Subwoofer Reviews

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Significant upgrades to the driver and amplifier
App is intuitive and responsive
SVS's industry leading Bill of Rights

Minus
Enclosure is fairly deep
Grill doesn't look or feel like it's from a flagship product So powerful it can blow port plugs out during heavy use

THE VERDICT
The PB17-Ultra R|Evolution will likely prove to be a huge success for SVS. It is a noticeable upgrade to their previous flagship, the PB-16 Ultra. This subwoofer excels when pushed, having dynamic range to spare. The app makes tuning a breeze, the resulting sound quality and performance means you’ll probably want to own it for years. This is a long term investment, one you’ll almost certainly be reluctant to upgrade for a very long time.

Introduction
Go big or go home. I'm not sure if that was the theme when SVS was designing the new PB17-Ultra R|Evolution, but it certainly could have been. The motor on this driver is big, the cabinet is big, the sound is big, the feature list is big. There's a saying in the automotive world, there's no replacement for displacement. While forced induction (turbocharger or supercharger) is nice, nothing beats cubic inches. A comparable axiom holds true with subwoofers, if you want a lot of deep bass you'll need a big driver and a large enclosure. It's simple physics really.

SVS's target audience for the PB17-Ultra won't mind any of that however, they already understand. The company’s previous top-of-the-line model, the PB16-Ultra, was the same size and that sold very well for years. This is not uncharted territory for SVS, they know what's required, but it seems they are also sensitive to it. Despite using a larger driver—the biggest SVS has ever made—they somehow managed not to increase the cabinet dimensions. When you consider they now use dual amplifier modules as well, that feat of engineering becomes even more impressive.

No discussion about any SVS product would be complete without mention of its peerless Bill of Rights. It starts off with an unconditional 5 year warranty, which by itself would be admirable. Heaped on top of that, you get the following additional benefits:

• 1 year performance upgrade
• 1 year trade-up policy
• 1 year 'lemon' guarantee
• 45 day risk free in-home trial
• 60 day price protection
• 90 day defective replacement guarantee
• Free shipping and returns
• SoundPoints Rewards (customer loyalty program)

I don't know of any other company in the industry that offers such a comprehensive package, no matter what the product costs. Have reservations about buying something on-line, sight unseen? You really can’t go wrong trying something from a company with that much confidence in what they make.

Impressions
A top-of-the-line product for any company has to stand out, and the PB17-Ultra does that. Resplendent in its gloss black paint, the review unit projects status. The coating was applied beautifully, with almost no orange peel to be found (that dimpled and wavy appearance so prevalent with low-quality paint jobs). Anybody who has done automotive painting can attest to the fact that black is unforgiving, the hardest color to get right. The finish on the PB17-Ultra is not quite cut and buffed level of smooth, but it’s certainly much better than the vast majority of mass produced subwoofers. “furniture grade” is perhaps how some might describe it. Bear in mind I detailed cars on the side for quite a few years, my standards with regards to paint clarity and finish are pretty high.

I was among those who couldn’t get accustomed to the grill SVS was using on some of its previous subwoofer models. It was a metal grate of sorts, sticking out awkwardly from the front panel. I typically applaud when a manufacturer does something to separate its product, a sub in particular because they largely have a very similar appearance. With few exceptions they're square or rectangular boxes, with little to separate one from the other, so why not shake things up and go a different route? SVS went bold with that previous grill, but for me it was a bit too much so. The new R|Evolution series goes back to a more traditional grill, and yet in so doing I find myself not pleased again.

There's nothing offensive about the new one mind you, they went with a traditional style not dissimilar to the rest of the industry. In the process SVS took away what I thought the previous grill did very well; it was both unique and sturdy. The curving metal version was a stout piece, the new one is framed in ABS plastic and lacks a certain structural rigidity. When compared with the solid feel of everything else about the PB17-Ultra it seems an interesting choice. Guess I'll never be happy.

Another exclusive feature that bit the dust with the introduction of the new 17 series was the front control panel. I kinda miss that, it was very distinctive. The reason it’s no longer around is twofold; because the driver is larger—and the enclosure is not—SVS needed that real estate, and realistically who was going to use it when the app is so complete (more on the app in the Setup section below). I certainly understand the logic behind the control panel not being included, I guess I just lament the loss of such a distinguishing feature. From across the room you knew instantly the 16 Ultra series was an SVS subwoofer. They do include a control panel on the amplifier itself so if you prefer to reach around back and make adjustments that way the option is there.

The PB17-Ultra is offered in two different black finishes, gloss paint and oak veneer. Price is the same $2,999 no matter which you choose. Buy a pair of them and it costs $5,699, saving you $299.

Setup
The bulk of people seem to fall into two basic camps when it comes to setting up their home theater. In the first camp there are those who buy equipment, place it wherever they have room and consider themselves done. The second group in this camp does something similar; they too buy equipment and place it where the decor dictates, but they will run the room calibration system that comes with their AVR and tune it that way. The remainder of us fall into the second camp which also has two groups, but these have much smaller memberships.

The first of this pair chooses specific equipment, typically best of breed (at least as good as fiances allow). We try to place the speakers and subwoofer(s) in such a way to at least minimize the compromises of our particular room, decor does factor in however. We too run our AVR’s room calibration system, but then we’ll grab a microphone and do some measurements. Manual EQing then follows as we dial in the sound to our room and liking. This is the group I’m a member of. The last group in this camp are people with a dedicated home theater, a room specifically setup just for their viewing pleasure. Those are the diehards, folks who will often obsess over the smallest detail. I would probably be in this group if my financial position allowed it.

So what does any of that have to do with the SVS PB17-Ultra? Because I’m hoping you aren’t in the very first group, the one that doesn’t even run room calibration. If so, you’re going to miss out on a lot of what this subwoofer can do. At the very least you should run the AVR’s calibration system, the PB17-Ultra has a lot to offer and it would be a shame not to do any EQing or adjustments. Speaking of which, if you happen to be in either group from the second camp then I strongly suggest you download SVS’s app. Time spent there is well worth it.

SVS has had app controlled subwoofers for what must be getting close to a decade at this point, they were certainly among the first to offer it. If you've used its version in the past you're going to feel right at home with this one. It's basically the same logical, responsive, well thought-out interface they’ve had for a long time. It's one of those rare things you can describe by saying "it just works". The app is feature packed to, it includes the following options:

• Volume
• Low pass filter
• Phase
• Polarity
• 6 PEQ's (parametric EQ's)
• Room gain compensation
• Tuning modes
• Power management settings
• 3 customizable memory presets for different purposes; movies, music, rowdy nights, whatever you'd like

In addition to the expected Android and iOS versions, it also supports Amazon Fire. This is the first time I’ve see Fire listed as a platform for a subwoofer app. One feature not yet available is SVS’s Auto Room Equalization. Using it, and a mobile device’s built-in microphone, you’ll be able to measure your room acoustics. From there the app will automatically calculate equalization filters and apply them, optimizing the subwoofer for your particular room and listening position. This feature is anticipated to be released in Q1 of 2025, it will be available as an over-the-air app update.

Listening/In Use
In the Minus section at the lead-in for this article I stated the foam plug blew out of the port while I was testing some pretty heavy material at an elevated volume. I mentioned it could be considered a plus or minus, depending upon your viewpoint. If you like to have a physical indication to demonstrate just how potent your subwoofer is you certainly have one with the PB17-Ultra. When the plug came out I’m not taking about inching its way, it literally blew out and didn’t stop rolling until it was a good foot from the cabinet. That happened more than once. Obviously the grill was off at the time, but my point for mentioning it was the SVS PB17-Ultra is so powerful the poor foam plug didn’t stand a chance (like a number of you reading this, I like to watch a big subwoofer driver in action ever now and again so I sometimes leave the grill off).

For me however, power is of little value if it doesn’t come with poise as well. Rumbling is certainly nice, but composure—especially under duress—is what makes me smile. The PB17-Ultra had me grinning for sure. This thing is fierce when the situation warrants, subtle when it doesn’t. Words like “commanding” and “formidable” kept showing up in my notes, yet it was clean and precise even then. There was more than sufficient headroom, seemingly plenty of capability in reserve even when I thought I was pushing it. Capacity is one of the PB17-Ultra’s greatest assets, it actually seems to open up as you increase the volume. I found myself able to work this subwoofer beyond what I initially thought it was capable of, and it remained comported while I did. It absolutely makes itself known, but doesn't come across as sloppy or overwhelming. Despite a number of very spirited listening sessions, the PB17-Ultra was never obnoxious or overbearing.

Movies
Almost 8 years ago I published an article on the SB16-Ultra, SVS's flagship at the time. During that evaluation I used the following 3 movies:

• TRON: Legacy
• War of the Worlds
• Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Audio memory is notoriously short lived so I'm not going to pretend I remember exactly what the SB16-Ultra sounded like back in 2017. Of course that unit is sealed, while the PB17-Ultra I have now is ported, so there's a major difference between them. The driver is an inch larger too, so I won't be able to do an apples-to-apples comparison. I'm still going to use the same movies as I had previously though, mostly because they're good test material. Of late I have also been including the opening scene from Edge of Tomorrow in my evaluations, so I might as well keep doing that too.

I won't waste any time telling you why I chose Edge of Tomorrow, or what scene I used—I’m sure you already know all of that—so I'll just jump right in. The punishing effect is delivered in plateaus, 5 taxing levels that decrease in frequency as they increase in intensity. Typically I show some restraint on the first pass, I don't want to blast the volume and run the risk of damaging anything after all. But the PB17-Ultra is SVS's flagship product, my experience with them in the past has shown they know how to configure limiters. Given that, judiciousness was tossed out the window and I went for it right off the bat. In the end it didn't seem to faze the thing one bit, this subwoofer nailed the test.

The throbbing sensation the PB17-Ultra is able to achieve as it steps down through the different levels is exhilarating, it encouraged me to play this section over and over again. I'm sitting about 15 feet away, and even with that I can still feel a breeze emanating from the ports. There are no unpleasant resonances or offensive tones, it’s just deep bass. If you buy an SVS PB17-Ultra be sure to use this scene as one of your first demos, it will provide a really good preview of coming attractions (see what I did there in a movie section?)

For years, War of the Worlds has been considered one of the preeminent tests for a subwoofer. For whatever reason, movies featuring Tom Cruise seem to have punishing soundtracks. 50% of the material used in this evaluation feature the man, and it easily could have been 100%. I may do that at some point, use all Tom Cruise movies in a review, but for now I'm sticking to my original plan and using the same movies I did with the SB16-Ultra. I couldn’t decide which one of the many punishing scenes to feature, so I decided to use several that just happen to occur back-to-back.

The alien protagonists are transported to our planet inside massive bolts of lightning that shoot them deep into the ground. The PB17-Ultra produced those strikes with ferocity, including the very low undertone. In spite of how hard they hit, each was still sharp and distinct. If you have the volume up high enough they could startle unaware viewers, they had that much power. The invaders goal is to insert their beings into tripedal robotic creatures buried deep underground. When these pods emerge the surface is ripped apart, as it did my floor was vibrating noticeably. Even the blinds rattled in sympathy, as did a closet door. It was during this scene that the foam plug was blown out of the port for the first time.

The pods have some type of death ray appendage for arms that causes whatever it hits to disintegrate into a cloud of dust. Every time the thing fired one of them there was a vigorous ‘zap’, along with a definitive blast. Ray (Tom Cruise) needs to escape the pandemonium so he steals a minivan, loads his 2 kids inside and makes a break for it. As he’s heading out of ground zero a tanker truck gets blown off the elevated roadway behind him and crashes into the houses below. It explodes with a concussive blast which was nothing short of intense. That forcefulness didn’t overshadow the background accent sounds though, the type that help create a sense of mayhem. It was all very well balanced.

To say the Daft Punk soundtrack used in TRON: Legacy is overdone would be an understatement, but if you want to know what a subwoofer truly is capable of using material that can be described with words like 'excessive' and 'over the top' is surely a good place to start. This soundtrack can be so thick and heavy at times that any subwoofer unable to sort things out quickly will audibly fall apart, making everything sound blurry and indistinct. So what did I do? Crank it from the onset, of course. My refusal to show any restraint with the volume will likely come back to haunt me with this one.

One of the more exaggerated parts is the Light Cycle battle, because of that I often go there first. The fireworks that begin this scene told me right away that I was in for a treat, they were energetic and incisive. The ominous rumbling that accompanied them instantly created a sense of foreboding. As the battle between good and evil ensues there are interludes of raging bass, mingled among those are moments where the soundtrack is relatively calm. The former is more frequent than the latter, and during those parts the PB17-Ultra created a menacing presence. The bass was certainly prominent, jumping out and grabbing my attention, but no matter how raucous things got it was never obnoxious.

I have used this movie in reviews on many an occasion, this was unquestionably one of the best representation I’ve heard. The power and intensity was incredible, forceful without being sloppy or indistinct. It wasn't obnoxious like so often can happen with subwoofers offering less control, there was no droning whatsoever. It was just pure, unadulterated bass.

The Fellowship of the Ring installment of the Lord of the Rings franchise has a number of scenes that can be used to test a subwoofer, my go-to is typically the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. What I particularly like is that it’s not all chaos, there are respites where subtlety is required. That affords one the ability to judge how expressive a subwoofer is when it has to hang back for a period and then suddenly spring to life, with that you can gauge if it’s able to handle nuance. I personally think that’s an underrated capability.

When the Balroc first makes his presence known it’s not yet visible, but the growl it lets out makes you aware he’s out there someplace. The PB17-Ultra was able to muster a palpable sense of scale to this menacing beast, even though you have not yet seen it. As the creature tracks down the Fellowship his thunderous footsteps cause the cave walls to rain down large sections of rock, they’re being pummeled by them as they flee. The group escapes down a massive staircase, but it crumbles around them as the Balroc starts to close in. As it chased the Fellowship out of the cave its footsteps pounded the ground, intensifying the intimidating presence. At no point during the pandemonium did the PB17-Ultra lose composure, it simply continued along, totally content with this type of material. It seemed fully in its element.

Music
The “Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony” includes a fast pulsing tone around 15Hz that’s brutal on a subwoofer, especially a ported one if its tuning is anywhere near that fundamental tone. Since that’s the case with the PB17-Ultra it seemed logical it would be a good test, at an elevated volume of course. By about the 30 second mark the torture occurs for the first time, but you wouldn’t know it was abusive by how the PB17-Ultra performed. The driver was oscillating wildly, the bass coursing through the floor to the point my recliner almost turned into a message chair, yet it kept plugging away unaffected. Speaking of plugs, this was one of those times the port plug got spat out. Kinda fun to watch, if I’m honest.

Carlos Santana’s “Smooth” has the ubiquitous Latin feel the man is known for, but to shake things up he adds singer Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty to the mix. Personally I didn't see that combo working, their styles are quite different, but for this song it turned out very well. With a smooth (no pun intended) tempo that is almost certain to get your head bobbing, this tune is perfect for a subwoofer. The bass guitar was rich and luscious, it was all but oozing out of the PB17-Ultra. The assertive demeanor of the kick drum pounded in time with the bass, forming a healthy bottom end that achieved the right groove for this song.

“Wizards in Winter”, from the Trans Siberian Orchestra, is a Christmas classic of sorts. I chose it for this review because I was writing my article around that time of the year. I’ve seen TSO perform live and they did a remarkable job, if you get an opportunity to go to one of their shows it’s definitely worth the trip. This song was originally made famous from a Youtube video posted about 15 years ago, it showed a house decked out with Christmas lights that played in time to the beat.

Wizards is hard rock blended with an orchestra, quite the odd combination, but they expertly pull it off. The song has a driving rhythm, with plenty of changes and sudden stops. It begins strong right off the bat, with the bass guitar and kick drum providing a solid anchor for the other instruments. That meant the PB-17 Ultra was able to shine from the get-go. Around the 50 second mark the beat changes to a staccato rhythm, the presentation was articulate and had great depth. The song gets complex and quick at the end, yet the PB17-Ultra didn’t seem the least bit fazed.

Conclusion
Are you the type who likes to demo audio equipment for family and friends? You know who I’m talking about, the person who has a list of difficult material already selected specifically to wow their audience. More often then not, a disproportionate percentage of what is used focuses on pushing a subwoofer to the brink. If you’re that person, then SVS has something for you. The PB17-Ultra R|Evolution is a tour de force. This is one of the few subwoofers I have evaluated that seemingly encourages you to push the intensity up, it appears to relish the challenge. It rewards, rather than discourages, indiscriminate use of the volume, yet even at the extreme it remains composed and unruffled by whatever it is you do to try and unsettle it.