SVS 16-46CS Owner'S Manual Download Page 3

Page 3 

About your SV Subwoofer 

SV Subwoofers

 

Very few subwoofers look anything like them, and virtually none work 
like them.  SV Subwoofers are decidedly different.  The best part?  
You could have spent thousands more, and 

still 

not come close to the 

same bass performance.  How do we do it? 
 

Quality components, sane prices.  

You might be surprised at how 

inexpensive the components in some 

not-so-inexpensive 

subwoofers are.  Make 

no mistake, we scour the earth for the best, most cost effective parts (when we 
don’t make them ourselves), and meld them into finely tuned designs that 
define high performance home theater (HT) bass.  Want woofers, amps, or 
even binding posts?  We’ve tested and discarded plenty that didn’t meet our 
tough standards. If we use it, whatever it is, it made the grade.  
 

Get “tubular”.  

Typical subs require heavy internal bracing and thick 

enclosure walls 

because 

they’re boxes.  But cylinders can’t flex the way boxes 

do.  Ever wonder why high pressure tanks are always round?  At SVS form 
follows function, and  fortunately, functional designs can lead to simple, stylish 
and elegant designs too.  Take one look at our subs and you’ll know this is 
true.   
 

Stable downward firing woofer.  

Our slender design is one plus, but we’ve 

also taken great lengths to design a downward firing driver.   Coupled with our 
unique base-plates, which minimize driver reactive forces, you’ll find our subs 
can take a tremendous amount of power and remain rock solid.  
Interchangeable foam rubber or heat-treated steel spike feet allow for stable 
placement on a variety of surfaces (

NOTE

: Spikes are not recommended for 

concrete sub-floors or similarly hard materials!). 

 

Custom low turbulence port designs

.  

When you listen to our trend setting 

ported subs you’ll hear (and feel) bass like never before, with a exceptionally 
low noise and distortion.  When you experience genuine SVS bass you’ll know 
something special went into it. 
 

Stylish, and understated.  

From the simple top grill, to the elegant base-plate 

you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to lose your sub in a corner, they’re big, but 
it’s one of those times size 

does 

matter.  There are hundreds of  brands of 

“black box” subs out there.  Fortunately you didn’t just unpack one of them. 
 

Flexible power options.  

Our subs are painstakingly designed to perform 

exceptionally well with nearly any amp.  One we offer, or one

 

you already 

have.  And because they are tuned low and take advantage of plenty of internal 
volume, you get amazingly low extension without the need for external 
equalizers or processors.  This serves to put more of your amp to work making 
bass.  Even small amps can sound big with these efficient subs.  Power up, and 
get down, low.   

Summary of Contents for 16-46CS

Page 1: ...oofer Pages 4 7 Setup integration and calibrating Page 8 Performance specifications Pages 9 10 Bass demos for your home theater Page 11 Home theater terms Page 12 Warranty SVS Cylinder Series Last update 21 February 2001 SV Subwoofers 25 31CS 20 39CS 16 46CS Models ...

Page 2: ...o component carefully tuned in our labs by bass authority and Subhuman Tom Vodhanel You re unlikely to have ever heard or felt bass like this before unless it was in a top notch commercial movie theater Movies and music in your home will never be quite the same again We guaran tee it Already got a question about your sub You might answer it by read ing this manual we think you ll find it more info...

Page 3: ... taken great lengths to design a downward firing driver Coupled with our unique base plates which minimize driver reactive forces you ll find our subs can take a tremendous amount of power and remain rock solid Interchangeable foam rubber or heat treated steel spike feet allow for stable placement on a variety of surfaces NOTE Spikes are not recommended for concrete sub floors or similarly hard ma...

Page 4: ...ing your sub where it might adjoin large open areas but whether you put the sub in front or to the rear of your seating area makes surprisingly little difference True deep home theater bass like that from Dolby Digital DD 5 1 channel DVDs is non directional You can t tell where it is coming from even though you can hear and feel it Hook up see fig 1 There are a variety of ways to configure your ne...

Page 5: ...ogether unless you consult with SVS Damage to your subwoofer amp or both can result Calibration isn t only for tech minded folks it s critical to a proper balance of your home theater sound system Fortunately channel bal ance calibration is as easy to do as it is important The first order of business is making sure your DD DTS surround sound system is set up properly We recommend you consult your ...

Page 6: ...er As mentioned earlier you can use a stereo amp to drive a pair of SV Subwoofers In the latter case you ll need to split the sub woofer signal with a Y Cable and run separate pairs of speaker wires to each sub Is your Radio Shack sound pressure level SPL meter ready This tool is absolutely critical to proper home theater audio calibra tion It s akin to a tire pressure gauge for your car Set the m...

Page 7: ...ow frequency bass Take advantage of this especially if you like action movies with lots of 1 channel low fre quency effects LFE Keep in mind too that the human ear is rela tively insensitive to low frequencies This coupled with the fact most folks don t watch movies at Dolby Digital reference level loud means tweaking the bass up a few dBs usually yields a better movie sound experience If you hear...

Page 8: ...rves charted at a ridiculously low volume that is great flat performance but only at a volume too low to hear There are all sorts of tricks to make subwoofer s performance look good We don t use any of them and thought you might appreciate that At SVS we guarantee not only you ll be surprised and amazed with bass you never experienced before but also that your sub performs at least as well as adve...

Page 9: ...rest Scene 8 20 00 into the movie 2 2 2 2 Robot Landing Train Impact Scene 10 25 40 3 Green Boom Scene 27 1 11 40 Antz Another good family movie though not perhaps for small children Extremely loud bass above 30 Hz Terror from Above Scene 17 51 48 The Matrix Modern violent science fiction classic with plenty of shoot em up bass blasts Here s some subtle and not so subtle 1 Where we are grown Scene...

Page 10: ...nother modern sci fi horror classic this one rocks from intro to final scene 1 Ship drop Scene 9 41 20 2 Awakenings Scene 15 1 12 52 Apocalypse Now Making This Vietnam war movie Francis Ford Copolla nearly went crazy imagine what it ll do to your subwoofer 1 Chopper ride Scene 2 0 19 47 2 ARC LIGHT Scene 4 0 26 02 3 Grenade launch Scene 12 1 27 58 Contact SETI with a bass twist or two along the wa...

Page 11: ...t quite up to our definition Hz Short for Hertz the German scientist who came up with a scheme of measuring the frequency of sound waves 15 30 Hz is very low bass and very rare in anything but movie soundtracks 60 Hz is generally considered mid bass above which most large full range speakers can easily produce The real fun and real bass is in the middle of that range call it 20 40 Hz LD Laserdisc ...

Page 12: ...ear warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for subwoofers 1 year for electronics Sub must be returned to SVS shipping pre paid SVS will repair or replace any item at its discretion and return to the customer as soon as possible Naturally this warranty does not cover any product subjected to misuse or accidental damage Repairs or parts required to misuse are subject to additional cha...

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