[jrocks29ms@gmail.com]

Hey ya’ll,
So SVS subs are one of the more popular mass marketed subwoofer brands. Unlike a lot of other speaker mfr’s who have large lines of full range speakers and subs, SVS is mainly known for their subwoofers. SVS has something like 11 different models.
The 2000 line is their most popular model. (Now in the Pro series)
I hope this walkthrough of a dampening treatment can help SVS or whichever sub owners get a little more enjoyment out of your products.

This subwoofer was actually a replacement for the SB-3000 woofer I first purchased. I found that that model had a really bad design flaw in which the sub would emit a hum/buzz that was audible from across the room, and would on occasion sound like a dial up modem. So svs says “ the 2000 pro amp is solid and is dead silent. I agree, but with a definite loss in cabinet sturdiness.
So while smaller and less powerful, I thought the driver on the 2000 pro was quite nice. The app is just a real joy to use for tweaks and volume. No more looking behind you sub or getting up to turn it down when a home theater scene just rumbles your whole house when its late.
Anyways, what i did notice is that the 2000 Sealed and lower models, do not have internal bracing. This leads to a serious cabinet coloration of the bass. Once you’ve heard tight detailed bass in a sealed enclosure anything else just doesn’t cut it.
So I started on a mission to upgrade this thing. It started with sound isolation feet. This helped a little, more detail but did nothing for cabinet resonances. Then I got a better power cord, then an interconnect. Better quality and shorter cables made more improvements in the bass punch and clarity.
But what most annoyed me was the light cabinet that rings when you strike it.
So I tried a quick and simple solution, dynamating the outside of the bottom panel. (Not visible from any angle unless you turn it over.) This helped remove some of that resonance; this improvement was really addictive, it proved that the driver and amp pair was really capable of good bass, if the cabinet would get out of the way.
I decided to do the treatment I first did to my klipsch rp-600m’s. NO-REZ the cabinet.
That first treatment was the birth of my DIY hobby. It was such a major improvement and made me realize how you can extract a lot more performance out of your gear with modifications for far less money than upgrading.

So, the back amp plate is very easy to remove just a snap on connector for speaker wires and the amp is removed from the cabinet.
Then there is a thick treatment of poly fill on all 4 sides. This is stapled to the box and requires some force to pry out. With the poly fill removed. The cabinet had excess glue drips on the sides which needed scraped off. Afterwards, I vacuumed out the debris, and wiped the cabinet walls with a damp paper towel to wipe clean the surfaces. Cleaning the walls, allows the best possible adhesion of the No rez.
Next. The braces on the edges needed to be marked so measurements could be taken.
I made these measurements with a pencil and then measured all the sides and wrote down the dimensions that needed to be cut.
Armed with the sizes i needed. I used a razor knife and box cutter to carefully cut the pieces after tracing lines along my markings.

With the no rez cut, its ready to be placed inside the cabinet and pressed firmly seating it against the walls. I treated the 4 sides plus the two edges to the left and right of the amplifier.
My pieces were approximately 10 1/4” X 10 1/4” for the 4 sides. (This is not exact!). 1 1/2” X 9 1/4” on the sides of the amp.

With the no rez applied and firmly seated, its time to put poly fill back in.
The polyfill is very thick from SVS maybe 2 1/2” to start. So with the foam from the no rez replacing the poly fill as the first layer, putting it back in as was would be too thick really cramping the subwoofer basket, and amplifier. Scaling down the polyfill can be addressed by basically ripping the poly fill in half, I carefully tore it down the middle so that the no rez and poly fill approximately covered the same thickness as it did inside the cabinet before the NO-REZ went in. When cut to size and installed, the polyfill really sticks to the no rez foam quite well. Using a hot glue, i removed any doubt of the polyfill moving around in the cabinet.

With the polyfill back in I pressed everything down firmly and the install was ready for the amp to go back in.
I carefully checked the clearance for the amp board when inserting the amp back into position. With the amp back in place and the cabinet slightly tilted forward to let gravity keep it there you, the screws can be driven back into the box.
Once the install was done I was both surprised and and delighted. The dampening job seemed to kill most all of the higher pitched resonances but there is still a small amount of deeper resonances present. Now this light deep ringing can only really be brought on be knocking in the very middle of the panels, but it is much reduced.
I think with a sub playing at for the most part under 120 HZ ( with a typical crossover of around 80Hz) you wont have too much ringing at all going on after the no rez treatment. I do fear though however, the lack of a brace in this model, makes it possible for the walls to ever so slightly flex.
If you wanted to take this fix a step further you could insert a cross brace, and treat the cabinet with no rez around it. But i got about 90 percent of the way to where i was hoping for when installing this. This installation also adds about 3 1/2 pounds to the overall weight of the cabinet, which was nice.
The svs sb2000 pro now passes the knock test, but admittedly just barely. Its not great or bad just normal now. Which is sad to say is a big improvement on the way these cabinets are direct from SVS. It would cost hardly anything to brace these. If SVS did the treatments I have to my sub, it would greatly shrink the gap in performance between this and the higher lines SVS offers.
I dont need crazy bass SPL but I do need accuracy, detail, and punch, all of which in a nice quality cabinet. Id call this upgrade a success, as it met my goals and really reduced that ringing.
On a side note about svs products.
I would caution anyone using the SVS soundpath rca to get rid of it immediately it was the worst sounding rca I’ve ever used, When i replaced it to a mid upper tier audioquest offering it was an entirely different sub, and to a lesser extent again when i used a nice power cord.
The svs speaker cables also couldn’t hold a candle to my current cables the 24 variable strand which looks a lot like the Kimber 12TC.

I digress,
The SVS SB2000 PRO has a lot of potential, with a few small tweaks it really removed the weakest link in this subwoofer’s performance and overall quality. I encourage you to lend your hand to really making your svs’ sing!!!! Happy listening, and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

I was in such a rush to button up my sub box, that I forget to snap pics with the NO-REZ installed. You’ll have to use your imagination lol.

[uncola]

Nice pics of your modification to your sub.  I’m sure many have wondered how no rez would improve their subs

[nlitworld]

I did add some no-rez a while ago to my pair of SB2000 along with rewiring the sub with better quality wire soldered directly to the woofer. Big improvements. Still wish it was a little more articulate and precise but I think that comes down to the driver itself. Comes back to the idea of SVS pressurizes the room nicely albiet slightly tone deaf, but brands like Rythmik and REL are less slam and more accurate and musical. Still, a couple sheets of no-rez and 20 minutes with a soldering iron were a good upgrade for these subs.

[Freo-1]

I did add some no-rez a while ago to my pair of SB2000 along with rewiring the sub with better quality wire soldered directly to the woofer. Big improvements. Still wish it was a little more articulate and precise but I think that comes down to the driver itself. Comes back to the idea of SVS pressurizes the room nicely albiet slightly tone deaf, but brands like Rythmik and REL are less slam and more accurate and musical. Still, a couple sheets of no-rez and 20 minutes with a soldering iron were a good upgrade for these subs.

Depends.  I have the PC4000 cylinder subwoofer.   I find it to be an outstanding performer,  and a better buy than the aforementioned at its price point.  I find the PC4000 configured as sealed to be very musical.  The cylinder approach makes a lot of sense to me.  It also takes up less floor space than a box unit. 

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I did add some no-rez a while ago to my pair of SB2000 along with rewiring the sub with better quality wire soldered directly to the woofer. Big improvements. Still wish it was a little more articulate and precise but I think that comes down to the driver itself. Comes back to the idea of SVS pressurizes the room nicely albiet slightly tone deaf, but brands like Rythmik and REL are less slam and more accurate and musical. Still, a couple sheets of no-rez and 20 minutes with a soldering iron were a good upgrade for these subs.

My son has a Rythmik F12se and I find its slam underwhelming.  It is musical and integrates seamlessly. 

[NoahH]

My son has a Rythmik F12se and I find its slam underwhelming.  It is musical and integrates seamlessly.

Greyhound - I am curious what your sub experiences are. I tried SVS and hated them (SB-4000). I went to REL S/812s and was thrilled. I now have an array of 12 OB drivers from GR idling while I wait on the plate amp from Rythmik (hopefully those ship today) in a separate system from the RELs.

I have simply not heard anything that competed with the RELs. Obviously I am hoping the OB array will be a winner, but I am curious if you have found musical subs that have slam.

[WGH]

....but brands like Rythmik and REL are less slam and more accurate and musical.

I have a REL Gibraltar G2 and it has plenty of slam along with being musical. Long discontinued, a used G2 is still a good value but the sub will have a lot of miles on it and will probably need a driver replacement because of a design flaw. The MK II driver fixes the flaw and is still available from the factory for $800 

The Gibraltar G1 has a single front facing 12" driver with a 2" stroke capable of 112 dB output and pretty much above everybody's budget at $5,500.
https://rel.net/shop/powered-subwoofers/reference-series/g1-mark-ii/

The improvement a really, really good sub that is fast and goes down to 18 Hz is just as important as a $5,500 preamp or amp.

[Freo-1]

A good subwoofer definitely improves the overall listening experience.   


Here is a review on the SVS PC 4000:


https://www.avforums.com/reviews/svs-pc-4000-subwoofer-review.15576/


The better SVS subs are an excellent option,  with better specs than many more expensive competitors. 

[WGH]

Keeping in the spirit of improving an affordable sub:

I had the same problem of undefined base with the Von Schweikert VR2 speakers. The speakers sounded hollow when tapping the sides, looking inside there was no bracing.

I installed tapered braces with interlocking cross braces, the change in quality and quantity of bass was amazing now that the cabinet sides didn't flex.
The taper to a point at one end was necessary to fit around the woofer, the triangle shape takes up less volume, has a non-parallel face, and are thick in the middle where the speaker sides need the most damping. The "H" braces in the photo are white oak because of the woods high stiffness, red oak will work, walnut is musical and expensive, cherry smells nice. Don't use pine or fir because neither wood is kiln dried to 8% moisture content and will shrink. 2x4s would be the worst to use, the wood is practically green and unstable. About 8 bd. ft. of wood is needed for 4 "H" braces

Attach the braces using a combination of polyurethane glue (Gorilla, Franklin, Titbond) and hot melt glue. Apply the polyurethane glue along the length of the brace but not all the way to the ends. Put a dab of hot melt glue at each end and quickly slap the brace in place. The polyurethane glue expands as it dries and fills gaps. After the glue dries attach the cross braces with more polyurethane glue. Then apply No-Rez.

[jrocks29ms@gmail.com]

That’s really cool. If I wasn’t ready to pull my hair out with like 5 different simultaneous stereo projects going at once, I may have turned to braces. I knew i could complete no rez in a morning. Maybe someday, thanks for the thought.

[Freo-1]

The bracing is a good idea. 

[artur9]

I have simply not heard anything that competed with the RELs. Obviously I am hoping the OB array will be a winner, but I am curious if you have found musical subs that have slam.

I have a REL Habitat, which is nice in a lot of ways if a bit one-note.  I've tried Outlaw, TBI, SVS, Velodyne, Leon, and OSD. 

Integrating subwoofers has taken way too much of my time over the last few years

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Greyhound - I am curious what your sub experiences are. I tried SVS and hated them (SB-4000). I went to REL S/812s and was thrilled. I now have an array of 12 OB drivers from GR idling while I wait on the plate amp from Rythmik (hopefully those ship today) in a separate system from the RELs.

I have simply not heard anything that competed with the RELs. Obviously I am hoping the OB array will be a winner, but I am curious if you have found musical subs that have slam.

I like REL subs but only their more expensive models that go down deeper.  I want a sub that can go down to at least 22hz +/- 3db.
The Rythmik subs are very good but lack remote control ability and 2 or a swarm would be way better than 1.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with OB subs but I am sure they sound fantastic the way everyone raves about them.  I personally use 2 small Martin Logan subs due to the WAF.  My wife puts up with my Magnepans but drew the line at huge subs.  The ML's are very musical and integrate seamlessly but lack some slam.

My next subs will be larger, go deeper and have remote access.

[NoahH]

I like REL subs but only their more expensive models that go down deeper.  I want a sub that can go down to at least 22hz +/- 3db.
The Rythmik subs are very good but lack remote control ability and 2 or a swarm would be way better than 1.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with OB subs but I am sure they sound fantastic the way everyone raves about them.  I personally use 2 small Martin Logan subs due to the WAF.  My wife puts up with my Magnepans but drew the line at huge subs.  The ML's are very musical and integrate seamlessly but lack some slam.

My next subs will be larger, go deeper and have remote access.

Thanks for the response! I am curious - do you want remotes just to make initial tuning easier, or do you actually change settings during listening sessions regularly?

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Thanks for the response! I am curious - do you want remotes just to make initial tuning easier, or do you actually change settings during listening sessions regularly?

A little bit of both.  It certainly is easier to tune from your listening position on the fly.  I occasionally like to change up volume or crossover.  But eventually, I may use my subs for dual duty for music and HT.

[Freo-1]

I like REL subs but only their more expensive models that go down deeper.  I want a sub that can go down to at least 22hz +/- 3db.
The Rythmik subs are very good but lack remote control ability and 2 or a swarm would be way better than 1.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with OB subs but I am sure they sound fantastic the way everyone raves about them.  I personally use 2 small Martin Logan subs due to the WAF.  My wife puts up with my Magnepans but drew the line at huge subs.  The ML's are very musical and integrate seamlessly but lack some slam.

My next subs will be larger, go deeper and have remote access.

I would recommend that you look at the SVS PC4000 subwoofer.  It checks off what you are after.   The app allows all the adjustments from your listening position on the fly.   Doesn't take up as much floor space as the mini fridge box types.


The PC4000 is a big step up from earlier SVS models.  The built in DSP makes it pretty easy to integrate,  and the bass has good pitch, definition,  and slam.  It does not sound like one note bass.  Stand up acoustic bass sounds excellent.   It really adds heft to classical pipe organ music as well.


As always,  YMMV.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I would recommend that you look at the SVS PC4000 subwoofer.  It checks off what you are after.   The app allows all the adjustments from your listening position on the fly.   Doesn't take up as much floor space as the mini fridge box types.


The PC4000 is a big step up from earlier SVS models.  The built in DSP makes it pretty easy to integrate,  and the bass has good pitch, definition,  and slam.  It does not sound like one note bass.  Stand up acoustic bass sounds excellent.   It really adds heft to classical pipe organ music as well.

Thanks for the tip.  I want a sub with balanced in as my system is fully balanced.  I may look at the ML Dynamo 1100X. Still a small footprint and it has a good remote app.  I just need a sub to handle music from 40-50db and lower. I run my Maggies full range and feel they sound the best that way.


As always,  YMMV.

[Freo-1]

The PC4000 supports both balanced and SE.   It should integrate well with your Maggie's, with plenty of headroom.