Subs PB16 ultra or two 15h Mk2 E15HP2

J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Last question I have is on sub choices..
I have narrowed down to three
I’m such a beginner, it’s silly and received lots of help on another post, thanks..

I’m buying either one big PB 16 . Seems like most or a lot point me in this direction or I can go with HSU and use 2 15h Mk ll or 2 Rhythmik E15’s
Room size is 19x21 with 11’ cieling and open to foyer and dining room.
Sub placement will be tough.
I will use one in place of a side table and the other in rear somewhere I can fit it.
I moved my budget to 2500 or less and prefer less.
Pics of dimensions as well as layout for reference . Pics are taken from
Entryway and from dining room Thx in advance
There is a opening for sub in built in but limited to 17” height and 19.5 width. I’m planning on placing large sub to right of chair where vacuum is at in pic , if not it will have to go to rear behind my chair


I


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Last edited:
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Firstly, very nice looking room you have! Second, you do realize how large the PB16 Ultra is, right? It's very large and very heavy. The VTF15h mk2 is a handful, but the PB16 needs a plan, it needs a place to stay and a plan to get it there. It's 175 lbs and 200 lbs shipped. It's a very nice sub, but you ought to to a mockup of its size and think about where it can go and how it will fit in there.

The VTF15h mk2 is large, not as large as the PB16, and not nearly as heavy, but it is still a two-man job to move one around, as opposed to the PB16 which not even two men can really handle safely. The PB16 has to be slid around on furniture sliders or some kind of heavy-duty dolly. Two VTF15h mk2s would be able to match the PB16's deep bass performance and would certainly outperform it above 40 Hz. Plus, two subs can do a better job of getting more even bass throughout the room than a single sub, so there is a lot of advantages here. The downside is two VTF15h mk2s will take up more floorspace. Again, you ought to do a mockup of its size to get an idea of how big it really is.

Two Rythmik E15HPs will be the easiest to handle and take up the least amount of floorspace. They will look the nicest if you get them in gloss black. The problem is they are sealed subwoofers, so they will not have the deep bass output of a PB16 or even a single VTF15h mk2. A E15HP could probably come close to a VTF15h mk2 or PB16 in output above 50 Hz or so, but below that, it will not be able to compete. If you are interested in deep bass, stick with ported subwoofers. If you are interested in subs from Rythmik, I would be looking at the FV15HP or FVX15.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Firstly, very nice looking room you have! Second, you do realize how large the PB16 Ultra is, right? It's very large and very heavy. The VTF15h mk2 is a handful, but the PB16 needs a plan, it needs a place to stay and a plan to get it there. It's 175 lbs and 200 lbs shipped. It's a very nice sub, but you ought to to a mockup of its size and think about where it can go and how it will fit in there.

The VTF15h mk2 is large, not as large as the PB16, and not nearly as heavy, but it is still a two-man job to move one around, as opposed to the PB16 which not even two men can really handle safely. The PB16 has to be slid around on furniture sliders or some kind of heavy-duty dolly. Two VTF15h mk2s would be able to match the PB16's deep bass performance and would certainly outperform it above 40 Hz. Plus, two subs can do a better job of getting more even bass throughout the room than a single sub, so there is a lot of advantages here. The downside is two VTF15h mk2s will take up more floorspace. Again, you ought to do a mockup of its size to get an idea of how big it really is.

Two Rythmik E15HPs will be the easiest to handle and take up the least amount of floorspace. They will look the nicest if you get them in gloss black. The problem is they are sealed subwoofers, so they will not have the deep bass output of a PB16 or even a single VTF15h mk2. A E15HP could probably come close to a VTF15h mk2 or PB16 in output above 50 Hz or so, but below that, it will not be able to compete. If you are interested in deep bass, stick with ported subwoofers. If you are interested in subs from Rythmik, I would be looking at the FV15HP or FVX15.
Thank you for input and compliments..
Someone else brought up the cylinder style SVS sub which would work in the corner in front and rear...
And with weight and size the PB4000 is looking more like a better candidate If I go with one large ? man this is stressing me out ..


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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Thank you for input and compliments..
Someone else brought up the cylinder style SVS sub which would work in the corner in front and rear...
And with weight and size the PB4000 is looking more like a better candidate If I go with one large ? man this is stressing me out ..


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I do like the cylinder subs from SVS, but that might clash with the traditional interior decor of your home a bit. However, those will be good performers and easy to move around all while having a small footprint. A PC-4000 will probably have a bit better deep bass than A VTF15h mk2s but not be quite as powerful in mid-bass (50 Hz and above).

There is no need to stress, because between any of the models you are looking at, they are all high-value products. You are going to win with any of these. There are subs that are not on the performance level of any of these yet have similar cost, so you are just picking between winners here. Some other good options in your price range are the Outlaw Audio Ultra-X13 and, for a single sub, the XTZ 3x12. The 3X12 is a very large sub and heavy sub though, since make sure you understand the size and weight before pulling the trigger on that one.

Something else to consider is, just how loud are you going to be listening? You see all that loose stuff, on the shelving, mantle, and tables? That stuff is going to rattle if you crank some heavy-duty bass in there. I mean it could vibrate that stuff right off their surfaces if you crank some bass. Maybe its worth just getting one medium-powerful sub at the moment and see what kind of damage it can do, before you spend $2k+ on a monster system.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
I do like the cylinder subs from SVS, but that might clash with the traditional interior decor of your home a bit. However, those will be good performers and easy to move around all while having a small footprint. A PC-4000 will probably have a bit better deep bass than A VTF15h mk2s but not be quite as powerful in mid-bass (50 Hz and above).

There is no need to stress, because between any of the models you are looking at, they are all high-value products. You are going to win with any of these. There are subs that are not on the performance level of any of these yet have similar cost, so you are just picking between winners here. Some other good options in your price range are the Outlaw Audio Ultra-X13 and, for a single sub, the XTZ 3x12. The 3X12 is a very large sub and heavy sub though, since make sure you understand the size and weight before pulling the trigger on that one.

Something else to consider is, just how loud are you going to be listening? You see all that loose stuff, on the shelving, mantle, and tables? That stuff is going to rattle if you crank some heavy-duty bass in there. I mean it could vibrate that stuff right off their surfaces if you crank some bass. Maybe its worth just getting one medium-powerful sub at the moment and see what kind of damage it can do, before you spend $2k+ on a monster system.
Thanks and that is the kind of info I am looking for . I only picked these options as that’s the ones with best reviews that I have researched .
I’m not patial to any brand and as far as loud goes it will be used mainly for daily television watching ,thumping music with a cocktail to unwind and movies time to time ..
I was thinking of cylinder in far right corner in front of room and actually decor is being changed as we speak to more modern .
I just didn’t want to have a underpowered sub with the Klipsch reference I have coming .
I also didn’t want to regret not buying a powerful sub as I’m pretty much a overkill guy ..thx
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Another thought is that subs don't always work best in the places you pick out for them in advance, some even say they have a proclivity to not work in such pre-chosen places....just the nature of subs. As to volume of space open to your subs, and the large volume in your rooms, you might like this article if you hadn't seen it yet https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Ninja
That's a beautiful home! When you say the décor is being changed currently, I have to wonder if there's any plan to do away with the large "av unit" which limits the size of your TV.
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
Thanks and that is the kind of info I am looking for . I only picked these options as that’s the ones with best reviews that I have researched .
I’m not patial to any brand and as far as loud goes it will be used mainly for daily television watching ,thumping music with a cocktail to unwind and movies time to time ..
I was thinking of cylinder in far right corner in front of room and actually decor is being changed as we speak to more modern .
I just didn’t want to have a underpowered sub with the Klipsch reference I have coming .
I also didn’t want to regret not buying a powerful sub as I’m pretty much a overkill guy ..thx
Go with the 2 HSU subs...I own a pair of VTF-3 mk5 in a space roughly 3000 cu ft and they barely break a sweat and I like it that way...the bigger VTF-2 15H is probably overkill for your room, but I'm like you...you don't want to under sub.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Go with the 2 HSU subs...I own a pair of VTF-3 mk5 in a space roughly 3000 cu ft and they barely break a sweat and I like it that way...the bigger VTF-2 15H is probably overkill for your room, but I'm like you...you don't want to under sub.
Thanks .. noted


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2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
No problem...two good subs are generally easier to balance out in a room than one larger sub...it won't help much, but with space being at a premium, the VTF3 is slightly smaller and unless you are really cranking them, I'm not sure you'll notice much of a performance drop off in a space the size of yours.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
That's a beautiful home! When you say the décor is being changed currently, I have to wonder if there's any plan to do away with the large "av unit" which limits the size of your TV.
Thanks.only the art for now ..


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J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Go with the 2 HSU subs...I own a pair of VTF-3 mk5 in a space roughly 3000 cu ft and they barely break a sweat and I like it that way...the bigger VTF-2 15H is probably overkill for your room, but I'm like you...you don't want to under sub.
Actually I think I realized after hooking up system and using my 12” Klipsch Ported sub from garage I will want to make sure to have in back of room..the decor was shaking like crazy and subs I am looking at this are putting out 3 times the power.
So I think I’m going with 1 15H MK2 15” behind my easy chair . That was recommended by HSU . Waiting on other info but think that will be plenty .. thx for your help guys


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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Actually I think I realized after hooking up system and using my 12” Klipsch Ported sub from garage I will want to make sure to have in back of room..the decor was shaking like crazy and subs I am looking at this are putting out 3 times the power.
So I think I’m going with 1 15H MK2 15” behind my easy chair . That was recommended by HSU . Waiting on other info but think that will be plenty .. thx for your help guys


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Having experienced a VTF15h mk2 behind my sofa, I can say you are going to feel plenty of bass. The smart thing about that is that in such a near-field proximity, you will not have to run the sub very hard to get pounded by bass, and one of the advantages of that is it doesn't have to shake the entire house, so not as much stuff will be rattling like crazy as if you had the sub positioned farther away. One thing to consider is stringing the LFE cable to the sub- if you don't have a subwoofer output running through the walls, you might consider a wireless subwoofer signal transmitter kit.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Having experienced a VTF15h mk2 behind my sofa, I can say you are going to feel plenty of bass. The smart thing about that is that in such a near-field proximity, you will not have to run the sub very hard to get pounded by bass, and one of the advantages of that is it doesn't have to shake the entire house, so not as much stuff will be rattling like crazy as if you had the sub positioned farther away. One thing to consider is stringing the LFE cable to the sub- if you don't have a subwoofer output running through the walls, you might consider a wireless subwoofer signal transmitter kit.
Thx you , that’s what we will do.that’s what we will do


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J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Thx you , that’s what we will do.that’s what we will do


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I’m assuming I’m going to be smiling after hooking this up compared to my 12” Klipsch?


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J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
Thanks.only the art for now ..


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But that thing is taking up a large amount of space and after I placed speakers next to them it will be removed soon...
I had to buy this house twice. Second time was when we divorced...haha
So I basically took it from very traditional to more my taste and after pricing the quartz countertops and professional range I want I am wishing I didn’t start that project this soon..
thanks for everyone’s input and advise!


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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I’m assuming I’m going to be smiling after hooking this up compared to my 12” Klipsch?


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The VTF15h mk2 is a very different level of performance compared to any 12" Klipsch.

My advice when you get the Hsu, use it in max extension mode, where one port is sealed with the EQ switch is set to 'EQ1' and for the Q control, use it at '0.7'. That will give you pretty good bass down to 16 Hz. Keep in mind that 16 Hz is so deep that it is nearly inaudible.
 
J

John Clement

Junior Audioholic
The VTF15h mk2 is a very different level of performance compared to any 12" Klipsch.

My advice when you get the Hsu, use it in max extension mode, where one port is sealed with the EQ switch is set to 'EQ1' and for the Q control, use it at '0.7'. That will give you pretty good bass down to 16 Hz. Keep in mind that 16 Hz is so deep that it is nearly inaudible.
Thanks . I just spoke to Jeff at JTR and the CAPTIVATOR 118HT also looks nice.
Buy for double the price will I .a dumb poop from KY when it comes to audio notice the difference ?


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