Monolith 13 THX Subwoofer - Question and concerns

[Vankyra]

I've seen a lot of reviews about various subwoofers, read every single one on Audioholics and I wanted to ask one thing. Yesterday I saw Youthman's video (a youtuber) who reviewed the Monolith 13 and he mentioned that this sub had a lot of port chuffing at around -5dB's. Is this something to consider before buying it? I read the comments under his video and he also said that the PB16 did also chuff at higher volumes.. Plus, his room is 2470cubic feet which should be considered medium sized room and actually the Mono 13 could provide reference volumes for bigger rooms than that!

 

[ryanosaur]

(I have not used a Mono Sub.)
(I also will not listen to Youthman.)
(I don't think Shady's review found any chuffing or port noise to be concerned about.)

 

[Pogre]

(I have not used a Mono Sub.)
(I also will not listen to Youthman.)
(I don't think Shady's review found any chuffing or port noise to be concerned about.)

I agree! 3 for 3!

I think Youthman comes to some dubious conclusions on many things.

 

[Vankyra]

(I have not used a Mono Sub.)
(I also will not listen to Youthman.)
(I don't think Shady's review found any chuffing or port noise to be concerned about.)

May I ask if there's something wrong with the Mono subs and you haven't used them? It seems that in Europe they're the best bang for our buck.

I agree! 3 for 3!

I think Youthman comes to some dubious conclusions on many things.

No idea he did that!
But it seemed so strange to me that for example he didn't mention any chuffing when he reviewed the Mono 15inch model.

 

[ryanosaur]

May I ask if there's something wrong with the Mono subs and you haven't used them? It seems that in Europe they're the best bang for our buck.

No. Monolith was just releasing Subs when I bought mine (Outlaw x-13). Though they reviewed well, mine was designed by the same company (Claridy Audio in California) and I got a killer holiday sale on them.
Since then, the Monolith Subs have proven themselves to be a very worthwhile product. Dare I say, they may be best in class right now.

If you are in Europe, you should also check out BK Elec in the UK, XTZ and Arendal in the EU. Dunno how they price to you over there, but all get some props and recognition. Arendal is reviewing very well here in the US... Shady already reviewed some here at AH.

 

[Pogre]

May I ask if there's something wrong with the Mono subs and you haven't used them? It seems that in Europe they're the best bang for our buck.

Neither of us have actually had our hands on one, but based on specs and reviews the Monoprice Monolith line of just about everything is all top of the mark. If he heard chuffing I can only imagine it would be at extreme levels. If even that. I don't remember if it was Youthman but someone reported chuffing with HSU's VTF-3 MK5 subwoofer too and I've not heard it. Not unless I played something really ridiculously deep at equally ridiculous volume.

 

[ryanosaur]

No idea he did that!

I've seen another instance where he kinda flailed his way through testing an AVP and didn't follow good practice. The dude is just a guy with a YT account that loves AV. *shrugs
Doesn't mean he really knows what he's doing, sadly. He seems like he may be a nice guy.

 

[Pogre]

I've seen another instance where he kinda flailed his way through testing an AVP and didn't follow good practice. The dude is just a guy with a YT account that loves AV. *shrugs
Doesn't mean he really knows what he's doing, sadly. He seems like he may be a nice guy.

Exactly. He seems like a real nice guy who's into AV but has some presuppositions and biases that I think cloud his perceptions. There's a lot of that out there tho. Of course your ears and subjective experience are always the final arbiter but I think an objective, fact based approach to researching AV gear is the best starting point. Reviews backed by measurements and facts are most informative. Not the ones with just someone's subjective personal opinion. Those can be all over the place.

 

[Vankyra]

No. Monolith was just releasing Subs when I bought mine (Outlaw x-13). Though they reviewed well, mine was designed by the same company (Claridy Audio in California) and I got a killer holiday sale on them.
Since then, the Monolith Subs have proven themselves to be a very worthwhile product. Dare I say, they may be best in class right now.

If you are in Europe, you should also check out BK Elec in the UK, XTZ and Arendal in the EU. Dunno how they price to you over there, but all get some props and recognition. Arendal is reviewing very well here in the US... Shady already reviewed some here at AH.

I researched BK Elec, XTZ and Arendal a while ago, but it seems that they are much pricier than the Monoliths. And frankly, I don't want to spend those extra euros for a prettier finish or for the application. (an example with the price differences in my country -I could get the Arendal 1723 2V for 2800euros, the PB-3000 for 1900euros, the PB-4000 for 2800euros and the Monolith 13 for 1450euros)

Neither of us have actually had our hands on one, but based on specs and reviews the Monoprice Monolith line of just about everything is all top of the mark. If he heard chuffing I can only imagine it would be at extreme levels. If even that. I don't remember if it was Youthman but someone reported chuffing with HSU's VTF-3 MK5 subwoofer too and I've not heard it. Not unless I played something really ridiculously deep at equally ridiculous volume.

I see what you mean. Is there a way to protect the sub from playing that ridiculously deep bass note at that ridiculous volume? This way we'd be sure that our subs wouldn't be damaged.

 

[ryanosaur]

I see what you mean. Is there a way to protect the sub from playing that ridiculously deep bass note at that ridiculous volume? This way we'd be sure that our subs wouldn't be damaged.

Don't turn it up to 11.

 

[ryanosaur]

I think the Mono 13 is a good sub.
@shadyJ , do you have anything to add to this conversation to help our new friend out, please?

 

[Vankyra]

He seems like a nice guy for sure, but it's sad if he's misleading inexperienced people like me.
I can't get it though, how can port chuffing be something subjective, considering we're talking about the same Main Volume Levels and the same content of course.

 

[ryanosaur]

He seems like a nice guy for sure, but it's sad if he's misleading inexperienced people like me.
I can't get it though, how can port chuffing be something subjective, considering we're talking about the same Main Volume Levels and the same content of course.

If he is not setting up correctly, and cranking the system, you can do all kinds of things to a Subwoofer.
I don't know what he did, how he set up. I did page our friendly neighborhood Sub reviewer to pop in and offer his experience. Perhaps he will swing by.

 

[Vankyra]

Don't turn it up to 11.

It's a massive sub and it's THX certified as I've read - shouldn't it be able to hit reference without any issues?

I think the Mono 13 is a good sub.
@shadyJ , do you have anything to add to this conversation to help our new friend out, please?

I think that too, it's even better than the Mono 15inch model which is already a muscular subwoofer.

 

[Pogre]

I researched BK Elec, XTZ and Arendal a while ago, but it seems that they are much pricier than the Monoliths. And frankly, I don't want to spend those extra euros for a prettier finish or for the application. (an example with the price differences in my country -I could get the Arendal 1723 2V for 2800euros, the PB-3000 for 1900euros, the PB-4000 for 2800euros and the Monolith 13 for 1450euros)



I see what you mean. Is there a way to protect the sub from playing that ridiculously deep bass note at that ridiculous volume? This way we'd be sure that our subs wouldn't be damaged.

Lol. What Ryan said, don't turn it up to 11!

When I say ridiculous there's an infamous deep bass tone at the beginning of "Edge of Tomorrow" that drops down to single digit hz and plays pretty loud. That's when I heard some chuff. I don't know if there are more than a handful of subs that could play that tone without chuffing. Nobody listens to bass like that under any normal circumstances.

So how big is your room, and is it open to any other areas?

 

[Vankyra]

If he is not setting up correctly, and cranking the system, you can do all kinds of things to a Subwoofer.
I don't know what he did, how he set up. I did page our friendly neighborhood Sub reviewer to pop in and offer his experience. Perhaps he will swing by.

That makes sense for sure!
Thank you for such a wonderful contribution guys!!

 

[Pogre]

He seems like a nice guy for sure, but it's sad if he's misleading inexperienced people like me.

I don't think it's intentional. I don't think his goal is to deceive.

Ryan explained the chuffing, and I did too a little bit. If you try hard enough you can make almost any sub chuff. It depends on the circumstances. How loud did he have it? What frequencies made it chuff? That tone from EoT can choke a SVS PB16 Ultra. There just isn't enough data to draw much of a conclusion from his experience.

 

[Vankyra]

Lol. What Ryan said, don't turn it up to 11!

When I say ridiculous there's an infamous deep bass tone at the beginning of "Edge of Tomorrow" that drops down to single digit hz and plays pretty loud. That's when I heard some chuff. I don't know if there are more than a handful of subs that could play that tone without chuffing. Nobody listens to bass like that under any normal circumstances.

So how big is your room, and is it open to any other areas?

Ah right, the famous "Edge of Tomorrow", I tested that out with my old PB-1000 and it was a painful experience haha. I've read that it runs hot by itself and it's a torture for most subs.

My current room is ~1600cubic feet and it's not open to any areas (there's a door, but I keep it closed when watching movies). Floor is concrete but most walls are made of sheetrock (don't know if that matters).

 

[shadyJ]

Nearly every ported sub can produce port chuffing with the right input signal. A lot of these social media audio "experts" will play the beginning of "Edge of Tomorrow" with its 10Hz full-scale square wave and then complain about chuffing. Insanity.

The Monolith 13" is properly ported for what it is. It is less likely to run into port turbulence than other brands. It's not something to worry about. If you want to take steps to avoid chuffing, run it with all ports open.

 

[Pogre]

Nearly every ported sub can produce port chuffing with the right input signal. A lot of these social media audio "experts" will play the beginning of "Edge of Tomorrow" with its 10Hz full-scale square wave and then complain about chuffing. Insanity.

Exactly! I've seen guys "complain" when a sub chuffs with that scene. Show me one that won't when you crank it up!

*Well, I guess of course a sealed sub won't chuff... you know what I mean!