Looking for Subwoofer Suggestions for HT Room (WiP)

[lovinthehd]

weird, a google search for the song brings me to the album page on Spotify. Maybe they used to have it and don't any longer?

Yeah could be, usually that appears still as a greyed out item but I found zip for the band name noisex until I went back to my search and while Noisex did not appear in the top 6 results for bands (where I assumed it would be), but when I list "all" it appears. Only 3 tunes pop up, Serious Killer, phalaenopsis-Galen Pixs Rmx, and Place of Refuge-NoiSEX Rmx.....

 

[i_max]

I thought I'd share, I just pulled the trigger for the Monolith 15". It had gone out of stock the other day, and it just came back, I couldn't resist.

Thank you everyone for chiming in, and helping me decide!

edit: apparently it was the only one they had, it went out of stock again.

 

[i_max]

While is sub is on the way, I was trying to figure if this would hold true. I currently have a old mirage 8” sub which came with a 5.1 nanosat package. I was wondering if I did a subwoofer crawl with it in the listening position and find placement, would that position work for the monolith too?

This would be easier since this sub is way lighter, and no other variable would change in the room.

 

[Pogre]

Perhaps also consider a pair of Hsu VTF-2 mk5s.....also have the sealed modes with eq to match....

Best bang for buck, imo. I have 2 of their bigger ones in a much bigger room and they pound. I went big partly with longevity in mind. They thump and they can do it without straining.

 

[Pogre]

I shoulda looked to see that this was a 6 page thread before I posted... lol.

While is sub is on the way, I was trying to figure if this would hold true. I currently have a old mirage 8” sub which came with a 5.1 nanosat package. I was wondering if I did a subwoofer crawl with it in the listening position and find placement, would that position work for the monolith too?

This would be easier since this sub is way lighter, and no other variable would change in the room.

I would not try this. They're going to behave differently so it likely won't be accurate.

That 15 is a lot of sub for your space unless you're open to other areas. Nothing wrong with overkill in my book tho! I'll flip back through your thread and catch up.

 

[i_max]

Best bang for buck, imo. I have 2 of their bigger ones in a much bigger room and they pound. I went big partly with longevity in mind. They thump and they can do it without straining.

I selected against them because I couldn’t find any data I’d they could get below 15hz or below or same for VTF3. Going higher would have meant 15H at that point the monolith is a much better deal.

 

[Pogre]

I selected against them because I couldn’t find any data I’d they could get below 15hz or below or same for VTF3. Going higher would have meant 15H at that point the monolith is a much better deal.

Here ya go. I have a pair of VTF-3s.

That said, the Monos are awesome subs too and I would not be upset if I owned a pair of them either. Congrats on the new purchase!

 

[i_max]

Here ya go. I have a pair of VTF-3s.

View attachment 44111View attachment 44112View attachment 44113View attachment 44114

That said, the Monos are awesome subs too and I would not be upset if I owned a pair of them either. Congrats on the new purchase!

This is great info, I'm still new to this, but what are your levels at 12.5Hz, 14 & 16 Hz, I'm guessing this is very specific to your room, correct? How big is your room? Which software did you use to get this data REW? Thank you!

I wanted to ensure or get something proven to go to the low teens, and since i'm really getting to a big sub for the first time, I thought buy once, cry once and get the best I could at this time, since my room is 1600 cubic feet, I figured a singe 15" could hold me off well for a while.

 

[Pogre]

This is great info, I'm still new to this, but what are your levels at 12.5Hz, 14 & 16 Hz, I'm guessing this is very specific to your room, correct? How big is your room? Which software did you use to get this data REW? Thank you!

I wanted to ensure or get something proven to go to the low teens, and since i'm really getting to a big sub for the first time, I thought buy once, cry once and get the best I could at this time, since my room is 1600 cubic feet, I figured a singe 15" could hold me off well for a while.

Hey, you'll not get criticism from me! I might be in the minority but I actually even like the aesthetic of the Monolith subs. That angled blockiness makes them look powerful. They're great subs and I don't think they're overpriced either.

Yes, that's in my room using REW for measuring. First I run Audyssey, measure, generate some filters with REW and upload those to a MiniDSP 2x4 HD and apply. Then remeasure and lightly manually tweak it from there.

I'm pretty flat to 15 hz and that's plenty for me. I'm sure yours is at least equally capable, possibly a bit better. When I play tones below 20 hz I can't hear them anyway. Why the need for 12.5 or 14 hz? How much material do you have in that range? A flat response that low is a pretty tall task and usually costs more than I'm willing to spend.

I'm just curious is all. Maybe you have a pipe organ music collection or something? Whale songs? Elephant calls?

 

[i_max]

Hey, you'll not get criticism from me! I might be in the minority but I actually even like the aesthetic of the Monolith subs. That angled blockiness makes them look powerful. They're great subs and I don't think they're overpriced either.

Yes, that's in my room using REW for measuring. First I run Audyssey, measure, generate some filters with REW and upload those to a MiniDSP 2x4 HD and apply. Then remeasure and lightly manually tweak it from there.

I'm pretty flat to 15 hz and that's plenty for me. I'm sure yours is at least equally capable, possibly a bit better. When I play tones below 20 hz I can't hear them anyway. Why the need for 12.5 or 14 hz? How much material do you have in that range? A flat response that low is a pretty tall task and usually costs more than I'm willing to spend.

I'm just curious is all. Maybe you have a pipe organ music collection or something? Whale songs? Elephant calls?

I believe movies can dip into those frequencies, plus, if I ever have to get into a bigger room, this would still work especially when paired with another of the same. Knowing I can throw anything at it and it won’t be pushed beyond it’s limits.

That said I really considered the HSU’s, I narrowed it down to the 15H at that point the Monolith is a much better value.

I do plan to get a 2x4 minidsp in the next month or so, after fiddling with the sub with Odessey and such. Did you get yourself one of the UMIk’s which is matched for the REW?

 

[lovinthehd]

I do plan to get a 2x4 minidsp in the next month or so, after fiddling with the sub with Odessey and such. Did you get yourself one of the UMIk’s which is matched for the REW?

REW can work with a variety of measurement mics with calibration files....hard to beat the value of the Umik-1 from miniDSP (or an individually calibrated version from Cross-Spectrum Labs).

 

[i_max]

REW can work with a variety of measurement mics with calibration files....hard to beat the value of the Umik-1 from miniDSP (or an individually calibrated version from Cross-Spectrum Labs).

Would the audessey mic work with REW? After splurging on the sub I need to wait a little before wife sees another package getting delivered lol

 

[lovinthehd]

Would the audessey mic work with REW? After splurging on the sub I need to wait a little before wife sees another package getting delivered lol

Well it might get you in the general ballpark, but it is not particularly suited to the task nor does it come with a calibration file you can plug into REW (the Audyssey mic calibration file is baked into the avr/pre-pro). I'd just use the Audyssey mic for Audyssey.

 

[i_max]

Well it might get you in the general ballpark, but it is not particularly suited to the task nor does it come with a calibration file you can plug into REW (the Audyssey mic calibration file is baked into the avr/pre-pro). I'd just use the Audyssey mic for Audyssey.

Maybe I can start there and get the minidsp + the umik together next month. That said what all does the minidsp help with?

 

[lovinthehd]

Maybe I can start there and get the minidsp + the umik together next month. That said what all does the minidsp help with?

REW is primarily a tool for measuring the response in your room. It does have the possibility of creating suggested eq if you have something that can implement that eq, and a minidsp unit (like a 2x4HD) can do that. You can separately implement your own eq with the minidsp, too. You might read up on the techniques and time spent on such before you dive in....lots of threads around here and other fora.....

 

[i_max]

REW is primarily a tool for measuring the response in your room. It does have the possibility of creating suggested eq if you have something that can implement that eq, and a minidsp unit (like a 2x4HD) can do that. You can separately implement your own eq with the minidsp, too. You might read up on the techniques and time spent on such before you dive in....lots of threads around here and other fora.....

Yes I have seen a few threads, including some which unearth ulf in movie tracks, that is another application I’m looking forward too.

 

[Pogre]

Maybe I can start there and get the minidsp + the umik together next month. That said what all does the minidsp help with?

The mini took me from this with Audyssey alone.

To this after some tweaking with the Mini.

A smoother fr was my result. That dip around 70-80 hz was (in)audible and the mini helped me fix it. I started by turning down some of those little peaks and that helped a lot by itself. I didn't have to do much else to flatten things out after that.

That said, I think Audyssey did a pretty damned good job by itself considering what it had to start with. I've been digging around but I can't find any of my "before" sweeps for reference or I'd post that one too.

 

[i_max]

Thank you. I think I’ll read a little and pull the trigger on the minidsp and the umik soon. They have a few different models where the 2x4 numbers go up, what does those numbers represent?

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes I have seen a few threads, including some which unearth ulf in movie tracks, that is another application I’m looking forward too.

It may be able to boost existing ulf/capability if the subs are capable and you have sufficient power but I wouldn't expect a lot there if you don't have the capabilities in terms of spl/extension in the subs in the first place.

ps a miniDSP 2x4 means it has two input channels and four output channels, which you can configure for sub or speaker eq (or use in a diy active crossover), altho for speaker eq with an avr you'd need external amps as most avrs have no tape/processing loop for outboard dsp.

 

[Pogre]

Thank you. I think I’ll read a little and pull the trigger on the minidsp and the umik soon. They have a few different models where the 2x4 numbers go up, what does those numbers represent?

There's a learning curve. I was intimidated at first but when I rolled my sleeves up and dug in I got it figured out. I'll try to find the link to some instructions that helped me out.

Here's a link to the MiniDSP 2x4 HD. You can add the Umik mic and get both for $280. That's exactly what I have. Then I got a cheap boom mic stand for about 20 bucks on Amazon.