James in Cresskill, NJ

After attending a Superbowl party where SVS served as the main audio attraction, James from NJ caught the audio upgrade bug and decided his existing speaker system was no longer big game worthy. Having worked his way through nearly all the other major audio brands he went all out with an SVS Prime Series surround sound system with Elevation speakers handling Dolby Atmos height effects.

Completely satisfied with the experience, James got lucky, which brought his system over the top. As part of our constant efforts to improve the site and customer service, SVS occasionally sends out surveys to recent customers asking about their experience shopping with SVS and accompany it with a random giveaway. James shared his insights with SVS was chosen at random as the winner of an SB-2000 subwoofer, which let him achieve his ultimate goal of going dual. Now, his room is filled with clean, articulate and deeply satisfying bass with soaring overheard height effects and convincing surround sound.

Questions And Answers:

When did you first start getting into audio and home theater? Why?

Music was a big part of my life in the 80s. I first started off with compact all-in-one turntable stereo system in high school and bought decent receiver and speakers in college (1988).

After college, it was car audio systems. I enjoy watching movies at home and got my first home theater set up in 1998 with Bose cube speakers, lol. I went through a few receivers (mostly Onkyo and Denon) and speakers (Bose, Polk, Paradigm, and Klipsch) over the years. I also found adding a power amp makes a difference in audio. IMO, there is no such thing as perfect audio/video set up, and you need to find what works best for yourself with a budget in mind.

There's always room for improvement, but I’m very content with my current set up with SVS speakers and subs.

Why did you make the upgrade to Dolby Atmos?

I first experienced Dolby Atmos two years ago at a Super Bowl party. My friend had an SVS Ultra Series set up with a PB13 subwoofer in a dedicated theater and I was blown away.

I had a Polk Monitor series 5.1 set up with 12” Velodyne sub for many years and thought it was time for an upgrade. I absolutely loved the sound of the SVS Ultras, but it was out of my price range. I had a budget in mind and SVS Prime series fit the bill.

How have the Prime Elevation effected your surround sound experience?

After a pair of Prime Elevation purchase, I tested both 7.2.2 and 5.2.4 set ups.

It’s all matter of personal preference, but I thought 5.2.4 set up gave me more of the immersive sound effects that I was looking for. I also feel Prime elevation has more dynamic range than Prime satellite so there was just more energy in the room. I’ll eventually add another pair of Elevation height speakers in the back of the room for 7.2.4 set up.

Tell us about the cooling system you installed?

When I upgraded to Denon AVR-X4300H, I felt it ran little too hot. I have limited space on my rack system and after some research, I found that Infinity Aircom S8 (real exhaust) will do the trick. My outlaw 5000 runs cool, but Aircom S6 was added just to be safe. Both Aircom units turn on automatically at 88 degrees and never go over 50% fan speed.

What has been the result of adding dual subwoofers? How has it impacted the audio experience?

I had dual RSL Speedwoofer 10s prior to owning PB-2000s. Now the RSL subs are being utilized in my basement 5.2 set up. Audio/Video has been a hobby of mine for a long time and thru research, I found many benefits of running dual subs. Bass management is critical and I found running duals gave me smoother and more even bass throughout out the room. Adding the SVS SoundPath Isolation system also helped with rattling in my room so I could enjoy clean and powerful bass in every seat. It was really a massive improvement. Plus, the low frequency power now is almost limitless.

What are some of your favorite movies/music to show off your system?

My set up is really for my own enjoyment, but when I do have friends over I tend to turn on Tron, Jurassic World or a Dolby Atmos demo disc. I enjoy all types of music (except country, lol) and still do a lot of 2 channel music listening. These days, I turn on “Congratulations” by Post Malone to show off my SVS system.

Anything else you want to share with the SVS community?

Before I bought my Prime Series speakers in early 2016, I had numerous questions which were all answered quickly via email. I also called SVS few times regarding set up and suggestions after I had all the speakers and subwoofers delivered. Professionalism, knowledge, and customer service of SVS staff are unparalleled.