Here are some of the SVS Products that I HIGHLY recommend.
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These are the products that are on my own personal short list. These are products I would buy personally, at different price points, not just what qualifies for “The List”.
Due to my medical condition, everything is fulfilled by SVS, Factory Direct. This gives you the full Bill of Rights, including free shipping, free returns, 1 year trade up, and everything SVS is known for.
I am medically unreliable, so this is the only way for you to get the best possible service, while still supporting my work. It makes a substantial difference.
These subs can be run at higher relative gain because of the response curve. Not doing so misses the whole point, like running a Ferrari under 2,000 RPM, or a Tesla Plaid in Valet mode. If you don’t increase the gain after room correction, your satisfaction will not be as high as it should be.
PB-1000 Pro Ported Subwoofer
The PB-1000 Pro offers performance like the original PB-2000, but with more control. A pair of these can actually outperform the original PB-2000, with some changes in the SVS App. The PEQ adjustment is more useful than I’d imagined.
I talk about explosiveness a lot, and with a slight tweak to the PEQ’s, it can be more impressive than the original PB-2000 at the same volume. Ideally, if budget was limited, 2 of these would be my starting point. Always dual, never mixing subwoofers. (PB-2000 with a PB-1000 would not be ideal)
These provide the depth of presentation (sounding truly deep) that I feel is vital for any home theater, and full range music system.
PB-2000 Pro Ported Subwoofer
The PB-2000 Pro Performs so well that it’s the subwoofer that I felt belonged in the Motorhome Home Theater Project. I wanted the most impressive, yet still attainable subwoofers, to demo for people in the Motorhome. The 2000 series has been the most popular SVS line, and there’s a reason for it.
The performance is shockingly good. The SVS App PEQ hack (See Below) brings the explosiveness closer to the PB-3000, which is EPIC! It’s reliably exciting, impressive, and always takes new listeners by surprise!
The PB-2000 Pro truly embodies everything I value when it comes to subwoofers. Audibly bottomless, as deep as you can hear, powerful, clean, explosive, and yet delicate when needed.
Best of all, it’s attainable. If you can’t swing Dual PB-3000’s, dual PB-2000 Pro’s are an excellent choice! I chose them to showcase shockingly good bass. They do that effortlessly.
PB-3000 Ported Subwoofer
The PB-3000 is awesome for so many reasons!
Most notably, it’s hard to tell the difference between the PB-3000 and the massive PB-4000, which is in part due to the unique voice coil. The impact and explosiveness is only bested, in my opinion, by the PB-16 Ultra. That says quite a bit!!
It’s also only 1″ bigger in length, width, and height than the PB-2000 Pro, so it’s not as massive as the PB-4000, or the PB-16 Ultra. It just sounds like it’s that big!
It’s more attainable than the larger SVS subwoofers, and it also has the metal grill, which I prefer. Granted, the PB-16 Ultra is the best subwoofer I’ve ever heard, no question. But rather than 1 PB-16 Ultra, dual PB-3000’s would be my choice all day long! Dual matched subs are always better than a single when it comes to deep bass subs.
If you want the best, but can’t swing dual PB-16 Ultras, dual PB-3000’s will deliver shocking realism, smaller form factor (comparably), and explosiveness that makes me smile in disbelief every time I hear it! I love these subs!
PB-16 Ultra Ported Subwoofer
The PB-16 Ultra is the best bass I’ve ever heard. Period. And it’s about to be replaced by the PB-17 Ultra Evolution. Great time to get a pair at a discount until they are gone!
Yes, you can find louder. Yes, you can find metrics that are “better”. Yes, if you use extended mode, with one port plugged, you can get port noise.
But what about the overall experience?
The massive voice coil, and power that can be measured in kilowatts, (1.5 kw RMS, 5kw peak, or 1,500 watts RMS, 5,000 watts peak), combined with the app, make this 175 pound monster “do magic”!
From each sub listed here, the biggest difference is explosiveness. If you are ONLY into music, the PB-1000 Pros will probably do the trick, as music is rarely “explosive”. They will go very loud, and just as audibly deep as any other ported sub on this list. So why get more power?
The “magic” of the PB-16 Ultra is the concrete heavy PUNCH it can deliver.
In the movie The Accountant, in the final gun fight scene, Christian’s suppressed gunshots hit you in the chest like a Mack truck!! AT THE SAME RELATIVE VOLUME AS THE OTHER SUBS!!
Each jump in wattage with these subs gives **a stronger kick at the same relative volume** with that scene. More power, more realism. More explosive potential. More impressiveness.
The biggest trick though?
The spleen massage that the PB-16 Ultra delivers happens with no more ear fatigue than the PB-1000! Which in my opinion is basically ZERO ear fatigue. Granted, you can push the PB-16 Ultra to cause fatigue, but why? It’s so perfect at a, ahem, “spirited volume” that there’s really no need to brutalize your hearing, and the foundation of your home. Seriously.
The final trick? Power supply needs. The amplifier has a lot of capacitance, or power “storage”. So you don’t need a dedicated power circuit to run a pair of them! The amplifier acts as it’s own power conditioner, so it can handle drops in voltage, and not draw massive amounts of power from your utility, and your wallet.
The amplifier basically stores the power it needs, and then sits at idle until it’s time to release the literal thunder. Unbelievably, my TV and AVR used more cumulative power than dual PB-16 Ultras!! You’d never know it…
It’s the same with all of the new SVS subwoofer amplifiers, they all sip power while delivering incredible sound energy. It’s just the most impressive with the PB-16 Ultra, considering the capabilities.
If money and space were no concern, dual PB-16 Ultras would be my subwoofer of choice. No question.
SVS 3000 Micro Sealed Subwoofer
The Micro 3000 is the first sealed subwoofer I’ve ever recommended, and it comes with many caveats. The first is that if size is NOT an issue, any of the ported subs on this page will be much better choices.
It doesn’t go as deep, it is not as good with movies, and the driver size is limiting. But…
If you absolutly have precious little space, and you don’t mind the last few bits of audible frequency missing at the very bottom, this can be a VERY versatile subwoofer. How versatile?
I use it in my SUV. Yup. I also take it back in forth between my SUV and other rooms with minimal sound systems. I use the different presets for each environment, so one for the SUV, one for the house.
Granted, you need a good pure sine inverter, at least 500 watts, hardwired instead of a cigarette plug type. I also used a power supply solar inverter (Bluetti EB150) which works great. You could use any power station that charges off of a cigarette plug, as long as is has a 500 watt output capacity.
You also need to ground the RCA from the head unit to the frame of the vehicle to avoid ground loop hum.
Complications aside, I’ve always wanted SVS subs in my vehicle, but I wasn’t willing to take up the space. I have a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, so I have the room, but want to leave the cargo are usable.
The Micro 3000 is perfect, and I imagine that because there are no infrasonics involved (under 20 hertz, inaudible), it doesn’t bother my ears like other sealed subs do.
For sure, if you have the space, go ported SVS. The Micro 3000 is a compromise, trading some audible depth and punch for super compact size.
Depending on room size, the Micro 3000 trails off around 20-23 hertz, while the ported subs never audibly trail off, and I can hear to about 17 hertz. So I notice it, but it’s FAR better than anything close to it in size.
I also get deep bass in my SUV, and it’s a lot of fun to demo it for people. They ask if I have 12’s or 15’s!! Nope. Just an itty bitty little box!! They are reliably pretty shocked.
Another crazy thing is that it doesn’t sound obnoxious outside of the SUV. I was showing it to my cousin, and he was super worried about it bothering the neighbors. So I had him step outside. He could barely hear it!
So while the 3000 Micro wouldn’t make “The List” in a traditional sense, it is something I would buy myself, for applications that are not quite on the home theater scale.
Lastly, the SVS App PEQ Hack:
This is only for the sealed subs, it doesn’t work well on the Micro.
PEQ 1, 29 hertz, 2.5 Q, boost between 1 and 4, to suite taste.
Listen to “The Accountant” scene I referenced above, and you will hear more explosiveness with that PEQ enabled, and less explosiveness with it disabled.
ENJOY!!