# Duals are $1K more? Jman reviewed both VTF-3 MK5 vs SVS PB-3000.



## Barking Pumpkin (Jun 26, 2011)

Wanted to send this directly to Jman but I'm a long time lurker, 1st time poster. Here goes.

I always enjoy your sub reviews! Saw you historically prefer sealed subs. I'm long overdue for new sub(s). And my curiosity peaked on the Stereophile Class A given to the SB-3000. But my 3000+ cu.ft. very open floorplan space seems to be best suited for ported, dual SB-3000s I've been told would not suffice, even for a non-basshead, with a 70% music / 30% movies+TV mix. But I digress. We share some similar music tastes and I reckon we're pretty close in age, too. Not slowing down one bit! And, I own quite a few Trower LPs. Anyhoo, my short list includes these two models, VTF-3 & PB-3000. Duals will be procured. With price increases all around, the delivered price difference between these two is now nearly $500. I've seen the measurements and they seem pretty close, with a slight edge to the SVS under 20Hz. I always read others stating SVS is overpriced, but I've also read this SVS 3000 series is something special (not only from SVS marketing). So are the PB-3000 duals worth $1000 more than the Hsu subs? My budget is not set in stone, and I have space in my room for large subs, but two PSA TV2121s or Rythmik FV18s, for example, just seems like total overkill for me. Thanks for the insights!!


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

I will try and summon him! Lol
@Jman


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Interesting indeed. 
Imo, the value goes to HSU. As you noted, imo SVS’s value has been diluted. Not that they don’t build great subs, just that they include the bill of rights into the pricing. That means every single customer pays for svs to offer “free trials” and “free shipping” etc, whetithey use it or not. I will say their CS is still probably the best ever though. The app can be very handy, but if you set and forget, that won’t matter. Not ripping svs either. I own some actually so there’s that… And as you mentioned, the 3000 series is pretty special, and probably the best value in SVS’s lineup. 
So imo, sealed vs ported is only a battle of size. To me, there’s no reason to use sealed subs except to save space. One caveat is that if music is your focus, as it seems to be, you probably won’t need the extra output down to 20hz that ported can give. However if your music routinely digs way down like some dubstep and edm etc will, then I think ported wins again. FWIW, it can take 3-4 sealed subs to equal one ported sub at 20hz. For movies, that’s a big deal. 
So speaking for myself, I would buy Rythmik, psa, or monolith first. If budget was a big deal, HSU wins the day for sure. 
Not speaking for @Jman, but I’m sure he’ll chime in. He’s a wealth of knowledge and a great guy.


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## Barking Pumpkin (Jun 26, 2011)

Amazon (tracking price fluctuations using Camelizer) dropped the Monolith 13" to $1405, delivered into my home. Bought 2 today. Once I discovered Claridy designed these (and also the Outlaw X13) I was good with Monoprice. As far as customer service (which I hope to never require) I can say my experience with Denon is such I will never buy anything Denon again. My Yamaha AVRs needed repairs in and outside warranty periods, and a little pissing and moaning got me happy results both times. I think Monoprice will be around for a long time, even if not selling nicer audio equipment way into the future. I imagine the other ID sub makers, in time, will be bought out by SVS or other competitors, or go the way of Epik.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Congrats! I think you will be very very happy. Make sure to share your thoughts.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

willis7469 said:


> I will try and summon him! Lol
> @Jman


To get my attention would require you use _the_Jman... 😄

@Barking Pumpkin 
I see you've already made your choice, I assume what you got was this one? If so I think you're gonna be very happy with them.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

theJman said:


> To get my attention would require you use _the_Jman...
> 
> @Barking Pumpkin
> I see you've already made your choice, I assume what you got was this one? If so I think you're gonna be very happy with them.


My apologies oh great one!

Is this like one of those third person things…? Lol


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