Subwoofer size recommendations

[whikx250]

Hello. I'm not too educated on the depths of home theater equipment. I listened to and decided to purchased 2 paradigm s2's and the c1 center. I already have 2 other satellites and a Marantz sr7008. I'm shopping for a sub. The room is 15x30. Would the SVS sb13 ultra be too much bass for this setup? Thanks for any advice!

 

[walter duque]

Hello. I'm not too educated on the depths of home theater equipment. I listened to and decided to purchased 2 paradigm s2's and the c1 center. I already have 2 other satellites and a Marantz sr7008. I'm shopping for a sub. The room is 15x30. Would the SVS sb13 ultra be too much bass for this setup? Thanks for any advice!

I think there is no such thing as too much bass. I would get 2 SVS sb13 ultras. You're room is almost twice the size of mine and I run a lot more bass then (2) SVS.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I think there is no such thing as too much bass.

If you mean there's no such thing as too much bass capability, then I agree. A lot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Is size of subwoofer matter? if not, you could save few dollars and get sub as good as that one

 

[zhimbo]

You'll never have "too much bass" unless you choose to (and you have the capability) - you'll calibrate your system to get the proper bass level. The question is whether you'll have so much wasted headroom that you could go to a less capable sub and save the money...15x30 is a pretty big room, and if it opens up into other rooms it's effectively larger. I wouldn't feel shy about getting a very capable sub (or two) in that space.

 

[shadyJ]

I would go for ported subs in that room size. You will get no room gain with a 30' length. You will get very little deep bass from that sub in that room. A PB13 Ultra would be much better. If it were me and I were to go with SVS subs, I would go for two PC12 Plus subs in that room, which would give you much better bass and wouldn't cost a lot more than a PB13 Ultra.

 

[whikx250]

I like the reviews the sb13 has. Sounds like a stable and dependable unit. The price is just inside what I'm willing to spend so if there's a better choice I'd love to research what you guys prefer. (I'll probably buy the SVS if not just for the trial policy.)

 

[whikx250]

Ported over sealed? Hopefully just one sub but I'd reconsider according to the responses on here...

 

[Pyrrho]

On the question of ported versus sealed, it is good to look at the frequency response curve of subwoofers that have variable tuning (i.e., can have some ports plugged). Like this:

SVS PC13-Ultra - 1000 Watt DSP Controlled, 13" Ported Cylinder Subwoofer with Variable Tuning

Basically the way things go is this: With a well-made ported subwoofer, you get higher volumes at frequencies that it can handle, but the deep end drops off faster than with a sealed subwoofer. The upshot is this: If you have an infinite budget and infinite space, you want a bunch of sealed subwoofers and EQ the response to get really deep bass. On normal budgets, you want a ported subwoofer (or two). Look at the response curves at the link above to see what I mean.

As for the original question, there is no such thing as too much capability. You set the levels, so it will never be too much bass unless you set it that way.

 

[zhimbo]

In your case I would DEFINITELY get a ported subwoofer. As a general rule, sealed subs are best in small-to-medium rooms. In large rooms - and yours is a large room - ported is generally the way to go, especially for home theater.

You don't mention a ceiling height - I'm assuming standard ceilings. If we're talking a vaulted ceiling, you *really* need to prioritize high-output!

 

[whikx250]

Thanks for all the input. I really appreciate your knowledge. I called SVS and spoke with them for a while after learning from you guys here and ended up going with the PB12 Plus. Start with one for now and work my way up maybe. I'm eager to see if I'll be upgrading the s2's right away to towers or not...Hope the bookshelves have enough umph but I guess I can always turn down the sub as dumb as that sounds. BTW, my ceilings are 10ft. Thanks again.

 

[walter duque]

Thanks for all the input. I really appreciate your knowledge. I called SVS and spoke with them for a while after learning from you guys here and ended up going with the PB12 Plus. Start with one for now and work my way up maybe. I'm eager to see if I'll be upgrading the s2's right away to towers or not...Hope the bookshelves have enough umph but I guess I can always turn down the sub as dumb as that sounds. BTW, my ceilings are 10ft. Thanks again.

There is nothing wrong with a pair of good bookshelves and dual subs. I play around with my towers (which are 2 piece units) and just run the top section of the towers and the 2 subs and it sounds great, with 4 subs it even sounds better, but 2 subs are good.

 

[zhimbo]

That seems like a good plan. I don't speak from experience with those specific Paradigms, but I'd bet you'll be plenty happy with the output of those bookshelf speakers paired with a very good sub (like the PB12 plus) or two.