SVS SB12-Plus

The SB12-Plus is by far the smallest of the subwoofers in this review. It's long been said that in drag races there's no substitute for engine displacement. More cubic inches mean more power. To a large extent that's true of subwoofers as well. Larger cabinets and larger drivers tend to deliver deeper, stronger bass. The SB12-Plus could produce 88 dB SPL at 25 Hz, but not without distortion and audible limiter action. (From 40 Hz down, protection-circuit effects were audible when the sub was driven into overload.) It also produced out-of-band artifacts at 260 and 400 Hz when the crossover is disabled, but since that setting would be used only when an external crossover were in place (in a receiver, for example), this shouldn't be a problem. At the top of its range, and down to 32 Hz, the SB12-Plus had impressive output capability, however, especially for such a relatively tiny subwoofer. (To get an idea of its performance relative to that of more comparably sized, though somewhat smaller, subwoofers, see Tiny Killer Subs.) It also sports an impressive array of operating controls, though some may require care to use effectively. The crossover-frequency control markings were fairly accurate, and the control exhibited only minor level interaction.

In the lab

Frequency response (at 0.5 meter)
Crossover Disable: 34 to 116 Hz ±2.1 dB

Bass limits (lowest frequency and maximum SPL with limit of 10% distortion at 2 meters in a large room)

Frequency	dB SPL
62 Hz	110
50 Hz	107
40 Hz	97
32 Hz	102

Average maximum output, 32 to 62 Hz: 104 dB
Maximum output: 110 dB SPL at 62 Hz
Bass limit: 32 Hz at 102 dB SPL

Crossover

Control Setting	Measured Frequency	Level Change
Disable	116 Hz	–
120 Hz	108 Hz	-
80 Hz	70 Hz	+2 dB
40 Hz	54 Hz	-

Low-pass slope: 24 dB per octave

(Note: Reducing the crossover frequency also extended measured low-frequency slightly, by as much as 10 Hz at the lowest setting.)

PEQ Function
The parametric equalizer was relatively difficult to use. The actions of individual controls seemed to depend on the settings of others. Q (filter sharpness) was adjustable from 0.17 to 0.5. Full cut fell between -5 and -9 dB, depending on other control settings. And though the frequency setting was relatively close to indicated, certain actions might be confusing to unsophisticated users. For example, a full cut set to 20 Hz and Lo Q just cut overall response below 50 Hz.

Room Compensation
Small: Cut response above 50 Hz by 4.6 dB
Medium: Cut output bellow 80 Hz by 1.3 dB
Large: Cut output below 80 Hz by 2.1 dB

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