My new SVS 25-31PC-Plus

I got my SVS 25-31PC-Plus yesterday and hooked it up. I can say without a doubt that my pants did not flap and all of my dental work is safely in place. :rolleyes:

I didn't have time to really do any configuration at all so I am not even close to passing judgement. I also have a new receiver so I may not have something in the receiver set properly. It does go deeper than my old sub. No doubt about that. I will have a couple of hours tonight before my wife gets home to configure it so hopefully I will get it figured out.

Placement of your sub is critical. So is using test tones and an SPL meter to figure out how well your placement is performing. Last but not least may be the purchase of a parametric equalizer if your room is causing problems. SVS recommends corner placement of their subs. Though your mileage may vary.

I have the sub corner loaded at the moment. I will play with placement more after my 340's arrive. My placement options are limited at the moment because of the bipolar nature of my current speakers.

Like I said, I am not even close to passing judment yet. It is funny though that if you read all the SVS posts over at AVS you half expect the lights to dim when you plug the sub in and the windows in the house to blow out when you play it the first time. :p

Well, I got things fixed quite a bit this evening.

I moved the sub away from the corner and got the sub level much better. The stupid automatic setup on the receiver had the sub turned way down. :confused: I had to track down a light fixture that was rattling real badly and tighen it down. :p So far it is belting out the low bass and rattling everything in the house but I still haven't got it to provide the tight punchy bass that I am looking for.

I'm not going to try to tweak any further until I get my 340's because the entire setup will change anyway. I should get them in 3 or 4 days.

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but I still haven't got it to provide the tight punchy bass that I am looking for.

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Sounds like you might want to invest in a BFD pEQ.

Just an idea, but can you plug all the ports on that sub, and try it as a sealed unit? Some people prefer the sound, especially for music.

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Originally Posted by Lee Bailey

Just an idea, but can you plug all the ports on that sub, and try it as a sealed unit? Some people prefer the sound, especially for music.

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I would have to get a third port plug for that. It only comes with two.

I may try putting it in 16 Hz mode tomorrow just to see what happens. I doubt I would bottom it out as it was rattling my house in 20 Hz mode with the gain turned up less than half-way. On the other hand I also would bet I would get "punchier" bass if I put it in 25 Hz mode. According to the SVS website the 25-31PC+ can produce the highest SPL of any of their tube subs except for the PC-Ultra in the 25Hz and above area. I will play around with the different settings until I find which one I prefer. Whatever I decide, the sub isn't going back. This thing destroys anything else that I've had so badly that it is not even worth comparing them. :cool: Who would have guessed that that a 32" tall Sub with a 12" driver and a 550 Watt amp would beat up on a 10" 100 watt sub? :p

The BFD will have to wait until at least my birthday in August or maybe Christmas. I have officially purchased the maximum for now that won't get me sleeping on the couch. :)

The biggest difference that I have found is trying to get used to the sound of clean undistorted bass. I think I have grown used to the distortion present in my previous sub. The bass doesn't really call attention to itself, it is just present. It will probably be much better once I really sit down and tweak the levels and get them level matched properly. I haven't taken the time to do it yet because it will all change when I get my 340's tomorrow. :D

On a semi-related note. I am curious where my 25-31 PC+ would fall in line when compared to the SVS box subs. The cylinders seem to be the ugly stepchildren of SVS's line right now at least in the marketing department. A big plus of the tube subs in my opinion is that I can easily move my sub by myself. I think if I got a box SVS sub with comparable performance I would have trouble moving it around.

I e-mailed Ron at SVS with my previous question and this is what he said. Please also remember that his response is with the knowledge that I am running the sub in 20 Hz mode.

"It’s very close to the new PB12-Plus. The PC+ you have will actually be a bit stronger from 25hz and up, but the PB12-Plus will have a slight edge below 20hz."

The PB12-Plus weighs 110 Lbs so I was right in thinking I would have had trouble moving it around myself.