svs PB12–Ultra/2 or PB12-Plus/2

jack7777

My dad is looking for a sub, do you think the pb12- ultra/2 is worth the extra 800.00 over the pb12-plus/2. He will use it only for HT. He asked me if it was worth the extra 800.00 for the ultra and I could not give him a honest answer because I have no clue. His room is 18x20. Can someone with a ultra or plus help me out? Thanks

cfrizz

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34703#post381473

BIZILL

if money is no issue, always get the ultra. but i'm sure pops would be extremely happy with either.

jack7777

Money is part of it for sure. He just dont want to buy the plus, and have it bottom out after he turns it up almost all the way.(trying to save money on the script of viagra and stll make mom happy). He has high celings and a open room on one end. thanks for the replys guys. jack

BIZILL

svs warranty policy. if he doesn't like the plus, he can return it and purchase the ultra.

45 day money back guarantee.

If you are not completely satisfied with the performance of your SVS speaker or subwoofer, return it to us for a full refund of the purchase price. Just a few minor stipulations should you choose to do this:

Products must be returned in original shipping boxes.
E-mail SVS for a return authorization number and display this on the outside of the box.
Subwoofer and/or speaker must be insured during return shipping.
Shipping costs are not refundable.

marcpam

agree with bizill, purchase the plus and if he is not pleased, return it for the ultra. The pb12plus/2 is a completer monster.

wingnut4772

I think returning any of these monsters would be a feat in itself. I just got the PB12 Ultra/2 and I am very pleased with it. I know I will not be needing an upgrade and it shakes my HT room at only 1/4 of the gain. But...I think that unless your Dad has a huge room or is a real HT nut he will be happy with the less expensive version forever...but I would go with the Ultra. I would hate to have to repack any of these and ship them.

BIZILL

wingnut, the more you push, the more you make me want the better model. but i think i'm okay with what i have due to the price differance. again, the ultra is obviously the better sub. and jackquad7, if pops may happen to be balding, the plus will stimulate his dying roots back into growth.

wingnut4772

Ha! Come to the dark side, Bizill...Mwah Ha ha ha!!!

cfrizz

ROFLOL! Priceless!

wingnut4772 wrote:

Ha! Come to the dark side, Bizill...Mwah Ha ha ha!!!

Dr. Spec

jack7777 wrote:

He just dont want to buy the plus, and have it bottom out after he turns it up almost all the way.

Whichever he picks, I strongly recommend the 25 Hz tune to start. It's extraordinarily hard to bottom out the subwoofer in this tune, and it also has the most headroom and impact.

jack7777

Dr. Spec wrote:

Whichever he picks, I strongly recommend the 25 Hz tune to start. It's extraordinarily hard to bottom out the subwoofer in this tune, and it also has the most headroom and impact.

If he tunes it to the 25, do you think he will lose a lot of deep bass? Or is most movies 25 and above? We just watched The Polar Express and my 16-46 Pc plus made his pants flutter when the train pulled up to the house. So far he is leaning towards the plus mom found out what the ultra cost :eek: . I told mom that it doubles as a end table as well 2 for the price of one!

Dr. Spec

jack7777 wrote:

If he tunes it to the 25, do you think he will lose a lot of deep bass? Or is most movies 25 and above? We just watched The Polar Express and my 16-46 Pc plus made his pants flutter when the train pulled up to the house. So far he is leaning towards the plus mom found out what the ultra cost :eek: . I told mom that it doubles as a end table as well 2 for the price of one!

The Plus/2 and Ultra/2 are flat to 22 Hz quasi-anechoic and will give strong response to 20 Hz in-room. That is plenty deep to capture nearly all of what is present on a given DVD.

With that said, the 20 Hz tune will only give up a few dB of output/headroom in exchange for strong response to 15 Hz in-room.

If you start with the 25 Hz tune, you'll know how hard you can push things before the sub runs out of steam. Then after you find its limits (if you ever do), then you'll know what to expect from the 20 Hz tune.

I don't recommend the 16 Hz tune, as it is not optimal for this size subwoofer and there is only one open port so it is somewhat underported also. The sub gives up nearly 6 dB in headroom in the 16 Hz tune, so it would take two of them to equal the 25 Hz tune above about 22 Hz.

There is a waterfall chart floating around HTF or AVS of the train pulling up in Polar Express, and much of the bass is above 20 Hz (there are some infrasonics present, though). That passage would certainly still sound strong/deep/visceral in the 25 Hz tune.

BIZILL

i've tried 16, 20 and 25 hz tuning. for me, 20hz is perfecto. i almost got the 16-46 just for the stock 16hz tuning. found out by ear and impact that i lost too much around 40-50hz with tuning that low.

jack7777

thanks for all the feedback, I will pass it on.