SVS SB12+ vs PV1.

Dazzor

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I have been doing some reading up on these 2, both are small and non-ported. All I want is controlled, taut bass for music and whatever bang it supplies to HT I’m sure will be good to my ears as I currently have nothing more than a good old Hitachi 42PD5200 and it’s accompanying speakers. (Upgrade to PDP5090LX on it’s way:D)

My question is this, is the SB12plus really better than the PV1 and yet half the price? The PV1’s got 2 drivers that counter-act some of the difficulties encountered in conventional cabinets/housings and comes in the form of a ground-breaking pressure-vessel-like shape, heralded by what hifi as “a great example of form following function” :rolleyes:

I will of course endeavour to demo both but that’s easier said than done. Really I’m just interested to hear some feedback, hopefully from those who have owned or at least listened to both before I start booking demo’s.

I saw the earlier thread started by Swift1, and that was very informative but even though the Monolith’s similar money I really don’t want something that big and heavy.

Cheers
 
The SB12+ produces very tight, fast, taut whatever you want to call it sub bass and it will reach properly low.. around 22hz in my listening room and thats the 0db point. The PV1, from what I understand, is a style sub. It has a low end response of -3db at 21hz. In room, I would expect it to start tailing off at 25hz but I'll let owners chime in.

I miss the SB12+ - for control it was the best sub I ever owned, but I had to have the 20-39PC+ back for its sheer depth.
 
Nice one CG, this is exactly the sort of invaluable info I was hoping for.:smashin:

Anyone else out there who's owned/listened to both?

What Hifi appear to be insisting the PV1's not a style amp, quite the reverse in fact; so very interested to hear from experienced owners
 
If you have search on the interweb for ilkka sub tests! youll find test results for the PV-1 pretty poor for such an expensive sub imo
 
What Hifi appear to be insisting the PV1's not a style amp,

Next What Hifi will be insisting that it knows what it's talking about - whatever next :D

Last night a forum member came round and listened to the "stun gun scene" from Minority Report on my PC ULtra and was visibly impressed as the shock waves hit his chest.

He was even more impressed when I told him that it wasn't the Ultra that was playing but the diddy little SB12 sitting next to it.
 
listened to the "stun gun scene" from Minority Report

I knew that disk would find it's way out again at some time or another ;)


To the OP .. I have owned both the SB12+ and the PV1 and yes the SVS easily outperforms the B&W at half the price :smashin:
 
Guys, what can I say...Thanks a lot, basically you've saved me the best part £500:clap::smashin:

I've decided to hook these up with a pair of XTZ 99.25 and make do with a 2.1 set-up for now. (running out of cash as also ordered Yam Z7 and Pio 5090)

Once all this lot arrives I don't think I'll leave the house again:D
 
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Once all this lot arrives I don't think I'll leave the house again:D

I don't think I will leave once I finally get a load of Quad stuff and maybe(not sure yet) the sb12+ too:D
 
I know it's a little after the event, but my sb12+ continuously amazes me. Not heard a pv1 although the general consensus is that they've been made with style rather than performance in mind.
 
DTS Sampler disc - saves all the messing about swapping discs over when doing a demo

The Telarc DTS Sampler disc is the best out there imho (audio only), broke mine a few years ago on the way back from visiting Phil Hinton (bloody thing snapped in half in my work bag), but I managed to track down a copy a couple of months ago from ebay, £18 but worth it :thumbsup:

On the subject of the thread, I have to second the SB12+, superb little beast and though I've not heard them in the same room, the PV-1 sounds very impressive on demos until you realise half of what you're hearing is nasty distortion.
 
Dazzor,

If you want something that looks pretty then the PV1

Sadly I've owned the PV1 once:suicide:

If you want quality bass then definately the SVS:smashin: - I've not heard the SB12+ but I'm sure it's much better than the PV1 but don't tell "What Hifi" that!
 
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I think B&W subs are overpriced, they are still well engineered stuff but from a value point of view the likes of SVS and BK etc will always give you better bang for buck. The SB12+ to me offers the best of both worlds, it is wonderfully fast and deep and still probably one of the best compact subs out there, at any price.
 
Just caught sight of my old thread, had no idea there were posts 8 months after I started it:eek:

Well, it's been almost a year now and all my kit is doing its thing and doing it extremely well IMO.... I'm very happy, not sure about the neighbours though:devil:

I love my SB12+, what a top little beast it is. Ended up farting about with positions in the living room and had to buy a 10m sub cable; the difference it made sonically was well worth it though:smashin:

Anyway, a big thanks to all that gave their invaluable advice, it really did make all the difference.:thumbsup:
 
Good man. I think the SB12 is a star performer. How it can chuck out that much bass from such a little box, i'll never know, but it does, and i love it!
 

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