SVS SB-4000 Active, Sealed Subwoofer Test

SVS SB-4000 Active, Sealed Subwoofer Test

SVS subwoofers are not unknown to home theatre and music fans. The popularity of the brand is due to its quality exterior design and perfect bass ranges produced.

SB-4000 model

The SB-4000 is an active, sealed enclosure system subwoofer with a rectangular shape, with slight rounding, and is not visible at first glance, but it weighs 46.4 kg and has a large magnet weighing nearly 17 kg. The rugged, very thick MDF enclosure surrounds the fiberglass, paper composite, ultra-rigid membrane and wide aluminium die-cast basket that is almost like armour. It is equipped with a steel cover and has rubber feet.

Air can move through trapezoidal openings, the pendulum coil is made of 3-inch aluminium wire wound in 8 layers. The manufacturer calls the deflection XMech and allows a deflection of 76.2 mm without any damage, which is really amazing.

The back cover is quite simple, with clean, line-level inputs and outputs, RCA, XLR sockets, a main switch and an IEC socket only on it. Unlike previous models of the brand, the subwoofer is also equipped with a display, which can also be controlled with a small infrared remote control, but can also be controlled via Bluetooth or iOS and Android based mobile phones and smart devices via a downloadable application. This kind of control seemed much easier than controlling with the remote control.

There are a wide variety of settings available in the menu, such as volume, display off, cut slope, or low pass filter frequency control… etc. A 3-band parametric EQ calibration program also aids fine-tuning, frequency transmission from 19 to 310 Hz, Sledge amplifier at 1200 watts and “D” class. It is also extremely easy to integrate into our sound system thanks to the settings.

It has been given a simple, modern, cube shape design. There is a blue LED display on the front panel, which can be dimmed if it bothers you. If you want a more elegant design, you can also choose the glossy, piano lacquered surface, but then you have to cope with the fingerprints, and unfortunately dust also deposits on the glossy surface quickly.

It doesn’t matter how large the room is for such a high-performance subwoofer, it can provide the best performance in rooms of 20-25 square meters.

Advantages of active subwoofers with sealed enclosure

Active speakers have a built-in amplifier, so they are capable of high performance and pulse-like operation, in addition to requiring short cables, which ensures that these losses are also reduced. Active speakers are also advantageous in terms of space saving. The sealed enclosure system speakers have a completely closed design, the contained air acts as a spring force when the speaker diaphragm moves. Thanks to this, we get precise, well-caught, tight basses. However, this type belongs to the more expensive price category, as the production costs are also much higher.

Sound

We tested the SB-4000 subwoofer integrated into a home theatre system playing the movie Legend first released in cinemas in 2015. We tested the subwoofer with a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 60 stationary speakers and a Denon AVC X6700 home theatre amplifier.

In the approximately 28-square-foot home theatre room acoustics were virtually flawless according to our measurements. The owner did a very thorough job in this concern when designing and furnishing his cinema room. Printed acoustic panels on the walls, diffuser elements, as well as thick-woven sound-absorbing curtains and a thick, densely woven carpet also contributed to the perfect acoustics. With the help of curtains, not only the acoustics can be improved, but also complete darkness can be achieved, which is a very important aspect when it comes to reproduce cinema like conditions.

We had a very clear, strong, accurate and detailed sound, the subwoofer was able to transmit distortion-free, very intense, percussive depths, and the dynamics were also ideal. The Live by Night movie starring Ben Affleck from 2016 followed. We had an extensive stage scene, a spacious and detailed sound experience, the basses were really full, extremely tight and entertaining.

We also tried out the subwoofer’s competencies in the field of music. We listened to Imagine Dragons’ song Monster and then to Michael Bublé’s hit Feeling Good. The subwoofer produced deep basses that shook the wall, and no distortion was recorded at high volume either. It filled the space very nicely, moreover, we have to admit that we also heard ranges of bass notes that we had not heard before in the same song. Sometimes we felt the bass was a bit overly controlled and regulated, but that wouldn’t be a serious mistake.

Conclusion

The SB-4000 subwoofer is a true heavyweight champion, thanks not only to its rather heavy weight, but to the fantastically intense and muscular bass ranges. We did not hear any distortion, it kept the clear sound even at high volumes. The disadvantage would be the lack of automatic calibration, although the Room EQ Wizard can be used instead; it would be more convenient and simpler if it also had automated calibration. Controlling the subwoofer is much easier through the APP, using smart devices. We would have liked a little more free-flowing at times, unstoppable basses, because the SB-4000 radiates slightly overly controlled bass notes, but no subwoofer should have a bigger flaw than that anyway.

The excellent sound and the indestructible, rugged exterior design, the use of quality parts also raise the price. This subwoofer doesn’t belong to the cheaply affordable category.

G.H.

Written by Róbert Polgár