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Post by JKCashin on Jul 14, 2020 18:45:20 GMT -5
For quite a while now I had decided my next upgrade was going to be to replace two of my subs with one, then another SVS SB-3000. I chose the SB-3000 over the SB-4000 as it has an interesting split wound voice-coil that places extra coil at the extremities, allowing the smaller amp of the SB-3000 to punch at nearly SB-4000 levels. Check the reviews and you will see that there's little reason to go to the SB-4000, the SB-3000 is that good.
The main thing I don't like about the SB-3000 (and most of the SVS lineup) is one of the very things most others like about it. The Phone App controllable DSP... you can adjust just about anything on these subs... but for me, since it (they) will be paired with an XMC-2, I don't need all that processing power... the XMC-2 will do most, if not all, or more... of these things for me. As a result I will be paying for stuff I won't be using... which to me is more money that could have gone towards what matters, the amp and driver.
It's the same when buying a TV. All TVs come with piddly 10-30WPC amps hooked up to tiny speakers, tiny because flat screen TVs have gotten so thin that there's no room left for proper speakers. You pay for these amps, the audio processing, the speakers... and never use the bloody things because you have a proper dedicated audio system.
So imagine my delight when Emotiva came along with the new Airmotiv RS13 subwoofer! It has a DSP as well, but it's very basic... serving to bump the low end when running in ported mode, and otherwise staying out of the way. You're paying for cabinet, driver, amp and some simple processing... and that's it. It also has XLR inputs (and passthrough) while the SB-3000 uses unbalanced inputs, and you can run it ported or sealed!
So the Airmotive SB13 sounds great Jamie, just buy it! Well, it looks great on paper, but to me it is an unknown, at least compared to the SVS SB-3000. I have found very few reviews, though the unit is still pretty new to the market, so I turn to you fine people to weigh in. It's 60% more expensive, but that doesn't really bother me... I want to know if people have any experience with the unit, especially if you are also familiar with the SVS SB-3000 (or similar) unit. What sayeth you, Emotiphiles?
It's 60% more expensive
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Post by DavidR on Jul 14, 2020 19:05:10 GMT -5
I liked what I saw on the Emo sub. Huge magnet and the controls offered more variables from what I could see.
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Post by davidl81 on Jul 14, 2020 19:41:05 GMT -5
For quite a while now I had decided my next upgrade was going to be to replace two of my subs with one, then another SVS SB-3000. I chose the SB-3000 over the SB-4000 as it has an interesting split wound voice-coil that places extra coil at the extremities, allowing the smaller amp of the SB-3000 to punch at nearly SB-4000 levels. Check the reviews and you will see that there's little reason to go to the SB-4000, the SB-3000 is that good. The main thing I don't like about the SB-3000 (and most of the SVS lineup) is one of the very things most others like about it. The Phone App controllable DSP... you can adjust just about anything on these subs... but for me, since it (they) will be paired with an XMC-2, I don't need all that processing power... the XMC-2 will do most, if not all, or more... of these things for me. As a result I will be paying for stuff I won't be using... which to me is more money that could have gone towards what matters, the amp and driver. It's the same when buying a TV. All TVs come with piddly 10-30WPC amps hooked up to tiny speakers, tiny because flat screen TVs have gotten so thin that there's no room left for proper speakers. You pay for these amps, the audio processing, the speakers... and never use the bloody things because you have a proper dedicated audio system. So imagine my delight when Emotiva came along with the new Airmotiv RS13 subwoofer! It has a DSP as well, but it's very basic... serving to bump the low end when running in ported mode, and otherwise staying out of the way. You're paying for cabinet, driver, amp and some simple processing... and that's it. It also has XLR inputs (and passthrough) while the SB-3000 uses unbalanced inputs, and you can run it ported or sealed! So the Airmotive SB13 sounds great Jamie, just buy it! Well, it looks great on paper, but to me it is an unknown, at least compared to the SVS SB-3000. I have found very few reviews, though the unit is still pretty new to the market, so I turn to you fine people to weigh in. It's 60% more expensive, but that doesn't really bother me... I want to know if people have any experience with the unit, especially if you are also familiar with the SVS SB-3000 (or similar) unit. What sayeth you, Emotiphiles? It's 60% more expensive What are you primarily using the subs for? Music or HT? Because if it’s HT the S15 at it’s clearance price is stupid awesome. Music wise 15”s to me are a little slow, but I don’t use subs for music anyway. |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 14, 2020 20:43:38 GMT -5
Both music and H/T. That's the problem. I will sacrifice H/T capability for music
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 14, 2020 20:46:15 GMT -5
Hard to judge subs out of your room. I have a pair of SVS SB-4000’s and like them quite a bit, if the 3000 had been available I might have chosen it. I’ve only heard Emo subs once at a road show about 6 or 7 years ago, and while everything sounded good, I can’t give a proper comparison, especially with anything new. One thing that would get me to buy the RS13 is that it comes in Piano Black, and my wife bought into the SB-4000 because of the piano black, they look awesome. I also like the SVS app capabilities, though I’ve had to jump through some hoops to get them to work the way I want, I think leaving out a wired IR input is a serious flaw. Given a pair of SB-3000 in Piano Black is $2100 shipped, and a pair of RS13 in PB is $3058 plus shipping, the 3000 gets great reviews and I can vouch for its older brother, I’d go with the 3000. I’m not sure about your percentages, so maybe I’m missing a price issue.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,228 
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Post by novisnick on Jul 14, 2020 21:44:20 GMT -5
Both music and H/T. That's the problem. I will sacrifice H/T capability for music If its satisfying with music it should do well enough for HT. Good luck Sorry that I can’t help you but I have no experience with either sub. I’ve had a few PSA subs and have enjoyed them immensely. I traded in on set to upgrade my pair of subs. Tom gave me a generous allowance in the trade. Great support as well. |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 14, 2020 22:03:02 GMT -5
I’m not sure about your percentages, so maybe I’m missing a price issue. I'm in Canada, perhaps the price difference is higher here.... I can get the SVS for $1499 and the Emotiva for $2,405 |
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 15, 2020 0:27:57 GMT -5
I’m not sure about your percentages, so maybe I’m missing a price issue. I'm in Canada, perhaps the price difference is higher here.... I can get the SVS for $1499 and the Emotiva for $2,405 Ok, I misunderstood the first post and thought you were saying the SVS was more expensive. So more like $3K vs $5K for two? I'm still in the SVS camp. |
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Post by frenchyfranky on Jul 15, 2020 8:35:36 GMT -5
I Own a pair of SB-3000 and couldn't be happier, I also use them in a system for both music and HT in my living room, and for this condition the small footprint of these sealed subs are an advantage. For music these subs are perfect, their sealed boxes construction give them all the best for music, extreme control, tight and very fast transient. For HT in dual use they're capable of shaking the room but certainly not violent and nasty as a much bigger and larger big ported subwoofers can do in HT use. But it's a choice and I'm a music lover. So if you're at first an HT guy, the RS13 must be a great choice, but I can't comment because I never heard them. Naturally as a SB-3000 owner I only could recommend you these little monsters in dual.
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Post by frenchyfranky on Jul 15, 2020 10:21:38 GMT -5
In future I plan to build a dedicated HT in my basement and for sure I will choose ported subwoofers for the shaking duty and massive bass boom of HT. But I will keep my dual SB-3000 for a stereo dedicated music system in my living room. The perfect configuration.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jul 15, 2020 12:46:56 GMT -5
I think you can't go wrong either way. Which pair is the least expensive?
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 15, 2020 12:54:37 GMT -5
I think you can't go wrong either way. Which pair is the least expensive? The SVS by $2K, that was part of my point. |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jul 15, 2020 13:26:19 GMT -5
So what's the sub's use? HT or music? If the former, buy on price. If the latter, buy on the flattest frequency response.
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Post by stads77 on Jul 15, 2020 14:29:31 GMT -5
I think SVS will be the best option for longest reliability. I feel like Emotiva is very in and out of their products, which makes me weary of long term support.
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 15, 2020 16:55:15 GMT -5
I think you can't go wrong either way. Which pair is the least expensive? The SVS... but part of me says with SVS I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and lots of DSP goodness, whereas with Emotiva I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and simple DSP.... seems to me more of my money goes into the driver, cabinet, and amp with Emotiva. If you look at the actual driver for both, the Emotiva one looks better designed, but that's subjective based on what I think looks like good design. |
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Lsc
Emo VIPs 
Posts: 3,344
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Post by Lsc on Jul 15, 2020 20:24:02 GMT -5
I think you can't go wrong either way. Which pair is the least expensive? The SVS... but part of me says with SVS I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and lots of DSP goodness, whereas with Emotiva I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and simple DSP.... seems to me more of my money goes into the driver, cabinet, and amp with Emotiva. If you look at the actual driver for both, the Emotiva one looks better designed, but that's subjective based on what I think looks like good design. You are absolutely right. Imho the Emotiva driver looks better than the SB3000 driver but the SB4000 driver looks better than the Emotiva driver. Is a possibility upgrading your SB3000 to the SB4000 and get another SB4000? I’ve seen torture tests where the SB3000 croaked but the SB4000 is literally bulletproof. |
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Post by DavidR on Jul 15, 2020 20:32:25 GMT -5
Have you viewed this >>>
The SVS subs look cheaply made compared to the Emo. If I needed a sub I'd choose the Emotiva.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 15, 2020 20:34:25 GMT -5
The SVS... but part of me says with SVS I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and lots of DSP goodness, whereas with Emotiva I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and simple DSP.... seems to me more of my money goes into the driver, cabinet, and amp with Emotiva. If you look at the actual driver for both, the Emotiva one looks better designed, but that's subjective based on what I think looks like good design. You are absolutely right. Imho the Emotiva driver looks better than the SB3000 driver but the SB4000 driver looks better than the Emotiva driver. Is a possibility upgrading your SB3000 to the SB4000 and get another SB4000? I’ve seen torture tests where the SB3000 croaked but the SB4000 is literally bulletproof. That’s a good point, if you’re considering SB-4000 prices, you should also consider the SB-4000, though the 3000 looks like great performance at a much lower price. |
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Post by davidl81 on Jul 15, 2020 21:15:40 GMT -5
Have you viewed this >>>
The SVS subs look cheaply made compared to the Emo. If I needed a sub I'd choose the Emotiva.
At the same price point sure, but the SB3000 is $999 and a pair is $1899. The RS13 is $1599 and right now $2900 a pair. That’s a big jump in price. I think Emotiva is playing in a tough ball park with a $1600 sub. Lots of established players at that price point. It’s hard to break through when the competition is well established. Just my 2 cents. |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 15, 2020 23:43:27 GMT -5
The SVS... but part of me says with SVS I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and lots of DSP goodness, whereas with Emotiva I am paying for driver, cabinet, amp, and simple DSP.... seems to me more of my money goes into the driver, cabinet, and amp with Emotiva. If you look at the actual driver for both, the Emotiva one looks better designed, but that's subjective based on what I think looks like good design. You are absolutely right. Imho the Emotiva driver looks better than the SB3000 driver but the SB4000 driver looks better than the Emotiva driver. Is a possibility upgrading your SB3000 to the SB4000 and get another SB4000? I’ve seen torture tests where the SB3000 croaked but the SB4000 is literally bulletproof. I've not seen tha, no... and the price would be about the same as the Emotivas... hmmm, now you have me thinking third option |
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