SVS subwoofers

[DSJR]

I am happy with my SB2000 (the two other subs in my system are a sealed B&W PV1d and a sealed Kef Kube 8b, so rather a mix). I never had any problems with my SB2000, but it is pretty large and ugly compared to the other two. So its sits in the front corner, behind one of my large main speakers (Quad 2805). It is the most powerful of my subs, and benefitting from the corner reinforcement it is responsible for the deepest bass (down to some 15Hz) in my large room, as per advice from Earl Geddes. Equalization is by MSO/miniDSP 2x4HD. This is as far as my experience goes, other than that I am convinced that subwoofer sound quality is largely a function of the room rather than the sub.

Willem sir, you're VERY fortunate to have rooms able to take four ugly boxes plus a pair of satellites with supposedly few issues from the people you share your home with (I believe you have an even larger room with large-model Quad ESLs in it?) and maybe, many posting here also have large rooms not troubled by wires and boxes cluttering up the living space everywhere. I've recently had to change my speakers back recently for visual and bass-extension reasons (boom outside the listening environment), and sit these 1974 examples back on the 9" trolley stands' the model first came with. The visual side here is significantly enhanced as the slimmer profile and lower height suit the room better visually and the gentle roll-off below 80Hz these refurbished old speakers exhibit, doesn't upset the house acoustics in general. I play quietly these days and it's currently mostly speech (audio plays) currently, so subterranean bass is irrelevant.

Enjoy your sub(s) and extensive eq and so on if you're able to do that Most people out there wouldn't have a clue what to do - and I suspect that includes many here on ASR as well...

 

[Willem]

This is the main system in our 70 sqm open plan living space (three subs, not four). Yes, compared to the UK, Dutch houses have far more space. Per head, the Dutch have almost twice as large homes as the European average, and yes, compared to the average Dutch couple, we are privileged with above average space again. For much of my adult life I had no car, and spent my money on my house. I think it was not only a very good investment, but it also gave me a lot of quality of life.
I experimented with a small subwoofer to complement the Harbeth P3ESR desk top speakers in my 16 sq study, but decided it was not worth it.

 

[Matias]

New SB/PB 3000 and 3000 Micro R|Evolutionized. Not only more power (1200 W), new drivers and new chip for more advanced DSP, but also balanced XLR inputs.

SVS Launches First-Ever Soundbar and New 3000 R|Evolution Series Subwoofers at CES 2026

At CES 2026, SVS unveiled new R|Evolution 3000 Series subwoofers with redesigned drivers for deeper bass, alongside its first 3CH soundbar paired with a 12” sub, wireless surrounds, and dual-sub support.

www.audioholics.com

 

[Mort]

I wish we saw more (reliable) subwoofer reviews.

 

[Puddingbuks]

Hope this update doesn’t increase prices too much.

 

[Matias]

3000 R|Evolution series now online on their website:

3000 R|Evolution Series Subwoofers

Flagship Technology, Breathtaking Performance. A subwoofer shouldn’t just be heard, it should be felt, lived, and remembered. Redefining all benchmarks for performance and control, SVS 3000 R|Evolution Series subwoofers marry flagship technology with new innovations to deliver unrivaled output...

www.svsound.com

From the videos apparently this is a best selling line, especially the sealed SB-3000 series sells way more than PB-3000.

 

[Darkatomz]

Hope this update doesn’t increase prices too much.

Looks like a ~20% increase for both models. Annoying, because I was recently thinking of expanding my living room setup to use 2x PB-3000's instead of one and now Amazon is OOS too. Now I need to figure out if there would be a mismatch given the new models are higher output power if I can't get my hands on the original non-RE model.

Aside from the added XLR balanced plug, it looks like they are expanding the PEQ from 3 bands to 6 bands, not bad.

 

[Grenadine]

Not sure this question is worthy of a new post, but I'm wondering why SVS claims a peak power of 2,500 watts on the SVS Micro 3000 when there's only about 1,600-1,800 watts available at the standard 15A plug. I guess maybe if you have a 20A breaker. Is it just marketing?

 

[Induna]

There is presumably enough reserve current in the capacitors of the power supply to supply short bursts of very high power. I have a micro 3000. It shakes my small house when necessary.

 

[kyuu]

Not sure this question is worthy of a new post, but I'm wondering why SVS claims a peak power of 2,500 watts on the SVS Micro 3000 when there's only about 1,600-1,800 watts available at the standard 15A plug. I guess maybe if you have a 20A breaker. Is it just marketing?

In addition to the possibility of reserve current in capacitors as indicated above, your standard 15A/20A circuit can actually deliver much more than that for transient events. If 15A/20A was a strict limit where even the briefest of transients caused the breaker to flip, you wouldn't be able to run loads with significant inrush current such as vacuum cleaners, refrigerator compressors, etc. on them. In reality, breakers are subject to trip curves. Without getting into a lot of detail, it's quite possible for end equipment to receive and deliver power in excess of the circuit's rated capacity for brief events.

This is perfectly safe, btw, as time is an essential component in whether the excess current causes the wiring to heat up.

 

[Grenadine]

In addition to the possibility of reserve current in capacitors as indicated above, your standard 15A/20A circuit can actually deliver much more than that for transient events. If 15A/20A was a strict limit where even the briefest of transients caused the breaker to flip, you wouldn't be able to run loads with significant inrush current such as vacuum cleaners, refrigerator compressors, etc. on them. In reality, breakers are subject to trip curves. Without getting into a lot of detail, it's quite possible for end equipment to receive and deliver power in excess of the circuit's rated capacity for brief events.

This is perfectly safe, btw, as time is an essential component in whether the excess current causes the wiring to heat up.

Hmm...capacitors store energy don't they? Not create power. How can you get more power out than what went in? You know what I'm saying? Power = Voltage x Current. I'm not an electrician or engineer, just connecting the dots over here. Are you saying that the micro amp is capable of pulling 2,500 watts burst from a 110v 15A plug? Or is SVS claiming that in an ideal situation such as a 20A plug you could pull 2,400 watts for short bursts.

 

[kyuu]

Hmm...capacitors store energy don't they? Not create power. How can you get more power out than what went in?

Right, it's stored energy. If you combine that discharged energy with the existing energy coming from the wall, then you have a larger amount of combined power (for the short amount of time that the capacitor is discharging).

Are you saying that the micro amp is capable of pulling 2,500 watts burst from a 110v 15A plug?

2500W / 120V = 20.83A

Let's take a look at the trip curve for a typical household breaker:

To read this you need to know that everything to left of the blue-shaded region is the "will not trip" area, meaning that combination of time and amperage will not trip the breaker. The shaded-blue region is the "may trip" area. The area to the right of the shaded-blue region is the "will trip" area.

20.83A is about 1.4 times the rated current of a 15A breaker. Therefore, you can see it would take at least 1000 seconds for the breaker to trip at that amperage, perhaps longer. We can assume that there are likely other loads on the circuit, so it would probably be a shorter time to trip in a real scenario. However, even if you're watching the black hole scene in Interstellar at reference volume you're only going to be getting anywhere near that peak 2500W draw for brief transient events. Even hitting single digit seconds is unlikely. Pretty sure the subwoofer would be suffering some serious ill-effects if it was actually taking that much juice for any notable amount of time.

You have to get to 3 times the rated current (e.g. 45A for a 15A breaker) before you are where the breaker may trip more-or-less instantaneously, and 5 times (75A) where it should be tripping more-or-less instantaneously.

 

[Matias]

3000 Micro R|Evolution now online too.

SVS 3000 Micro R|Evolution | Compact Subwoofer with Deep & Musical Bass

Experience deep, accurate bass from a compact subwoofer. SVS 3000 Micro R|Evolution delivers stunning output and extension to 20Hz from dual 9-inch active drivers and 1,200 watt RMS Amplifier. All from a 11-inch enclosure.

www.svsound.com

 

[kyuu]

3000 Micro R|Evolution now online too.

SVS 3000 Micro R|Evolution | Compact Subwoofer with Deep & Musical Bass

Experience deep, accurate bass from a compact subwoofer. SVS 3000 Micro R|Evolution delivers stunning output and extension to 20Hz from dual 9-inch active drivers and 1,200 watt RMS Amplifier. All from a 11-inch enclosure.

www.svsound.com

What's the difference(s) between this and the previous Micro model?

 

[Matias]

See post #23 above.

 

[stren]

What's the difference(s) between this and the previous Micro model?

9" vs 8" drivers with larger xmax, 1200W vs 800W amp, better DSP. 20Hz vs 23Hz for 3dB. The output plot actually looks a ton better than the old one though as 3dB on the old looks more like 30-35Hz vs 20-25Hz

 

[kyuu]

See post #23 above.

Ah OK. Had to go to the Audioholics link:

While the original3000 Micro used a pair of dual-opposed 8-inch drivers, the new model uses dual9-inch drivers. There is also new amplification onboard, along with a new DSP engine that will enable the 3000 Micro R|Evolution to take advantage of the upcoming Auto Room EQ feature. With larger drivers, new amplification, and the addition of more advanced DSP, the 3000 Micro R|Evolution should easily outperform its predecessor while maintaining an appealingly tiny form-factor.

9" vs 8" drivers with larger xmax, 1200W vs 800W amp, better DSP. 20Hz vs 23Hz for 3dB. The output plot actually looks a ton better than the old one though as 3dB on the old looks more like 30-35Hz vs 20-25Hz

Where are you getting the plot for the previous Micro model from? The new one is easy to obtain of course:

Edit: Plot for the previous Micro for comparison:

 

[Grenadine]

Just picked one up. I mainly purchased for the lower extension below 25 hz, as well as the room correction, said to be coming soon but I've heard there's been long delays...

One thing I'm really appreciative for is that the size is identical to the older generation. I can't go up even 1/4" with my current placement. It's pinched between a dresser and bench with the woofers turned sideways. I'm sure others who purchased this sub for limited space will agree it was wise to keep the size 11" cube.

Edits: lack of proof reading and trying to make more sense

 

[Puddingbuks]

The SVS room correction should also be possible with the older "pro" series, as they have a DSP and parametric EQ....?

 

[Ruediger]

don't let the main's go tru the svs's crossover. it's mediocre sq wise..

Is that also true for the current SVS SB-2000 Pro?

Was thinking of doing that for a specific setup, haven't done it yet.

The only downside I saw with it was the potentially long rca cable. But it would be just 2m to and from the sub for me.