Down to the sub choice for our new HT system

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Lady Phoenix

Lady Phoenix

Junior Audioholic
Time for the fun part!

We've made decisions on all of the audio components for our new HT except for the sub. So our local shop set up our choice of fronts (Monitor Audio GS60s), center (MA GSCLR), and rears (MA RSFXs) and let us audition several subwoofers. We honed in on the Klipsch RSW-15, which they were willing to offer to us for $1200.

Question #1: Is this a good price?
Question #2: Is there another comparable product out there for a better price?
Question #3: How does this compare to SVS or HSU, which both seem to be favorites here at the forums?

Room layout is attached for your reference. Ceilings are 8ft. with acoustic tiles, room is approximately 12'x22'.
 

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Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Leprkon said:
wow. 140 pounds. Tim the Toolman would be proud of ya, son !!! :D
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No kidding! That's HEAVY. I was leary to throw my two cents in because I don't have experience with any of these brands (yet), but I'll say this. For the same price as that box ($1299 + $99 shipping, but no tax), you can pre-order an SVS PC-Ultra that should ship late July or August. That's what I've done. I chose the cylinder in no small part because it weighs in at 80 pounds. Not light, but much lighter.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
Adam said:
For the same price as that box ($1299 + $99 shipping, but no tax), you can pre-order an SVS PC-Ultra that should ship late July or August.
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I'll stick with my Plus/2 sub. :D

Only way I would replace it is for two Ultra's, or the Ultra/2 that will come out.
 
A

abboudc

Audioholic Chief
I would avoid the Klipsch. I have a Klipsch sub and have been very disappointed with it, and any of the below subs will blow it away.

Subs to consider:
Hsu VTF-HO w/Turbo (the washing machine that Mazer posted)
SVS PB-Ultra
Axiom EP-500
AV123 Rockets x 2

The SVS Plus/2 is a great sub (have one), but I would say make sure you have the room for it before ordering it up as it's an oversize item.

If it were my money, i'd pick the Hsu w/Turbo (that is if you can get over that fact that it's *really* ugly). :)
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
abboudc said:
If it were my money, i'd pick the Hsu w/Turbo (that is if you can get over that fact that it's *really* ugly). :)
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It's really not that bad in person. The finish is not even close to the SVS, but if you have it in a corner. It's not that bad. Nothing I would want sitting out in the middle of my family room. But if you have a dedicated room, not bad.
 
Lady Phoenix

Lady Phoenix

Junior Audioholic
Thanks for the comments, folks. After looking at the Hsu Turbo, I've got to say that I'm not sure I can get over the look. I think we're now leaning in the direction of either the SVS PC-Ultra or Plus/2.

Any thoughts on how to choose from either of these two options? I must admit that I'm a tad bit fretful about the comment in the Plus/2 review that said, "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains." Am I going to need to dedicate a circuit to this bad boy? Would I be any better off with the Ultra?
 
A

abboudc

Audioholic Chief
Lady Phoenix said:
Thanks for the comments, folks. After looking at the Hsu Turbo, I've got to say that I'm not sure I can get over the look. I think we're now leaning in the direction of either the SVS PC-Ultra or Plus/2.

Any thoughts on how to choose from either of these two options? I must admit that I'm a tad bit fretful about the comment in the Plus/2 review that said, "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains." Am I going to need to dedicate a circuit to this bad boy? Would I be any better off with the Ultra?
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I have both a current gen (TV12) PC-Ultra and Plus/2. THe PC-Ultra is tighter than the Plus/2 and takes up less space. The new-gen Ultra is about 6 inches taller. The Plus/2 is louder and as big as a good sized end table. If you can afford the space, the Plus/2 is the better value. To my ear, it's louder, but slightly sloppier than the Ultra. The cylinder hides nicely in the corner, but there's no hiding the Plus/2.

Finish-wise, the Plus/2 is much better, with different wood choices available. The Ultra is covered in a nylon sock like black fabric, with visible seams and staples on the back. The plus/2 is in Oak, but i was disappointed after the hype of "high grade furniture" finish, as i don't think it even comes close to that, but it's better than most subs. I can tell you it's light years better than the Klipsch i have. I'd recommend going with black (texture or gloss) as the color of the wood on the website didn't quite match what i got, which made it not match the rest of the room. YMMV.

Power wise, i haven't had any trouble with either, but it will make your power bill go up. If your current HT circuit is a 20-amp, you'll be fine, if it's 15, as long as it's just for the HT and it's not a circuit shared with the microwave or toaster, you should be fine ;)

That said, if i had to do it all over again, i'd have gotten the VTF-HO w/Turbo instead of the PC-Ultra. Though it won't be winning any beauty contests, sound and pricewise, it's very tough to beat for $1k.
 
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Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
mazersteven said:
E-Mail Tom or Ron and ask their opinion. They will help guide you to the right sub for you.
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Great advice! SVS offers several different products, and they might recommend something other than the two mentioned here. One that I almost got and will throw in for consideration is a 16-46 PC-Plus ($949 + shipping, or $865 + shipping for one they have in B-stock). It's quite a bit cheaper than the PC-Ultra and the frequency response looks very comparible to me. I think that their box subs look very nice (outside of the basic black versions), and I went back and forth for months between a box and a cylinder, but their size and weight finally knocked them out of the running for me.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
abboudc said:
The plus/2 is in Oak, but i was disappointed after the hype of "high grade furniture" finish, as i don't think it even comes close to that, but it's better than most subs. I can tell you it's light years better than the Klipsch i have. I'd recommend going with black (texture or gloss) as the color of the wood on the website didn't quite match what i got, which made it not match the rest of the room. YMMV.
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SVS will send you wood finish samples are your request so you can pick a finish. :D
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Lady Phoenix said:
I must admit that I'm a tad bit fretful about the comment in the Plus/2 review that said, "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains." Am I going to need to dedicate a circuit to this bad boy? Would I be any better off with the Ultra?
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When you call Tom at SVS ask him about this, when does this happen, at initial turn on to charge the caps in the sub amp or an on going issue during play. If the former, then it is not an issue.

Since this setup seems to be in the family room, you should have a 20A circuit, required by code. If you can plug either all or part of the system on that branch, you should also be OK no matter what.
 
Warpdrv

Warpdrv

Audioholic Ninja
Lady Phoenix said:
I must admit that I'm a tad bit fretful about the comment in the Plus/2 review that said, "Large current inrush heavily loads AC mains." Am I going to need to dedicate a circuit to this bad boy? Would I be any better off with the Ultra?
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Im not going to lie to you.... I bought a Plus/2 and upon hooking it up to my AC wiring in my Great Room, the lights would dim... but this is seriously only when I cranked it up past reference levels... which I tend to do more often then not. But I really don't know what all is on that circuit. If you have an older house it might be an issue, but I doubt it...

The New Ultra coming out will have a slightly smaller amp then the plus/2, but so does the SVS-PB12 Plus which I also have.

Do you listen at extreme levels? If not all the time I wouldn't worry about it too much. I ran dual dedicated circuits for my HT because I can do the work myself, and it was cheap, less then $100.00 for the wire.

The sound quality of the New Ultra will be seriously something I personally believe will be worth waiting for.... Im having a hard time not pulling the trigger on 2 of them, but my new house needs more attention then my HT room should....
 
Warpdrv

Warpdrv

Audioholic Ninja
mazersteven said:
I'm on a 15 amp circuit, and no problems.
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It shouldn't be a problem, unless you have over 100 ft run or 14ga wiring or something like those type circumstances.... All depends on the situation. :)

My house was 100ft runs with 12ga but I don't have the wiring plan, so Im not totally sure what was all on that circuit with my sub, so I just eliminated the question in my mind and over did it... like I do everything else... :)
 
Pheaton

Pheaton

Audioholic
Hi all,
Our power situation in the basement has 20A circuits for all of the outlets. The sub will be on one circuit, the projector will be on a 2nd circuit, and the electronics will be on a third circuit. My father in law is a retired electrician, so we were able to do the wiring ourselves. We saved a ton of money this way and I think we were able to set it up correctly. It is probably because of the savings from doing the electrical ourselves that Lady Phoenix and I are able to start on the HT only a year after finishing the basement. We still need to run the dedicated circuit for the projector, we wanted to wait to see where it was going to be installed. From the previous posts it sounds as if we will be okay if we go with the plus/2 sub. True?

Pheaton

P.S. We emailed Tom and Ron at SVS today and are anxiously awaiting their advice. :D
 
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