Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
SVS subs are excellent for home theater, but aren't quite as good for music. A Titanic might not play quite as low as an SVS on account of the sealed design, but the sound quality is definitely better. Transient response and "tightness" or "bass-definition" or whatever you want to call it are the strengths. Bit of a trade-off. Of course if you got the 15" Titanic you'd be fine.
Kex,

This has been a common misconception about SVS ever since they were selling exclusively cylinder subs. However, this is almost always due to tuning and location.

When I first auditioned an SVS sub, I spent hours, days trying out different combinations and there was not a sub-$1000 sub that compared. I put it up against a $1200 Paradigm, as well as subs from Infinity, Velodyne, and Klipsch and it was faster, tighter, and more acurate than any other sub. I used music samples that are well into the low 20Hz range and the SVS sub was phenominal. I didn't plan on purchasing it because it was so large & ugly, but there was no better bang for the buck, literally. I spent hours on the phone and online talking to the sales reps from the subs to tune and place them optimally in the room, and the SVS still came out on top each time.

Of course, I am now stuck with a 4 foot water-cooler sized box in my room and I am having to make the hard choice of finding a box that will perform as well. I'm considering all the subs mentioned here, including the Outlaw, SVS, and Daytons but I seriously doubt that I'll find an equally capable sub in a smaller box. SVS makes one incredible cylinder sub, especially for music, and I have to believe that the company will maintain that reputation in their box subs.

Let us know what you end up with and how you like it.