[Dale Rasco]

That's evil Steve, and I should be ready in about three months. I just need my bride to look the other direction for a while!

 

[gordog]

Well I am happy to say that I bought the SB13 Ultra that I reviewed a while back and am proud to be in the club!

Congrats on your purchase Dale.

Loving mine and every member of the local audiophile group that I belong to that's come over to listen has been very impressed. I always point them out to your review.

 

[steve1616]

Have you guys ever seen an SVS sub reviewed badly? That is pretty remarkable that every review seems to be so good. It also shows consistency and quality control when so many products seem to lack that in this day and age.

 

[gordog]

Have you guys ever seen an SVS sub reviewed badly? That is pretty remarkable that every review seems to be so good. It also shows consistency and quality control when so many products seem to lack that in this day and age.

Not only the reviews of the subs themselves, but also the glowing reviews of customer service- pre and post sale!

Very responsive and knowledgeable, I've heard they even respond on the week-ends! Great company to deal with.

 

[Tufelhundin]

I hate to say it but they do :0), Saturday morning "early" I sent in an email to Tech Service actually to Jack whom I normally chat with, Ed responded through out the day & we emailed each other back and forth, Sunday morning "poof" Doug is emailing me to follow up.

I have been a fan of SVS for a long time and I actually used to live in Ohio and visited the shop in Girard a couple of times and they have supported me in Italy twice.

I remember back in 2002/3 timeframe I spent a lot of time with emails and phone calls with Tom V trying to get a PCU sent to me in Italy...it was going to cost a fortune in shipping , LOL, but a lot cheaper then PB2-Plus.

Great Company and its good to see the tradition carries on, it was fun going down in the basement in Girard chatting with the guys that put the beast together.

 

[steve1616]

Not only the reviews of the subs themselves, but also the glowing reviews of customer service- pre and post sale!

Very responsive and knowledgeable, I've heard they even respond on the week-ends! Great company to deal with.

Yes, the customer service is awesome, and that should factor in more heavily than it does for most people. You just have to get burned once to learn your lesson.

To illustrate my point, I will give a brief example that just happened to my brother. I was going to help him build his first computer. He ordered an Asus motherboard from Newegg. We got it out of the package, and I inspected it for him because it is a pain to find a problem after the product is installed. I have assembled many computers for people so I know what to look for. I noticed that the motherboard socket had a couple of bent pins. The pins were bent in a way that no human could possibly do because they were bent all the way back, and it didn't affect any other pins. You would need a microscope and a doctors scalpel to do this without affecting the other pins. I figured that this was such a clear case of a defective product that there would be no hassel getting the motherboard RMA'd. Newegg said that they couldn't do anything for us because their policy doesn't cover bent pins even if it wasn't our fault. They said to contact Asus directly. We contacted Asus, and their exact reply was, " our motherboards do not ever ship out with damage to the pins." They didn't even want to see the picture we took of the motherboard. They didn't care that a human couldn't do this damage. They are simply not going to stand behind their product. My brother paid over $200 to have a paper weight and there is nothing he can do about it.

I wanted to really drive home this point because the same can happen with speakers. If you are having a hard time deciding on a speaker or sub, SVS's customer service should make it a no brainer. What happens when you pay $2000 for a sub from a company that may or may not have good customer service if something goes wrong. SVS completely takes this worry away.

 

[gordog]

All good points. I am surprised however at Newegg and especially Asus! Asus is known for very good quality products and with the instant spread of information (read complaints in this case) over the internet, this cannot be good for their reputation.

I'd write them again and try to escalate the issue to a higher level than the customer service person at the front desk.

 

[Tallguy29]

Sounds like you should of just RMA'd it saying it does not work/dead on arrival ..or you probably still can as long as you don't talk to the same person

 

[steve1616]

I have already escallated this, and got nothing from it. On neweggs side I kept asking for a manager, but I felt like they were just passing the conversation to their friend that probably sits next to them. They handed the online chat off to 3 different people that were supposed to be managers and even managers to the managers. I even got an RMA and sent the board back to Newegg. They sent it back and wouldn't help. One newegg representative even claimed that the board looked used. This really made me mad because if the board was used, they sent it to me that way. When they sent the board back to me, it had even more bent pins then when I sent it in. These were actually damaged by newegg. They didn't realize that I am a bit paranoid and took pictures of the shipping process and the motherboard as I packed it away accompanied by time frame pictures to go along with the shipping time frames, and these pictures showed that these pins weren't bent when I shipped it back to newegg. I sent these pictures to Newegg and they didn't know what to do, so they offered a $30 rebate towards a new motherboard, but I had to eat the cost of the original $210 motherboard. I actually think Newegg put physical damage on the motherboard thinking that I wouldn't be able to prove it. I don't think newegg is the same company they used to be. I have had some of my own items that I have ordered from them that had seals broken on the packages. They looked used to me. I never said anything about these items because they always seemed to work, but I did always wonder if I was getting refurb units. I did buy a video card from them also that was dead on arrival, and they wouldn't take care of it because I sent in a mail in rebate, and part of the packaging was gone because I had to send it in for proof of purchase. Thankfully the video card was an EVGA and they replaced it fast.

As far as Asus goes, I have used their products the most, and I have always liked their products the best, but after some research it seems that they have a long history of not taking care of their customers. I went through forums and noticed many people saying that Asus would not take care of RMA's, and that Asus would even reply on neweggs website that they will take care of a customer to make them look good, and then ignore the customer emails. These kind of businesses should not be allowed to keep doing this to customers.

I am almost dumbfounded that this can even happen to a consumer in America. I had a friend that was from Hong Kong. He told me that you could buy computer components for just pennies on the dollar in his homeland, but they weren't guaranteed to work. He said that in America, you can rest easy because everyone guarantees the product, but it will cost more. It sure seems that this American policy is starting to lose out with some companies.

 

[gordog]

Disappointing for sure and a cautionary tale for all.

Rest assured, based on all comments I've heard and in my own experience, SVS will take care of you!

I think if a competitor's sub performed similarly for a similar price, I'd still go with SVS because of this! :clap:

 

[steve1616]

I am sorry I got this thread sidetracked. I just wanted to point out why I will probably never consider any other company except SVS when it comes to audio. They have a better reputation than any company I have seen. I hope many more people comment on the SB13-ultra. I have been thinking about getting this sub, and giving my Mom my PB13/ultra. Her surgeon told us that we should just be thankful that she is still with us. His outlook wasn't good. I was almost done building her a sub, and I haven't finished it yet. I think it is terrible that she might not even get a chance to listen to it so I am going to give her mine, and I hope I never get my sub back because that would mean good things for my Mom. In the mean time, I look forward to hearing about the SB13/ultra because I might just buy this sub when I get the funds. I don't know whether I will just save a little bit more to get a PB again or whether the SB will keep me happy.

 

[whitey019]

I just listened to Dire Straits Brothers In Arms 20th anniversary edition SACD and was blown away by track 7 'The Man's Too Strong'. I have listened to this many times, but this is the first time I guess with the SB13 Ultra. If you have this disc give it a whirl.

Update: Just realized that the strong bass on that track is only present in multi-ch surround.

 

[Tallguy29]

I have dual SB13 Ultras and that Dire Straits SACD so i guess i should give it a whirl asap! Thanks

 

[Tufelhundin]

By far my favorite track off of that SACD.

 

[hyghwayman]

but also the glowing reviews of customer service- pre and post sale!
Very responsive and knowledgeable, I've heard they even respond on the week-ends! Great company to deal with.

They sure will :T

Rest assured, based on all comments I've heard and in my own experience, SVS will take care of you!

I think if a competitor's sub performed similarly for a similar price, I'd still go with SVS because of this! :clap:

Working as a Auto mechanic for many years, I always recommended that once you find a shop that you trust and enjoy doing business with stop searching for lower prices. That grass across the street is not always greener lddude:

I hate to say it but they do :0), Saturday morning "early" I sent in an email to Tech Service actually to Jack whom I normally chat with, Ed responded through out the day & we emailed each other back and forth, Sunday morning "poof" Doug is emailing me to follow up.

I can attest to this,
After learning/reading and acknowledging that I had won the SB13-Ultra Giveaway last Friday, Sonnie contacted SVS to sort out the delivery. The first email arrived from Ted Sindzinski @ 2:59am Sat. morning :yikes:
Dan "the man" Marks took it from there and asked what finish I desired / kept me up to date as to when it would ship.
I went with the real wood black oak, it will match my 1st gen pio speakers perfectly and that beautiful metal grill should too.

The sub left SVS yesterday to begin its new life with us and the last tracking info has it just out of walking distance (30 miles north) :jiggy:

 

[hyghwayman]

It arrived 5-14-2013

 

[skorob]

Ah. Yesterday i ordered a SVS SB13-ultra from L-sound. It will be used with my living room stereo that contains:
B&W CM9
NAD C390 (with sub management and HDMI, yummy).

I sold my B&W DB1, since it gave up way to easy. I will write a "mini review" of the SB13, and my impression of it against my previous subs in the same room (BW DB1, Definitive Tech SuperCube reference (this one was totally madness)).

Ill be back .

 

[hyghwayman]

utstanding:

Welcome to HTShack Skorob :wave: ,
Can't wait to read your impression and "mini review".

 

[gordog]

Ah. Yesterday i ordered a SVS SB13-ultra from L-sound. It will be used with my living room stereo that contains:
B&W CM9
NAD C390 (with sub management and HDMI, yummy).

I sold my B&W DB1, since it gave up way to easy. I will write a "mini review" of the SB13, and my impression of it against my previous subs in the same room (BW DB1, Definitive Tech SuperCube reference (this one was totally madness)).

Ill be back .

Yes, welcome to the forum and looking forward to your review- especially your comparison to your DB1 and DefTech Supercube Reference. Both very well reviewed and heavy hitting subs to be sure and I'm wondering which of the 3 sounds most musical once you get a chance to do some critical listening.

 

[TigerFlash18]

Hey All, I figured this might be the appropriate place to ask about this. I had convinced my self that the SVS SB13 was the sub I was going to jump on after reading so many reviews, then I started enter'ing Danny from GR Research's world and am now debating between that or the Rhythmik F12G. Here is a little back and forth he and I had: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/gr-research/61259-we-have-best-sounding-subs-period-5.html his arguments are very convincing And ultimately making my choice much harder.

If the rhythmik unit should indeed have better response/better punch than the SB13, and would only be a difference in volume, then I think I'd have to shy towards Rhythmik simply because I am totally cool with buying more than one sub if volume ever becomes an issue. Keep in mind my room is very small (13'x13'x10', however I like to future proof my stuff and could easily see myself using a bigger room in the future).

However it'd be great if I got some feedback from you proud owners as well. Thanks much.