Anyone looking for a  subwoofer that shakes you to the bone will quickly come to SVS. The American company from Youngstown, Ohio is primarily known for the production of subwoofers – initially for the top of the market, but in more recent years also for a wider audience. In this review we will get started with the SVS PB12-NSD; not a new product and not even a current model of the brand, but our entry into the world of SVS – and the first review by new colleague Ronald de Boer. 

SVS PB12-NSD

In the subwoofer world you have two typ ,  ported and sealed . A sealed subwoofer has more control over the bass, so it should actually be better for music, and a ported subwoofer can go much lower through the port, which can be the better choice for movies. Of course, that is partly subjective. But what if you are both a music and film lover? Issue? Or not..? Today we are going to get started with  PB12-NSD from SVS.

SVS PB12-NSD Review

This subwoofer was first introduced in 2012 and is no longer made by SVS. So it is certainly no longer the youngest member of SVS, but in the audio world that does not always have to matter. After all, there are also  plenty of people who swear by vintage equipment. You can also still find the PB12-NSD, at attractive prices, for example around Black Friday. I paid 700 euros for it myself. 

To work

Unpacking party, or should I say moving house? This giant’s box was so big I almost couldn’t get it up the stairs, and I’m not a little guy. It is basically  impossible to lift the thing alone, I had to help the delivery person unload. And this is just a baby SVS…

Don’t get me wrong, I think that’s great. A subwoofer with a box so big you can literally live in it? Come on! The box is also very sturdy and will certainly ensure that nothing happens to the subwoofer during transport. You definitely don’t lose sight of this thing, but if you’re looking for a more compact solution, it’s better to go for the sealed version. Once the refrigerator—excuse me, the subwoofer—was in place, and I plugged it in, we could get started – and by “we” I mean myself and the neighbors.

On the back of the subwoofer you will find the power house and the adjustable functions. The subwoofer has an LFE connection with which you can also control the crossover via your receiver. That is, it  is up to the user to set the crossover in the receiver or on the sub itself. Phase is adjustable with a  rotary knob from 0 degrees to 180 degrees. Finally, you will of course also find  a volume button on the back.

SVS PB12-NSD  Technology

For this review, I like to start with the chart below, which shows the  frequency response as an indication of the performance. You can see that the speaker  drops just below 20 Hz. The claimed 18 Hz – 150 Hz (+/- 3dB) of SVS therefore seems fairly accurate. The driver is the 12 inch NSD driver, the amplifier is the STA-400D Sledge with 400 Watt RMS constant power and 800 Watt peak. The 4 inch bass port can be found on the front of the 29.9 kilo heavy sub ( 54 x 44 x 64.5 HxWxD). The SVS model is/was only available in a black oak vinyl wrap. 

The driver includes a powerful 2-inch (5.08 cm) diameter voice coil, an aluminum cone with a composite dust cover with the SVS logo on it. The engine is optimized with the FEA (Finite element analysis). There are also double high-quality ferrite magnets.

The subwoofer stands on 4 small spike feet. These can be removed and then you can place the SVS Sound Path Isolation Feet underneath so that the bass rumbles less and as a result your cups rattle less.

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Music

Let’s see what the  beast has in store. We start with music. In my very diverse music library I have a few standard numbers that I use to test different aspects of subwoofers. With the first track, Still Waters Run Deep by Carolin No,  I test the speed of the subwoofer. Do you remember? Ported subwoofers are said to be slower than sealed. Well, otherwise it sounds fine!

Compared to my large floorstanders, the bass of the PB12 does sound a bit more. Am I annoyed by that? No, not at all – it sounds  nicely balanced and fast. I have a lot of subwoofers that blew up the bass of this song, resulting in a less pleasant experience, but this ‘old’ SVS just does it well. 

If we go for a bit more bass, with Rockstar from Post Malone, then we have another  song where most subs go wrong. The bass then dominates enormously, but with this PB12 that is not the case. The bass is never too dominant, comes along well  with the rest of the song and doesn’t linger or boom for long. The low goes really low in this song, which the PB12 manages  to reproduce well without going over the top; you notice that extra bit more.

The PB12 actually adds that extra bit of bass to all different types of music, which ensures that you get more into the music. The black behemoth  may look like a brute, but it’s certainly capable of delivering subtlety too.

On to movies

Well, which of the thousands of movies shall we throw at it? Something Michael Bay may have had a say in? We start ‘quietly’ with Fury, because: tanks and war. And let’s jump  straight to the scene where the protagonist drives out into the open field and gets into a fight with the Nazis. Because  the moment they fired the first shot, I was a bit shocked to be honest. I’ve  never heard a subwoofer this size before and wasn’t sure what to expect, but the shock quickly gave way to a big smile; I had never experienced the sheer violence this thing exerted in my room.

My closet doors shook, my desk drawer started to dance, I didn’t know what was happening to me – was I in the tank myself? During these busy action scenes, the subwoofer ensures that everything comes in extra loud; the gunshots, explosions, it all feels extra realistic. It almost sounds like I was hearing a subwoofer for the first time, but that’s certainly not the case. I have experience with DALI, Energy, Bowers & Wilkins, a Jamo S810 – not the least, right? Does SVS do anything different from other brands?

image credit: SVS

We continue with Godzilla: King of the Monsters for  one of the best experiences I’ve had with this subwoofer. The SVS is here to do business, not  lounge around; very cool to not only hear when Godzilla takes a step, but also to feel it. You are, as it were, immersed in this magical world where everything becomes physical at once.

Conclusion

Now I could go on for hours about how great this subwoofer performs in my room, but the fact is, subwoofers are tricky. Every subwoofer reacts differently to a room, and usually there are only a few places in a room where a speaker performs optimally for the low end. My rule is usually: a if you can’t hear exactly where the subwoofer is, then you’re in the right place. A good cable is important for performance. I myself use an Oehlbach NF 214 subwoofer cable, a bit pricey but with excellent value for money. 

Subwoofers remain subwoofers and many of them all do the same thing. Then SVS comes around the corner. The PB12-NSD never gives me the feeling that I’m missing anything in music playback, especially not with movies. In either case, this sub  is capable of sounding both subtle and murderous. I’ve already heard quite a few SVS products (including the brand new SB1000 and SB3000 that will be reviewed soon, ed.) and I don’t think they’re great because they happen to have such a high reputation, but because they make me think of them every time. convince that reputation. The fact that you can get such a beast for 700 euros is very special in my opinion, we really live in a golden era for hi-fi. In terms of rating and compared to the other models, I come from pride quality ratio, power, build quality and finish out at 4.5/5.