SVS SB12+ 2 ch w/Maggies Review

dkg999

Rec'd my new SVS SB12 sub today and have had about 6 hours to play with it in-between work related stuff. I have to say that overall I am pretty impressed. I'm not going to claim to be a subwoofer expert, or really good at integrating a sub into my 2 ch system, but this thing is doing what I wanted and is keeping up with the bass of the Magnepan's.

Current 2 ch system:

Jolida JD100 CDP - stock tubes, Signal Cable power cord
Rogue Audio 66 preamp - Russman tubes, Signal Cable power cord
Parasound HCA-1500 power amps x 2 - vertical bi-amped, PS Audio power cords
Magnepan 1.6QR speakers - Signal Cable Ultra Double Run speaker cables, ceramic cryo'd fuses, Mye stands

I had previously tried both of my HT SVS subs with the Maggies, a 20-39 PC+ and the PB-10 ISD. Both seemed like the bass lagged behind the Maggies and quite frankly both seemed to over-power the Maggies no matter what I tried. I like a little bass extension and thump in my music, but in moderation! I borrowed a Martin Logan Grotto to try, and it had the speed to keep up with the Maggies, and didn't over-power them, but I just wasn't real happy with a the difference in sound between its bass and the bass of the Maggies. It was pretty highly recommended by Magnepan MMG owners, but didn't seem to work as well with the 1.6's. I also was able to borrow a REL Strata III that was for sale. It finally got close to what I thought I should hear. Tight, quick bass, and the same tonal qualities as the Magnepan 1.6 bass. Enough fine adjustment that I could have the extension I wanted with out over-powering the Maggies. The REL was for sale, but he wanted $1350 for it, and I could buy a new one for $1400 from a dealer in the quad cities. What to do?

I decided to give the new SVS SB12+ a try. At $750 for the Rosenut finish it was reasonably priced and had a few good reviews and comments. Ron @ SVS seemed pretty confident I would find it fit my needs. I've been playing with it all afternoon, and has the speed and tonal quality to match the 1.6's. The gain, cross-over, and phase adjustments made getting it reasonably integrated a pretty quick affair. Some points on the SB12:

Fit & Finish - seems very well made. The rosenut finish is really nice and goes pretty well with the cherry side panels on my Magnepan's. SVS did a really nice job with the recessed amp panel mounting. The magnetic grill works well and is pretty neat. If you give it the rap on the sides test it's a lot solider than the PB10!

Sound - very different from my 20-39 PC+ and PB10. A lot less decay in the bass, lots tighter, and it really reminds me of the larger SDA's sound! And it is quick! Much quicker than the ML Grotto, and maybe not quite as quick as the REL Strata, but pretty damned close.

Cross-over & Phase - completely variable and seem to work well. I have been playing with the phase and will need to do a little more adjustment. I have the cross-over at about 45hz which seems to be working well.

PEQ Equalization - turned off! My current living room is a sonic hell! I'll wait until I move to work with this!

Overall - I have listend to a lot of different music, and for the $750 price tag this looks like a winner! The REL is not even close to being twice as good for twice the price. I will admit that the REL is slightly better, but it takes the right scenario in the music to notice it!

Joey_V

Looks nice and good choice.

In the end, a sealed sub is usually better than ported reflex if designed right, for music. I think that to truly compare, it's best to have all 3 in your room and have them all dialed in to the same spl level.

HOWEVER, regardless.... you have a good system! Maggie 1.6 and the $800 SVS is a stunning combo IMO.

Joey

dkg999

Joey_V - unfortunately it's tough to get all the subs I tried to compare in-house at once, and that assumes I've even got the room to have them all set up at once! Working from memory to make a comparison leaves a lot to be desired, however I did try to use the same set of selected songs for the comparisons. I did have the ML and REL subs for a couple of weeks each, so I did have the advantage of becoming pretty familier with each. Hopefully we can get some organized Chicago/IL area Polk gatherings where we can do some more valid comparisons of gear and everyone benefits!

Shizelbs

Nice review. I am impressed at your patience to find right sub. I would have given up many subs ago.

pblanc

Thanks for the nice review. I am thinking of getting a pair of these to run in stereo with LSi15s.

Lowell_M

Nice review and vigilance in finding the right sub. SVS gets slighted a lot on here when talking about musicality. Looks like they filled that hole.