SVS SB-1000 - inside pics, personal thoughts

[blueone]

My DIY sub at half the price blows it out of the sky. Can't revert back to it, I understand its entry level but I got caught out by there strong marketing.

DIY always beats the cost of commercial models for comparable designs. Without measurements of both, and subs are easier to characterize than full-range speakers because bass is omnidirectional, you're just a guy with an opinion. You might actually be correct, as the SB1000 is not exactly an extraordinary sub, but "slow and sluggish" and being "blown out of the sky" are not objective statements.

 

[Trdat]

Personally I can't be more disappointed with a gimmicky sub that sold me on the premise of marketing rather than build and design quality.

There are a few points of comparison which are not measurable but can easily help define its quality. Ultimately, its just an opinion...

 

[moonlight rainbow dream]

I know the dayton drivers are good stuff, but some simple measurements would be nice.

I believe that there are a lot of audiophiles that simply don't like hearing deep bass extension even though the speaker is honestly recreating what's present in the recording. This manifests itself in the ported vs sealed sound quality debate where when people complain about muddiness that's just a combination of real low frequency content and the secondary resonances of poorly damped listening rooms. Just my opinion.

 

[Trdat]

I know the dayton drivers are good stuff, but some simple measurements would be nice.

I believe that there are a lot of audiophiles that simply don't like hearing deep bass extension even though the speaker is honestly recreating what's present in the recording. This manifests itself in the ported vs sealed sound quality debate where when people complain about muddiness that's just a combination of real low frequency content and the secondary resonances of poorly damped listening rooms. Just my opinion.

I am happy to take measurements, and of course an impulse response is what we need to look at for overhang in a sub woofer. This is what I consider the most important aspect of sound quality from a subwoofer so when I say slow and sluggish its a subjective dislike and it is measureable from what I have understood. This particular measurement (impulse response) doesn't seem to be part of the results(not the impulse response itself but the interpretation of the overhang) from Klippel measurements, well at least from what I have seen in one's taken by Audioholics and Erin's corner and it seems that this isn't a baseline assessment taken in consideration while surveying a sub. I would of thought that it would be, even if a scale was given to give you percieved comaprison from sub to sub.

What I do agree with you is that the muddiness is partly a combnation of low frequency content and room resonance especially if you don't have a decent reverberation time value for your room. This point of low freqeuncy content was one of the concepts I tried explaining in the previous posts, that I have had a few experts in the PE forum who swear that picking out a sub with different box sizes with the same roll off is pretty hard to discern of course with similar parameters. The point that this "expert" is trying to make, is if you want transient bass then just lose the lower frequencies. Which is kind of what your saying.

But I have designed a DIY sub sealed with a very low QTC and although the above sticks that when I add the bass extension with DSP I do lose some transients compared to the natural roll off. It seems with a decent sub with added DSP and added bass extension it can at least give me the subjective quality that I am looking for regardless of how deep the bass extenions get to. And yes from what I have understood overhang is measurable from sub to sub it might not be a sound quality rating but a spec that can give you idea. I refrained from making a comment earlier because I was hoping a more experience member would chime in regarding the matter but this is my take.

 

[Marius]

Hello everyone,

I have an SB 1000 myself and I am happy with it. I bought it from US through Amazon but used it in Qatar, where the power grid is 220V. Obviously, my problem is that the SMPS is set for US at 110 V. There comes a question, anyone has a schematic diagram for the SMPS or managed to change it to 220V?

 

[trl]

I think Quatar is using 240V these days, EU is using 230V, US is using 120V. However, you may use a 240 V to 120 V transformer (at least 500 VA) or contact SVS support and let us know what they have to say about your issue.

 

[Soundmixer]

Of course, and undoubtedly one could convince oneself that he had hacked around and improved what the actual pros had accomplished.

Well, you could measure what the "pros" created against a comparably well-built DIY passive sub with an external amp and an external DSP box, and then you wouldn't have to convince yourself. The data would convince everyone.

 

[Marius]

I think Quatar is using 240V these days, EU is using 230V, US is using 120V. However, you may use a 240 V to 120 V transformer (at least 500 VA) or contact SVS support and let us know what they have to say about your issue.

Yes, it is 240V in Qatar, I was not paying that much attention to that. And yes, I am already using a stepdown transformer of 1500 KVA to power my units, but the space become a issue and the simple fact that I have to use such extras was really annoying. Good thing I wrote last night to SVS and they replied immediately with a solution, and I mean in 5 minutes. There is a jumper on the SMPS to do that job. Jumper on 110V , jumper off 220 to 240V ( hopefully, not yet done it or tested). Attached the details for who might need that. Enjoy gents and ladies. For me is another 5 star service from SVS and a wonderful morning.

 

[trl]

Great info Marius, thank you!

 

[mightycicadalord]

Someone said mdf doesn't take glue well, on what planet? it def does on this one.

All the goo on the amp makes me feel like repair is gonna be nearly impossible.

 

[itz_all_about_the_music]

MDF is horrible for screws. If it is a screw that you think you might remove and reinsert more than just a few times, it is better to use threaded inserts. To do threaded inserts you need to use a jig of some sort both for drilling the hole and for screwing in the insert. A drill press can be useful in particular circumstances. With gluing the mating surface areas need to be bigger than with most any wood for two reasons. The glue doesn't soak in very far, and the MDF will too easily pull apart behind the glue. I've used it but my sense is that from the standpoint of intrinsic damping it is only slightly better than other common materials such as plywood. The knuckle test indicates that the difference is not strong, and you step over to where you find the composite material used for outdoor decking, the difference is dramatic. The material used for outdoor decking is much more pliable and at the same time seems to be be more dense. Very heavy but bends a lot, maybe too much to be useful for cabinet construction, but not a lot of reinforcement should be needed to stiffen up as needed.

There are a number of good subwoofer kits, some with knock-down cabinets and a lot more without. But I've explored this option repeatedly by doing a cost comparison, and the conclusion is that the rationale for building a subwoofer has to be something besides saving money. By the time you've bought the amp and all the other stuff you end up buying, glue, wood screws, maybe clamps if you don't already have them, you'll have spent considerably more than what the SB-1000 costs. For hobbyists the motivation is not cost savings. I'm somewhere in the middle, but ultimately I can't see doing all the work needed to end up with a nice subwoofer unless it is going to save me money compared to what I would spend on a subwoofer like this one.

Many types of wood-based sheet goods to choose from, all with pros and cons for the cabinet/enclosure maker. This Fine Woodworking article, summarizing eleven types, is very informative. https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/416965/011295036.pdf