Box Subwoofer SB12-Plus Features: The Plus 12.3 Woofer

Not quite sure where your sub's parts come from?  How about a small factory in rural Ohio?  The SVS SB12-Plus is another example of a component set we're quite proud to highlight, in detail. Other brands would rather you not look deep into their woofers or amps. We have parts like this out in our showroom.

If a sub's brain is the amplifier, then the heart must be the woofer.  The third generation Plus woofer (which we call the Plus 12.3) runs counter to virtually every trend in the industry:  It's made by us, it's made in our Ohio factory, and we released it when we were good and ready, knowing full well that its predecessor was already unmatched in this price class.  Oh, and it's expensive to make, when you sell factory direct you can afford to put in better stuff.  More than ever, this new woofer rivals its more expensive Ultra brother, taking the Plus legacy and upping the ante in every performance aspect a bit more. 

But a world-class woofer is only part of the picture.  Using other high performance parts like our robust, hand-finished hardwood construction on the cabinet, and a famed Canadian-built BASH amp with 425 watts ...  you get performance that's good enough to embarrass subwoofer twice its size. 

When you start out to better a design as good as the second generation SVS Plus woofer, you have your hands full.  The "old" woofer (called the dB12.2 in house and used in all Plus subs till late February 2006) was already the industry leader at this price point.  Typically rivaling drivers costing 2-3X as much, it was compact, reasonably good looking, with excellent durability and off-the-map performance exceeded only by our own Ultra woofers.  Make an even better Plus woofer, and keep the price the same?  It was a very tough task that might never have happened.  It took over 2 years of developmental work and experimentation with emerging materials and design, all put through a gauntlet of extreme testing in our R/D labs.   Every "old" performance chart was dissected; some beta-testers got into the feedback loop; rare failed second generation woofers were put under the knife too.

It wasn't easy, or cheap, but our development team came up with a clean sheet of paper design that looks better, works better, and is more durable than the last Plus woofer.  Looking close, you'll see little touches like elegant black anodized finish that helps dissipate heat, evidence of special spider tooling which keeps that critical part aligned, with much more.  This is a woofer that'll keep its composure in anything from subtle, to extreme use.  Even less obvious, state of the art adhesives are expertly used in small batch building runs to maintain quality unlike anything we've ever done.  Rather than sub-contract this bread-and-butter component, all the custom design and assembly was done in-house, where production will continue.  In a day when whole product lines, whole brands, are routinely sent to lowest cost bidders overseas, your Plus woofer once again bucks the trend.

While our entry level NSD drivers remain the high-performance budget choice in big SVS subs like the new PB12-NSD, if you prefer a small sub and can afford to step up a bit to the SB12-Plus, you will get more "bang for the buck" than previously possible in this size and price.  Once again we can say, affordable performance doesn't get any better than this. What sort of driver does your old subwoofer have?

• Bi-filar wound, high-temp, 4-layer 2"aluminum voice coil with Mil-spec polyimide insulation
• High temperature polyamide voice coil bobbin/former
• Dual progressive poly-cotton spiders with integrated power leads
• Custom tooled spider landing for increased lateral stability
• Cast aluminum frame with integrated cooling vents – epoxy powder-coat finish
• Chrome plated spring loaded push terminals
• Integrated single piece rubber wrap-around gasket
• Black anodized high grade aluminum cone diaphragm with inverted aluminum dust-cap  
• High-excursion, custom SBR surround (Styrene-Butadiene Rubber)
• Dual stacked select grade ferrite magnets
• Low carbon 1008 steel single piece T-yoke and gap plate – electrophoresis finish
• Absolute highest quality acrylic adhesives used throughout
• Extreme excursion capability, enhanced efficiency and durability
• Small batch, hand-built in SVS's dedicated Ohio assembly line

425 Watt RMS Built-In BASH Amplifier

Yet another high output full-featured digital switching amp born our of the partnership between SVS and Indigo Manufacturing,  one of the most capable and largest original equipment manufacturers in the world. Built in Canada to exacting standards seldom seen in this price class, its rugged, clean layout and construction serves as a perfect complement to SVS Powered Boxes. Quite literally, thousands of man-hours are expended dialing in performance that perfectly matches the SB12-Plus woofer and its enclosure.   As always, we even made sure our own logo graced this amp as a reminder that no other subwoofer manufacturer has it.  And since you can only get one on your SVS, you won't see them floating around the various "do it yourself" e-tailers either. Isn't it nice to know your amp was made just for your sub?

Don't let the conservative real-world power rating deceive you. Given our latest US-built drivers and the rugged SVS box designs, the SVS SB12-Plus can embarrass other subwoofers touting thousands of watts.

• Variable crossover with bypass
• Auto-on, or always-on settings with power LED
• Infinitely variable phase and gain controls
• Extra heavy detachable power cord and main power breaker with replaceable fuse
• Room compensation control for optimal in-room extension
• Single band Parametric Equalizer (PEQ)
• Gold plated dual low level RCA as well as balanced XLR inputs and outputs
• High-level inputs/outputs with gold plated binding posts
• Easy to grasp aluminum control knobs for quick adjustment
• Brushed and black-anodized, super-thick aluminum chassis
• Modular design allows easy servicing
• Light, cool running design means years of trouble-free performance
  

Variable crossover (with bypass), defeat-able auto-on, variable phase, variable subsonic, Parametric EQ, high-level and low-level inputs, detachable power cord,  and LOADS of power!  This is one amp you can count on to provide years of accurate, deep and powerful bass.  Get the BASH advantage on your SVS now.

More on BASH

BASH® is a proven class of amplification, answering the market needs for efficiency without compromising sound quality. BASH® is a patented "High Efficiency Linear Amplifier" circuit topology that has taken the best of Class D and Class AB and created a new Class of its own. By combining a fast response power converter with a linear amplifier, BASH® is able to maintain both class AB sonic performance and class D efficiency.

BASH® can produce high power levels without cost penalties typically associated with conventional amplifier designs. A linear amplifier rated at 100 Watts should be able to deliver 20 Watts continuously. If the same amplifier is to play musical transients that are 10dB louder than its rated power, the amplifier must be able to deliver 1000 watts dynamically. To deliver such dynamic power would require the internal power supply rails to be 300% higher, and the resulting power dissipated at 20 watts output to be 350% higher resulting in increases to heat sinks, power transformer, bulk capacitors, output devices and ultimately increases the cost.

BASH® provides customers new solutions, opens new markets, offers greater flexibility, and ultimately reduces the cost of amplification.

Click here to read more on BASH® technology

Flush-mount Amp Configuration

What makes the SB12-Plus so unique? Well, besides the fact it’s packed with components normally only found in subs costing thousands more, is the fact SVS sweats little details like mounting its amp flush, safe and secure in one of the nicest looking and best built box subwoofer in the world.   Could we have slapped the amp, surface mounted  into a square edged vinyl wrapped (or faux wood finish) box made for a few dollars??  Yes, we could have -- but didn't.   The advantages of a subwoofer box, with the convenience of an “all in one”, built-in amp, and small. That’s the SB12-Plus…proudly built in Ohio with the best quality domestic and imported components , and only available at SVS.

Simple, elegant, removeable, synthetic rubber floor isolation points

No matter how your rock rolls, or how low your organ goes, the shockwaves emanating from that high efficiency woofer propagate out from an enclosure on the floor. If it's not made well it'll buzz and bounce and rattle. Not this one. It's heavy, and every panel cut using computer controlled machines. When you're in the midst of your favorite action movie scene you might wonder if such a stylish, modern looking enclosure can can really move your home theater (without moving around itself). Fortunately for SVS customers, all the drama will be on screen, and all around you in gut pounding, accurate bass. Your subwoofer will serenely be belting it out at all the right moments. Rock solid. Utterly unflappable. Form follows function at SVS. (NOTE: SB12-Plus not available in white. Image at right used for illustration purposes only).

Another example of thinking like that? How about something simple, like putting our drivers in with 1" thick baffles with steel t-nut retainers and custom rubber gaskets to keep it solid. Its low center of gravity and an inherently well-protected woofer mean years of rock-solid performance. Bass that goes this low, starts there too.

But maybe you have a hard floor and it's time to setup your sub? You won't find hard plastic feet that might vibrate on your SVS sub. Instead the default mounting configuration is a set of compliant synthetic rubber cone feet perfectly suited for wood, vinyl or tile flooring. The same setup works just as well on thickly padded and carpeted floors too.

Optimize in-room frequency response with built-in room compensation

Some of our subwoofers offer variable tuning (which changes how low they can go). This sub is different. Because it's small, we expect many customers will want the option to install it in small rooms. Small rooms are actually quite advantageous in producing deep bass. So much so that a deep running small sub like this might actually get too much of a good thing.

Known as "room gain" most rooms support a phenomenon that actually increases the effects of deep bass. The lower you go below 25Hz the greater this effect can be. Again it's generally considered a good thing, room gain. But if your room is on the smaller side, (say 1,400 cubic foot [ft3] range) it's best to roll the deepest response of the sub just a bit before the sub would do it otherwise. This tool serves to keep frequency response flat and powerful even below 20Hz using your room's natural acoustics, and helps keep the amp running cool and clean as well.

The bigger the room, the less this compensation is needed. Up to 2,400ft3 rooms the medium setting will tend to work best, and over 2,400ft3 the "Large" setting with the least subsonic filtering. Customers in this class are best served by more than one SB12-Plus or one of our larger more efficient subwoofers however. Each room is different, but matching your room's deep bass character with your subwoofer now is a twist of a knob away.

Hand-finished cabinets

Thousands of hours go into optimizing the materials, finish, custom tooling, and layout of every SVS, box or cylinder.  Using state of the art computer assisted design (CAD) and our relentless regimen of simulations and extensive real-world measurements, no other manufacturer makes a more robust and acoustically inert  enclosure than SVS.  Using up to 1" medium density fiberboard (MDF) core baffles with extremely high grade clear real wood veneers and signature rounded corners, our SB12-Plus panels are meticulously machined  with procedures reserved for the best high end cabinetry.   Hand assembled, and finished with a multi-step process that's an SVS secret.  With one of four stunning wood finishes, luxurious piano gloss black, or light textured black vinyl, this is as much fine furniture for your home theater or music room as it is a subwoofer! 

Colors to fit nearly any decor

Oak

Gloss Black

Rosenut

Some companies give you few, if any choices on colors for your subwoofers, this sub has four!  With the SB12-Plus we give you two stunningly beautiful natural wood finishes done on clear hardwood, plus immaculate "piano gloss" or black vinyl (seen on the subs above).  Select yours at the time of purchase and we'll have one on the way quickly. 

Response Curve

* Smoothed, quasi-anechoic frequency response:  Measured with high resolution instrumentation (1/60th octave) via "ground plane" technique, outdoors, at two meters' distance, a minimum of 70 feet from reflective boundaries.

Note: In-room extension, with corner placement, will typically yield 3-5Hz greater linear extension than indicated.  Results will vary based on room size, seat distance from your SVS sub,  and subwoofer location in the room.