SVS SB-2000 PRO SUBWOOFER
WITH 12 different subwoofers in its line, I’m pretty certain that SVS makes more models than any other subwoofer manufacturer. In providing so many options, not only does the company cover a wide range of price points, but they can also offer subwoofers matched to different use cases, from high-end audiophile setups to big, slamming home theater rigs.
The range is organized into five distinct price tiers. Within each tier there are two or three different models using either sealed, ported, or, in the case of the 2000 Pro and 4000 series, cylindrical enclosures. I decided to check out something from the new 2000 Pro Series, which sits one step up from the entry level 1000 series and covers the $800-950 price range. There are three 2000 Pro series subs: the ported PB-2000 Pro ($900), the cylindrical PC-2000 Pro ($950), and the sealed SB-2000 Pro ($800), which is the model I checked out.
Sealed subwoofers are typically recommended when the preference is for bass quality over sheer bass quantity. While they may not match the pants leg-flapping thunder or efficiency of an equivalent ported sub, they compensate with tight, articulate bass that starts and stops on a dime, making it easier to blend the sub seamlessly with audiophile speakers for music listening. At around 2,100 cubic feet, my theater room isn’t exactly huge, so the SB-2000 Pro’s ultimate output limitations compared with a ported sub didn’t strike me as an issue. But as a guy who values music at least as much as thun
derous movie playback, the advantages a sealed box can provide are important to me.
The “Pro” in SB-2000 Pro isn’t there just to make it sound cool. Advancements the new model brings over the older SB-2000 include both a more powerful 550-watt RMS (1,500 watt peak) class-d amplifier along with a new longer-excursion 12-inch driver. Most significant, the SB-2000 Pro uses a wireless control app that offers adjustments far beyond the typical volume, crossover, and phase controls.
Subwoofers with built-in automated room correction that takes the guesswork out of setting the various adjustments have been gaining in popularity in recent years.
While the SB-2000 Pro doesn’t offer that, the SVS subwoofer app lets you tweak parameters far beyond the basic volume, crossover, and phase controls found on most subs. The only catch is that some prior sub setup experience can be really useful to make the most of these additional setup and tuning adjustments.
The SB-2000 Pro’s back panel includes the basic controls needed for setup, but instead of using a rotary knob for each, you press dedicated buttons to select volume, phase, or low-pass, and then use +/buttons to raise or lower the setting. A row of LEDS indicates the setting for each adjustment. Inputs and other connections are pretty basic, with just a stereo RCA input and output, plus a USB port to power the optional SVS Soundpath wireless adapter ($120). Power mode selections let you choose between leaving the SB-2000 Pro powered on, auto-switched on by a signal, or controlled by a 12-volt trigger input.
The SVS Subwoofer control app communicates with the subwoofer via Bluetooth and provides a wide array of tools to optimize its output for your system and room. Along with the basic functions I mentioned above, there is a parametric equalizer with volume, bandwidth (Q), and center frequency controls, as well as three EQ presets. Using these, you can program the system to deliver bone-vibrating LFE when watching an action movie, and then switch to tighter and more tuneful bass when playing your favorite jazz recordings. When selecting low-pass frequency, the low-pass filter slope can also be changed from 6 db firstorder all the way up to 24 db fourth-order, and there’s an infinitely adjustable phase control and a simple 180 degrees polarity switch to tune the sub’s blend with your main speakers. Lastly, a room gain control with adjustable frequency and slope can be used to compensate for boundary placement in smaller rooms.
While the app’s built-in FAQ details some of the adjustments, the sheer number of available tweaks can be heady stuff for the average user. It’s a bit like having a sports car where you can adjust the wheel alignment settings using the dashboard controls— great if you know what you’re doing, but somewhat intimidating it you don’t. You can certainly stick to the basics when setting up the SB-2000 Pro, but it’s also nice to know that deeper fine-tuning is possible if you choose to dive in. For example, I was able to use the EQ settings to effectively tame a known 65-Hz peak in my room.
As with most sealed subwoofers, the SB-2000 Pro is fairly compact; at 15 inches cubed, the cabinet isn’t much larger than the 12-inch driver it houses. A premium black ash vinyl finish is standard, though my review sample came in piano gloss black (a $100 extra option). While the older SB-2000 came with a perforated metal grill, SVS has switched to black fabric stretched over a plastic frame for the new Pro version, which gives it a more domestically acceptable, if perhaps less high-tech look.
SETUP
As I do with most subs, I installed the SB-2000 Pro in my room’s front left corner aimed toward the listening position. I tried running the Audyssey Multeq XT32 room correction program on a Denon AVR-X8500H receiver at first to see where it set things, but ultimately ended up bypassing the receiver’s controls and made adjustments manually using a combination of sweep tests with a calibrated SPL meter. Lastly, I tuned adjustments by ear using familiar music and movies. I paired the SB-2000 Pro with two very different speaker types.
First up was my PSB Synchrony One towers, and since these are nearly full-range, I used the sub primarily to deliver the deep bass and LFE channel with surround material. I also used it with the new Magneplanar LRS, an excellent audiophile panel speaker with fairly limited bass extension and output.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Some songs on Billie Eilish’s astonishing debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? have deliberately distorted bass, while others like the closing song “Goodbye” have clean bass that provides a solid foundation for Eilish’s whisperlike singing voice. This track in particular let me hear just how
deep the SB-2000 Pro could go, with each low note coming across as clear and perfectly defined. (With so much bass information on this recording, it left me wondering just how much of this people actually hear when they listen on the typical cheap earbuds.)
One of my favorite songs for checking speaker-subwoofer blend is the title track from The Awakening by The Reddings. This instrumental duet features Otis Redding’s son Dexter slapping out an ultra-funky groove on his bass while making fast runs up and down the neck.
The bass in the mix also pans back and forth between the left and right speakers, which will highlight any bass directionality problems in a system. The SB-2000 Pro’s woofer never once sounded sluggish paired with the lightning-quick ribbon panels of the LRS speakers, and once I tuned in the optimum settings using a 60 Hz crossover, the small Magneplanars ended up sounded like big, full-range speakers with tight, slamming bass.
Another effect you’ll get with a good subwoofer is a sense of the volume of air in the space where a recording was made. A good example of this is the track “Abandoned and Pursued” from the E.T. The Extra-terrestrial movie soundtrack. The orchestral score is classic John Williams, with sweeping strings and piercing woodwinds to enhance the drama, but there’s also a huge-sounding bass drum to provide a foundational accent. Listened to with the SB-2000 Pro, the sheer air-moving quality of the bass drum thwacks expanded the size of the soundstage in a dramatic way that sonically transported me to the Hollywood scoring stage where the soundtrack was recorded.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE
The excellent animated feature Spider-man: Into the SpiderVerse has lots hard-hitting action. In one sequence, for example, Miles returns to the abandoned subway station and witnesses Spider-man and the Green Goblin fighting. The SB-2000 Pro took this scene in stride, rendering the impacts and synthesized ultra-low frequency pulses without once sounding stressed or becoming anemic at high-volume peaks.
Inception is a movie with plenty of scenes where the sound mixer went nuts with the LFE information, both the wall-shaking low rumbles and
harder-hitting impacts. The SB-2000 Pro could go impressively deep in my modest-size, 2,100 cubic foot theater while not overloading the room or sounding boomy. I tried cranking the sound up as far as possible, but with all of my neighbors in my apartment building at home due to the COVID-19 lockdown, I didn’t want to be too antisocial! While I never maxed out the limits of the SB-2000 Pro during my listening, there were times when I could see that its 12-inch driver was pumping really hard. Of course, if you have a much bigger room, there’s always the company’s 3000, 4000, and 16-Ultra Series models.
CONCLUSION
When I selected the sealed SVS SB-2000 Pro model over the company’s ported PB-2000 Pro for evaluation, I figured I was
going for the audiophile option at its price level. But it turns out that the SB-2000 Pro is just as proficient at pumping out huge explosions in action movies as it is blending into a two-channel audiophile setup. Better still, the SB-2000 Pro is affordable enough that I would consider buying two a worthwhile option if you want to get more even bass distribution. The SB-2000 Pro might lack the automated setup options found on some of its rivals, but all the essential controls are provided to get this impressive, highly recommended subwoofer sounding its best in your room.