Svs 16-46 Pc+

[curtis]

Infrasonic stuff is pretty cool....I just wonder sometimes why it is there, because in most theaters you don't get it.

I saw the Incedibles in the theater, but the bass experience at home was far more powerful than the theater....the whole audio experience was better at home.

A little off topic...but I don't know about you guys, but I just can't enjoy a movie now without good sound. I am going to a friend's place for a movie party on Sunday night, and I know the whole time I will be complaining about the sound to myself. She has a great livingroom with those itty bitty Energy speakers and sub......oh and the L/C/R speakers sit on top of her TV......the agony!

[curtis]

I like that ramp from 30-20hz!

[bikeman]

I saw the Incedibles in the theater .....

They still have theatres without "home" in front of them?

David

[Mag_Neato]

Some of the budget theaters are still showing The Incredibles!

Back on topic.......Nick, how did you create that "ramp"?

[Nicholas Mosher]

Well the 20Hz peak is a natural occurance with the 16-46PC+ in my particular room. To give it a gentle decrease to 90Hz I placed 10 filters from 35Hz to 90Hz with small bandwidths (5/60). Its just a matter of playing until you get it right. Took me 3 passes this time, focusing mostly around the edges of that null I have around 100Hz.

[metalaaron]

Actually I can't stand the "whoomp a thump thump" cars driving all over the place here.

me either. sounds horrible. though it's funny to watch their license plates and mirrors rattle off.

are you going to stick with the SVS PC+ or try another model?

[Lou-the-dog]

Nicholas,

I am just wondering, with your hunger for infrasonics, if it would be just as productive and more economical for you to use bass-kickers. To get those low chair shaking frequencys using a sub (or subs) is going to be expensive (as I think you are starting to realize).

Randy

[curtis]

I thought about recommending Buttkickers too.....but thought it is more of an HT application.

[Nicholas Mosher]

Ok guys, I ran it through just about everything I have in 16Hz mode. I want to thank and apologize to my neighbors (landlord) upstairs, people blown into the road walking on the sidewalk out front, and small animals in the woods outback that were driven underground.

I should start by saying it didn't bottom out even once today. I did notice a drop in the infrasonics during a few scenes moving from the 12Hz tune to the 16Hz tune, but I can't sit there and listen to "Clack-a-Rap Rap" as the driver destroys itself. The super-lows are still nice and strong though, better than anything I've ever heard.

Here it goes...

LOTR: FOTR
The 16-46 PC+ picked up the nice infrasonic tail to the "Ring Drop" scene at the beginning of the film. This movie is loaded to the hilt with Bass. I swear, I was waiting for a 6 second 20Hz blast when the hobbits flip the piece of canadian bacon in the frypan. The 1646+ was nice and calm though. After calibration the sub blended in smoothly and wasn't boomy whatsoever. It lended deep, nearly bottomless impacts to anything that asked for it. The breath-sucking bass that backs up the inferno of the balroq was spectacularly clean yet powerful.

LOTR: ROTK
Oliphant footstomps land with a "THUD" not a "THOOMP". Very, very nice. The Oliphant collision scene captured the deep infrasonic space-warping impact. All the butts, hits, and falls in the battle epics were as clean as I expect for this kind of money. I'd say 95% as clean as anything I've ever heard. Frodo and Sam in Mt. Doom was excellent. Not just the Heartbeat that sent waves of audible & inaudible bass through the floor rattling the light fixtures, but also the bass rendered from the environment. When the camera pans around as Sam first enters there are room shaking effects that really hit you with the volatile nature of the "set".

Master & Commander
Chapter 4. Yup, cannons cracked, wood busted, people screamed. The cannon blasts were tight with that nice and low wall-flexing hit that comes just after the high-frequency crack and low-frequency thump. Impacts and cannonfire were nice and discreet, a huge improvement over the PB10-ISD. No complaints for chapter 4.

Star Wars: Episode I
"Start your engines!", I got ready with my box of cheez-itz and hard cider. I noticed a wee-bit of rumble in about 10sec of the entire chapter, isolated to just 2 or 3 intense scenes. Some of this may just be the material though, as I have some beef with a few of the sound effects and how they are mixed in this scene. Canyon exits are nice and clean, and rock the room. Completely satisfactory performance.

The Incredibles
Incredible bass that is. It's everywhere, even more than LOTR with it's 15Hz earthquakes as Liv Tyler tosses her hair. As noted above, this movie caused the 1646+ to bottom out in 12Hz mode with a peak output of 103dB in my 1500ft^3 room. Once in 16Hz mode, it had no problems, but I did feel like I was missing a little something after the swap, especially during the Rocket liftoff while Dash is in the blast tunnel. Still, in 16Hz mode the 1646+ was no slouch, going deep and clean with a nice SPL. My favorite part is actually the bonus short on disc 2, "Jack Jack Attack". When Jack Jack bursts into flames after being shown the campfire flashcard the impact given off by the 1646+ is fantastic. The controlled thunder is maintained throughout the whole scene, as he is chased all over the room.

Black Hawk Down
The "Other Chapter 4". I could tell I was pushing the sub a bit here. When the soldiers run from the hangar to get on the choppers I could feel the infrasonics of the rotor blades tearing a hole in the atmosphere. Combined with the bass heavy soundtrack and explosions the sub felt like it was approaching it's limit and getting ready to shoot through my ceiling like some hilarious Monty Python skit. It never once bottomed out, but I was on the floor a couple times listening intently in panic.

Next I tried some DVD-A and SACD titles...

Diana Krall: Love Scenes DVD-A
Bass chords are beautiful! The sub drew little, if any attention to itself. The quick, loud notes at the beginning of "My Love Is" were just that, quick and loud. Everything was natural and completely transparent. The sub blended so nicely that imaging was spot on, and not ruined by a rumbling box that detracted from this quality. The PB10-ISD struggled to do this, while the 1646+ did it effortlessly. I listened to the whole disc... twice... ... ...in a row.

LAGQ: Latin/Guitar Heroes SACD's
Not much bass, but the sub has to pick up just a little bit from whats crossed over to it at 80Hz. The 16-46 PC+ did a fine job that was once again clean and transparent. Nothing else to say here.

Telarc's Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture SACD
Holy loud cannon-blasts Batman! I got down next to the sub just to make sure it wasn't bottoming out, and it wasn't. The first one that went off scared the crap out of me. Cheezitz flew everywhere, and my rug escaped a near disaster as I expertly righted my tipped cider bottle. Unbelieveable! Big drum blasts had a tiny bit more "whoomp" to them than they should, but even when focusing on this one small aspect it was minor. What a great 16min performance.

Dupre.Franck.Widor SACD
Yup, this sub does pipe organs. Very pleased. It fleshes out the higher bass nicely, and belts out those curdling lows excellently. Not much more to say on this one either. Listened to the whole disc by mistake.

Eagles: Hotel California DVD-A
Kick-drums sound better than they did on the PB10-ISD, but they still don't sound ideal. Could just be the mix, but there is a bit too much whoomp in it. Given the clarity of other bass hits, I'm wondering if it's just me. It may also be that I grew up listening to this just on 3" stereo speakers, and now that I have a big gnarly 12" driver belting out those notes my ears/memory are disagreeing. I dunno.

With the 16-46 PC+ I've definetly found the extension I was looking for, but after tasting it in 12Hz mode I've managed to plant seeds of desire in the back of my mind. Overall it has phenomenal performance that has easily met my expectations. With the sole-exception of an uber-expensive Thiel sub I heard at one of my local hifi shops, this is the best sub I've ever heard that meets my demands of extension, clarity, and output. I plan to keep this one!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I do have some beefs though. This thing was bottoming in 12Hz mode with a peak output of 103dB in my 1500ft^3 room. In otherwords this optional extension really isn't optional (in my case atleast). Kick/kettle drum blasts don't seem to be 100% in their clarity, but they're close enough for me, especially at this pricepoint.

During a few passages peaking in the 100dB range I could tell the sub was raising an eyebrow at me (work with the metaphor please). Seeing as I don't have the $4k for that Thiel sub I loved, I'm seriously considering the possibility of placing another 16-46 PC+ on the other side of my front soundstage. I know colocating is the best option, but I feel that spreading two out to either side of my front soundstage will help to make the bass even further diffused and even less localized during intense bass scenes. From my understanding, with proper setup (and phase) this will also increase headroom for the super-peaks in films such as The Incredibles and Black Hawk Down. While I was looking at getting my display next, I may try another 16-46 PC+ next month to see if that fills in the last 8 or 9% of my desire. Boy am I glad that I'm single...

Two thumbs up for the SVS 16-46 PC+!

[GaryB]

I'm truly happy for you, Nicholas. Your carefully-detailed well-written assessments have been invaluable! Didn't I tell you that the 16 Hz tune was the ticket? Didn't I also tell you that you'd be delighted with the PB10-ISD?

Now we've just got to convince Ron/Tom to release a 16-46 PC-Ultra...