Think my PC Ultra 13s Defective?

[zaskarx]

When I went to calibrate the Ultra to 73 db I had turn tone voulume to plus 3 and sub gain at half. My PB plus 2 is right next to it. Only a quarter gain and 0" on tone is needed to achive 73.

If I run seperate tones the plus 2 is 6 db or more louder then the ultra with only a quarter gain vs half gain on Ultra. I have 2 sub outs on my pre and I switched cables and still Ultra is weaker. I e mailed tech support

[CECAA850]

At one time I had a PB12+2 and a PCU. The +2 had WAY more output than the PCU. It just can't keep up.

[zaskarx]

From what I read the PC Ultra 13 was better then the pb12 plus 2.?? SV told me it was a close match also. If this PC Ultra 13 isn't defective I will very disappointed. The plus 2 is way more dominant and powerful.

I dont see how one 13inch woofer could out do dual 12s or be close? I have my doubt on the PB 13 Ultra now.. which I was going to exchange for.

[YMA8888]

I own a Plus/2 and am looking to pick up a PB13 Ultra to match it. I talked to SVS on phone and guy told me the 13 Ultra would be an upgrade to my Plus/2. He said Ultra would go way deeper down to 11 or 10hz. Your sub has got to either be a defective lemon or is hooked up wrong. By any means it shouldn't be less that the Plus/2. But I did only ask about the PB13 and not the PC13. I wouldn't think that would matter though. My neighbor has the PC12 Plus and my Plus/2 crushes his cylinder. I'd call SVS and be polite but extremely unhappy. They have great customer service and don't like there customers unhappy. They should gladly send you a new PC13 in exchange

[CECAA850]

They can say what they want, but my +2 and my PCU were both in perfect working order and the +2 had (noticeably) more output than the PCU.

[zaskarx]

They are sending a new amp out. As it stands now it would take 2 Ultra 13s to match my plus 2. I hope its defective, if not I will be sending it back.

[CECAA850]

Maybe I had a bad amp and just didn't know it. I doubt it though, as the amp could actually push the driver into bottoming out if I pushed it hard enough. I sent it back when I was still in my 30 day window.

[zaskarx]

I was telling tech support I had the gain up 3/4 he expressed dont go over half. I wasn't concerned because I don't think it can bottom out. When I expressed my concern about the PCU performance this is what he said. (((how did you give sub bottom out test?)))

The Gain settings have
nothing at
all to do with max output and a working PC13-Ultra is a great match for a
PB12-Plus/2. The Plus/2 will have a bit of an edge say from 40-60Hz, but
the
Ultra will match/exceed it overall particularly at the frequency
extremes. This
is especially true in the 16Hz tune where the Plus/2 is down to single
4” port.

Based on your other
note about the
static it sounds like the amp is bad, so we’ll get a new amp out and
that
should bring the performance to the level you read about on the forums. J We’ll
include a return label, too, so you can just put the old amp in the new
box and
shoot it back to us.

The static sound I hear with the calibration tone. Its not deep and robust like the plus2. PCU sounds like weak bass mixed with fm static noise.

I watched Terminator Salvation last night. There was a noticeable difference in more bass, but not what I was expecting. The PCU is giving me 2db more

from my measurement.

[zaskarx]

18 inch drivers eh? Can you point me to where you got your sub CECA?

[CECAA850]

My living room is my sub. The four 18" drivers are built into a wall in an Infinite Baffle configuration. It meant that you only hear the front wave from the driver. There's no coloration from an enclosure (box, tube horn, etc). I got my drivers from a company called Ascendant Audio. They were big into car subs for a while. The guy who started the company sold it to Ficaraudio and started another company called "Epik". They currently produce home subs. If I were to build an IB today, I'd buy the IB specific drivers from Ficaraudio.

[CECAA850]

Here's some (low res) pics of my subs. Click this LINK and scroll down the page until you see the 4 driver sub from Carl P.

[RockOn4Klipsch]

I didn't look at the amps on the svs or the processor you are using but maybe between the 2 models an amp change was made and the gain structure between the 2 talk differently, maybe your processor has a low output voltage and the svs has a low input sensitivity. hopefully that makes sense.

Just my 2 sense. my PB13 U shakes my house with gain in the 10 o'clock posistion and the trim set to -8 in the pre.

[zaskarx]

Here's some (low res) pics of my subs. Click this LINK and scroll down the page until you see the 4 driver sub from Carl P.

Very nice bad *** sub and setup! I actually ordered an Epik sub but canceled it and stuck with SVS.

[CECAA850]

Very nice bad *** sub and setup! I actually ordered an Epik sub but canceled it and stuck with SVS.

Thanks! I went through several brands of subs before I built my IB. The +2 was my favorite sub of the bunch.

[zaskarx]

I didn't look at the amps on the svs or the processor you are using but maybe between the 2 models an amp change was made and the gain structure between the 2 talk differently, maybe your processor has a low output voltage and the svs has a low input sensitivity. hopefully that makes sense.

Just my 2 sense. my PB13 U shakes my house with gain in the 10 o'clock posistion and the trim set to -8 in the pre.

Yes it makes sense what you are saying totally,... thanks

[zaskarx]

W

Maybe I had a bad amp and just didn't know it. I doubt it though, as the amp could actually push the driver into bottoming out if I pushed it hard enough. I sent it back when I was still in my 30 day window.

What pre amp were you using?

[CECAA850]

I think I had a receiver at that time. It was before I got my pre-pro. It was a HK AVR-7200

[YMA8888]

After hearing all this I'm feelin pretty good about my Plus 2 now. Glad I haven't bought the PB13 Ultra yet. So if the Ultra isn't gonna be an upgrade then what to get? I'd like to stick with SVS. Should I wait and find an SVS B4+ or a PB12 Ultra/2 ??? Thanks, Joe

[CECAA850]

After hearing all this I'm feelin pretty good about my Plus 2 now. Glad I haven't bought the PB13 Ultra yet. So if the Ultra isn't gonna be an upgrade then what to get? I'd like to stick with SVS. Should I wait and find an SVS B4+ or a PB12 Ultra/2 ??? Thanks, Joe

Just get another +2 and stack them. It won't take up any more floor space and you'll gain about 6 more dB's. Or, you can do what I did when I sold my +2. Build an IB and immunize yourself from the upgrade bug.

[zaskarx]

Ya the plus 2 is the shit..I dunno why they changed it. To get this PC13 to perform a little.. I increased the sub calibration all the way up +10 then + plus 5 on the sub level '(on the fly setting) and sub gain at half !! plus 2 gain at only a quarter. If this amp isn't bad I will be shipping this 13 back. All the praise about the Ultras cant be about the way its performing for me.

Good luck finding a plus 2 I been looking 2 years nobody wants to ship and the closest I found was 1500 miles away .