SV Sound 16-46PC+ Speaker User Manual
Contents
1. SVS Powered Cylinder Plus PC Plus an SV Subwoofers OWNERS GUIDE SVS Models 16 46PC 20 39PC 25 31PC SVS The Bass Authority Contents Page 1 Welcome Page 2 About your new SV Subwoofer Pages 4 7 Setup integration and calibration Pages 7 9 PC Plus amp features Pages 9 10 Bass demos for your home theater Page 11 Home theater terms Page 12 Warranty Last update 04 AUG 2002 Page 2 SV Subwoofers Welcome From the entire SVS team congratulations on your purchase of a new standard in home theater and music bass Your sub isn t some generic black box built someplace you can t even find on a map It s made in Ohio as in USA by home audio fanatics like you Designed tested and assembled by hand your SV Subwoofer is without a doubt one of the best investments you ll ever make in bringing theater home We ll help you to set up your sub right and in no time you ll be giv ing demos of your favorite DVDs or Laserdiscs to all your friends and neighbors we pity them if you live in an apartment Please be kind This isn t just a subwoofer after all it s a carefully designed audio component carefully tuned in our labs by bass authority and Sub human Tom Vodhanel You re unlikely to have heard or felt bass like this before unless it wa2. are using the port plug set the SS switch to 20Hz A 20 39PC Plus would use 20Hz or 15Hz settings without and with the plug respec tively the 16 46PC Plus either 16Hz or 12Hz High level inputs outputs Not commonly used today but binding posts are there in case you don t have low level inputs outputs on your receiver processor SV Subwoofers Page 9 Power This heavy duty two position switch next to the power cord will completely cut the power to your sub amp Flip this switch to off should you ever move the sub or change inputs or outputs A C connection Plug your sub into a dedicated A C outlet Convenience outlets of typical receivers often don t provide the needed current Avoid them Fuse User replaceable contact SVS if you have trouble finding a replacement Bassy demo scenes to die for So now what You ve got one of the best HT bass sub systems on the planet you re calibrated want to see what she ll do Sure you do After all calibration with test tones is important but it s the movies and music this sub is itching to show off Chapter stops for DVDs are shown with movie time in hours minutes seconds e The Iron Giant Great family animation with SERIOUS bass including strong peaks below 25 Hz Jump to 1 Chase thru the forest Scene 8 20 00 into the movie 2 Robot Landing Train Impact Scene 10 25 40 3 Green Boom Scene 27 1 11 40 e Antz Another go
3. e high performance home theater HT and music bass Want woofers amps or even binding posts We ve tested and discarded plenty that didn t meet our tough standards If we use it whatever it is you know it made the grade We re proud of the fact nearly all components for your SVS come right from North America Get tubular Typical subs require heavy internal bracing and thick enclosure walls because they re boxes But cylinders can t flex the way boxes do Ever wonder why high pressure tanks are always round At SVS form follows function and fortunately functional designs can lead to simple stylish and elegant designs too Take one look at our subs and you ll know this is true Stable downward firing woofer Our slender design is one plus but we ve also taken great lengths to design a downward firing driver Coupled with our unique base plates which minimize driver reactive forces you ll find our subs can take a tremendous amount of power and remain rock solid Compliant foam rubber feet on our innovative base plates allow for stable placement on a variety of surfaces No rattling or buzzing allowed Custom low turbulence tri port design When you listen to our trend setting ported subs you ll hear and feel bass like never before with a exceptionally low noise and distortion When you experience genuine SVS bass you ll know something special went into it Want deeper performance Use the included po
4. e of measuring the frequency of sound waves 15 30 Hz is very low bass and very rare in anything but movie soundtracks 60 Hz is generally considered mid bass above which most large full range speakers can easily produce The real fun and real bass is in the middle of that range call it 20 40 Hz LD Laserdisc grandfather to the DVD Still capable of great pic ture and sound Increasingly going the way of the 33 1 3 LP LFE Low Frequency Effects are the 1 channel in 5 1 sound tracks If you have a sub selected in your system any LFE signal goes to the subwoofer The sub may get bass from other channels as well however depending on the size of speakers in your set up RMS A common and accurate way to rate the power of an amplifier Literally Root Means Squared Typically measured in watts SPL Sound Pressure Level a fancy way of saying Volume Usually measured in dBs Sub Short for subwoofer 5 1 Reference to 5 full range channels and one bass only channel Warranty 45 day money back warranty If you are not completely satisfied with the performance of your subwoofer return it to us for a full refund of the purchase price Just a few minor stipula tions should you choose to do this e Subwoofer must be returned in original shipping box e E mail for return of merchandise number RMA and dis play this on the outside of the box e Subwoofer must be insured duri
5. ially if you like action movies with lots of 1 channel LFE action and give the sub a bit more volume during calibration Keep in mind too that the human ear is relatively in sensitive to low frequencies This coupled with the fact most folks don t watch movies at Dolby Digital reference level loud means tweaking the bass up a few dBs usually yields a better movie sound experience What sub levels do we recommend If you watch movies at relatively mod erate sound levels a range of 2dB to 3dB over your other channels is a good start This means that the test tone will waiver about 78 dB for the subwoofer portion of the calibration run 88dB with Avia You may rotate the sound meter SPL meter dial to the 80dB to get a good reading with these higher levels Note too that many modern surround sound receivers allow a variety of different sub woofer level settings depending to the source or sound mode stereo surround etc you are listening to With DVD as your source use the above calibration routine You may well find that CD stereo music calls for a lower bass settings The louder your master volume though the more you should back off the sub level to compensate Avoid your driver bottoming resulting in a loud clack Location and measurement You should take the above measurements from your typical seat when watching movies center cushion right Be advised strong bass levels can vary tremendously simply b
6. is important The first order of business is making sure your DD DTS surround sound system is set up properly We recommend you consult your audio video receiver or processor manual to refresh on the procedures to do this Generally this requires ensuring the re ceiver s test tones or a special test disk like Video Essentials or Avia plays back at the same volume from each of your system s full range speakers That s left center right left surround and right surround speakers and of course the subwoofer More on sub level in a sec ond Skip now to page 7 PC Plus Amp Features if you aren t familiar with your sub s amp and come back to calibration Some things to check as you get ready to calibrate your system e Are your speakers set correct to the correct size Your receiver processor might allow you to indicate if your speakers are Small or Page 6 SV Subwoofers Large Selecting the size accordingly will ensure bass goes to most appro priate speakers and use the subwoofer correctly too Also make sure your subwoofer is turned ON We don t mean is your subwoofer amplifier on that ll be important later too but rather is your receiver sending a bass signal to your sub amp This can only happen if you say Yes or ON to the subwoofer setting of any typical Dolby Digital DTS capable receiver e ls your receiver connected to the sub amp As discussed abo
7. making these connec tions Also be certain your power outlet can handle a minimum of 600 watts Use of convenience outlets on receivers are not recommended for your SVS E a DD DTS Processor Receiver Fig 1 eo Subwoofer Out SV Subwoofers Page 5 More Setup calibrating and integration If you are running a pair of SVS s fig 2 you will need to use a stan dard Y cable adapter c The best adaptor to use for this task has one male RCA connection and two female RCA outputs Radio Shack stocks them From the Y cable you can run a standard 75 Ohm signal cable d to each sub thus splitting the Low Frequency Effects LFE and other bass signals from your receiver thus feeding both subwoofers NOTE Now is a good time to select if you want ON always on or AUTO ON which turns your sub on only when a bass signal is present Y cable splitter from receiver DD DTS Processor Receiver Fig 2 e Subwoofer Out Calibration isn t only for tech minded folks it s critical to a proper configuration of your home theater sound system Fortunately adjust ing channel balance that s all calibration really is is as easy to do as it
8. n case you need to return the sub for any reason Be sure you don t throw out the soda can shaped foam piece It s your port blocker for custom sub tuning Location They say it s ALL about location right It s the same with setting up your subwoofer So where to put it Go for a corner if you can and avoid putting your sub where it might adjoin large open areas Studies have shown that the deepest and flattest bass response is typically attained when a subwoofer is placed within a few feet of one of your home theater s comers The upright configuration of SV Subwoofers makes this easy Whether you put the sub in front or to the rear of your seating area makes surprisingly little difference Deep home theater bass like that from Dolby Digital DD 5 1 channel DVDs and Laserdiscs is non directional You can t tell where it is coming from even though you can hear and feel it and how Hook up see fig 1 There are a variety of ways to configure your new sub Usually a simple mono shielded 75 Ohm A V RCA type cable a is used to take the subwoofer output of your DD DTS surround sound receiver b and feed the low level input of the sub s amp There is no need to split the signal going to the PC Plus You can feed either one of the two amp inputs it doesn t matter right or left NOTE Stop now if you aren t TOTALLY familiar with your receiver s manual Ensure all power to your equipment is off when
9. ne 2 0 19 47 2 ARC LIGHT Scene 4 0 26 02 3 Grenade launch Scene 12 1 27 58 e Contact SETI with a bass twist or two along the way 1 Bombing Scene 28 1 36 30 2 Space truckin Scene 33 1 55 56 e Dark City One of Roger Ebert s favorites think he likes bass too 1 Let the tuning commence Scene 8 34 30 2 City makeover Scene 15 1 27 45 SV Subwoofers Page 11 A Glossary of Home Theater Terms Frankly don t feel guilty if you want to skip over the below But if you are curious about just what some of the terms and abbreviations stand for read on dB Short for deci Bell a unit of sound a 3dB increase takes twice the acoustic power to attain DD Dolby Digital the most popular form of digital surround sound usually found on DVD soundtracks Actually a compression algorithm that can provide to 6 channels of movie audio DPL Dolby Pro Logic The last generation of non discreet chan nel surround sound Derived from 2 matrixed channels DTS Digital Theater System similar to DD but with less com pression Many feel it sounds better than DD but you be the judge DVD Amazing little video disk DVD doesn t mean anything HT Home Theater What you make of it But a home theater without a subwoofer isn t quite up to our definition Hz Short for Hertz the German scientist who came up with a schem
10. ng shipping SVS may ar range UPS pickup to ease any shipping damage issues e Unfortunately shipping costs are not refundable 3 year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship Sub or failed component must be returned to SVS shipping pre paid SVS will repair or replace any item at its discretion and return to the customer as soon as possible Naturally this war ranty does not cover any product subjected to misuse or acci dental damage Except as provided above SV Subwoofers makes no other war ranties express or implied Some states do not permit limitation or exclusion of implied warranties so exclusions may not apply to the purchaser The bottom line We re proud of these subwoofers and want you to be as happy owning one as we are selling one or more to you E mail us if you have any warranty question SV Subwoofers SV Subwoofers LLC 365 Stone Harbor Road SVS Holland Michigan 49424 The Bass Authority Fax 330 793 8183 Email custsupport svsubwoofers com
11. od family movie though not perhaps for small children Extremely loud bass above 30 Hz Terror from Above Scene 17 51 48 e The Matrix Modern violent science fiction classic with plenty of shoot em up bass blasts Here s some subtle and not so subtle 1 Where we are grown Scene 12 42 55 2 Landing in fight Scene 15 50 51 3 Chopper shootout Scene 31 1 47 15 e Das Boot Arguably one of the best war pictures of all time with bass approaching 20 Hz Very loud very intense 1 Depth charges Scene 21 59 30 2 Storm surfing Scene 25 1 15 15 3 Hitting bottom Scene 17 53 15 Side B Page 10 SV Subwoofers More Bassy demo scenes e Titanic You love it or you hate it Regardless of which side of the ship you sit this flick does some serious rumbling for you 1 We can t leave him Scene 22 2 21 50 2 Ship Splitting 2 41 30 3 Last Gasp 2 42 05 e Blade Not one for the kiddies but loaded with deep bass 1 Footstep Scene 4 7 15 2 Door blown Scene 20 50 05 e Aliens Not just another modern sci fi horror classic this one rocks from intro to final scene 1 Ship drop Scene 9 41 20 2 Awakenings Scene 15 1 12 52 e Apocalypse Now Making This Vietnam war movie Francis Ford Copolla nearly went crazy imagine what it ll do to your subwoofer 1 Chopper ride Sce
12. one should be set to OdB to start that s full up but this can be dialed down later to tame peaks if needed Turn off ANY sound field process ing routines peak limiters Mid night mode etc Now play your receiver s internal test tones so you have something to measure with your SPL meter Or better yet buy a calibration disk like the Video Essentials or Avia DVDs A test disk s tones ensure your entire signal path from the DVD player to your speakers is set correctly Whatever you use when the tones start alternating from speaker to speaker watch your sound meter now set each full range speaker s volume to about 75 dB or 85dB if using Avia by using the receiver s dedicated channel level controls leaving master volume the same We recommend you turn down the receiver s subwoofer out put level before you significantly lower your sub s volume control This helps SV Subwoofers Page 7 keep input distortion to a minimum however you should not be set much lower than 5 dB recommended earlier Why Some adjustment room is needed to tweak down the bass levels using your remote control If your subwoofer reading is still too high then turn down the sub s amp volume a little with each run But what s too high Tastes vary and so do movie soundtracks but your SVS is capable of tremendous levels of low distortion low frequency bass far more than most commercial subs Take advantage of this espec
13. rt blocker to dip a full 5Hz lower in your sub s tune in just a matter of seconds Stylish and understated From the simple top grill to the elegant base plate you ll be amazed at how easy it is to lose your sub in a corner SVS s are big but this is one of those times size does matter There are hundreds of brands of black box subs out there Fortunately you didn t just unpack one World class power Our North American built amps are spec d to a level of fit and finish plus a collection of features and power practically unheard of at this price And SVS starts with efficient subwoofer designs which don t require equalization to go low and flat This way our amps can be dedicated to reproducing bass not making up for a lack of enclosure space the bane of clean deep bass As a result we don t require the megawatts some subs need Plus they run cool and powerful in those vented cylinders We sweat the details on integrating a top of the line amp into your sub so you don t have to Page 4 SV Subwoofers Setup calibrating and integration What s to know Well first of all setting up an SV Subwoofer is pretty darn easy There are a few key things to get right though if you want to get the most out of your sub Unpacking You re probably eager to fire up your sub we re the same way but take time to carefully unpack your sub Set the box and other protective shipping coverings aside just i
14. s in a top notch commercial movie theater Movies and music in your home will never be quite the same again That s a promise Already have a question about your sub You might answer it by reading this manual we think yov ll find it more informative than most For even more detailed discussion about set up topics check out our FAQs page at www svsubwoofers com We touch on all the key points you need to know and then some Maybe you just want to share a bit of bass news Or perhaps you have a story about your SV Subwoofer to share with us Maybe something we missed in our website No matter feel free to send a note to me at rons svsubwoofers com It s not often you can talk to the guys who made your audio compo nent In this case we look forward to it Ron Stimpson Director SVS Customer Service SV Subwoofers Page 3 About your SV Subwoofer No powered subwoofers look anything like them and virtually none work like them either SV Subwoofers are decidedly different The best part You could have spent much more and still not come close to the same bass performance our PC Plus line gives you But what makes a subwoofer an SVS Quality components sane prices You might be surprised at how inexpensive the components in some not so inexpensive subwoofers are Make no mistake we search the world for the best most cost effective parts when we don t make them ourselves and meld them into finely tuned designs that defin
15. tioned below must be on naturally A few minutes after a movie the Auto On light will turn to Red switching the sub back off When running and sensing a signal the Auto On LED will be green Sometimes with very low listening levels your subwoofer might not get enough of a bass signal from your surround sound processor to trip the Auto On circuit Should you ever find this to be the case you should leave this switch to On or raise the level of your receiver s sub woofer output recalibrate your sub Crossover Enable Switch If you allow your DD DTS surround sound receiver or processor to manage bass frequencies recommended this switch should be set to Disabled This disables the Crossover Frequency knob and allows your sub to reproduce just what it s fed from the receiver If you are using the sub in a two chan nel stereo only configuration then Enable the crossover and adjust the associated knob to best blend the sub into the low frequency output of your speakers Subsonic SS Filter Switch Your PC Plus is tuned to work best above cer tain stock frequencies the 25 31PC Plus is 25Hz the 20 39PC Plus 20Hz etc But the PC Plus tri port system allows you to use the included port blocker to tune your sub significantly lower in just seconds see the separate tuning sheet for more on this If you are running all three ports open on your 25 31PC Plus then set the SS switch to 25Hz But if you
16. ub getting these bass wave forms to arrive in a complementary enhancing fashion is the difficult job of the phase knob Essentially this control varies the timing of the bass waves coming from the sub The effect of bass cancella tion will vary by volume and frequency in your room and no one setting is likely to ever be perfect One simple technique to optimize phase is to find a nice bassy loop such as the menu of Godzilla and measure the loop s bass response at vari ous bass SPL peaks As the loop runs vary the phase knob Where you see the most response on a given bass passage is the phase setting providing the least bass cancel lation in your room for the frequencies of the demo loop you chose Adjusting phase is mostly a concern in dual sub configurations or systems with Large mains Line In Out Use one of the sub s Line In jacks to connect the subwoofer to the output jack of your receiver processor Feeding just one input is enough If you are using a conventional amp and or a stereo setup you can use the Line Out jacks to send sound filtered of bass information back to your system amp A simple RCA to RCA cable is all you need Auto On Your PC Plus allows itself to be in an auto on mode or on all the time With the former setting the switch in the Auto position your subwoofer will sense that a DVD or CD etc has begun and switch on immediately the hard power switch men
17. ve use a well shielded RCA cable sometimes called a patch cord to hook to the subwoofer output of your DD DTS receiver to either input jack of your sub woofer amplifier As mentioned you ll need to split the subwoofer signal with a Y Cable if you bought a pair of subs e Is your Radio Shack sound pressure level SPL meter ready This tool is absolutely critical to proper home theater au dio calibration It s akin to a tire pressure gauge for your car you don t set your tires by feel do you Set the meter to Slow and C weighting and turn the dial to 70dB The manual which comes with the SPL meter is excellent and we recommend you read it entirely Have n t got the meter yet Well head on down to your neighborhood Radio Shack and snag one We prefer the analog instead of the digital display model Ask for part number 33 2050 At about 38 it s a bargain Getting ready to start now Make sure your receiver processor master volume is set at 00 dB or some other easy to remember reference level Finally ensure your subwoofer s volume control is set 1 2 to 3 4ths up to start It s also critical to check the subwoofer level control of your surround receiver before you begin the test tones Set it to no higher than 5 dB initially that s one quarter way up given a typical receiver s channel limits of 10 dB to 10 dB Your LFE trim if you have
18. y moving a few feet Such is the nature of long wave length low bass sound Don t hesitate to try different loca tions and different levels for your subwoofer Calibrating too high and often too low is the most common subwoofer setup error PC Plus Amp Features We scoured the world for the best per forming sub amps The result is a line of custom designed North American made rock steady amps with Mil spec like build quality and an unbeatable feature set Volume Use volume in conjunction with your receiver s subwoofer output level control to come up with a bass calibration to your liking Start calibration with the sub s volume 1 2 to 3 4ths of the way up or turned to the right Crossover Frequency If you use your DD DTS receiver processor s internal crossover to manage bass frequencies highly recommended the setting of this knob on the sub is irrelevant Use the crossover Enable Disable switch dis cussed below if you need to take advantage of the SVS amp s own crossover When enabled this knob is used to best blend your subwoofer to your other speak ers Typically used in two channel stereo only systems today Page 8 SV Subwoofers Phase Think of bass waves as conflicting or enhancing each other depending on the timing of their arrival at your listening location either together or not Since some of your room s bass might come from main center and or surround speakers as well as your s
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