My Review of the Rythmik FV18

[Danzilla31]

Congratulations! Incredible setup, at times I miss my fv18pc subs. This is one of those times.

Thank you I'm holding on to these beauties for as long as I can and I'm not letting go!

 

[Danzilla31]

Congratulations! Incredible setup, at times I miss my fv18pc subs. This is one of those times.

Did you just need to downsize or did you go with something else?

 

[Danzilla31]

So some final thoughts

Rythmiks customer service is just incredible Lynn Bryan Enrico were all incredibly responsive, friendly, and helpful above and beyond my expectations. Thank you guys for all your help.

It really says something when one of the owners of the company is there on a Saturday at the shop to personally help you load 180 pound massive boxes of subs into the back of your truck.

Watching Bryan climb on top of those boxes about 10 feet of the ground to make sure they were strapped in is a sight I will not soon forget! I think he was worried about my babies more then I was!

It feels really good to know if I have any issues they are just an hour away and I know Thanks to the way they treated me as a customer I'll be getting top notch response from them if that day were to ever come

Enrico was super helpful and responsive even after the Sale. Following up with me with suggestions on setup and seeing how I was enjoying them. Thank you everyone at Rythmik

 

[Danzilla31]

Also I know Rythmik products has not been updated in awhile but I like that. These work they have a long track record of great performance why fix what isn't broken? That amp has been tried and tested. They are very familiar with the drivers the build supply chain shipping every aspect of it. What you get is a product that just plain works excellently and does what they say it's going to do.

In a world of beta testing pre pros and avrs that you spend thousands on and new expensive subs that come out that sometimes have amp troubles or other issues for a bit I find Rythmiks consistency and great performance quiet refreshing

 

[Danzilla31]

Have to go to the store I have one or 2 more things I wanted to share with you guys later

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

PC in that model also refers to a ported column like SVS? Didn't know Rythmik did those....

Paper cone

 

[lovinthehd]

Paper cone

Didn't think of that vs aluminum....thanks.

 

[Kleinst]

Congrats! you have a hell of a setup now.... Your going to have to find something else to spend money on now

 

[lovinthehd]

Congrats! you have a hell of a setup now.... Your going to have to find something else to spend money on now

He's got more rooms to go, right? Gotta fill 'em up somehow

 

[Timforhifi]

Did you just need to downsize or did you go with something else?

They were in our living room and the matte finish wasn’t the most attractive option. The size was also very large so I tried a few other subs. Really more of a compromise with my wife.

After I sold fv18pc subs I tried a pair of svs sb16 in gloss. Was nice looking but I wasn’t happy with them. So they were returned and svs was great to work with. Then I decided to give psa a try first with a pair v1512df, back to ported. I liked them for about 6 months but at times they made some odd noises. At higher spl I wasn’t happy, those fv18pc are superb and never had driver noise or port issues. I was texting Bryan at Rythmik because he’s amazing with help. I told him I wanted 2-4 g22 subs for my room in gloss black. He said no way I know you too well, I had 4 fv15hp at one time. He said get fv18pc, fv25 or newest version of fv15hp with slightly larger ports and bigger amp that’s in fv18pc. I liked that compromise, I was going to get 2 piano black fv15hp with 900 watt amp and upgraded driver. No stock was available and my patience was tested. I checked in weekly and I couldn’t wait any longer.

To hold me over I bought a pair of monolith 15’s and they are huge. My wife was upset, and I said it’s fine and temporary. Well that was over a year ago and I still have them. Their look has grown on me and the bass is incredible. Never a bad noise and extraordinary output. I ran rew, and in room I was hitting 112db below 10 hz. 120-124db from 20-80hz. These are numbers with me trying to find max output. I went back and compared to my fv18pc and it was so close, within a db here or there. I kinda missed seeing those larger drivers of the Rythmik, and the 22” deep footprint. Mono 15 is even bigger in person, with grill on it’s over 30” deep.

Sorry, kinda rambled on. Overall I loved fv18pc and still love monolith 15. I think if I was looking for new subs my 2 choices would of been exactly what you were deciding over. Mono 16 vs fv18pc. Both great options but I think you should try mono 16 still, to at least help future me decide easier.

 

[ryanosaur]

^This may be one of the most telling statements I've seen:

I ran rew, and in room I was hitting 112db below 10 hz. 120-124db from 20-80hz. These are numbers with me trying to find max output. I went back and compared to my fv18pc and it was so close, within a db here or there.

*bro-hug

 

[ryanosaur]

^^^
For that above post, I looked at the FV18 and the FV15HP compared to the two newer Monolith Subs, respectively the 16 and 13.
Between Data Bass for the Rythmik Subs and Shady for Monolith, these Subs are almost identical in performance.

Perhaps the most telling aspect is in the Long Term Compression Sweeps which seem to favor Rythmik... But it is close. I think Mono wins in distortion, iirc.

Ultimately it felt like a toss up.

I would probably choose the 13 over the 15HP, but the FV18 over the Mono 16... Unless there is a sale. Then all bets are off and the loweste price wins!

 

[Timforhifi]

With all of what I said earlier, I had dual JTR cap 2400 as well before the fv18pc. Was in our last house so not an exact comparison to Rythmik, with room changing. To me, Rythmik had similar output down low but way more mid bass slam. Rythmik was the winner to me.

Rythmik subs are just outstanding, I know a guy that has tried every great sub. He swears Rythmik are the best, settled on dual g25. Matching with his incredible paradigm speakers.

 

[Timforhifi]

I think the mono 16 is the spl king right now, but it’s hard comparing two different reviews. If I did it would show mono 16 is 3-5 db louder. Which isn’t a big deal really, both fv18pc and mono 16 have plenty of spl.

The numbers for fv15 are also from long ago with older version. Different ports and driver, I think fv15 now is even better but with that being said mono 15 wins for spl. If you compare Erin’s audio corner review with shadys they find different numbers.Erin tested thx mode which I found to actually play louder during rew tests. Fv15 vs mono 15 are close though. Mono 13 adds a little more down low but seems very similar to 15” version.

Back to how I started its hard to compare spl from different sites. If you can get your subs to play from 8-100hz at over 110 db thats crazy loud. I like to shoot for 120db from 20-80hz and whatever happens below is bonus. Most people can’t stand more than 2-3 mins at that volume and it’s all for show, or hearing damage.

It all comes down to sound quality and these big ported subs sound excellent.

 

[Danzilla31]

With all of what I said earlier, I had dual JTR cap 2400 as well before the fv18pc. Was in our last house so not an exact comparison to Rythmik, with room changing. To me, Rythmik had similar output down low but way more mid bass slam. Rythmik was the winner to me.

Rythmik subs are just outstanding, I know a guy that has tried every great sub. He swears Rythmik are the best, settled on dual g25. Matching with his incredible paradigm speakers.

After owning these for 3 weeks I get it. These subs have a sound signature to them that is just magical I can't explain it. The low end is so impressive but the midbass slam and just overall output is just unreal. Yet they are so quick and clean and nimble and accurate. They just gobble up intricate bass lines but when asked for they can slam my whole room and I'm feeling it all over my body

I threw a track I love to test out subs with that can eat lesser subs for breakfast. It's from Mellefresh and Deadmau5 and its called "something inside of me". Lesser subs can't manage the output on the bass line or they can't keep up with how fast it is and they muddy the bass line up. Thats just the intro Then the subs need to play the bass line through the song clearly while the midrange and vocals and instruments are all just soaring with big dynamic peaks and swells. So much I'd going on in this song. Lesser subs I've used start to meltdown with just the bass intro just start distorting or muddying the bass line up into one bloated distorted note. But not these Rythmiks oh buddy. The FV18'S handled this song with ease. And that's the best I've heard the bassline
Ever.

 

[snakeeyes]

Congrats!!!

 

[Danzilla31]

Congrats!!!

Thank you my friend howve you been?

 

[Danzilla31]

^^^
For that above post, I looked at the FV18 and the FV15HP compared to the two newer Monolith Subs, respectively the 16 and 13.
Between Data Bass for the Rythmik Subs and Shady for Monolith, these Subs are almost identical in performance.

Perhaps the most telling aspect is in the Long Term Compression Sweeps which seem to favor Rythmik... But it is close. I think Mono wins in distortion, iirc.

Ultimately it felt like a toss up.

I would probably choose the 13 over the 15HP, but the FV18 over the Mono 16... Unless there is a sale. Then all bets are off and the loweste price wins!

MAY THE BEST SALE WIN!!!! YEEHHAA!!!! ....
sorry I'm from Texas it shows sometimes.

On a serious note it would have to be a great sale to get you to give up your outlaws. You love those subs

 

[Danzilla31]

^^^
For that above post, I looked at the FV18 and the FV15HP compared to the two newer Monolith Subs, respectively the 16 and 13.
Between Data Bass for the Rythmik Subs and Shady for Monolith, these Subs are almost identical in performance.

Perhaps the most telling aspect is in the Long Term Compression Sweeps which seem to favor Rythmik... But it is close. I think Mono wins in distortion, iirc.

Ultimately it felt like a toss up.

I would probably choose the 13 over the 15HP, but the FV18 over the Mono 16... Unless there is a sale. Then all bets are off and the loweste price wins!

Hey didn't you just order some drivers? If I remember right you were going to be building some when you had some time

 

[ryanosaur]

@Danzilla31
Sup, Bud?!

The Outlaws are great, especially on SALE! Too bad they aren't available anymore. I was surprised to see those come off the market.
I think Shady said in his reviews of the Outlaw and the Monoliths that you can't really make them make a bad sound. Good design parameters and THX distortion specs are a good combination.

Yes, I have 6 SI SQ-15s. The plan is three dual driver boxes tuned low. Nick at SI gave me some basic parameters to work with on box size. The main thing keeping me from moving ahead now is just cost of lumber on top of cost of living. Gas has come down a lot, but still around $5.20 at the cheapest location I can find (most are 5.40 and higher... Diesel is well over $6 per gallon!).
Anyway, MDF had come down to $50 per sheet for a while, but is now back up to over $60 per... And all this happened right as I got my Amp! So now I have 6 drivers, an Amp to juice them with, and nothing to put them in.

I am contemplating a cylinder design again... Sonotube is so inexpensive compared to any other materiel right now... Just not the plan I was going for in terms of placement goals.
*sighs