svs box or cylinder?

[bubbagump]

Does it make a difference? The cylinder's are cheaper, use the same driver as the high end boxes, go deeper and appear to perform as well or better according to svs's testing. For music only, could it be that the boxes are better damped and cleaner sounding?

[JoeE SP9]

Construction tubes have less or no resonance. They are much cheaper than MDF and much lighter. They are inherently better damped because they have no flat surfaces. IMHO tubular subs perform much better than boxes. However, they are very light and appear less substantial physically. Their non conventional appearance may have a lot to do with their being less popular. After all, lots of people don't want to pay for what appears to be a roll of carpet.
Although I use 2 12" sealed box subs I'm building 2 tube subs based on a Nelson Pass design. They will be approximately 12" dia. 6' tall transmission lines. I hope they will sound as tight as my sealed boxes. Ported systems have always sounded slightly woolly to me. That "woolliness" has always kept me from using them.
Transmission line systems do require slight eq. I am building passive and active eq electronics to see which I like best. The calculations indicate they will perform better than the boxes I have now. They should go lower and louder with the same or less power.
I haven't decided how the exterior will be finished, maybe some faux marble pillars or fake London underground kiosks, maybe flat or high gloss black. I do know the standard boring black fabric sock won't be on mine.

[bubbagump]

SVS pc-ultra or pc-plus it is.

[JoeE SP9]

The SVS subs are ported. This makes the sound too "wooly" for me. If you like or are used to the sound of a ported sub then the least resonant is a tubular one.

[kexodusc]

Sontotube subs have pretty much the same amount of resonance as box subs, just different frequencies in which they occur. The round shape contributes a bit to the damping, but the material is the key contributor. They're not really damped any more than a comparable, well constructed box though.
In some ways a cylinder is worse, depending on the height of the cylinder. However th resonance is no big deal as the resonating frequencies of both box and cylinder subs are usually much higher in frequency than range the sub will be used, and far below the reference level.

Now, if they were perfect spheres...

[StanleyMuso]

I haven't decided how the exterior will be finished, maybe some faux marble pillars or fake London underground kiosks, maybe flat or high gloss black. I do know the standard boring black fabric sock won't be on mine.

painting it fire-engine red and diguising it like the old London mailbox? You could even paint a fake letter slot on it.

Just joking. Though it would certainly provide a talking point.

[JoeE SP9]

painting it fire-engine red and diguising it like the old London mailbox? You could even paint a fake letter slot on it.

Just joking. Though it would certainly provide a talking point.

Good thought! I'm single so I could get away with it. How about 2 barber poles?

[nightflier]

As a long-time owner of the SVS 16-46pci, I can tell you that is one monster of a sub. I once saw a system that had two of these in a room that sounded and looked very imposing. I have shaken items off of shelves at the other end of the house with it (here in SoCal, houses are a little more wobbly). Point is, it's an amazing value. There is no other $650 sub that will go down to 16Hz at 90dB. That said, it is a large sub. It will make your friends drool, not only because of its sound, but also because their wives will never allow them to bring that into the house. At 18" in diameter, it takes up about 18" square in the room, because no other furniture is concavely curved to fit around it. The cats also love to rub up against it, although I've solved that problem by placing a circle of rubber spikes 2" around it (which unfortunately increases the amount of space needed around it).

I love my sub, but now with our family growing, I'm having to replace it - between the attempts to climb it by the kids as well as the cats, I just don't have the room anymore. So I'm going to buy a box sub (probably from SVS). But if you have the room and you want to have a sub that will make bank alarms go off, scare lowriders off your street, make crows fall out of the sky, and make your poker buddies drool all the way home, then SVS is your best choice. And the service and support from SVS is also top-notch. Buy it with the SPL meter and you will have an amazing setup. Heck, buy two of them and turn your house into a mobile home....