REL HT1003 and SVS SB1000 Review - I’m Keeping The SVS

I bought both of these subwoofers to test. The SVS SB1000 ended up being the clear winner.

[thejohnson]

Nice assessment mate. I tested both these for a 2nd living room and came up with the same conclusion. By brand & looks i wanted to go with REL, by sound i had to go with SVS.

[cvee]

The guys at SVS did their homework, and it shows. Don't mind saying the SVS SB1000 Pro is an engineering gem for $599. Replaced my older BIC PL-200 II with the SVS SB1000 Pro, the opening scene in Prometheus is simply amazing, not just audibly but physically chest thumping as well. Never got that with the BIC. Also, listening to my LP collection, the SVS is absolutely superb musically.

[Prettytony]

Great video! Just purchased tow of the ported SVS 1000 models. Can’t wait!

[akixdwq]

DSP is really the game changer, which makes even a cheap stuff sound pretty awesome. The build of Rel looks more solid and elegent, but it is still using the technology 20 years ago. It is a hard choice! 😂

[jbf]

Very nice review. Clarifies some quesions for me and supports what I had alrady decided which was to go with SVS. 👍

[MrRonnmaui]

I bought the SVS SB 2000 and think it is great for music. You are right the room size makes all the difference. I just bought a thick rubber pad from Rockville Audio just for subs that helped.

[charlesaldous]

I cannot possibly imagine that the SVS could be faster than the REL, as I have one and it's the fastest performer I've ever heard! The scene with the alien approaching the police car at the gas station in 'Super 8' is the best scene for testing sub speed for me and there is just no delay, with the REL going from quiet to super loud instantly!

[JvG]

Great video. Very detailed explanation of what you did and did not like. Very informative. Purchased the SVS :)

[shogo]

Great work @CelebrityHouse! I can totally understand why the SB1000 would have been a better fit in your listening env. To be fair though, Rel subs need ALOT of time to be tweaked, placed, and room corrected for it to shine. My personal gripe with the Rels is that thier amps feel underpowered and this is my experience having listened to an svs sb3000 and the rel predator 1508 in room comparison both room corrected via minidsp. The svs had more depth and punch over the rel, but the rel had more refinement to its output. In the end i ended up with keeping the SVS with its app giving me more flexibility with ease of control over the sub, vs having to take a lot of time to measure and correct the time alignment, freq resp to a flatter curve needed with the Pred. My 2 cents worth.

[iansteventon]

Wow, I've literally being struggling to decide which one of these subs to purchase! Ordered this morning then found your great assement video . Looks like I made the right decision. $770 here in uk (£640) but everything is expensive here !

[fascinatedbyeverything]

Addendum: I reviewed these subs using an SMSL integrated amp. Shortly after filming my integrated amp died. I replaced the amp with a Sony home theater receiver with bass management functionality. The SB1000 worked just as well with a receiver handling bass management as it did with an integrated amp. I tested it both with and without SCAC (Sony’s auto-EQ setup / Audyssey imitator) and it performed well both with and without SCAC.

It’s possible that SCAC could have solved the mid-bass bloat with the REL. But I had already sent it back. And besides: REL’s engineering philosophy shuns DSP (they argue the processing time slows down transient response) so using DSP correction with a REL seems a bit philosophically incongruent.

My hunch is that the main problem REL ran into is designing a 10 inch sealed unit explicitly marketed for home theater use. If you know anything about speaker design, you’d expect a 10 inch sealed unit to have trouble reaching the lowest octaves (especially without DSP) demanded by home theater.

Of course, the REL could have simply been a poor fit for my room. For the sake of fairness - and because I wanted the best sub! - I did try multiple positions and tried both subs in those positions.

[ENGBriseB]

The SVS 1000 SB Pro works
well with my Wharfedale speakers. Plus 325 Watts RMS and remote from phone.

[WeeWeeJumbo]

REL is more like a _movement_ or a _peer association group_ than a value-for-money brand at any price point

[wynnsimpson]

Nice job! Well done.You sound sincere and honest to me.

Ignore the haters!

[photomusicman]

SVS it is. I’m not using my sub to extend the mains, just for the .1 channel and the bass frequencies crossed over from the surrounds.

[vl]

That was very reasonable take on the differences. It is refreshing to see rationale approach without the mumbo jumbo you've maybe heard somewhere but dont even understand yourself (because it mumbojumbo). I dont know why anyone would intentionally want to resonate the floor so rels approach does not make any sense to me. That would only distort the sound..

[ravington]

REL comes with rubber feet aswell, a lot better than the ones fitted

[sidvicious]

I found out for me, the Svs was the clear winner for Home Theater and for Home theater, I would go with a ported Svs design. With music Rel was easier to integrate and disappeared more. I found the Svs as having a bass hump that wouldn’t disappear as much. I’m using a highend monoblock system and the Rel brings no attention to itself, but I’m not using an Ht or home theater Rel, I’m using the R series that’s specific for music and I’m using the high level inputs.

[mjot]

Why not compare the Rel HT/1205, which is also 12 inch? Not apples to apples.

[thcyprus]

Thanks for the comparison! What speakers are you using, and how big is your room?