at odds, what to make of the problem with the pb1-isd.

[firefighter]

As some of you may have read on an earlier thread (need help pb1-isd has very little sound) my sub didn't work at all when I first hooked it up and very slowly it started to work, it has been about a week and a half now and the sub is very strong, it seems everytime I turn the system on and play demo scenes it impresses me more and more, just when I think, that's how it is supposed to sound, the next time I turn it on it's better. Now it has me thinking, is this sub finally at its peak performance level or is it going to get better. The big lingering question is should a sub behave this way or should it have played this way the first second the connection is made and should I be worried about the quality of this particular amp, will it fail prematurely? I have heard of breakin time where the sub gets better, in my mind that means 80 or 90% to 100% not 0 to 100%. I know the first thing some will say is contact SVS. I have tried about 6 times useing their techsupport link on their web site with no response and when I call their different numbers the only person I get is Erik in sales and he says they only deal with email for tech support as it takes too long to troubleshoot by phone. I may be haveing trouble with my computer, so per SVS practice, that leaves me unable to get help. Don't get me wrong I am very satisfied with the pb1-isd and would highly recommend it but given the problems that I had with the sub in the beginning I would feel better about the reliability if I had another pb1-isd. Sooner or later a bad one is going to get shipped, I think I have it. Not disatisified at all just think this one is faulty. SVS really needs to rethink their practice of not troubleshooting by phone especially if email is unsuccesful as in my case. If it wasn't for this forum I would realy feel without help, so thanks to all for your support, I will always be a member here, so in short. What would do?

Thanks Jack.

[TVodhanel]

Hi Jack,

I apologize for this whole fiasco. Clearly, there is some sort of breakdown in the communications chain as our techsupport inbox hasn't received anything from you. We'll have a new PB-1isd on the way to you on Monday...we'll pay for the return shipping on your current unit and we'll also discount you 10% off for all of your trouble to date. I apologize again.

Also, if anyone has any SVS problems, (not being able to reach us)...please use the dedicated SVS forum at hometheaterspot. This will insure the quickest response from SVS.

Tom V.

SVS

[skeptic]

Awesome response from SVS. Customer support the way it should be. Good luck with your SVS Jack! I have one SVS and plan on getting more in the future, mostly based on their customer support( the power of their subs is a little factor as well... )

[SVSErik]

Hey Jack;

Please call me tomorrow at 703-845-1472. As Tom said we're going to send out a replacement ASAP but I need to confirm some things before we can send it.

We definitely are having some sort of communications problem between us and you because I never received the email you said on the phone you would send.

[firefighter]

Tom,

You and Erik have no idea how much better I feel after reading your posts, it's like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, I am so glad you made an effort to find me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I will be at the fire station tomorrow but will take the phone number with me, hopefully I will have a slow day and have the time to make the call before your work day ends, if not I will call Tuesday morning, I can't thank you enough.

THANKS!!!!!!!

Jack.

[unimorpheus]

An interesting thread to follow. While I do believe the SVS subs are probably great it is this very issue the lead me to upgrade from the RSW-10 to the RSW-12 and not an SVS despite the rave reviews in the forum. While I have no doubt SVS is a first class operation, there is something to be said about being able to touch, taste and smell a product before you plunk down hard earned cash. Also if and when something does go wrong a brick and mortar store front is there to support the product. If SVS would consider just a few dealers that would be great.

[yromj]

Generally, I tend to agree w/ Unimorpheus about B&M vs Internet store. The piece of mind of having someone to talk to first hand is very important to me. I don't agree w/ that in this case though.

Most dealers and manufacturers seem to want make you jump through three hoops that are on fire before acknowledging that something is wrong w/ their product. Here Tom and Erik come forth and take care of the problem first hand in the best possible way. The only thing firefighter will be out is a little time w his sub. (Depending on shipment times, he may not even be out that.)

I applaude SVS for their support, before, during, and after the sale.

John

[007]

I think product reviews are more important then seeing a product. You can't really get to know something just by taking a quick look. I trust experts and product owners who give products thorough evaluations and rights up reviews. If the reviews rave and you can top that with outstanding customer service then youll have my buying that product. And SVS is just that!

[steelie]

I'm with John here. Brick and mortar is almost always my preferred method to buy but I did make an exception with SVS. I've only had my PB2+ for a couple weeks now but I continue to be impressed by it. I was fortunate in that my sub was excellent out of the box. I was happy with its performance from the start. In the days since - I've had a hard time pulling myself away from it - it does seem like the sub has gotten stronger. I guess that's the break-in. Also, I recently got a CD to check on the sub's frequency response and determine if I need some different room treatment or electronic equlization. I was fairly impressed in finding out that my deepest valley,-2 db, occurs at 40 hz although my tallest peak is +5 db. This is my first venture in graphing my sub's frequency response and I don't know if I'm reading the data correctly but in my limited knowledge, that kind of varience seems pretty good in a 7,000+ cubic foot room.

Anyway, back to the topic. Thanks SVS.

[firefighter]

I recieved my replacement pb1-isd and it worked perfectly the second I made the connection. I again would like to thank Tom and Erik from SVS for comming through with customer service and sending out a new sub. There was no down time as I was told what day the sub would arrive, I packed mine by 10:00 am, UPS arrived at 2:15 pm, I was up and running at 2:30 pm. As far as prefering to do business with an actual store, it would be nice to first hand compare products, however after having this experience even with a faulty product I believe SVS is the better route. I didn't find anything even close to this sub in the stores, you would probably have to pay twice the money for a comparable sub including shipping which was $45.00, also the sub was delivered to my house no huffing it back to the store to make an exchange as it has some weight to it and there was no persuading them that the sub was faulty when it was working at the time of the exchange. So in short would I recommend SVS? absolutely, outstanding product, quality and performance. Their customer service and return policy was experienced first hand and it was better than brick and morter.

Thanks from a very satisified SVS customer,

Jack.

[Orange Peel]

Wow, excellent news dude, the customer service doesn't suprise me one bit! I have been dealing with Tom for a while, a few years now actually, and everytime I talk to him he never ceases to amaze me! He is the most friendly, helpful, supportive business owner I know, and he does this with TONS of customers, it's incredible the way they do business at SVS, Erik is cool as hell too, I never really talk to Ron I was amazed the first time I had an issue too, I didn't calibrate my 3 day old 20-39 PC+ I bought (I pre-ordered it, waited for it, etc). I ended up bottoming out the driver, only after having it 3 days, and I emailed Tom about it, he said no problem, shipped me out a new driver for free, paid for the shipping there and back, and never bashed me, or anything! He told me what I should do this time (Radio Shack SPL meter ) and I never had that problem again.

Since then I have bought 2 more SVS's (20-39 CS's), and now I am waiting on my 4th SVS, the PB2-Ultra, MAN I CAN'T WAIT!!! (FYI, I don't have the 3 cylinders anymore, sold them)

Sorry for the rant, good people and a good company need to be recognized

I hope you enjoy your sub and let us know how it does!!

[Spanky]

I have to ask this, But does anyone know the returns/repair policy for product that is sent overseas?

I live in Australia and I have sent a couple of Emails to the guys at SVS and I will also say they have been very helpfull and a pleisure to deal with (Quite a few Aussie companys could learn from this! Not replying to emails and requests for Information means I go and spend my money elewhere!)

So what happens if something go's wrong with a 20-39PCi I'm looking at buying? I know it will be to exspensive to pack up and ship it back to the USA to get it fixed, so thats out of the question, So what happens there?

[Bruinsrme]

That questing would definitely be one for the SvS crew