Will Klipsch RW-12D suck for music?

G

Grador

Audioholic Field Marshall
The klipsch is most certainly not a "loud" sub. It's not overly boomy and has passable transient response. It's response isn't the most even, but not so far off to cause me to take pause.
 
S

scott_home

Audiophyte
I had one for 2 weeks

I had one in the 12X14 living room for about 2 weeks. I was not impressed by it since day one. Maybe I should be more patient to give it some time to break in. But the sound is just not musical. It does not have fast punch. I promptly returned it after 2 weeks.
 
S

steel_3d

Audiophyte
I had one in the 12X14 living room for about 2 weeks. I was not impressed by it since day one. Maybe I should be more patient to give it some time to break in. But the sound is just not musical. It does not have fast punch. I promptly returned it after 2 weeks.
I'm assuming you're referring to the Klipsch. Did you end up finding something better?
 
C

chikoo

Audioholic Intern
The RW-12d delivers decent bass with reasonable output. I wouldn't really classify it as a "bad" subwoofer, it is probably acceptable for your purposes, but it's not really "good". It reaches down somewhat low, it has somewhat quick response, it is mostly not boomy. I will say I was fairly surprised at it's total output which exceeded my expectations.

I cannot though tell you if the STF-2 is a good upgrade or not.
Let me rephrase again :) I like more bass than what people would consider "flat" compared to higher frequencies. That's an eq thing. But as I said, my listening levels don't need to be earthshaking. Now I'm not sure what I should expect in terms of output since I've never had a sub. But I'm guessing I'd be less disappointed with one than without one.

If I could hear full bodied, musical bass, at moderate listening levels, I think I'd be satisfied.

So the key question is: is the rw-12d musical "enough" for the average person?
I used to have RW12d... Honestly for what you're after- it will probably exceed your expectations. Its a bass heavy boomer that sounds fantastic...

UNTIL you hear a really well designed sub thats set up correctly.

The Klipsch at 300 bucks is a fantastic price- I think I paid around 700 or so if my memory is right a few years ago. It probably reminded me most of some of the boomy car audio sub installs way back in highschool. There's a good bit of "wow" at first but it fades quickly and you'll find yourself turning it down. It doesn't matter how much of a bass-head you are if its not realistic in the response. After hearing better designed systems, this was reinforced.

I really like Klipsch speakers overall and have had many different models in their speaker lineup including subs- I'll endorse their loudspeakers all day long... just not their subs.
The klipsch is most certainly not a "loud" sub. It's not overly boomy and has passable transient response. It's response isn't the most even, but not so far off to cause me to take pause.
I had one in the 12X14 living room for about 2 weeks. I was not impressed by it since day one. Maybe I should be more patient to give it some time to break in. But the sound is just not musical. It does not have fast punch. I promptly returned it after 2 weeks.

I just got one yesterday from Newegg, and hooked it up to my HK AVR 3600, set it at FLAT, Freq cutover: LFE, 0 db Trim.

I listened to music ranging from Chaka Khan - I feel for you, Rihanna - Diamonds, Flo rida - Good feeling to Adele - Skyfall. It was wonderful. Amazing. I finally felt the songs the way it should have been.

as a reference, I had tried the Velodyne VX10 (10"), VX11 (10"), and the DLS-3500 (8"), but the 12" Klipsch is at another level. There is definitely no replacement for displacement.

Is the Klipsch boomy? Not at all. The driver is not floppy. It is a taut tight diaphram. If someone is finding it boomy, you probably need to find a better position. For me, I have it right in front of the tv, alongside my vertical center channel.
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top