SVS PB13-Ultra Subwoofer Review

SVS PB13-Ultra Introduction

SVSound, otherwise known as SVS to most familiar with the brand, was once an upstart internet direct subwoofer manufacturer focusing on providing serious bass via low tuned ported subwoofers for a reasonable cost. In the last 10+ years they have grown their operation to include full range speakers, center channels, sealed, cylinder and box subs, various finishes and even outboard EQ units, all while maintaining strong branding and staying true to their original core values. The subject of this article is their current top of the line powered subwoofer, the PB13-Ultra, which has been in production for a few years but has recently been updated with a more powerful, efficient and much smarter amplifier, loaded with built in DSP and marketed as “Sledge” by SVS.

SVS PB13-Ultra with Grille On

Unpacking and Initial Thoughts

When the lift gate truck pulled up to deliver the PB13-Ultra and I witnessed the size of the box containing it, I’ll admit that I was a bit surprised. I have had many large subwoofers delivered to me over the years, some many times bigger than the PB13-Ultra, truthfully, but for some reason I had thought that it would be a little smaller than what showed up at my doorstep. I could immediately see why SVS went with the more expensive freight shipping. This sub is far too big and bulky to be trusted with regular ground shipping services. Make no mistake, when you get one of these delivered to your house you will not be sliding it past the significant other unnoticed. Unpacking the sub I found that it is double boxed with heavy cardboard, there are thick corner protecting foam inserts, a form fitting, heavy foam top and bottom piece that fit down over the subwoofer and the supplied metal grill and the subwoofer and grill are both inside of bags as well. Even the supplied foam port plugs act as extra protection and packaging which is sort of slick in itself. Overall it is a very thorough, well thought out and protective packaging scheme, probably one of the best that I have seen yet. The unpacking can be done with one person, as I did, but it would definitely be an easier job with a helper.

After the unpacking is done the actual subwoofer is much more compact, but it is still the largest and heaviest commercial powered subwoofer that I have ever had chance to get acquainted with. As with unpacking it, moving the PB13-Ultra into place is far easier with help. Unfortunately I had to muscle the 155lb bruiser around on my lonesome a number of times. Luckily 15+ years of lugging around speakers and band equipment has given me the “tools” needed to get the job done. I would definitely not recommend that anyone else make the same foolhardy attempt if it can be helped.

Inside of the box is the usual: The subwoofer, power cable, grill, warranty information and an accessory pack, plus the foam port plugs. There wasn’t an actual owner’s manual in the box, SVS instead choosing to have it available online for download, but there was a quick start card with information on operating the Sledge amplifiers I.F.C. interface (Integrated Function Controller). My first impression after simply unpacking the sub and staring at it a moment while I took a breather, was that this was going to be a fun unit to get familiar with.

SVS PB13-Ultra Subwoofer Design Overview

The PB13-Ultra utilizes a very robust and well engineered custom 13.5” driver capable of handling the excursions and power needed to produce serious high output low bass.  The woofer has an open but strong cast aluminum frame and a very large underhung magnet and motor assembly (tipping the scale at 55lbs) with a vented pole piece, large dual spiders and a large parabolic “high roll” surround comprising the suspension.  Underhung motors are very costly to make and the THD levels are generally far lower than conventional overhung designs. Incidentally the surround is physically stitched to the cone which is an expensive measure but goes to show you how serious the effort that went into developing this driver really is. In addition The SVS driver is said to incorporate a copper inductance demodulating circuit in the motor which is a good sign with a motor containing this much steel in it. Otherwise a driver such as this might suffer from large inductance variations during high excursions or might exhibit a peaky response with a rolled off top end, such as a 6db octave roll off after 50Hz for example. That sort of response characteristic is sometimes seen with big high power subwoofer drivers having high inductance and limits their output and efficiency in the top of the bass range. The cone is also a strong and yet light piece that I felt was rather attractive with the weird, reflective and almost holographic surface at times.  It is a serious piece of equipment that gives the impression that it means business. Very few manufacturers spare such expense on a quality driver like this, but as you will see in the measurement portion of our review, it pays off in droves.   

                

SVS PB13-Ultra: Anatomy of a Subwoofer at CES 2016

The STA-1000-D Sledge amplifier is rated at 1000w RMS and is class D. SVS claims that the amplifier is both more powerful and more efficient than the older 750w BASH amplifier and in addition to the extra power, that fine tuning of the DSP compressor and limiting circuits have enabled them to safely squeeze an extra bit of output from the PB13 as compared to the older BASH model than what would be expected just from the power increase alone. Extra headroom is always great, but that is not even the big story with this amplifier platform. That would be the on board DSP. This platform has an interface utilizing an LCD screen and a single knob / push button to control the settings of everything from parametric EQ to high and low pass filters and volume. SVS calls this interface I.F.C., short for integrated function controller. There is a generous array of adjustments available as we will get to later in the review.

SVS PB13-Ultra Sledge Amplifier

SVS PB13-Ultra Backpanel 

The drive unit and amplifier are mounted in a heavily built MDF cabinet that is comprised of 1” material with 2” thick material used for the driver baffle.  It is also extensively braced with the addition of a nice support brace for the heavy driver motor that it fits into like a glove. Make no mistake this cabinet is very inert which is quite obvious because a quick knuckle rap test results in no more than a deadened “thunk” sound. There is also extensive damping material inside the cabinet. The three, 3.5” inner diameter ports have enough length that they needed to take a 90 degree turn inside the cabinet to fit them and achieve the low tuning desired.  This is an extremely well built cabinet and should be an envy of its peers.

SVS PB13-Ultra Internal Cabinet 

The PB13-Ultra is designed as a bass-reflex alignment primarily, with variable extension achieved by the plugging of a port and switching the amplifier DSP settings to the appropriate mode. But, the PB13-Ultra can also operate as a sealed subwoofer through the use of the supplied foam port plugs to plug all three of the ports and switching the amplifier DSP to the “sealed” mode. With all three ports open the subwoofer has a 20Hz tuning. By plugging one port the tuning is dropped to 16Hz for added extension. If all three plugs are inserted into the ports and the DSP switched to the “sealed” setting the sub is put into sealed mode, which offers the 12dB/octave roll off of a sealed alignment and may work better in smaller spaces or those having large amounts of low frequency gain. The original PB13-Ultra also had a fourth, 10Hz mode where two ports were plugged, but they have since dropped this mode from the line-up. Perhaps they did so due to it being too compromised on port area, too close to the sealed alignment in response shape and performance, or simply as taking up unneeded processing power in the DSP unit. Whatever the reasons, SVS no longer recommends this on the current PB13-Ultra’s.

The finish of the review unit sent was American cherry veneer which had a very nice grain and color to it. If I was to be picking one of their finish options for myself, this is the one I would’ve picked. The large radius metal grill was sent with the unit and was a very heavy gauge and probably an expensive piece to manufacture. I like the fact that the SVS uses magnets to secure it and does not have any tabs to snap off or scratch the finish. It’s a nice touch and has a little bit of a “cool” factor to it as well. Both the driver and amplifier are flush mounted. The enclosure sports a very large round over on the top and bottom panels which gives it a nice rounded look. The PB13 is rather large as far as most commercial powered subs go and is also quite heavy at 155lbs, so it may not fit into some domestic settings, but that is the price of powerful deep bass. The overall parts and build quality is definitely first rate in any case. The substantial price tag appears to be at least partly going towards some serious components.

SVS PB13-Ultra Subwoofer Listening Tests

Let me preface this section by saying that I am a little peculiar about subjective listening impressions as far as subwoofers in general and bass itself is concerned. I am a bit of an objectivist at heart. In general there are a couple of different things that I believe will directly impact how the bass sounds to the listener. These are in no particular order:

• available output headroom and ability to track the dynamics of the signal
• distortion behavior
• overall frequency response shape and extension
• response in the time domain
• integration with the speakers reproducing the upper frequencies
• proper level matching between the speakers and subwoofer(s).

I also believe that most of these things can be quantified through objective measurements and correlated with subjective listening impressions with good results. If you get these basic areas covered then you are well on your way to being able to realize good bass at your listening chair. If there is a major difference in subjective sound between two different subwoofer systems being listened to, I would suspect there to be a large measurable difference in one of these areas as well. This is the reason why the subwoofer review will have both listening impressions with familiar material and a whole battery of measurements and tests conducted on the unit per the procedures outlined in our subwoofer testing procedure article.

Now that we have that out of the way let’s proceed…I put the PB13-Ultra into 15Hz mode with one port plugged and placed it in the front right corner of my home theater, firing it back into the wall at a distance of about 12” to give the ports room to breathe. I have determined that this is the best available placement and configuration for a single sub in my room and I felt that would be the best compromise of extension and output for the PB13-Ultra. I then ran Audyssey on the system to allow it to calibrate the SVS into the mix and address any large room acoustics interaction issues. I also used the built in DSP of the Sledge amp to help Audyssey counteract a 45Hz peak that is a product of my room acoustics at the listening position. Since this is all done digitally inside the amplifier this was a quick one minute affair with none of the guessing about whether the labeling on an analog knob is accurate that can occur. All of the listening was done with this configuration.

Blu-ray: Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize

I just finally picked this title up a few months ago after a friend lent me his copy and I was blown away. I had been a fan of the group for many years already, but this effort kicked them up a few more notches in my estimation. The production here is amazing. The bass guitar is full in the mix with each note easily distinguishable but a bottom end that is still hefty and anchoring. The performance by Gavin Harrison on the drum kit is gigantic and simply put his kit just sounds good. The toms and kick have significant attack and cut to be discernable through even the most complex of passages and yet there is still a lot of weight and tone kept to them. That is a difficult mix to pull off but it has been done well here. The very first song of the set is “Fear of a Blank Planet” and the drum beat is mixed really fat from the outset. The PB13-Ultra had no problems keeping up the bottom end and sounding great while doing so even after I kept continually turning up the volume. (This is one of those discs.) The kick drum just kept getting increasingly punchy as the volume was turned up and I could easily hear the different tones of each tom as Harrison ripped through many sickeningly smooth rolls and even the ghost strokes on the toms smattered throughout the performance. Each fundamental note of Colin Edwin’s superbly placed bass licks were well defined by the PB13-Ultra and clearly distinguished. Truth be told I intended to only check out a couple of tracks but ended up sitting there enjoying the whole performance.

CD: Nine Inch Nails – The Slip

I have been a long time fan of N.I.N. and Trent Reznor ever since I saw them in concert in 1996. Throughout their long career they have been known for using a lot of weird and off the wall electronically created or altered effects in their music, often these have substantial bass frequencies associated with them. This disc is no different. The SVS eagerly ate up whatever random bass heavy signals were sent its way and served them up with gusto. I played a couple of selected tracks from this album and ended with “Discipline” which has a massive kick drum throughout and a loud, buzzing and noisy bass line to go with it. Towards the end of the track there is a break to a lone kick drum stomp that is easy to detect hints of bloom or overload from lesser subs when cranked up. The PB13-Ultra I pushed pretty hard on this track and it never faltered at all. The final feature in this track that makes it interesting to test a subwoofer with is a sine wave type frequency sweep from about 18-30Hz that comes in under the beat. I could fully hear the start and stop of this sweep under the beat which only registers on subs with significant extension and the output needed to go with it.

Blu-ray: Hell Boy II – The Golden Army

This is a movie that has been in my collection for awhile now and the reason for that was my realization of what a monster surround and LFE mix it had while watching a rented copy. I actually enjoy the movie quite a bit as well. While it is no heavyweight dramatic or intellectual piece, it is entertaining, action packed and just plain weird, which I like. During the many fight scenes and action sequences that take place throughout there is gratuitous and bombastic usage of the LFE channel. But, it is not all explosions and gun shots here, there are many different textures and tones to the bass, with some sections being fairly subtle and very low in frequency and that is a big part of the appeal for me. The other element of the bass in this movie is the low frequency extension, which has much more content below 25Hz than the average blockbuster and is many times mixed in quite loudly. It is a real test of a subwoofers home theater pedigree. The big SVS sub got a heck of a workout on this, but it never complained, nor did it produce any bad noises. Instead it did a fine job of turning the whole room into a massage table. It also did well at reproducing the depth that this soundtrack had to offer, providing output almost down to the point where you start to lose the actual hearing of it and just start to get a weird pressure wave type of effect on the ears accompanied by a physical shaking. This happens somewhere below about 18Hz for me. There is a lot of this type of bass in Hellboy II and it takes ample of horsepower for a single subwoofer to pull that off, especially in my room. Most other subwoofers would not be able to produce this effect.

 

SVS PB13-Ultra Subwoofer Measurements and Analysis

A few days after the listening evaluation ended I was able to pack the PB13-Ultra out to the test site and take some 2 meter ground plane measurements. The goal was to learn with certainty what a few different aspects of the subwoofers performance was. Some of these being frequency response shape, the effects of the various controls on the response, how the unit maintains bandwidth uniformity when asked for increased output, distortion levels, peak output levels, signal decay, etc…The overall approach to this testing along with the equipment and software used is outlined in the article here.

 See: Powered Subwoofer Testing Outline and Procedures Overview

All measurements of the PB13-Ultra were taken with the sub placed sitting on the ground as per normal use, facing directly at the Earthwork’s M30 microphone which was at a 2 meter distance as measured from the front baffle of the sub and laying directly on the ground. The grill was removed for all tests also. A 100ft length, 10ga power cord connected to a 120v, 30 amp breaker, ac main that usually reads about 125-126v at the outlet, supplied power for the Sledge amplifier. Since the PB13-Ultra has three different modes of operation which can affect its performance in different ways it was decided that we would run through the various measurements in all three modes and compare the results. This ended up being quite a lengthy test session and produced a massive pile of data. Enough for what would normally be three different subs. I have tried to condense this down to the most pertinent and informative data for this review. Otherwise this would turn into one very long article indeed! 

The 20Hz mode of the PB-13 Ultra was tested first with a variety of combinations of the internal settings, offered by the DSP built into the Sledge amplifier, to observe how they modified the response of the subwoofer: Available EQ presets, low pass filter function, parametric EQ, etc. Another reason for tackling this first is to identify the appropriate settings to use as the configuration for the rest of the tests. The DSP interface on the Sledge amplifier made this a very easy and straightforward process. As you will see in the graphs below, there is a huge amount of signal shaping available to tweak the performance.

  SVS PB13-Ultra: Effect of LPF Setting

SVS PB13-Ultra: Effect of Room Gain Compensation Settings

  

 

SVS PB13-Ultra: Effect of Various PEQ settings on Response

I did not try every combination of parametric EQ settings possible with both bands. I used three octave spaced center frequencies: 31, 63 and 125Hz. Three Q values: 2.0, 7.2 and 14.4 and three boost / cut ranges: +3dB, -6dB and -12dB. I also looked at the results of using the two bands to reinforce each other which are the results at 63Hz. As you can see there are a lot of possibilities for signal shaping here, especially once you combine the room compensation control and a low pass filter into the mix. That’s not to even mention the three different output modes.

SVS PB13-Ultra: Basic Response of Each Mode as Tested

The comparison of the basic response from each output mode shows that the PB13-Ultra’s response is useable up till 200Hz if needed and is very flat and extended. The settings for the Ultra were: PEQ, LPF, R.G.C. all disabled and the volume at 0dB for all modes. The appropriate port plugs and DSP setting for each output mode were recorded. The two ported modes roll off very quickly below their tuning range which indicates that they have a high pass filter in line with the usual 24dB/ octave roll off of a bass reflex alignment. This is typical behavior. The sealed mode starts its roll off much higher near 30Hz but it has a much more shallow and gradual decline at about 12dB/octave. It appears that there may be a rumble filter used with the sealed mode as well but it seems to not take effect until below 14Hz or so. Again this is typical. Overall the PB13-Ultra in 20Hz mode meets SVS’s 18-150Hz +/-3dB specification easily. In 15Hz mode it falls within a 15-200Hz +/-3dB window. In sealed mode it is about 24-200Hz within the same window.

SVS PB13-Ultra: Waterfall Decay (15Hz Mode)

SVS PB13-Ultra: Group Delay All 3 Modes Compared

In the group delay and waterfall decay plots we are looking for delayed energy being stored or resonating. I have only included the waterfall for one operation mode, 15Hz. The 20Hz waterfall looks the same except that the moderate ringing near the port tune is centered a little higher. The sealed mode does not exhibit this and uniformly and quickly decays at all frequencies. In the group delay chart the blue and red curves are representing 1 cycle and 1.5 cycles of delay respectively, which are generally held as the thresholds of audibility. However there is still some debate on the subject. We can see that the sealed mode offers the best performance in this metric and that the 2 ported modes have some increased delay near the tuning frequencies. This is typical of resonant alignments. Also EQ and high pass filters can increase this somewhat as well. Still the PB13-Ultra is below 1 cycle down till about 23Hz and just barely breaks 1.5cycles at 20Hz, which is pretty good performance and very likely to be inaudible at such low frequencies. I certainly didn’t note anything during the listening tests with Hellboy II which has plenty of content in that range. In general lower is better in this test but as the frequencies go down to 20Hz and below the audibility of this is debatable.

SVS PB13-Ultra: Long Term Power Compression (20Hz Mode)

 

SVS PB13-Ultra: Long Term Power Compression (15Hz Mode)

SVS PB13-Ultra: Long Term Power Compression (Sealed Mode)

What is being shown in these measurement graphs is the ability of the subwoofer to maintain its basic response shape and track the increase in output volume asked of it. The signal is an ascending sine wave sweep which is 24 seconds in length. The sweeps are conducted back to back with little time other than a few seconds for the driver voice coil to cool in between. The starting level is with the units output referenced to 90dB at 50Hz at 2 meters ground plane. Each subsequent sweep is increased by 5dB until the unit being tested shows severe compression, or exhibits audible distress noise. In some cases a 2 or 3dB higher sweep level will be attempted. This is a very demanding test. The PB13-Ultra exhibits good control and tracking of the signal up until the 105dB sweep. During the 110dB sweeps there starts to be some port compression in evidence near the tuning frequencies and perhaps some additional amount due to voice coil heating since ported subs do not cool themselves well at tuning. The sealed mode has some limiting going on presumably to keep the driver from over driving itself below 25Hz. (Bass reflex alignments have a large reduction in excursion near the tuning, while sealed alignments rely solely on the drivers displacement for output.) The sealed mode exhibits severe compression and limiting once the sweep level is pushed up to an 113dB nominal level. The 15Hz ported mode completed a nominally 115dB sweep but also was clearly into the limiter and compressor by then. In 20Hz mode the 115dB sweep did not show as much compression as in 15Hz mode so an even higher 118dB sweep was tried with virtually no improvement in the output, which clearly shows that it was being severely clamped at that point. Eventually every system runs into its output limits. For the PB13-Ultra these are quite high.

 

SVS PB13-Ultra: 110dB Power Compression Comparison (20Hz, 15Hz and Sealed Mode)

In the comparison of compression exhibited by the different operating modes during their respective 110dB nominal sine sweeps you can see that above 30Hz the results are basically unchanged. Below that point is where most of the response and changes in loading on the driver will occur and that is where we see the biggest difference between them. The two ported modes exhibit the most obvious effect centered at their tuning frequencies where port compression occurs and voice coil heating is high. The sealed alignment is probably engaging the limiter circuit already at this sweep level. Overall the PB13-Ultra delivers a solid performance here in all 3 modes. Above 20Hz the amount of compression is less than 2 dB even at this very high output level. 

SVS PB13-Ultra: Maximum Sweep Level Comparison (20Hz, 15Hz and Sealed Mode)

Looking at the comparison of the maximum level long term sweeps completed in each mode, in 20Hz configuration the PB13-Ultra has the highest long term output everywhere above about 18Hz and it is a substantial amount of output indeed. Remember that this is a 2 meter ground plane measurement. If it were a 1 meter measurement you would add 6dB across the board and the overall output would be in the 115-120dB range from 20-120Hz with great bandwidth uniformity. The 15Hz and sealed modes offer greater ultimate extension but at the cost of overall output above 18Hz. Throughout this testing the PB13-Ultra was poised and composed. There was a bit of port noise in the 15Hz mode at the highest sweep level and a lesser amount in the 20Hz mode. I doubt either would be noticed in real world circumstances with masking content. I never noticed any at all during the listening sessions and it was driven quite hard at times. The sealed mode did exhibit just a bit of a doubling sound below 25Hz as the driver was driven very hard on the final 2 sweeps. If I had to guess the driver was producing well over 2” of peak to peak excursion at that point. Other than that the SVS was steady as a rock and never faltered or shut down. It never even really sounded distressed, at least not compared to other units that I have heard run through this test, only producing the slight amount of noise noted above. Its protection circuits work very well and are tuned to allow as much output as reliably possible while keeping the sound from deteriorating completely. I prefer this approach as it allows the unit to maintain maximum output and dynamic tracking ability with perhaps a bit more distortion in the low bass frequencies, as opposed to severely clamping the output and dynamics in order to ensure that the sound is always pristine no matter the input.

SVS PB13-Ultra: 105db Sweep THD Comparison (20Hz, 15Hz and Sealed Mode)

The sealed operation mode has higher levels of distortion during its 105dB sweep than the 2 ported modes and is also exhibiting lower output levels for the most part. It does offer higher output with lower distortion in the very deepest bass frequencies but I consider the performance above 20Hz of much greater importance. Still in sealed operation the PB13-Ultra stays under 10% THD until below 24Hz at this drive level. In its ported operation modes the PB13-Ultra is exhibiting exemplary distortion performance even at very loud levels.

SVS PB13-Ultra: CEA2010 2 meter Groundplane RMS Results (20Hz Mode)

SVS PB13-Ultra: CEA2010 2 meter Groundplane RMS Results (15Hz Mode)

SVS PB13-Ultra: CEA2010 2 Meter Groundplane RMS Results (Sealed Mode)

SVS PB13-Ultra: CEA2010 2 Meter Groundplane RMS Comparison (20Hz, 15Hz, Sealed Mode)

CEA2010 Results

Using the CEA2010 test procedure the PB13-Ultra exhibits impressive output capabilities. The sealed mode offers the least output and highest deep bass distortion, most notably below the 31.5Hz band, but it is still pretty capable in that configuration. The 2 ported modes offer a lot of output and are strong down to the 16Hz band (105.1dB for the 15Hz configuration). In the sealed and 15Hz ported mode the PB13-Ultra was even able to record a passing CEA2010 result at 12.5Hz which while at a much lower output level, is still notable. The 20Hz mode offers impressive bandwidth linearity fitting within what amounts to a 7dB window from 20-125Hz. This is a very good performance that many subs would be hard pressed to match. Most will exhibit a more tilted response profile with decreasing output at lower frequencies as they are either EQ’d heavily to boost the low end or lack the necessary port area and driver displacement needed to maintain deep extension and loud output levels. Looking at the overall distortion performance it is quite good with low percentages maintained until down into the very deep bass frequencies. When distortion does start to rise it is dominated by the third harmonic for the most part which is not unusual. If the distortion threshold is removed completely the SVS sub can produce a bit more output below 20Hz. The maximum output is ultimately limited by the amplifier and compressor circuit so no matter what signal happens to show up at the inputs to the PB13-Ultra, it will not damage itself. Overall this is an impressive scorecard that indicates that this subwoofer has plenty of clean headroom to tackle most situations it will encounter. SVS has leveraged the extra power of the new Sledge amplifier in conjunction with masterful execution of the compressor and limiter circuits to extract as much output as possible from the PB13-Ultra.

Editorial Note

While working with Gene DellaSala to develop and establish how we would approach the reviewing and testing subwoofers for Audioholics going forward, we sought opinions and feedback from many respected people in the industry, one of which was Ed Mullen of SVS, who himself was once a professional reviewer and tester of subwoofers. There had also lately been some controversy over testing subwoofers per CEA2010 and whether or not the results were repeatable between different test equipment and reviewers. In light of this we thought it best to get a “control” check on my test equipment and calibration with the first subwoofer review. In an effort to make sure things are where they needed to be, we chose an SVS subwoofer as our first product to test under our new measurement protocol. SVS has long been a supporter of third party reviews and testing of subwoofers. The PB13-Ultra, since being released in its initial configuration with the BASH 750w amplifier years ago, has been reviewed many times, tested thoroughly by multiple people and rightly established a reputation as a very good performer, with the measurements to back it up. Since the PB13-Ultra has lately been upgraded to the new Sledge DSP amplifier platform, which is claimed to produce improved performance over the original configuration and since SVS also conducts internal testing, including CEA2010, that we could compare our results against, we thought it seemed like the logical choice to approach them for a review sample. SVS promptly agreed to supply a unit for the review. The good news is that when my initial CEA2010 results for the review PB13-Ultra were sent to SVS for them to compare with their internal data, it turned out that the maximum SPL variance between the two data sets at any center frequency was a mere 0.7dB! A couple of the data points were exactly the same! The results for all three modes were confirmed to be very close to the SVS internal data. In light of the possible differences and tolerance variations in: equipment, calibration, atmospheric conditions, test site, unit to unit variation, etc., this is a very tight match. I do not think we could ask for a better confirmation that the CEA2010 results presented in this and future Audioholics reviews will be as close to accurate and consistent as is feasible.

SVS PB13-Ultra Subwoofer Conclusion

This was my first hands on experience with an SVS product and hopefully it won’t be my last. As an audio enthusiast I have read positive things about their products and seen the advertisements for many years, but it is always nice to confirm that the praise is well deserved. It is obvious that SVS has some very talented and committed people on their team. The fact that they make an effort during development to place performance metrics on their products and use measurements to objectively determine if their design goals are achieved is evidenced in the final performance. The packaging is well thought out. The finishing and attention to detail is there. The quality of the cabinetry and components is top notch. The overall acoustic performance of the PB13-Ultra was very strong without any notable holes in its game. It has real output to around 15Hz and possibly even lower depending on the configuration and space it is used in, plus a ton of headroom for even very large listening spaces and users who like to crank things occasionally. This sub achieves the Audioholics Bassoholic Extreme room rating, which means that this sub is recommended as capable of working for very large spaces and/or users that just plain like bass at reference levels.

For further information in how we make these recommendations see the full article here:

 Audioholics Subwoofer Room Size Rating Protocol

The PB13-Ultra also has excellent distortion performance even when driven near its limits and the well executed limiting and compressor circuits ensure that the product is virtually bulletproof. No matter how hard you drive it the PB13-Ultra will not damage itself. It had no trouble putting out plenty of high quality bass in my rather tough to fill room and always sounded composed during the listening sessions.

I also wanted to brag on the DSP built in the Sledge amplifier a bit more. This is an extremely easy to use and flexible system that I feel is a big step forward. It really does make toggle switches and analog knobs seem rather low tech and antiquated in comparison. With the 2 PEQ bands, the 3 different operating modes, and the room gain compensation control, the PB13-Ultra is very flexible and should be able to adapt to almost any acoustic environment it is placed into. The Sledge amplifier also packed plenty of power to boss the massively motored Ultra 13 driver around when needed. If I have any gripes with the PB13-Ultra it would be the size and weight first and foremost. It is not something that you want to move by yourself or often for that matter. While I have no issue making room for multiple subwoofers of this size in my listening space, there are many for which even a single unit of this size may be impractical. Unfortunately for those who cannot abide a large imposing speaker cabinet in their space, when you attempt to shrink a subwoofer the primary casualty is low bass output headroom. Subwoofers smaller than the PB13-Ultra may claim extension to a similar low frequency range but they simply will not be able to provide the output headroom that a large subwoofer like the PB13-Ultra does below 25hz. I could also see the sheer amount of settings and flexibility that the PB13-Ultra provides overwhelming some less savvy users who may not know where to begin or what settings they should be using. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Fortunately SVS’s online manual for operating the Sledge amplifier’s DSP settings is well written and they have a customer support hot-line that should be able to help anyone who might not know where to begin.

The entry cost is $1,999 in the finish of your choice which is not peanuts and will put it out of the price range of some, but considering the quality of the components used, the cabinet construction and finish, the multiple tuning options and flexibility afforded by the DSP, plus ultimately the outstanding all around performance, it does not seem unreasonable. In addition, freight shipping to your door is included in that cost, which would normally cost close to $200 for a product of this size and weight. If you are in the market for high performance subwoofers in this price range the PB13-Ultra should definitely be on your short list. Since being produced in its initial configuration a few years ago, SVS has: Upgraded the amplifier, included powerful DSP processing, added a better user interface, tweaked the protection circuitry and continually incorporated incremental improvements to the design. At this point it is the best it has ever been and a highly polished system. The PB13-Ultra is a very powerful product that is competently engineered, heavily built, bulletproof, high tech and high output, possessing true extension to below 20Hz and a ton of configurability options. It’s a clear winner.

Audioholics Room Size Rating Protocol

SVS PB13-Ultra Review
MSRP: $1,999

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The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Build Quality
Fit and Finish
Ergonomics & Usability
Features
Dynamic Range
Performance
Value