Upgrading B&W pv1d to svs sb3000 or something better?

Daddy k

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So I have a b&w pv1d.
I’m going to upgrade to a white sb3000. I just missed out on the open box ones at avo.

I was selling my pv1d and 2 days before the listing was due to end I turned it on one day and heard a small pop.... something went inside. So I’m currently waiting on b&w to repair it. So I can then sell it again 🙄
On the plus side I’ll have a shipping box so won’t reply on pick up only this time 😆

anyway is the svs sb3000 going to be night and day difference? I’m talking like a real kick in the chest kinda thing... I want it to scare me.. or is there something better for around £1500 AND white!

maybe dual sb1000’s?
 
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Have you thought about using 2 subs? Often 2 subs will fill the room with bass and kick better than just one! Though 2 of the major factors in choosing, and 2 that you have not told us is, 1) what will you mostly be listen to, music or movies? 2) what sort of room size
 
I think will be a big upgrade. But sure you don't want two jtr rs2's?
 
I think he wants his hearing ... hehe
 
It’s mostly movies. But I do like the occasional blast of music. Tbf I was quite happy with the plv1d for a bit. Because it could be located easily I got the most out of. But I just need more! Bass. And the size of the pb3000 and power seemed a winner.
I did previously use dual pv1d’s but didn’t notice a huge difference. But I didn’t have the kit to really set it up. My room all white and I’d like it out of the way
 

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Wow .... have you got a room in Moon base Alpha ? lol .. (sorry showing my age there)
 
@Daddy k

Not many options for 1,5k£ with the white finish requirement. Arendal 1723 Sub 2S at ~1800£ delivered would be great alternative, but slightly over your budget. Dual opposite 13,8" drivers with 1200w amp in a sealed cabinet. Completely different animal to PV1D. It´s narrow, but tall and quite deep. Satin and gloss white.



" maybe dual sb1000’s? "

No, they won´t do the trick for you! SB3000 is very strong in the "chest slam" range, the rest depends you finding good spot for it and setting up it correct. If the sub needs to be compact sized also then SB3000 is very hard to beat for what it offers. The owners here can confirm.

Ah now noticed those tiny speakers on your pictures.. 😟 You should seriously consider something larger for the front three, example gloss white Monitor Audio Apex A10 / A40 + white stands to keep wife happy with modern look. I`m not sure how wise it´s to purchase 1,5k sub with fist sized speakers. Sure the SVS will blend in, but the gains you would get by changing the speakers would be massive for both movies and music listening in every area. You didn´t mention it, but seriously consider if there is small possibility for speaker upgrade.
 
I've not seen a real one but I suspect the metal grille design of the SB 3000 will make the black driver show more on the white model than alternatives that use a cloth grille. Just a thought as being white seems to be so important in this case!
 
@Daddy k

Not many options for 1,5k£ with the white finish requirement. Arendal 1723 Sub 2S at ~1800£ delivered would be great alternative, but slightly over your budget. Dual opposite 13,8" drivers with 1200w amp in a sealed cabinet. Completely different animal to PV1D. It´s narrow, but tall and quite deep. Satin and gloss white.



" maybe dual sb1000’s? "

No, they won´t do the trick for you! SB3000 is very strong in the "chest slam" range, the rest depends you finding good spot for it and setting up it correct. If the sub needs to be compact sized also then SB3000 is very hard to beat for what it offers. The owners here can confirm.

Ah now noticed those tiny speakers on your pictures.. 😟 You should seriously consider something larger for the front three, example gloss white Monitor Audio Apex A10 / A40 + white stands to keep wife happy with modern look. I`m not sure how wise it´s to purchase 1,5k sub with fist sized speakers. Sure the SVS will blend in, but the gains you would get by changing the speakers would be massive for both movies and music listening in every area. You didn´t mention it, but seriously consider if there is small possibility for speaker upgrade.

yeah a speaker upgrade will be done but I’ve been happy with the performance of these for a while. They’re anthony gallo adiva’s. But I am conferring going larger quite considerably.
 
@Daddy k

Not many options for 1,5k£ with the white finish requirement. Arendal 1723 Sub 2S at ~1800£ delivered would be great alternative, but slightly over your budget. Dual opposite 13,8" drivers with 1200w amp in a sealed cabinet. Completely different animal to PV1D. It´s narrow, but tall and quite deep. Satin and gloss white.



Is the arendal a huge improvement over the sb3000?
 
I just noticed there’re the subwoofer 2 which is very cheap @ €1499 1000w amp, then the sub 2s, 1200w amp @ €1999
 
Do Arendal's white subs come with black or white grilles? Googling I can find a single picture of a white sub with a grille on!
 
Do Arendal's white subs come with black or white grilles? Googling I can find a single picture of a white sub with a grille on!

id her the grill recovered white, or sprayed white of metal. I paid a body repair shop to spray a whole bk monolith white many years ago when they were only doing them in brown 😂
 
It’s mostly movies. But I do like the occasional blast of music. Tbf I was quite happy with the plv1d for a bit. Because it could be located easily I got the most out of. But I just need more! Bass. And the size of the pb3000 and power seemed a winner.
I did previously use dual pv1d’s but didn’t notice a huge difference. But I didn’t have the kit to really set it up. My room all white and I’d like it out of the way

Unless its some sort of lens wizardry, that looks like a fair size room. If its a single sub I'd opt for 15/18" ported design (or equivalent) with high power output. With duals you could get away with high power 12" sealed or ported.

Do you have the kit now to set it up properly? By using your existing sub to take measurements along with REW room simulator you would get a better understanding of your room response. That should really be the deciding factor as to whether you should go single or dual.
 
Unless its some sort of lens wizardry, that looks like a fair size room. If its a single sub I'd opt for 15/18" ported design (or equivalent) with high power output. With duals you could get away with high power 12" sealed or ported.

Do you have the kit now to set it up properly? By using your existing sub to take measurements along with REW room simulator you would get a better understanding of your room response. That should really be the deciding factor as to whether you should go single or dual.

no I have no equipment. I used room sim to get an idea where could be good place to put my pv1d then done bass crawl. But I have no measuring equipment, then audysey did the rest as always. I was happy with pv1d but want more. I could never quite get it as good at my seating position as I could at some random point in my room 😄

the room looks bigger in the that pic but it’s quite big. The tv is a 75”, and I’m stood at the door into the room to take the pic.
The svs appealed as it was very compact. But I will go larger for a massive increase so long as it’s white 🤓
 
Is the arendal a huge improvement over the sb3000?

Well the older Sub 2 probably isn`t as whole, @DodgeTheViper can comment that more as he has owned two of those and now has two SB3000 which he prefers more.

The new 1723 2S is question mark as they just started to ship to customers, but changes have been made to certain areas which if it would be my money i would pick the new model in a heartbeat over the older one. But it comes with a higher price tag. I only mentioned the sealed models cause i thought size was issue.. Arendal has white vented models too, if you look the new range 1723 1V (1600€) for example which can be ran as vented/sealed depending do you want stronger deep bass output and rumble or perhaps sealed which reportedly sound more dynamic. If you aren´t scared of the larger cabinet size then put it on your list as option.

Definitely upgrade the speakers. I have seen those Gallos at my dealer, very wife friendly option but if you are more serious with hometheater please look something totally different. The very small size is always more or less compromise with both subwoofers and speakers.
 
Pound for pound, the SB3000 would be very hard to beat. I still find it hard to believe that something of this size can perform the way it does.
 
The dual driver configuration of the Sub 2 certainly had plenty of oomph but lacked extension. The SB13U (equivalent to current SB4000) had the oomph (marginally less in higher frequencies than Arendal Sub 2) but extends well down to the mid teens. I think Dodge would concur as he has had similar configurations. In terms of floor space they're about the same.

The problem is preference relative to reference. There has to be a benchmark in your mind to compare something against. OP should be happy with either of them over the PV1D as they both offer more performance. The real question is will that performance be enough to keep the upgrade bug away for any reasonable amount of time.

So taking room size, room response and use case all into consideration whilst future proofing against unnecessary upgradeitus I'd suggest shortlisting subs to high output units with good extension down to at least 15hz. Keep in mind you could always add more subs for raw output but effortless extension is something you'll be stuck with because adding more of the same won't increase extension. So a single high quality unit (assuming good room response) would take priority over two lesser subs and it also leaves your option open to adding a second to increase output if you so desire further down the line.
 
i do like the look of it.But wondering if the increased size is actually a massive upgrade over the svs sb3000 🤷🏻‍♂️
plus the svs has the app to eq it so I could probably eq some ooomph where I want it.
Rather than so much the size, it's mostly the dual drivers that make the biggest difference here I think. Think of it being like the Arendal having a single 18" driver vs the 13" driver of the SVS. There is 25% more amplifier power too. Overall it means that the peak sound levels that the Arendal is capable of will be greater than the SVS. I expect that the SVS will go lower (in frequency) though, and your point about the SVS app is certainly relevant too. Whether you'd actually use the extra output performance of the Arendal is a different question, and will ultimately depend on how loud you end up asking it to play.
 
PV1D is highly overpriced product and it doesn´t take much to outperform it cause you have so small subwoofer with low amount of power. Looking the measurements the output drops massively from 40hz to 30hz (11db!), not really HT sub as the older model showed also very high distortion when pushed. Seem to have lot of amp issues too from what i remember reading.


I expect that the SVS will go lower (in frequency) though, and your point about the SVS app is certainly relevant too.

Extension isn´t issue with the new Arendal models. There is lot more output down to 12,5hz with the sealed models as the HPF is moved to 10hz. :) Also SB3000 isn´t direct competitor for 2S, although it keeps up quite nicely with Arendal in the 40-80hz range. SB4000 would give harder time for 2S (10-40hz) judging from the measurements of the older SB13U.

Any of these models should be massive jump from PV1D!
 
Extension isn´t issue with the new Arendal models.

I know but the OP was asking specifically about buying one of the older Sub2 models, so I was referring to this.
 
I think price performance and size all considered... and I’ve got good experience with svs (had the old cylinder years ago) they seem to just take anything I throw at them. I’m going to go for the sb3000

one of the benefits the pv1d did give me was it was easy to locate in the best sounding position as it wasn’t so big and ugly.... I think the same will apply with the svs it’s quite compact so gives me more freedom to place.
Plus a 2nd one in the future would again be easy to place.
 

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