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First off, I am an axiom owner, but I chose to get an SVS sub. It just got delivered and I hooked it up, calibrated and was surprised to find that it didn’t sound as great as I had hoped.

My old sub was a 175w KLH that really didn’t keep up with my Axioms, but the bass felt cleaner and punchier with the KLH than with the SVS.

The SVS rattles the walls, but I can’t really feel the “hit” in the seating area. It justs feels flat. A good example of what’s going is when I‘m watching the Fellowship of the Ring and Sauron explodes on the battlefield, that massive wave of bass is felt with my old KLH, but not with the SVS.

I am returning the SVS, so I’ll be in the market for a new sub. Am I just being punished for not getting an Axiom sub?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

What SVS did you get? I have an SVS PCi 20-39 and it has always performed awesome for me. I got mine back when Axiom's subs weren't nearly as outstanding as they are now.

Have you tested your room for correct placement of the sub? I've had KLH speakers in my past as well, including their subs, and the SVS makes the KLH sound like the piece of cheap gear that the KLH is.

I got the new SVS PB12-NSD. My HT requires that I put the sub up front, but I did try it in different place around the room and got the same results.

I'm worried that the room is somehow "eating" the bass. I'm not sure how that could be since the KLH worked fine, but I can't figure out why I'm not getting the sound I expect.

It is likely you are either sitting in a null or you don't have the set up correct. The SVS should eat the KLH for lunch. A call to SVS should do the trick.

1. Do you have the SVS in EXACTLY the same place as the KLH ?

2. How careful was your level setting / calibration ?

This may be the Axiom board but I think we all believe that your new SVS should significantly outperform the KLH. Shouldn't sound any louder or quieter normally (if the level setting is correct) but it should definitely outperform at the important parts of the movie.

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1. Do you have the SVS in EXACTLY the same place as the KLH ?

2. How careful was your level setting / calibration ?

I do have the SVS in the same place and used the Radio Shack SPL meter to calibrate (although It was my first time using it).

Curiouser and curiouser. Did you calibrate the KLH the same way, or is there a chance that it was calibrated "by ear" and in fact was running at a significantly higher level ?

Robot I am s-l-o-w-l-y learning that it takes a lot of patience and experimenting to get a subwoofer dialed in to a particular environment. For months I tweaked and fiddled and thought on several occasions I had mine sounding pretty good, I just recently moved the sub to another location within the room and the results were night and day. Seems like these big ol' honkerin' subs (your SVS included) takes a lot more tweaking to get them dialed in.

I agree with everybody else...keep tweaking and trying different locations.

Quote:

Curiouser and curiouser. Did you calibrate the KLH the same way, or is there a chance that it was calibrated "by ear" and in fact was running at a significantly higher level ?

Yeah, by ear.

Quote:

I agree with everybody else...keep tweaking and trying different locations.

The thing is that it doesn't sound good at all. It sounds bad. So I'd be surprised if more tweaking would make any difference. I either got a lemon or SVS just hates my theatre room.

Ok my question is this? Without getting into too much detail. how have you set up the crossovers and have you done this in your receiver or are you using the sub?

Robot,

You mentioned putting the sub in differing locations...How did you determine the locations to put the sub?

Have you done what is called the "sub crawl"? In simple terms, physically place the sub in the listening position, play a bass heavy selection (the menu from Godzilla works good as well as the beginning of Renegade by Styx) and then literally crawl around the perimeter of the room listening for the best bass response.

When you find the best "sounding" place (which may not be the best physical location), place the sub there and then re-calibrate. Make sure to note the other locations which have substantial bass response as the "best" location may not be feasible. Make sure to strive to get the phase right during calibration as that will detrimentally affect the "punch in the chest" sensation.

Another observation: What are the dimensions of the room the HT is in? Does the room open to other locations?

I have a SVS PB12-Plus/2 and it smokes the old subwhimper it replaced...this one even is better than the SVS 20-39 PC Plus I had previous to this one...I also purchased mine before the Axiom subs came into their heyday.

I tend to agree with everyone else that it is probably related to location and / or setup...That SVS should literally make the KLH whimper in fear.

Hope this helps.

WhatFurrer

A couple of questions to help narrow things down:

1) What receiver do you have? Does it have an adjustable crossover? How do you have the sub hooked to the receiver?

2) Doesn't sound good how? Weak? "Farty?" Distorted? Boxy? Hollow, like it's in a dead spot?

NO question the SVS should stomp the KLH into little splinters.

LJ

Well this thread kind of scares me as I was thinking baout getting the PB10 or the PB12 (most likely the PB10).

If the EP350 could be effective down to 18hz, i would vouch for it in a second.

-Hutz

So...I wonder if he sent the SVS back or did some more tweaking...?

WhatFurrer

Looks like someone else had a similar problem with the PB12-NSD. http://forums.dvdfile.com/showthread.php?t=60243&page=1&pp=50