Yamaha YST-SW1500 Nostalgia

[cruiseoveride]

I remember about 4yrs ago, I was oogle'ing the yst-sw1500, cost about $600 at the time, and was out of my league (i was in school, aka no money).

I can now afford a $1k sub and was thinking of ordering the yammy (wat can i say, nostalgie).

To be honest, i dont think I have ever heard this sub.

I would like to consider myself an audiophile, and amateur musician.

The bass I like: I like soft bubbly bass, the kind you feel more than you hear. I hate stiff knocking sounds, that come from some subs.

I want bass that would wake up the dead, or talk to dogs/cats across town. The kind that snakes are attracted to (Fun Fact: Snakes are attracted to vibrations in the ground). I want bass that would move my neighbors car out of MY drive way!!!

Surfing the net, i found the yst-sw1500 to be priced between $400 to $600. I called the local audio store, and they wanted $1450.00 !!!!!! can you believe it???? Some more calling around and managed to get a price of $1100.00 but it would take a week to arrive etc... and its Cherry (eww).

I REALLY like the bass from my tannoy floor standing spkrs, the quality is exceptional, soft and full bodied. However i dont believe Tannoy make anything in the 1kw power range

I also called around and a few people said "Velodyne is the best" i honestly never heard this before, sounded like some pricey American crap to me.

With all this in mind, would you PRO audiophiles recommend a sub for me in the $1,000~ range.

thank you...
PS: I drive a pair of Tannoy Mercury M5 floor standing spkrs, with a Nakamichi AV-7.

 

[j_garcia]

I'd pass on the Yamaha....seriously. I've owned a Yamaha sub and I was not that impressed with them. For $1K you have some excellent choices - The HSU VTF-3 Mk3 HO with turbo here and the SVS PB-12 Plus here either of which will easily be more than most people need unless you have a ridiculously large room or are a major bass head.

 

[cruiseoveride]

thanks, i will check those out,

x. I do have a "bass head",
x. the room is not big

before any of you get me wrong, i am NOT a yammy fan, its the type of stuff i usually pass by at the audio store. But have always been impressed by there shear durability. And i want a sub i can drive to the max for long periods of time.

 

[Warpdrv]

SVS PB-12 Plus in Piano Black, is a good deal right now, and Pretty... I got one.. along with my Plus/2 in rosenut...

I am a bass head, ever since I bought my SVS subs..

I really didn't care for the look of the Turbo of HSU's subs, but they are rated very, very well.... and will stand up against SVS just fine...

Either of those products will blow away any store bought sub in the same price range.... no question

 

[cruiseoveride]

the hsu kinda looks funny, and paying extra for the servo sounds a little strange.

the svs-pb12 specs are impressive.

I have never heard of SVS, are they durable?
Durable as in, I plan to be moving to a new place and dont want to reck it during the move.
and, I like to have house parties...

@Warpdrv, did you purchase your svs from their site?

and one more thing, if i can get the yst-sw1500 for $500 is it worth it? in terms of price to performance ratio?

 

[j_garcia]

You can get the VTF-3 HO without turbo for $899. Yes, the turbo does look a little weird, but according to them, it adds a lot of output for just $100 more.

I have had a design based on the PB-12ISD driver (former driver) in my current room and it was impressive. I have also heard the 20-39Plus with the new NSD driver and it sounds excellent as well. I owned the PB-10 for about a year too and it is really tough to beat for the price.

I wouldn't worry about quality with either SVS or HSU. Both have excellent reputations for taking care of their customers.

 

[mike c]

if the 1500 was $500 ... I'd try it myself
I have nostalgia as well.

except that when I was starting, I was choosing between the YST-SW515/315 and JBL E250.

how far I've come from those two!

 

[j_garcia]

if the 1500 was $500 ... I'd try it myself
I have nostalgia as well.

except that when I was starting, I was choosing between the YST-SW515/315 and JBL E250.

how far I've come from those two!

I had the YST-SW500 which had a remote control and 3 memory positions that I controlled via macros depending on what I was listening to. It was a decent sub. My friend still has 2 of them in his main room.

 

[mike c]

was that at one time the flagship subwoofer of yamaha?

 

[cruiseoveride]

the, yst-sw1500 was yamaha's flagship sub,

the svs-pb12 that j_garcia mentioned looks real nice. and the price is ok (piano black special going for $948) I dont know if my local audio store has any svs, so how do i test it for myself?
if i buy it, and it sucks, can i get talaban'ish on your ***?
will the svs-pb12 be enough for a 6000 cubic feet room?

 

[cruiseoveride]

oh oh, i just saw the svs-pb12plus2 and read the review on your site, and i quote "Earthquake in a box" <-- now thats what i need.
$200 more than the standard plus for an extra 12" driver, now thats a good deal.

This is becoming harder!!!! i was happy until i put my question in the forum,

Why couldnt you just agree on the yammy, now ive seen the pb12-plus2 and i want it!!!

 

[mike c]

for output, the SVS subs will perform better than the 1500 yammy (you have a big room btw)

 

[cruiseoveride]

I have officially chosen to buy the SVS PB12-plus2, ill probably do a bank transfer direct to SVS.

THANKS a lot for all your expert opinions, im a n00b to subwoofers so i greatly appreciate the time you took to help me especially j_garcia for providng links.

One more thing, on your review
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/subwoofers/svs-pb12-plus-2?searchterm=svs+pb12+plus
Under Cons it says "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains" <-- that scares me a little, i live in a quite an old house, and the wiring is not up to scratch. I dont want to burn the transformer on the sub or anything like that. What do you recomend I do about this?

Edit: Its costing me, CAD$1599.00 + CAD$110 (shipping) CAD$ 200 (taxes) -> Total = CAD$1909.00 = USD$ 1800.00

 

[mike c]

1) did you buy from sonic boom audio? (official SVS distributor in canada)
2) Velodyne is the best! - just kidding

 

[cruiseoveride]

Yes, Sonic Boom in Toronto, i havent placed the order yet, my brain is still trying to justify my heart's reason for spending $2k (fuk things are expensive in canada) on a sub. And the SVS Canada doesnt have the special on the "Piano Black" . Will need to concentrate about this decision at the office today

 

[Warpdrv]

Great Choice on the Plus/2, its seriously an amazing sub for the $$. Later down the road, you can easily add a single Plus to your room if you like in the 6000 cu ft. tuned the same, they will seriously KILL....

I have an 8200 cu ft room, and I started with a Plus/2 and then later added a Plus, after the addiction got ahold of me... Extremely effective.... Really balanced out the smoothness of bass down low...

Congrats...

Warp

 

[Seth=L]

Yes, Sonic Boom in Toronto, i havent placed the order yet, my brain is still trying to justify my heart's reason for spending $2k (fuk things are expensive in canada) on a sub. And the SVS Canada doesnt have the special on the "Piano Black" . Will need to concentrate about this decision at the office today

I am currious, are you getting 5.1 sound off your audio card for the Nakamichi?

 

[cruiseoveride]

I have AC3 out on the sound card, but i dont use it, the setup i have at the moment is really designed for recording music, I run the sound card to a mixer and then everything else plugs into it, guitars, mics etc... including the nakamichi.

If your interested in getting a High end DTS sound card, i strongly recommend the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 or the Aureon 7.1 Universe
Both cards are top notch, with M-Audio being Industry proven as the best.

 

[Pheaton]

Under Cons it says "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains" <-- that scares me a little, i live in a quite an old house, and the wiring is not up to scratch. I dont want to burn the transformer on the sub or anything like that. What do you recomend I do about this?

Hi,
Now that I am looking into this particular sub, I was also wondering about this "heavy load" comment. Any thoughts?

Pheaton

 

[cruiseoveride]

The wiring in the house is really bad, but i havent noticed any issues, ive got amps, recievers, computers etc... all on the same phase and the sub doesnt make any of the lights dim so im guessing its safe.

Man this sub IS FUKING HUGE, seriously, no jokes, get out a meter ruler, and measure a 1 meter cube, thats how big this guy is.