SVS 3000 Micro Review: Overview
Covering up only HALF the space of the second smallest SVS subwoofer, 3000 Micro is the tiniest subwoofer in SVS' line-up.
It's also the only SVS subwoofer that adapts to small rooms (< 1,500 ft^2 = 140 m^2) the best, according to Audioholic's Bassaholic Protocols.
This is its main buying point.
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Compact build is another factor that makes 3000 Micro perfect for home & apartment use.
The reason its punches are surprisingly powerful despite its size is because it's equipped with not one but two drivers back-to-back (at left and right sides), and hence propagates sound in two directions.
As it's the case with most sealed subwoofers; the bass is accurate, even for the most attentive listeners.
From my point of view, those who appreciate hip-hop, rap and/or electronic genres more, generally appreciate accuracy more than power.
Yes, this is not scientific, but not totally made up either. I've also heard John Darko mention it in his review of the 3000 Micro. I recommend you to see it too.
For other bass-heavy music genres and for cinematic movie experiences where booms and rumbles are a priority, ported boxes can generally be a better option.
So, in other words, if you're camp volume & depth and would sacrifice accuracy in return, then take a look at the ported SVS PB-1000 Pro (closest SVS alternative to 3000 Micro) which is generally in the same price range.
If your space is smaller than 1,500 ft^2 = 140 m^2, however, then I wouldn't even bother with sealed vs ported and would get 3000 Micro my eyes closed. Because it'll most likely perform better in an overwhelming majority of use cases.
Check out our homepage soundton.com if you'd like to reveal this in your own room.
In SVS subwoofer naming scheme;
- SB stands for sealed box,
- PB stands for ported box,
- PC stands for ported cylinder.
And the numbers stand for the amplifier powers, not for driver sizes:
- 1000 Series produce 325 watts RMS (820+ watts peak),
- 2000 Series produce 550 watts RMS (1500+ watts peak),
- 3000 Series produce 800 watts RMS (2500+ watts peak),
- 4000 Series produce 1200 watts RMS (4000+ watts peak),
- 16 Series produce 1500 watts RMS (5000+ watts peak).
All subs in the same series also have the same driver sizes, except for the 3000 Micro and the 3000 In-Wall.
Equipped with 8" and 9" drivers respectively, they fall behind in this regard compared to 13" drivers of their cousins in the same category. Even 1000 Series possess 10" drivers. So they're very small.
But then how are they able to produce such power despite their smaller sizes?
Because they are also the only two SVS subwoofers that offer not one but two (dual) drivers.
SVS 3000 Micro Review: Sound quality
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.