too quiet/weak
• You don't have independent levels output from your preamp for mains/sub

Why don't you simply y-split the single-ended outs from the pre, to drive both the mains and the sub? Do you really need the balanced connection? That way you'd bring the mains input level to 2V.