SVS

[bass-boy68]

Hello guys , I just had a pretty strong conversation with the importer and supplier of SVS in NZ and i'm pretty upset at their raising the price of their subs $2499 for a sb13 ultra and now the are $3400,and the PB 13 ultra is a $1000! from 2799 to 3800. I cant see how the exchange rate justifies the huge price rise but it seems that the cost effective SVS range that has been touted as a great value for money now seems as its just another sub range that is no cheaper than its competitors. A new director comes in and straight away raises all the prices and blames the nz-us dollar but when taking a close look it in no way comes close to the $1000 for tax , import and nz-us adjustment...can anyone offer a reasonable opinion , and i appreciate that all info is not available to most on here, seems like straight up greed ... thanks guys

 

[Frank Harvey]

Your current price for the SB13 Ultra is equivalent to £1717 GBP, which is jut over £200 more than the UK. Given the value for money that the SB13U iffers, that's not too bad in the grand scheme of things, but I agree is is quite a jump over the old price (which was equivalent to £1262 GBP).

I can only think of two reasons for the price hike - either a greedy distributor, or the new director can see that the old profit margin won't sustain the back up service they will need to provide, and has adjusted accordingly. Bear in mind they have to order in bulk, store stock, store spares, offer under warranty servicing, attend hi-fi shows to promote the product, advertise the product, appoint an on the road sales rep to look after the brand with the dealers they've appointed, etc etc.

 

[bass-boy68]

thanks david , very appreciated . I know the ultra's are popular and i am thinking of getting 1 ( PB ) or 2 PB2000's. cheers

 

[bigboss]

According to L-Sound website, the prices have gone up due to a strong dollar.

http://www.lsound.eu/news/svs_price_adjustments/

 

[bigboss]

According to L-Sound website, the prices have gone up due to a strong dollar.

http://www.lsound.eu/news/svs_price_adjustments/

Link now clickable.

 

[ellisdj]

Price rises are interesting ones because it can be looked at from different angles. Could easily be the reasons above and probably is

A sensible price rise probably wont put a lot of peope off buying one - but they may make more effort to demo other subs as well before buying, spending more there are more options available.

The SVS Ultras are great performers - This from the conclusion of the stereophile review

The SB13-Ultra's detailed, toe-tappingly pitch-perfect, stop-on-a-dime response, and its small size, low weight, rugged construction, superb finish, simple but sophisticated IFC control, sturdy drive-unit, and great customer support, all put it on my list of recommended subwoofers. In its price range, it's hard to beat for small-to-moderate-sized rooms.

Maybe the new director wants to raise the profile of the brands top of the line products - from a "buying because its cheepest / good value for money" to actually its a premium cost premium performance product.

If this is the case they should

1. bring out a dual product next - Dual Ultra! Thats what the line up is missing compared to JL and REL etc

2. its missing a cost no objective type subwoofer -- show exactly what the company can engineer when the shackles are off. Gotham style sub but cheaper

EDIT - It could actually be the same product lol - want extension of the PB Ultra with the fidelity of the SB Ultra - but improved upon by a more inert cabinet and big output = but still smooth sounding.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I doubt 'cost no object' subs sell in large enough numbers for a manufacturer to spend the time working on it in the first place.

I do think they could do with a dual 13.5" sub in a force cancelling arrangement, maybe around the £2.5k point. Although with the depth of the driver, it will be a little bigger than the SB13U box. Or maybe even a three driver SB13U version, similar to the Paradigm Sub 1 and 2 models in a three face design. £3.5k would be a good price for something like that!

 

[ellisdj]

That is part of the competition I was getting at - then you have the JL Equivalent at about £5k and the Gotham at £10k. And the Rel Gibraltor at about £4k and the B&W DB1 - not sure how much that is got to be £5k and the Paradigm sub 1 £6k

People see them and think wow they are luxury, They must be amazing

Then see £1500 for top of the line SVS and think they cant possibly be any good by comparison

So to raise the profile having such products for sale is a good tactic and allows consumers to lust and think well this sub has got tech from that luxury product it must be great.

Bass is as much the room and setup as it is the sub itself. Sticking a £10k gotham in the wrong room with the wrong setup wont gurantee £10k worth of bass - you might get portions of it but not the full perfomance.

That 212 Rel is very appealing to me actually - looks like a great product very competetively priced for what you get if you can live with the big box. I wonder if SVS will bring one out?

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I do think they could do with a dual 13.5" sub in a force cancelling arrangement, maybe around the £2.5k point.

I'm not sure if this has the force cancelling arrangement, but it certainly has dual 12" drivers, with passive bass radiators, costs £2750, and is sold by at least two dealers in Britain, one of whom also sells SVS subwoofers! I speak of the REL 212SE, which was very enthusiastically reviewed in Home Cinema Choice magazine, issue 246, May 2015: "Sumptuously deep, tight output".

General information here http://rel.net/products/212se/

And I'm the man with two SVS subwoofers, the PC12-Plus and the old-style (750W, Bash amplifier) PC13-Ultra.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

That 212 Rel is very appealing to me actually - looks like a great product very competetively priced for what you get if you can live with the big box. I wonder if SVS will bring one out?

David at Frank Harvey is the man to answer that!!

Ellisdj, I've just added a link to the Rel in my earlier post.

 

[ellisdj]

you could always just stack 2 on top of each other - then you have the benefit of 2 seperate of everything

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I don't think that you could stack the SVS cylinder subwoofers though!

By the way, you said earlier

That is part of the competition I was getting at - then you have the JL Equivalent at about £5k and the Gotham at £10k. And the Rel Gibraltor at about £4k and the B&W DB1 - not sure how much that is got to be £5k and the Paradigm sub 1 £6k

These subs all cost a bit less than you think. For instance, the B&W DB1 costs "only" £3,250. You can check the prices of SVS, REL and Paradigm subwoofers here (don't forget to go to page 2 also!) http://www.themovierooms.co.uk/subwoofers.html .

 

[ellisdj]

fair cop SofSJ the examples were slightly wrong but I was just getting my point over that having a very expensive model in the range creates a perception of luxury and gives them something to show off when people are looking at the brand.

Without reading lots of good reviews then demoing the SB13 I would never have just bought it - a JL Audio sub I would - why because I associate quality with the brand - why - becasue of the association with the brand and their top of the line subs

To be honest B&W are not the first company I normally think of when subs come up but the DB1 was metioned in contrast in the Stereophile review I posted a clip from so it was in my mind at the time of writing. Being compared to a sub twice its price says a lot.

I was also not suggesting stacking the tube style subs you could have 2 next to each other quite easily to give a dualler .

having 4 of those subs would be like having trash cans in your front room........ *preved*