SVS PB-2000 Pro Subwoofer Review & Comments

I have two PB2000s and they sound absolutely terrific. I don't need my subs to look cool. I need them to be black and as invisible as possible. And I strongly disagree that <20hz doesn't matter. Even an untrained ear can hear, and feel, the difference with material that reaches down that low.

If you like some other brand and that works for you, great! But if possible, try not to disparage an excellent, excellent sub just because it's not what you personally would choose.
 
I’d love to get one of these, or even a SB3000. The price however makes me want to weep, when compared with what they cost over the pond, even with sales tax added on. Easily a 30-40% difference.
 
I’d love to get one of these, or even a SB3000. The price however makes me want to weep, when compared with what they cost over the pond, even with sales tax added on. Easily a 30-40% difference.

Check the Monoprice thread, American Audio may get Monolith 12THX for 800£ if that is any better. It has basically very similar performance with better extension to this one, minus the app. Same warranty and great build quality. Other option is the smaller SVS PB1000 Pro which looks awesome, at 639£! It does mostly differ in output.
 
Check the Monoprice thread, American Audio may get Monolith 12THX for 800£ if that is any better. It has basically very similar performance with better extension to this one, minus the app. Same warranty and great build quality. Other option is the smaller SVS PB1000 Pro which looks awesome, at 639£! It does mostly differ in output.
Thanks for that, super helpful. I'll check them out.
 
Steve would this subwoofer be good to use in 11ft x 11ft (Bedroom) room with Denon AVC-X3700H and maybe B&W Speakers. I might go for twin subwoofer in future.
 
Steve would this subwoofer be good to use in 11ft x 11ft (Bedroom) room with Denon AVC-X3700H and maybe B&W Speakers. I might go for twin subwoofer in future.
Speaking as an owner of two of these but in a much larger room, one is going to be PLENTY for a room that size IMO. Overkill if anything.
 
Steve would this subwoofer be good to use in 11ft x 11ft (Bedroom) room with Denon AVC-X3700H and maybe B&W Speakers. I might go for twin subwoofer in future.

If you sit middle of room width wise and closer to rear wall than middle of room then looking with the room sim of REW program you get good looking response without any noticeable dips if the sub is located on front wall (corners, 1/4 or 1/3 width). So you should be good to go with one PB2000 Pro and it should be able to play darn loud in that tiny room with some serious tactile feel. Some might argue the SB2000 Pro would be plenty, but we all have different tastes and requirements. Make sure you pick the X3700H not lower model cause you want the MultEQ XT32 on board to eq the sub, otherwise it won´t sound as good. PB1000 Pro is also option at 639£.
 
Steve would this subwoofer be good to use in 11ft x 11ft (Bedroom) room with Denon AVC-X3700H and maybe B&W Speakers. I might go for twin subwoofer in future.
I echo what the guys above say.. I've got 1x in a ~16 x 11ft room and it's plenty.. had to spend some time tuning out the room gain boom in places to get a nice flat response :)
 
Thanks for the review. Question with regards the whole 'Pro' range, and the ability to make adjustments via the app - i'm guessing that if all i'm doing is connecting it to my amp (Denon AVR-4500) and letting Audyssey do it's thing, then all of the customisation options of the SVS will be wasted on me?
I found Audyssey didn't have enough adjustment/compensation in my space, the PEQ on the app let me make decent adjustments to get a relatively flat respose (measured with proper software and a decent mic as you can't just do it by ear) then run Audyssey as the icing on the cake.

For most people they probably don't need the built in advanced pieces on the app control and Audyssey is fine (especially with XT32/SubEQ) but yes it does come in handy (Even just the volume adjustment for quick digital gain adjustment rather than messing with the AVR settings).
 
Hi Steve, great review thanks. Could you let me know the distance from floor to the two ports please? If this were to go behind an at screen I would want to make sure any frame work didn't cover the ports.
Also how would it compare to say a single Monolith Plus? I'm not worried about looks or fancy tech, just want the best sound.
Thanks in advance
Rocket
About 5.5 cm from the where the port opening starts (they're flared so can't measure exactly)... there is also some small feet on the bottom that are about another 5mm.. so say 6cm total.

Similar in spec to the Monolith Plus as I spent countless hours comparing measurements/fine details between them.. :) There's a bit more impact/punch with the SVS as it's a more modern setup, also has the newer digital amp. Both great products though.
 
About 5.5 cm from the where the port opening starts (they're flared so can't measure exactly)... there is also some small feet on the bottom that are about another 5mm.. so say 6cm total.

Similar in spec to the Monolith Plus as I spent countless hours comparing measurements/fine details between them.. :) There's a bit more impact/punch with the SVS as it's a more modern setup, also has the newer digital amp. Both great products though.
Nice one, thanks
 
Silly SVS question time. I've just set up my PB 1000 PRO and I'm very impressed with it.

But... volume? I take it that is the new term for what was level? I guess there isn't an ideal setting for this as it'll differ from system to system?
 
Silly SVS question time. I've just set up my PB 1000 PRO and I'm very impressed with it.

But... volume? I take it that is the new term for what was level? I guess there isn't an ideal setting for this as it'll differ from system to system?
It doesn’t differ from one system to the other and is usually matched to the level of your speakers then tweaked to taste.
 
Would a ported or sealed sub be better for my 12x10ft living room?
 
Would a ported or sealed sub be better for my 12x10ft living room?
I run both types in diffrent rooms but there’s no right or wrong answer to your question as it really depends on your listening preference. It‘s a small room so both types would probably play loud enough for you.

If it’s for TV/movies only then personally I would go ported simply because I prefer the deeper rumble sound effects they give but some prefer the sound of a sealed sub for movies.

If music is a priority then I would probably go sealed but the SVS ported subs are surprisingly clean and tight sounding with music.
 
I have both the PB3000 & SB3000 in the same 12ftx12ft Room they both compliment each other very well indeed with music and movies
 
I run both types in diffrent rooms but there’s no right or wrong answer to your question as it really depends on your listening preference. It‘s a small room so both types would probably play loud enough for you.

If it’s for TV/movies only then personally I would go ported simply because I prefer the deeper rumble sound effects they give but some prefer the sound of a sealed sub for movies.

If music is a priority then I would probably go sealed but the SVS ported subs are surprisingly clean and tight sounding with music.

Currently have an arendal sub 1 which is sealed and does a great job but I'm not sure how it would compare to a decent ported sub like the pb1000 Pro, I don't think it's a fair comparison putting it against the 2000 Pro which is £200 more than what I paid for the arendal (I'm sure I remember the 1000 Pro being around £700?)

I did have an old dali ikon sub 2 which was ported and was a hell of a sub for movies even though it only had decent volume down to 35hz,nothing below that. Ideal scenario would be dual 1000 pros as my room has a weak spot in my seating area but that would cost a lot considering I have to sell my current sub at a big loss. Kinda wish I went for the pb2000 after all back then so I could have just added another ported beast down the line from svs 😄
 
Dual subs is definitely the way to go if you can. For years I convinced myself I didn't need two subs then a few months ago I bought a UMIK-1 microphone, ran some REW bass sweeps and discovered a massive (>30dB) suck-out I didn't even know was there around 45-50Hz. Two weeks later I bought a pair of PB-3000s and the difference is truly night and day. I'm now at +/- 4.5dB from 18-80Hz and that's with only using the PEQs in the subs.
 
Dual subs is definitely the way to go if you can. For years I convinced myself I didn't need two subs then a few months ago I bought a UMIK-1 microphone, ran some REW bass sweeps and discovered a massive (>30dB) suck-out I didn't even know was there around 45-50Hz. Two weeks later I bought a pair of PB-3000s and the difference is truly night and day. I'm now at +/- 4.5dB from 18-80Hz and that's with only using the PEQs in the subs.
The SVS PEQs in the app are quite handy, particularly if you can watch the effect on a graph like REW or ARC. Regarding sealed vs ported, last night three of us watched Monster Hunter with a new ported sub. All three seats were literally shaking for the entire first 30 minutes or so until I began backing the volume down. Afterwards my wife said at one point the skin on her arms literally began vibrating. I think sound pressure like that is difficult/expensive to achieve with sealed subs.
 
Dual subs is definitely the way to go if you can. For years I convinced myself I didn't need two subs then a few months ago I bought a UMIK-1 microphone, ran some REW bass sweeps and discovered a massive (>30dB) suck-out I didn't even know was there around 45-50Hz. Two weeks later I bought a pair of PB-3000s and the difference is truly night and day. I'm now at +/- 4.5dB from 18-80Hz and that's with only using the PEQs in the subs.

Think I will sell my sub 1 and get dual pb 1000 pros when funds allow, that will be a good choice I hope?
 
Think I will sell my sub 1 and get dual pb 1000 pros when funds allow, that will be a good choice I hope?
If TV/movies are a priority then that would be a good choice in a room that size. If you're a critical listener and music is a priority then I would favour a pair of sealed subs as IMO they still have the edge. That said, I'm very surprised just how good the SVS ported subs are with music, they're not at all boomy or bloated sounding.
 
How SVS PB 1000 Pro compare to XTZ 12.17 edge?

XTZ 12.17 should have slightly more output as it's higher power. Also has more port tuning options, and some built in pre-setup DSP curves (although most don't use them) but only 1 manual PEQ band you can tune.

The SVS PB1000 Pro has a more advanced DSP with 3x band PEQ via the app (if you need it, have the means to measure properly and know what to do with it that's useful), app controlled volume, phase, crossover (the usual things you'd find on the back of a sub).

Price point is also lower for the SVS PB1000 Pro

There isn't masses in the output levels if you look at the tested figures but I'd say value for money the SVS wins, I do have a soft spot for the XTZ though and have always fancied one to play with.

Depending on where you live customer support is probably better on the SVS if there is an issue (UK and US SVS support is decent and often ship out parts to customers, XTZ you have to deal with shipping things back to them so there's sometimes shipping charges/taxes depending on what the issue is).
 
XTZ 12.17 should have slightly more output as it's higher power.
I'm sorry but you simply cannot make any assumptions like this at all, even within the same brands and certainly not across different brands.

As an example, Audioholics measured the SVS PB-3000 (800W) having a higher CEA-2010 output in all frequencies above 25Hz than the larger and more powerful PB-4000 (1200W).
 
XTZ 12.17 should have slightly more output as it's higher power. Also has more port tuning options, and some built in pre-setup DSP curves (although most don't use them) but only 1 manual PEQ band you can tune.

The SVS PB1000 Pro has a more advanced DSP with 3x band PEQ via the app (if you need it, have the means to measure properly and know what to do with it that's useful), app controlled volume, phase, crossover (the usual things you'd find on the back of a sub).

Price point is also lower for the SVS PB1000 Pro

There isn't masses in the output levels if you look at the tested figures but I'd say value for money the SVS wins, I do have a soft spot for the XTZ though and have always fancied one to play with.

Depending on where you live customer support is probably better on the SVS if there is an issue (UK and US SVS support is decent and often ship out parts to customers, XTZ you have to deal with shipping things back to them so there's sometimes shipping charges/taxes depending on what the issue is).

It`s quite the opposite as i have written here few posts:
 

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