B&W Pv1

[Ilkka]

Manufacturer: B&W
Model: PV1
Provided by: Kymen Laatulaite
Manufacturer link: Bowers&Wilkins
Price: 1500 EUR

Manufacturer specs:
• Pressure vessel enclosure
• 500W ICEpower® amplifier
• Switch mode power supply
• Active closed-box subwoofer system
• Drive unit: 2x f200mm (8 in) mica / aluminum diaphragm long-throw
• Frequency range: -6dB at 18Hz and 40/140Hz adjustable (EQ at i)
• Frequency response: ±3dB 21Hz – 31/110Hz adjustable (EQ at i)
• Amplifier Power output: 500W
• Rated power consumption: 110W (105W - 100V version)
• Input impedance: 100kW
• Signal / noise: >90dB
• Volume level
• Low-pass filter frequency
• Bass roll-off alignment
• Auto sense on/standby
• Phase switch
• Line In (RCA Phono)
• Speaker Level In (FCC68 4/4)
• Link Out (RCA Phono)
• Low-pass filter: Active 2nd-order, variable cut-off frequency (applies only to speaker level input)
• Height: 335.5mm (13.2 in) Width: 289mm (11.4 in) Depth: 347mm (13.7 in)
• Net weight: 20.5kg (45 lb)
• Gloss silver with grey trim, Gloss black with anthracite trim, Gloss white with chrome trim
• Fuse ratings: 100V6.3A, 120V6.3A, 220VT3.15AL, 230VT3.15AL

Configuration as tested:
Phase: 0 degrees
Crossover: Doesn’t work/bypassed with line level signal
EQ: i (deepest extension)
Orientation: Woofers facing left and right

[Ilkka]

+/- 3 dB points: 35 Hz - 110 Hz

[Ilkka]

[Ilkka]

[Ilkka]

[Ilkka]

[Ilkka]

Reserved

[russ.will]

Why? Can't stop laughing?

Russell

[crackyflipside]

russ.will wrote:

Why? Can't stop laughing?

Russell

Looks like the tiny spaceship from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

[Manic Miner]

I can see a strange tendency with all B&W subwoofers; H3 always seems to dominate rather than H2, any ideas why?

[Blaser]

Is this a subwoofer or a MB unit? Can't believe such a performance for only 1500 Euro I will buy 2 of them certainly....And I am also impressed by the 100 KW impedance ...WOW! Steve: forget about your LLT theory...The dual subwoofers I have cost me about as much as this PV1

[crackyflipside]

blaser wrote:

Is this a subwoofer or a MB unit? Can't believe such a performance for only 1500 Euro I will buy 2 of them certainly....And I am also impressed by the 100 KW impedance ...WOW! Steve: forget about your LLT theory...The dual subwoofers I have cost me about as much as this PV1

Good grief I never saw the pricetag until you said it!!! I would have guessed $100 USD maximum for the sub!

[shr-t]

Guys, come on, what can you expect from such a tiny sub. I think this one has been called very "musical" and so on, guess high amounts of THD still qualify for musicality
And isn't this the definition of "high-end", a low bang-for-buck-ratio

[Ilkka]

Manic Miner wrote:

I can see a strange tendency with all B&W subwoofers; H3 always seems to dominate rather than H2, any ideas why?

I have also noticed this behaviour with most Genelec subs. Usually even-order harmonics are reduced in push-pull designs, but since this is push-push, I'm not sure why. Maybe their drivers are specifically designed that way?

[Ilkka]

shr-t wrote:

Guys, come on, what can you expect from such a tiny sub. I think this one has been called very "musical" and so on, guess high amounts of THD still qualify for musicality

Actually the bass in music (mostly) lies above 40-50 Hz, and usually people don't use very high listening levels. So actually the PV1 is extremely CLEAN in that area.

[Blaser]

Here is how I see you in the above post:

[Ilkka]

blaser wrote:

Here is how I see you in the above post:

Actually I was being quite serious.

[Manic Miner]

I've compared your numbers for the PV1 and the XLS200 with Avtalks, and with regard to SPL and THD they are almost spot on! I just hope that they too will add the CEA2010 standard since they do add some usefull information.

What sweep length did you use this time?

[Ilkka]

Manic Miner wrote:

I've compared your numbers for the PV1 and the XLS200 with Avtalks, and with regard to SPL and THD they are almost spot on! I just hope that they too will add the CEA2010 standard since they do add some usefull information.

That's really good. It makes us both look more reliable when our results match.

What sweep length did you use this time?

Same 30 sec as last time.

[clausdk]

Although it doesn't test that good I can honestly say, after having helped install on of these for someone, that it does indeed sound nice. I can't quantify musicality in a graph, but this sub delivers sweat bass. No, I won't shake the earth like a SVS PB12+ etc but for people with modest SPL demand and possibly a high demand for design, this sub is a nice choice in my opinion.

I would like to see more designer subs, hopefully some with better performance.

[Ilkka]

clausdk wrote:

Although it doesn't test that good I can honestly say, after having helped install on of these for someone, that it does indeed sound nice. I can't quantify musicality in a graph, but this sub delivers sweat bass. No, I won't shake the earth like a SVS PB12+ etc but for people with modest SPL demand and possibly a high demand for design, this sub is a nice choice in my opinion.

I would like to see more designer subs, hopefully some with better performance.

The results show that it isn't that bad on music. It has pretty decent max SPL and very low distortion in upper bass range, so there is no reason why it shouldn't sound nice. Of course things change if one pushes it too much, especially on sound tracks that contain a lot of low frequency effects.