Cadence CSX15 Mark II Subwoofer Review

[gene]

You failed to mention the 2.5 performance rating in the email, but thats ok. We have yet to get a call or complaint about its low-end performance. But we understand you are comparing with various other low-end subs...

Our enclosure is not that small, roughly about 3.2cf and its a wide slot ported design. Tuning is around 45hz...give or take..

Im sure this review will discourage a lot of buyers, esp the uninformed ones. But please give our sub a listen, im sure you will see it performs better than its low 2.5 rating. Esp in a smaller room than 4,000+ cf..

We don't disclose our ratings to manufacturers during the peer review process. The purpose of the peer review is for you to fact check the editorial content and measurements. We stand by our assessment and our measurements show the box limitations due to the unnecessary wall dividing the amp and driver. This should be replaced with a brace instead as it would really improve response below 50Hz.

[CadenceSound]

The wall in back of the sub does act as a brace. I can see how this would lower the internal vol. and take away from the low-end, being that it takes up airspace.

We have no issue with your disclosure policies, the 2.5 out of 5 star rating just seems too low, esp since so much positive things are said in the review. Either way we hope people will take the plunge and give our CSX15 a shot, we know you will not regret it.

[nickboros]

There is some tough competition at and near this price-point. Outlaw, Hsu and SVS have subs roughly $150 to $200 more expensive that have a flat frequency response down to 20Hz, or below. Also they can play quite well in larger rooms like Josh's, if you look at his reviews. If Josh and Gene are correct that there can just be some slight changes to the box and tweaking the limiter to get this sub to compete with Outlaw, Hsu, and SVS at a lower price, then that would be some great news. It certainly sounds promising, since the sub can hit 120dB cleanly at 80Hz. I'll keep my eye out for any new news from Cadence Sound.

[gene]

The wall in back of the sub does act as a brace. I can see how this would lower the internal vol. and take away from the low-end, being that it takes up airspace.

We have no issue with your disclosure policies, the 2.5 out of 5 star rating just seems too low, esp since so much positive things are said in the review. Either way we hope people will take the plunge and give our CSX15 a shot, we know you will not regret it.

Most of our readers pay more attention to the analysis and subjective impressions more than just a final score. However, I asked Josh if he felt it was OK for me to bump the overall rating to a 3.0 given the modest price and your willingness to look into future product improvements and he felt OK with it. So I bumped the overall rating to a 3.0 which is "good". I also bumped up the extension from a 1.0 to a 2.0.

I'd be happy to have Josh do a retest for you if you improve the sub by replacing the wall with a baffle brace to open box volume and tweak the limiter. At that point,we would re-evaluate the overall rating as well.

[LFEJunky]

The wall in back of the sub does act as a brace. I can see how this would lower the internal vol. and take away from the low-end, being that it takes up airspace.

We have no issue with your disclosure policies, the 2.5 out of 5 star rating just seems too low, esp since so much positive things are said in the review. Either way we hope people will take the plunge and give our CSX15 a shot, we know you will not regret it.

I removed the driver and the amp and drilled 5 holes with a 3" hole saw in the wall in between the amp and driver...I also extended the wire from the amp to the driver being it was very short. It sounds much deeper now and really shakes the room. Does not sound quite as punchy with music...Still sounds good though. What did I do by opening up the wall? Would I benefit by removing more material from the wall?

[GranteedEV]

I think the frequency response is kind of un-subwoofer-like.... To me it suggests some combination of a driver optimized for a high output woofer rather than a true subwoofer, and a high inductance. I can see how some might like it's unique response, and with four of them at that low price and some EQ you could probably get some pretty nice things going due to the apparently low Q near vent resonance.

[timoteo]

After reading the review I don't agree that the original 2.5 rating should be raised to 3.0 just because the manufacturer didn't like it. Sorry but that's how I feel. This sub barely even classifies as a "subwoofer". I would like to see it paired up against my HSU MBM-12 though. Shoot, at the same price it might be a good choice if the rumble filter was set to prevent all that nasty distortion below 50hz!!!

Inwas really hoping to see better results!!! Maybe the MKIII will have some merit!

[templemaners]

After reading the review I don't agree that the original 2.5 rating should be raised to 3.0 just because the manufacturer didn't like it. Sorry but that's how I feel. This sub barely even classifies as a "subwoofer". I was really hoping to see better results!!! Maybe the MKIII will have some merit!

I agree 100%. Stick by your guns and say what you think, regardless of what the manufacturer says. If they don't like it, put out a better product, plain and simple.

Also, what has to happen for a sub to get a 1 in Bass Extension? It has to do worse than that? Give me a break.

To have that level of performance from a ported 15" sub is beyond weak. I hope they have a MKIII version coming sooner rather than later.

[gene]

I agree 100%. Stick by your guns and say what you think, regardless of what the manufacturer says. If they don't like it, put out a better product, plain and simple.

Also, what has to happen for a sub to get a 1 in Bass Extension? It has to do worse than that? Give me a break.

To have that level of performance from a ported 15" sub is beyond weak. I hope they have a MKIII version coming sooner rather than later.

As you could imagine, its a challenge for us to keep the manufacturers sending products after they realize how in depth and critical our reviews are. I prefer getting products from everyone, not just a dozen or so really high quality brands that never fear our testing procedures b/c their products are already well fleshed out prior to us testing them.

[LFEJunky]

This thing sounds so much better after doing the modification. I was going to send it back until they told me it would be a 100 dollars for shipping back to them plus 15% restocking fee... So I decided to remove some of the partition wall effectively increasing enclosure volume. Still trying to figure out if I should remove some more. Still want it as bracing..so don't want to go crazy.