SINCE 1999 AMERICAN company SVS has built a formidable reputation by mainly focusing on one thing – manufacturing powerful home cinema subwoofers that don’t cost the earth. It has some beefy models in its lineup, topping out at the 16-Ultra Series (ported and sealed models with 16in woofers), but the SB-1000 Pro is a timely reminder that amongst the pricier, bigger boom boxes, it can still knock up a compact sealed unit with a sub-£ ticket. And why wouldn’t it? Models like this sell like hotcakes.
SVS sb 1000 pro vs 3000 micro
SVS sb 1000 pro
The 1000 Series is the final SVS lineup to get the ‘Pro’ treatment, which, over recent years, has seen the company filter down features from its high-end models to its mid-range and now entry-level subwoofers. This means the 1000 Pro Series not only benefits from a new driver, but also juiced-up amplification, and the now ubiquitous Bluetooth control app.
The App
While the basics like level, polarity reversal, and low-pass frequency can be easily adjusted on the subwoofer, you need the app for finer details. The app is available for all standard operating systems. It is a pleasure to use it: All essential functions can be found in the user-friendly arranged main menu, and the corresponding parameters are then set in the respective submenus. Let’s start with the parametric equalizer, of which there are three. That should probably be enough for the subwoofer range. The low-pass filter’s slope can be adjusted in the app, and the phase control and polarity reversal also help perfect sound integration.
Furthermore, a three-stage subsonic filter dampens booming low frequencies. Three presets for music, movie, and custom are switchable, so you don’t have to adjust the EQ every time. A slight cosmetic for bass reflex subwoofers is a correction for when you plug reflex tubes. You don’t necessarily need that, but it can be helpful. Good to have are the setting options for display and lighting – anyone who has ever been in a cinema where the electronics provide visual distraction with dozens of LEDs will know what I mean. The configuration options for automatic switching on and off are also convenient and help save power, just like the relatively small standby consumption of the SVS subwoofers of 0.5 watts.
Pinch even more pennies
There are two options in the 1000 Pro Series – the ported PB-1000 Pro, and the sealed SB-1000 Pro reviewed here. The ported model only comes in a pedestrian black ash finish, but costs a very reasonable £. The sealed unit offers a bit more choice in the looks department, with the same black ash, but also piano gloss black, and lacquered gloss white, options. We usually recommended going for the saucier gloss variants, but as the finished upgrade amounts to around 15 percent of the sub’s price, maybe don’t bother.
The two models use the same driver, amplification, and black fabric grille, and offer an identical set of features. So the only difference (aside from being ported) is that the PB-1000 Pro is bigger and claims a greater bass extension – 17Hz compared to the SB-1000’s suggested 20Hz. However, the black ash SB-1000 Pro represents serious affordability when you consider all you get for your hard-earned readies.
The 12in driver features a fiber composite cone for improved stiffness, and a proprietary injection-molded surround designed to deliver better control and accuracy. This is powered by a Sledge STA-325D Class D amplifier rated at 325W RMS, with peaks up to 820W. An Analog Devices DSP engine – ‘the most advanced digital processor ever used in a subwoofer,’ boasts SVS – then takes control of signal filtering and EQ.
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At the rear is the now-standard Intelligent Control Interface (ICI), which is a glorified name for a control panel composed of six buttons and some pretty lights. The reality is you’ll never touch the ICI because SVS’s smartphone app provides full control without having to get off the sofa. Everything from setup and control to manual parametric EQ is at your fingertips.
I kicked things off with my usual round of infrasonic Blu-ray liveners: the opening credits sequence of Edge of Tomorrow; the ‘skadoosh’ scene in Kung Fu Panda; the catalyst bomb in Ready Player One; and the drum dance in House of Flying Daggers. The SB-1000 Pro demonstrated all the key SVS attributes such as depth, slam, and sheer output. However, what was really surprising was that all this powerful low-end energy was being generated by a tiny black cube. This sub might be designed for smaller spaces, but that doesn’t mean it’s only fit for your dinky games den. It’s more than suitable for movie nights in larger environments.
Sealed models generally tend to offer a faster response and better driver control when compared to their ported siblings, and the SB-1000 Pro is no exception. In the opening of The Greatest Showman (4K BD) – a fantastic test of stop-start LFE – the enthusiastic circus crowd stamped their feet in unison, and the effect made me feel like the bleachers could collapse at any second.
Later on, the film’s star-crossed lovers sing while swinging around the Big Top on trapeze cables and ropes, and there’s a perfectly timed low-end thump as counterweights smash into the circus floor. The SB-1000 Pro snapped into action with relish.
Such speed from a subwoofer is always welcome, but let’s be honest – if you’ve got a home cinema then at some point you’re going to want to blow something up. The Outpost on Amazon Prime Video provides such opportunities in spades, with a battle that takes up the second half of the film. The awesome 5.1 mix erupts into a barrage of big bass moments, and each is unique to its specific sound effect.
There are small weapons fire, machine guns, big 50-calibers, grenades, and RPGs. These low-end hits are all subtly different. The SVS SB-1000 Pro renders these carefully designed bass signatures with nuance but does so with visceral energy. By the end, I actually felt shellshocked.
Having previously reviewed the SVS SB-2000 Pro [ HCC #309], I found myself wondering whether that mid-range model justifies its price premium over the SB-1000 Pro. Both use a single, frontfiring 12in driver and have identical sets of features, although the SB-2000 Pro is slightly larger and has more amplifier grunt. As a result, it can go a tiny bit deeper with greater output but, depending on the size of your room, it becomes hard to justify the additional cost when the SB-1000 Pro is this good.
King of the bargain bass makers
Ultimately this subwoofer represents the very essence of what SVS does so well – it’s solidly built, offers some attractive finishes, and boasts high-end features that include a really useful Bluetooth control app. More importantly, it has bass extension and power to spare and manages to plumb the depths with a cabinet barely bigger than the driver itself. Once you factor in the price, the SB-1000 Pro becomes irresistible and is now the budget sub to beat
SVS’s SB-1000 Pro was awarded Best Buy status and went on to win the EISA 2021-2022 Best Buy Home Theatre Subwoofer award. The latest of the manufacturer’s bass makers to integrate its Bluetooth control and EQ app, it offers a wealth of functionality and installation flexibility that belies its price tag.
While the SB-1000 Pro trickles down technology from SVS’s flagship models, including the mighty SB16-Ultra, it’s an entirely new design on a mission to extract the best performance possible from its custom-made 12in the high-excursion driver. This stiff but lightweight fiber composite cone is mounted on a proprietary injection-molded surround for improved control and accuracy and powered by a Sledge Class D amplifier delivering peaks up to 820W. All this technology is housed in a smart-looking and acoustically inert compact cabinet.
A state-of-the-art Analog Devices DSP engine then handles signal filtering and EQ, while SVS’s control app allows for quick adjustment of volume, phase, and low-pass filter, one-touch selection of Movie and Music presets, plus user-configurable parametric EQ with multiple memory slots. It’s intuitive and easy to use – and a tweaker’s dream!
Performance is best-in-class, as summed up in our review: ‘Ultimately this subwoofer represents the very essence of what SVS does so well – it’s solidly built, offers attractive finishes, and boasts high-end features including a really useful Bluetooth control app. More importantly, it has bass extension and power to spare, and manages to plumb the depths with a cabinet barely bigger than the driver itself.’
The SB-1000 Pro naturally offers line-level and speaker-level inputs for use with an AV receiver or processor, but for a sleek, uncluttered installation it’s also compatible with SVS’s SoundPath Wireless Audio Adapter. This fuss-free £ accessory features USB-powered transmitter and receiver modules that connect to your AVR and the SVS subwoofer respectively. Wireless 2.4GHz technology is then used to send the audio signal with ultra-low latency of 14ms. The result is a cable-free solution that doesn’t compromise performance.
The sub is available in a black ash finish or black or white gloss.
SVS 3000 Micro Subwoofer Test:
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| image credit: SVS |
The small case of the new SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer (almost a cube with edges of 278 x 287 x 271 mm) houses a powerful digital amplifier with a peak power of as much as 2,500 W, and the eight-inch speakers of the device produce bass notes from 23 Hz. How did the company manage to achieve such stunning performance? And, most importantly, how the device will show itself in action - we will check in our test.
So, in the arsenal of the SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer, there are a pair of 8 ”drivers powered by the proprietary Sledge STA-800D2 amplifier and controlled by the Analog Devices Audio DSP chip (50 MHz). The speakers are extremely interesting - they can withstand extremely high loads and are characterized by an extra-long cone stroke. For the manufacture of the latter, aluminum is used, which is beloved by the company (the cones are made from a solid 6061 aluminum billet), which guarantees rigidity and inertness even with active movement. Grandiose four-layer ventilated coils and massive ferrite magnets complete the picture - it looks like the woofers can easily take out the windows in the room if they wish - everything is implemented not just with a margin, but maximized. Massive suspensions are made of injection-molded blanks of butadiene-nitrile rubber. The dual-driver configuration (speakers mounted in 1010 steel frames) solves the problem of uncompensated vibrations, and the Sledge STA-800D2 amplifier completes the engineering picture. It works in class D (the output is organized on a fully discrete assembly of MOSFET transistors) and reaches 800 W of continuous power, and in peaks, it can deliver more than 2500 W (at current up to 25 A).
System control, including limiting clipping, adjusting the cutoff frequency, and more, is implemented on the Analog Devices DSP processor. The latter is responsible for the advanced (and very convenient) device control system through the panel on the case, and for device settings via a smartphone - yes, SVS has its own app in the app stores, which is very convenient and ergonomic. An interesting nuance is that you will also find a USB port on the patch panel, through which you can connect the SVS SoundPath Wireless Audio Adapter unit to the subwoofer, which will allow you to send a signal to the device “over the air”, without wires.
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| image credit: SVS |
The absolute pride of the SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer is the Rigidly Braced Sealed Cabinet Design. It is the closed box that makes it possible to achieve (of all known acoustic design schemes) the most accurate and textured bass - and this is exactly the acoustic design used here. The cabinet of the model (with its elastomer supports) is made of thick MDF boards and is equipped with a system of internal struts, which makes it completely inert and provides a vibration damping effect. The closed design allows you to install a sub literally a centimeter from the walls, which (together with the compact dimensions of the device) will become real manna from heaven for connoisseurs of a “clean” room design.
Of the ergonomic capabilities of the SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer, it is worth noting a three-band parametric equalizer, which allows you to quickly remove bass modes in acoustically unprepared rooms. As well as a set of presets that allow you to switch the device to various modes of operation, from cinema to music.
Installation of the SVS 3000 Micro does not cause any problems at all - the device weighs ten kilograms, it is easily carried by one person, and the already described detailed system of settings allows you to easily integrate the device into any system. We plugged the SVS 3000 Micro into a home theater system based on a Yamaha RX-A6A receiver and a Klipsch THX Ultra2 speaker package and were blown away by the quality of bass this little guy could deliver.
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| image credit: SVS |
Like the dogfight from the 4K remastered version of Top Gun, the tread of the Terminator from the second part (Doomsday), the battles in Venom - in our 35 m2 hall, the device is not only not lost, but it was able to provide " the same” cinematic sound pressure, comparable in sensations to a massage.
However, the best part is that against the backdrop of its thunderous tread, the SVS 3000 Micro turned out to be surprisingly delicate in detail. On the movie tracks, he always expanded the parameters of the hall, pumped up the air, did not fall into a mess in difficult scenes, and in terms of the texture of the bass, he literally grabbed the stars from the sky. The subwoofer performed just as well when switching to musical material - Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" acquired the proper foundation, and Infected Mushroom's "Vicious Delicious" received punch and drive.
Output:
SVS confirms its leadership in the field of subwoofers, and the new model 3000 Micro will finally allow even those audiophiles who could not fit a large-sized unit into the interior to join the truly deep low notes.
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