This article is about the new SVS PB17 and SB17 Ultra R|Evolution subwoofers and why they are the new reference for SVS subwoofers. We will review the technologies of these great subwoofers and see if they are right for you to take your theater to the ultimate level!

Company History

SVS was started in 1998 with a mission to make subwoofers and speakers that almost anyone could afford but offered performance that rivaled many on the market. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, and led by forward-thinking President and CEO Gary Yacoubian, SVS has become a household name in the world of high-end home theater and home audio systems. SVS incorporated new technologies and processes to improve performance, including features like phone app control and DSP processing that were unavailable in competing products. SVS is now one of the most popular companies in the home theater space. It has many models of speakers and subwoofers, allowing customers to choose the exact model for their application. SVS has many satisfied customers and offers both innovation and high performance while keeping its products as affordable as possible.

Features & Technology

The SVS SB17 and PB17 Ultra R are completely reimagined models and a big departure in performance from the highly rated PB16 and SB16 Ultra subwoofers. They have taken all that they learned in creating the 16 Ultra series subwoofers and expanded the feature set and technologies that make them excellent. The 16 Ultra series was already an excellent award-winning design, but SVS, a constantly evolving company, is still finding ways to improve these reference products.

The PB17 Ultra is the larger of the two new subwoofers. Its ported design maximizes output capability and low-frequency extension. The triple ports on the bottom of the front panel allow the PB17 to act as a full-force ported subwoofer with maximum SPL capability. However, these ports also offer tuning ability. Three port plugs come with the PB17 Ultra that, when installed, change the subwoofer's tuning to adapt to different room conditions or desired performance characteristics.

Standard Tune = All ports open (highest maximum output)
Extended Tune = One port plugged (deeper extension, slightly less maximum output)
Sealed Tune = All ports plugged (best transient response)

This “tuning” ability sets the PB17 Ultra apart from competing subwoofers. It allows you to choose the type of performance you get from the subwoofer. For music lovers, having one or all of the ports plugged improves the transient response and allows deeper extension at the expense of lower maximum output levels. This will help in music-only systems where the tone, instrument detail, and overall bass depth will be appreciated. Opening ports in a home theater application will allow the maximum SPL level and the most punch to give movie soundtracks something extra. This excellent adaptability will enable owners to install the PB17 Ultra in different rooms and systems while still getting a reference-level performance. As you can see in the graph below, the PB17 Ultra easily handles bass down below 20Hz in any of the port configurations. So, in any port tuning, you will not miss any low bass output in any music or movie track, but the tunings allow the PB17 to tailor its response to various room conditions or for music or theater use. In the sealed mode, the bass response is more linear and smoother. With the extended tuning, the bass goes slightly lower and adds more energy between 15 to 20Hz. The standard fully ported mode sees the bass fall off slightly higher than the other tunings, but it will provide higher output levels overall. With the PB17 Ultra, you WILL easily produce all the low bass in your favorite soundtracks. The port tuning just allows you some tuning capability in case you want to alter the bass characteristics for your room or tastes.

The SB17 Ultra is available for users who know that a sealed subwoofer design will be better for their system. It is a sealed-only cabinet design that is a quite a bit smaller than the PB17 Ultra. At 20" (H) 19.5" (W) 21.2" (D), the cabinet is smaller than the PB17 Ultra’s 25.0”( H) x 21.7”(W) x 29.3”( D). This gives users with limited space another reference-level option. For most music listeners who want the best in instrument tone and bass control while not needing the port tunability or increased output capability of the PB17 Ultra, the SB17 Ultra is the perfect subwoofer. While both the PB17 and SB17 Ultra subwoofers promise top-level performance, it is nice that they offer two models that will adapt better to different situations and systems.

The SB17 Ultra has the same driver and dual Mono amplifier with DSP features in a smaller sealed cabinet design that is more optimized for this configuration. Choose the PB17 Ultra to focus on home theater volumes or adaptability, or choose the SB17 Ultra if you want to stay with a sealed enclosure design. Both offer the latest in driver, amplifier, and DSP technology from SVS. And while the PB17 Ultra has a low bass specification of 14Hz in standard mode and 12Hz in extended mode, the SB17 Ultra R is just slightly behind with a 15Hz specification. This is very impressive performance that SVS should be proud of, and knowing they have two different models with this capability gives users options. The PB17 Ultra, with its larger ported cabinet, will be the higher output version of the two options, but for users with limited space or just want a smaller footprint sealed subwoofer, the SB 17 Ultra will handle anything you throw at it and then some!

New Driver, More Capability

The new 17” driver in these new subwoofers is SVS’s largest to date and has features not found on other subwoofer drivers. First and foremost, this new driver features a dual 8” voice coil, which SVS says offers better driver control and offers a more efficient transfer of energy from the amplifier to the driver. This is one of the largest woofer voice coils on the market! Most subwoofers have a 2” to 4” voice coil. The larger coil enables it to start and stop the driver faster giving an incredible amount of woofer control. With its high current 4-layer bifilar copper-clad aluminum wire windings, this voice coil is built to withstand years of high output while keeping ultimate control over the cone. This new 17” driver also has a 48.9mm Xmax 81.78mm Xmech precision aligned excursion, which is some of the best in the business and allows the woofer to have extreme excursion capability for the loudest and deepest of bass passages. A 4-piece Y35 ferrite magnet structure gives this 17” woofer control like a much smaller driver but with the added output capability that a larger driver can deliver. Maximum speed with maximum output is what the PB and SB17 Ultra subwoofers are about and this driver helps them achieve it.

New Dual Mono DSP Controlled Amplifier

Along with a new, more capable driver, the new SB17 and PB17 ultra include a new dual-mono amplifier design that improves performance several notches over past SVS subwoofers. Called the STA-2800 for its 2,800 watts total system power., this new amplifier module offers a proper dual mono design with two separate class-D output sections, one for each of the driver's two voice coils. The all-new Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) includes a two-stage 100v-240v full range active Power Factor Correction (PFC), which pre-regulates mains to solid 390V DC regardless of mains voltage or quality, ensuring a consistent 160V rail voltage for the dual-mono amplifiers. Switching power supplies have come a long way in recent years, taking performance above linear supplies in many ways. This provides a highly efficient, high-current, and clean power source for the dual amplifier modules in these subwoofers. An Onboard AC line conditioner filters and stabilizes incoming voltage, corrects waveform distortions, and eliminates electromagnetic and radio interference to optimize signal quality and audio performance. Not only will this ensure the subwoofer amp is getting clean power but it completely stabilizes it before it enters the sophisticated DSP and amplifier circuits within these reference-level subwoofers. A High-resolution 295Mhz Analog Devices Audio DSP with double precision 56bit filtering controls all DSP and amplifier functions. This processor has over five times the processing power of SVS’s past subwoofers and is the most advanced subwoofer processor available to date. This new DSP processor allows users to fully control these subwoofers via the SVS phone app to control the vast features. The Analog Devices DSP supports a comprehensive menu of functions: volume, fully adjustable low pass filter, phase, polarity, six-band PEQ, room gain compensation, tuning modes, power management settings, and more. SVS even has an auto room correction system built into these subwoofers that will be added to the SVS app soon. This feature will allow users to use their smartphone microphone to take measurements of the subwoofer in the room and make corrections automatically. Setting these subwoofers up in a system will be much easier when this feature fully rolls out.

The PB/SB 17 Ultra rear panel is well laid out and kept neat and simple. It has RCA and XLR line-level inputs and outputs and a main RCA input labeled “LFE” for users with home theater processors or receivers. Having XLR and RCA outputs allows daisy-chaining subwoofers or allows more flexibility in system setup. There is a 3.5mm input for control systems if you use a home control system and an input for trigger control. This trigger control is adaptable from 3 to 12 volts, allowing the on/off trigger to function with many of the trigger outputs on the market, not just the 12-volt style. Completing the rear panel is an OLED display with arrow and navigation buttons, allowing you to make simple changes from the rear panel when installing. This is a change from the 16 Ultra’s front panel-mounted display, giving the 17 Ultra a more simple and elegant front panel appearance. We liked this change as most users will use the phone app to make adjustments with the enclosure mounted display mostly used during installation.

SVS Subwoofer Control App

The included smartphone app is one of the features of SVS’s subwoofers that has been discussed the most. It features controls for volume, low-pass filter, phase, polarity, six parametric equalizers, room gain compensation, tuning modes, and power management settings. The app also has three presets to set three different tunings. This is helpful for users using their system for music and movies, as a simple smartphone control can change the tuning of these subwoofers to a high-output movie mode or be preset for a more accurate music mode for two-channel listening. This is excellent as it basically lets you have two differently-tuned subwoofers in one unit that will be optimized for the source material you will be playing at that time.

Well Designed Enclosure

Like all SVS subwoofers, the PB17 and SB17 Ultra subwoofers are enclosed in a well-designed, well-braced MDF enclosure. With this kind of power and driver displacement, it is mandatory to design a cabinet that is as robust as possible to keep resonances and vibration in check. SVS has been designing subwoofers for years and has this down to a science. The finishes available are gloss black and a black oak real wood veneer finish. These finishes are designed to make these subwoofers look amazing and allow them to be set in the room without drawing too much attention. SVS knows that most people want to feel and hear a subwoofer but not necessarily have a subwoofer that draws attention to itself, so SVS sticks with more conventional and understated finishes with their subwoofers. These subwoofers also have a protective ABS grill covered in acoustically transparent cloth. Elastomer feet round out the exterior package and allow the subwoofers to sit in their place without introducing vibrations or resonance to the floor.

Performance

We were excited to get these in our test lab to see what SVS could do to beat the performance of the already excellent PB16 and SB16 Ultra Subwoofers. We set up both the PB17 and SB17 Ultra in our test system and started the setup process. Using the SVS app, we could run through the installation process quickly. This allowed us to find the best positioning and use the included parametric equalizer to tune them to the room. As of this writing, the Auto room equalization was not yet available in the app, so we could not test that feature. But all the other features worked without issue and helped us get the most out of our setup.

These are large and powerful subwoofers, which are excellent for low bass output for movie soundtracks. However, some large subwoofers have issues reproducing the complexities of music without issues, so we started out evaluating them with music.

Knowing how well the PB16 or SB16 Ultra performed when we tested them, we knew that the 17 Ultras would be special, and we were right. Playing tracks from the new jazz album from Darius Jones Legend of e’Boi, we were impressed by the level of dexterity that these large subwoofers produced.

In the past, it was a legitimate concern that large subwoofers could not keep up with the speed and transient response of music reproduction. However, this worry can be put to bed with reference-level subwoofers like the PB17 and SB17 Ultra. With technology in switch mode power supplies, powerful class D amplifiers, and complex DSP algorithms being what it is today, large subwoofers can be quick and musical. While we would recommend the sealed SB17 Ultra for its fast transient response for music, the PB17 Ultra in sealed mode is not far behind and offers more flexibility for changing the tuning when movie night comes around.

Switching over to movie soundtracks, we played several movie scenes from great movies like Top Gun Maverick, Mad Max Fury Road, and many others. We were immediately impressed with the level of bass detail we were getting with what seemed to be an endless bass depth ability. These subwoofers hit low and hard. The SB17 and PB17 Ultra can easily produce the lowest notes in any movie soundtrack. Once again we were reminded why SVS is a household name when it comes to subwoofers. SVS stands out for its design, build quality, and ability to use technology like built-in DSP to bring a new line of reference-level subwoofers with the chops to fit into any system, no matter if it's Tom Cruise or Miles Davis, who is taking center stage!

Overall Recommendation

After our evaluation, we were impressed with what the new PB17 and SB17 Ultra subwoofers could do. The SB17 Ultra is an excellent sealed subwoofer that easily handles the most dynamic movies and music. Add a couple of SB17 Ultras for the ultimate in sealed enclosure performance. The PB17 Ultra is a true chameleon that can take the helm with music and movies and allow more tuning options to optimize performance. Both of these new reference-level subwoofers offer great looks and engaging performance. With technologies like the smartphone control app and subwoofer auto room eq, setup and tuning become much more manageable, allowing users to get the most out of their new subwoofers without complex measuring equipment. If you are in the market for a subwoofer or, even better yet, a pair of subwoofers, the new SVS PB17 and SB17 Ultra offer true reference-level performance at very competitive prices. Please give us a call, email, or chat to see if the PB17 or SB17 Ultra is the right subwoofer for you.

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