PB12-NSD On Its Way

[DougMac]

I ordered a PB12-NSD Tuesday. It's on time and scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Friday). I'm impressed!

Deciding on a subwoofer for our dedicated HT that's under construction has been a long and tortuous journey. I've been all over the map, from considering retail subs to DIY.

I had settled on a DIY using a Rhythmik 15" servo. The problem is I'm doing the HT construction and this would just add to my task load. For ~$100 more than the raw driver and amp, I could get a PB12-NSD. That tipped the scales and I ordered.

As soon as I get it, I'll post impressions. I'll get some of the obligatory comments out of the way now:
Wow! It's big! It's heavy!

Doug

[chas]

Looking forward to your impressions on the SVS Doug....thanks for taking care of the 'obligatories' up front!

[Sonnie]

Congrats Doug... and I also look forward to your impressions.

[thomson405]

Lucky dog!!

[DougMac]

Wow! It's big! It's heavy!

Brown got here about 6:45. He helped me carry it in. Nice guy!

Initial impressions:

First, my only point of reference is my 20 year old Infinity SV-10 servo that just bit the dust. It wasn't a bad little guy, but was pretty much a one note honker. Also, the HT is not done. I've got it sitting upstairs in the great room. It's hardly a fair test. The area is 24wx40lx22h. At the back there's a loft over the hall and bedroom that's 24wx24lx12h, so there's an open space 24x60'. You do the math for the volume.

I fired it up and well, it sounded just OK. I haven't done a formal setup, but with about 20 minutes of tweaking it just came alive! I adjusted the phase, moved it a little, but I'm restricted, and did a quick and dirty volume balance. I'm feeding it with an NAD T762. If you set the mains to large, it turns of the feed to the sub when using low level. I set the mains to small, crossover at 80. It sounded OK with my mains, but not great. I then changed the crossover to 60 and everything fell into place. The blend was much better and it helped with clarity.

We Netflix and own few DVD's, so I won't be able to run through the usual suspects. I do have Nemo and played the Abyss and Darla! Wow, there must be a lot of sub 30hz energy in Darla. I was completely different from the little Infinity. I also played the opening to "The Lion King". The far off herd was much clearer and when they cut to the elephants, instead of some amorphous boom! boom!, you can actually hear the footfalls.

Music sounds great. I played some James Taylor, Squirrel Nut Zippers and I'm now listening to Strauss' Zarathustra. The opening pedal note is very deep and controlled. Double basses now have the proper low support. I'd say it's a musical sub, whatever that means.

I can't wait to finish the HT and properly tune it. I'm sure it will sound wonderful in a more controlled environment.

It's a keeper for sure.

Doug

[chas]

Wow that's a big space....glad it's going in a smaller room! What are the dimensions of your HT space?

Thanks for the initial impressions Doug. Keep us posted as things progress.

[DougMac]

chas wrote:

Wow that's a big space....glad it's going in a smaller room! What are the dimensions of your HT space?

Thanks for the initial impressions Doug. Keep us posted as things progress.

The HT is 16wx18lx9h. From what I've read that's pretty close to ideal ratios. It's an enclosed space. There is, however, a refreshment area space in the back left that's 6wx10dx9h.

You can see the construction here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dougbrucemac/HomeTheater

All framing done by me, mostly alone, although Deb helped a little while not studying for her Doctorate.

Doug