Ok guys, I've done myÿhomework and I'm here to share the results. I've demoed all the subs (in severalÿplacesÿin Singapore and Jakarta), here are my take:
1. The B&W PV1 is a great great little sub. I've owned it for over 5 years and I still highly recommend it to all my friends. For the money, you get a very pretty little sphere (not those ugly big boxes), with very deep, very clean and musical bass. I won't even talk about theÿgreat build quality and technical strong points of this sub (let's justÿsay it survived my dog peeing inside it's metal drivers,ÿalthough it is a small dog mind you). The "spouse acceptability index" on this little baby is through the roof! Unless you're a hardcore bass fiend or you have a dedicated home cinema room, the PV1 is all you need. And no it is not too big for small rooms.
2. The SVS PB13 kicks @rse indeed (am I allowed to write like this here? hehe). Thank you Lesmor for suggesting this sub. In terms of scale and depth my old B&W PV1 is not even comparable. Do note that the SVS isÿone massive black box! But still not as massive as its brother the cylindrical PB13 Ultra (the size of a small fridge). Yes, the PV1 is less than one third the size andÿsomewhat cheaper (roughlyÿUSD 1,700 VSÿUSD 2,500 retail in Singapore),ÿbutÿfor home cinema purposes in a larger room, it reallyÿdoesn'tÿcompare. But Iÿdo stress that the PB13 isÿone fat ugly box,ÿso Iÿcan't imagine putting itÿinÿa domestic environment unless itÿdoubles asÿa coffee table haha. I believe in the US the price for the PB13 is much cheaper, significantly closer to the PV1.
3. The Jl Audio Fathom F113 kicks @rse even more!!! This is exactly the kind of lung rattling sub that I've been looking for hehe. It is deep and slammy (pardon my descriptions) and yet still very clean and musical (not unlike myÿnimble little PV1). Compared to the Fathom, the great SVS felt a bit bloated and clumsy. And in my opinion, this is the nicer looking big fat black box of the two. The Fathom also has a great build quality and finish that oozes class. It's also not as massive as the SVS. It's selling here for USD 3,300 (slightly cheaper than the US list price).
4. Sitting next to the F113 was the legendaryÿflagship Gotham 213ÿso Iÿdid what any ofÿyouÿwould'veÿdone. I wasted another half anÿhour of theÿdealer'sÿtime and have myÿsocks blown away by this hugeÿbut beautifulÿbeast. It performs like what two F113'sÿwithÿbetter electronicsÿwould perform. No words can properlyÿdescribe it,ÿtheÿclosest Iÿcanÿthink of isÿindeed "blow myÿsocks off" (and the gain was set atÿonlyÿoneÿthird!!!). Iÿplayed around with the settings and I really can't turn any of theÿdials pass 12 oÿclock. ButÿUSD 8,000 ++ for a sub is definately notÿfor me hehe.
5. If anyone's looking for a more economical alternative (USD 600 level or less), I've tried these subs with an order of preference as follows:
- Quad L sub (best all round for value, music, movies, looks),
- Velodyne CHT 15 (strictly for movies in larger rooms, it does rattle your windows satisfactorily),
- Wharfedale SW 250 (much deeper than it's little brother, still musical, and nice looking curved sides, if you're on a budget I strongly suggest you stretch it to this),
- Velodyne CHT 12, and
- Wharfedale SW 150 (bestÿbudget sub)
- all the low-end wimpy Yamaha / Sony / Bose subs I listened to are rubbish (sorry).
That is all, I am definately booking the F113 for my new home cinema and I am now even considering the F110 (instead of another PV1) to pair with my future stereo upgrade, which will be the Martin Logan Vista, the Oddyssey Pathos power amp, and an undecided pre-amp and undecided CD player / digital source.
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I hope my ramblings were at least coherent and perhaps even helpful. Pleaseÿdisregardÿany offensive orÿtechnicallyÿinaccurateÿcomments, cheers.
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