SVS Cylinder

[mhartman29]

Sorry if this has been done before, but are the cylinder offerings from SVS the same as their boxed brothers? A friend of mine just bought the PC-13 ultra cylinder and I've been really interested in hearing the ultra 13 for a while now. Just curious if the cylinder can be expected to perform the same as the boxed version, which I've heard so many good things about.

[danger boy]

Yes the SVS cylinder subs are just as good. keep in mind they are as big as a small water heater.. :p ;) :D but dig pretty low. :)

[kuntasensei]

Yeah, they're big... but it's vertical space. The actual footprint on the floor is nice and small, so they don't take up much space. Mine fits nicely next to my left RTi70 tower.

[Ron Temple]

The PC13 doesn't measure as well in groundplane testing, not quite as flat, but that's attributable to having the port 90 degrees and 4' above the driver where the microphone is inline. In room, the cylinder loses about a db in the deepest bass, but I dare anyone to hear a difference.

You're going to be very impressed with the sub unless the setup or room is truly awful.

[Serendipity]

So in theory, the "box" and "Cylinder" offerings from SVS should sound roughly the same? (i.e. PB12-NSD = PC12-NSD)?

Aside from cost, what advantage does the Cylinder have over the box version?

[Ron Temple]

So in theory, the "box" and "Cylinder" offerings from SVS should sound roughly the same? (i.e. PB12-NSD = PC12-NSD)?

Aside from cost, what advantage does the Cylinder have over the box version?Well, they've changed the cylinder line, so it's not quite a tuning match anymore for the PC12NSD. It's in the 31" tube that I think is tuned to 20hz (with curvy ports), but the PB12NSD is tuned to 18hz (larger volume). So you're going to get a bit more bottom from that box. The Plus line is in the 39" tube which is a stock 20hz tune and the Ultra in a 46"er (used to be a 16hz natural tune, but I doubt it's tuned that low now)...not sure what the Plus box is or the Ultra for that matter, but since they all have variable tuning it's a moot point.

The only real differences are looks, footprint and weight. The boxes have a higher material cost plus finish upgrades, thus the price differences. However, in talking to SVS, I'm told the tubes are a bigger pain to build and take longer. I've owned a cylinder. I wasn't thrilled with it's looks so I hid it, but it was a stellar performer...and being able to pick it up was a real plus ;). My Ultra13 looks wonderful, but it's too long for easy placement and really discouraging to move around. I usually wait until I have help.