Looking for a high-quality subwoofer for your home theater system and indulging a bit, but not too much with your budget? The SVS SB-3000 and SB-4000 are a couple of speakers you might want to check out. CAUTION: Even though availing high-quality sound is not an issue here, they are aimed at a consumer-level demographic (home theater system owners). Not critical listening. So for all you music producers looking for more bass response in their studio, we suggest you have a look at the KRKS8.4 or Yamaha HS8 instead.
In summary, both the SVS SB-3000 and SVS SB-4000 bring great value to the table. The build quality and design live up to the high level of quality for those familiar with SVS products. Both offer an excellent sound that works equally well for music and movies. Despite the powerful bass response, they are very compact and clean in the delivery of the same. The app you can use on your phone to control settings is a great feature, but its user-friendliness is not its strongest feature. The SVS SB-3000 is the less expensive of the two. If you need more power for a larger room and would want a couple of more connectivity options, the SVS SB-4000 is the right choice for you. If you need something more compact that fits easily into your room, the SVS SB-3000 is the one to go with.
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.
Anyways...
Design
SVS SB-3000
The first thing you will be presently surprised at is how light this box is for a subwoofer. Just around 15 inches on each side and weighing in at 54.4 lbs, the ability to lift and place it on your own is a big plus. This is a very compact and portable piece of equipment.
The reinforced MDF cabinet encases a sealed design and offers two designs to choose from. Both are black. One is a Piano Gloss finish and the other is Black Ash. A little caveat: while the former looks chicer, it might be challenging to keep it clean of visible fingerprints and dust.
Dimensions: 15.2 x 15.6 x 17.8" / 38.6 x 39.6 x 45.2 cm (with the Grille).
SVS SB-4000
The SVS SB-4000, on the other hand, comes with a front-firing port. This makes it easier to place and gives it a lot more power and deeper bass. Even though the rest of the components are similar to its sibling, the added materials in the construction make it heavier (it weighs in at 102.3 lbs). It does come with a blue LED display with controls in the front, though. This gives it a more techie look.
Dimensions: 17.8 x 18.3 x 20.9" / 45.3 x 46.5 x 53 cm (with the Grille).
Find the perfect subwoofer for your speakers using the SVS Subwoofer Matching Tool.
Sound
Subwoofers are very dependent on their placement and the size of your room for their quality. Non-directional bass frequencies can be quite unforgiving in this regard. So the key here is not just the technical specs of your choice but their appropriateness in context to your space.
As you’ve probably gathered by now, the SVS SB-3000 is a bit more compact and controlled in this regard. So if it’s a smaller space you’re looking to cater to, it might be your better bet.
If it’s a more powerful bass response you’re after, though, the SVS SB-4000 has a lot more of that to offer. It’s the bigger beast of the two.
While the SVS SB-3000 offers a frequency range of 18 to 270 Hz, the SVS SB-4000 gives you 19 to 310 Hz. So that is a considerable difference we are looking at.
Connectivity
The back panel on both subwoofers gives you access to the sockets and inputs.
SVS SB-3000
- 1 x Stereo RCA Input
- 1 x Stereo RCA Output
- 1 x USB Type-A
- 1 x 1/8" / 3.5 mm Input (12 V Trigger)
SVS SB-4000
- 2 x XLR Input
- 1 x Stereo RCA Input
- 1 x 1/8" / 3.5 mm Input (12 V Trigger)
- 2 x XLR Output
- 1 x Stereo RCA Output
Additionally, they come with an app that gives you the ability to customize the sound. While a handy tool to have, it does come with a learning curve.
Price
The SVS SB-3000 is available at $1,099.99 and the SVS SB-4000 for $1,799.99 (please check your local dealers for details).
Verdict
In conclusion, this is how the SVS SB-3000 and SVS SB-4000 stack up against each other:
- Design: Tie. The SVS SB-3000 is lighter and more compact.
- Sound: The SVS SB-4000 is more powerful. The SVS SB-3000 is more restrained.
- Connectivity: The SVS SB-4000 wins with its XLR options.
- Price: The SVS SB-3000 costs lesser.