Monolith 13 THX Subwoofer - Question and concerns

[Vankyra]

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 coclusion from his experience.

I agree and there's no hard feelings!

Hmm I assume that we wouldn't have to try hard enough to make a ported sub chuff. Play EoT at reference level and there you have it

 

[Vankyra]

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.

Insanity for sure.. and then the inexperienced people like me, fall in the analysis paralysis and search for a more capable sub..

I guess that if the room is rather small like mine, ~1600cubic feet, the Mono 13" wouldn't break a sweat playing loud. Room gain and some other pressure vessel gain (if I remember it correctly) would definitely contribute to the perceived volume.

 

[Pogre]

Hmm I assume that we wouldn't have to try hard enough to make a ported sub chuff. Play EoT at reference level and there you have it

In a nutshell, yes. He may have heard chuffing but with what and how loud? Any ported sub will have a point where it's going to misbehave if pushed hard enough.

 

[Vankyra]

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!

Maybe those high end JTR's and some crazy monster DIY subs haha

 

[Pogre]

Insanity for sure.. and then the inexperienced people like me, fall in the analysis paralysis and search for a more capable sub..

I guess that if the room is rather small like mine, ~1600cubic feet, the Mono 13" wouldn't break a sweat playing loud. Room gain and some other pressure vessel gain (if I remember it correctly) would definitely contribute to the perceived volume.

I think so. Thats not a huge space and it's a very capable sub. I'd say you'd be good to go unless you sit around listening to 10 hz sine waves all day...

 

[Pogre]

Maybe those high end JTR's and some crazy monster DIY subs haha

Yeah those JTR subs and speakers are some next level performers. Most of his stuff is sealed too so no chuffing!

 

[Vankyra]

In a nutshell, yes. He may have heard chuffing but with what and how loud? Any ported sub will have a point where it's going to misbehave if pushed hard enough.

Agreed! But most people won't even watch movies at reference levels, so I can only assume that playing EoT at -15dB's wouldn't cause any issue.

 

[Pogre]

I can only assume that playing EoT at -15dB's wouldn't cause any issue.

Well again, that's an extreme example. Even at -15, depending upon setup levels, that tone can push some limits. I DO NOT recommend judging a sub's performance with that particular tone at any volume. It goes a lot lower than most subs are even tuned for.

 

[Vankyra]

I think so. Thats not a huge space and it's a very capable sub. I'd say you'd be good to go unless you sit around listening to 10 hz sine waves all day...

Haha I'm not even going to try any sine waves actually!
I didn't do that with my old PB-1000 either, but then here comes that movie "Overlord". During the first minutes there was a silent scene with a really deep bass note and the chuffing was crazy! That was the moment when I decided to sell it and buy a more capable sub.

Yeah those JTR subs and speakers are some next level performers. Most of his stuff is sealed too so no chuffing!

Indeed! Plus their ports are tuned lower than the usual SVS/Rythmiks etc.

 

[Danzilla31]

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!

I love Youthman super nice guy and he is great for growing our audio community. We need enthusiastic Youtubers out there growing our community trying new products demoing theater rooms and talking to major speaker and theater companies and Youthman does all that

BUT

He is learning but has made mistakes with testing before a huge one was when he compared a SVS PB 16 ultra to another sub to see which has deeper extension and forgot to test the ultra in extended mode so they were tested at matching frequency responses! Big oversight

One thing he doesn't properly mention in that review is that all ported subs will chuff at the port tune no matter how good they are if pushed hard enough. But a good sub like the monoprice it won't be excessive and with all your other Speakers playing you won't be able to hear it!!!

Also you get a gain from a sub in a room up to +10 dB I believe based on Room size? So hitting reference with the right sub in your room size if you picked right shouldn't be something where you have to crank the volume up and max your sub amp out to achieve it. If you do you either need a second sub or a more powerful sub that fits your room needs better

That monoprice thx ultra shouldn't even need to come close to enough volume to cause you excessive chuffing for it to get you to reference level volume. In fact most subs of this caliber your ears will give out before the subs do if you try to go all the way up to reference. Reference is LOUD. I don't think some realize how loud in a typical home theater or home setup

So YouthMan

Great guy super awesome person
Great for spreading our hobby.
His testing methods sometimes off
And no you shouldn't let his review throw you off of buying this sub

 

[Vankyra]

Well again, that's an extreme example. Even at -15, depending upon setup levels, that tone can push some limits. I DO NOT recommend judging a sub's performance with that particular tone at any volume. It goes a lot lower than most subs are even tuned for.

I wouldn't judge a subwoofer with that tone, that's for sure. Single digit Hz frequencies are just out of my league.

 

[Pogre]

One thing he doesn't properly mention in that review is that all ported subs will chuff at the port tune no matter how good they are if pushed hard enough.

Yup. Like we've been saying. You drop below port tuning and you'll get some chuffing. A lot of subs are tuned between about 16 - 22 hz (below 20 hz we can't even hear it), and those are the deeper playing subs.

 

[shadyJ]

I wouldn't judge a subwoofer with that tone, that's for sure. Single digit Hz frequencies are just out of my league.

Single Hz frequencies are largely inaudible anyway. The people building systems to achieve those frequencies are just chasing numbers rather than doing anything that has a perceptible return.

 

[Vankyra]

I love Youthman super nice guy and he is great for growing our audio community. We need enthusiastic Youtubers out there growing our community trying new products demoing theater rooms and talking to major speaker and theater companies and Youthman does all that

BUT

He is learning but has made mistakes with testing before a huge one was when he compared a SVS PB 16 ultra to another sub to see which has deeper extension and forgot to test the ultra in extended mode so they were tested at matching frequency responses! Big oversight

One thing he doesn't properly mention in that review is that all ported subs will chuff at the port tune no matter how good they are if pushed hard enough. But a good sub like the monoprice it won't be excessive and with all your other Speakers playing you won't be able to hear it!!!

Also you get a gain from a sub in a room up to +10 dB I believe based on Room size? So hitting reference with the right sub in your room size if you picked right shouldn't be something where you have to crank the volume up and max your sub amp out to achieve it. If you do you either need a second sub or a more powerful sub that fits your room needs better

That monoprice thx ultra shouldn't even need to come close to enough volume to cause you excessive chuffing for it to get you to reference level volume. In fact most subs of this caliber your ears will give out before the subs do if you try to go all the way up to reference. Reference is LOUD. I don't think some realize how loud in a typical home theater or home setup

So YouthMan

Great guy super awesome person
Great for spreading our hobby.
His testing methods sometimes off
And no you shouldn't let his review throw you off of buying this sub

You're so right, he actually mentioned that he turned off the other speakers just to hear the Monolith sub by itself and then he noticed the chuffing sound. It sounds silly, who would disable his speakers to listen closely to the sub during a movie!?

I've seen some tables in different forums that show some subwoofers and their ability to play at reference levels in different sized rooms. The Mono 13 was way up on that list.

 

[ryanosaur]

Single Hz frequencies are largely inaudible anyway. The people building systems to achieve those frequencies are just chasing numbers rather than doing anything that has a perceptible return.

Well, that... and testing the limits of structural integrity. Same with the High Output Devastators!

 

[Pogre]

You're so right, he actually mentioned that he turned off the other speakers just to hear the Monolith sub by itself and then he noticed the chuffing sound. It sounds silly, who would disable his speakers to listen closely to the sub during a movie!?

Yup. See, thats what we're alluding to. Turn your other speakers off, crank up some deep bass and really listen for it and I'm not surprised he may have heard some chuffing. He kinda had to make it happen tho.

 

[Vankyra]

Yup. Like we've been saying. You drop below port tuning and you'll get some chuffing. A lot of subs are tuned between about 16 - 22 hz (below 20 hz we can't even hear it), and those are the deeper playing subs.

I understand. And I guess that some slight chuffing isn't the end of the world after all, it doesn't mean that the sub would be damaged in any way.

Single Hz frequencies are largely inaudible anyway. The people building systems to achieve those frequencies are just chasing numbers rather than doing anything that has a perceptible return.

I've encountered people like that.. It seems to me that they won't ever sit back and enjoy a good movie/song and will always chase those numbers..

 

[Vankyra]

Yup. See, thats what we're alluding to. Turn your other speakers off, crank up some deep bass and really listen for it and I'm not surprised he may have heard some chuffing. He kinda had to make it happen tho.

I totally agree with that. He must have been like "Ready Player One race scene starts, King Kong jumps in, ooooppps port chuffing, damn-

 

[Danzilla31]

I understand. And I guess that some slight chuffing isn't the end of the world after all, it doesn't mean that the sub would be damaged in any way.



I've encountered people like that.. It seems to me that they won't ever sit back and enjoy a good movie/song and will always chase those numbers..

I think your room size is 1500 feet cubed right? I believe you said that. This beautiful THX ultra can meet audioholics extreme room levels. That's 5000 feet cubed and up I believe.

It will laugh at you if you try to drive it to chuffing or reference in a room that size.

 

[Vankyra]

I think your room size is 1500 feet cubed right? I believe you said that. This beautiful THX ultra can meet audioholics extreme room levels. That's 5000 feet cubed and up I believe.

It will laugh at you if you try to drive it to chuffing or reference in a room that size.

Yeap, my current dedicated room is ~1600cubic feet.
Haha you think? It must be a really nice feeling to have all that headroom!