$1000 Subwoofer - Music Only

[mike c]

Rock on!

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=387496#post387496

 

[mtrycrafts]

When it comes to music...give me a sealed sub EVERY single time. I've heard countless ported subs and while some sound good, a well made sealed enclosure always sounds better. Find me a ported sub that outperforms a fathom musically and I'll call you liar.

You too might want to read that thread up top about SUB MYTHS
May help tame your biases

 

[codexp3]

Your counter calim is that research means nothing? Why aren't you living in a cave protesting the advent of fire? I don't recall one major publication calling the SVS sub the best sub ever made. Sterophile, Hometheater mag, Ultimate AV have all given that title to JL. I'd love to come listen to the mud that comes from your array of subs. I hate to break it to you but must legit speaker manufacturers make their own drivers with the exception of Wilson. The only thing anyone should own that's made in a garage in Ohio is a Honda.

Here's a qutoe and link for you I've got a million of them:
"As for sound, the JL played deeper, louder, and tighter than the SVS with any material I chose. But this statement doesn’t apply only to the SVS PB12-Plus/2; it applies to every other active sub I’ve heard, at any price. The JL Audio Fathom f113 has become my new reference subwoofer."

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/jl_fathom_f113.htm

"The bottom end of pretty much any kind of music took on more definition and shape, even with the lowest string of the lowest instrument. Suddenly relieved of bad-sub stress, I became less stressed. I felt a renewed appreciation for artists and engineers because I could hear more of what they'd intended me to hear. Over time, my expectations changed. I now have a broader frame of reference for what a sub can accomplish. This will not make subsequent reviewing any easier. Couldn't I just stay here forever?"

http://www.hometheatermag.com/subwoofers/407jlsub/

"Never before had new audio gear reshaped the depth and width of the soundstage, doubled the dynamic range, and increased the transparency, all at the same time. My entire system achieved its best performance to date, producing clean, tight, solid bass signals with excellent pitch definition. Great work, JL Audio!"

http://www.stereophile.com/subwoofers/907jl/index2.html

 

[Matt34]

Your counter calim is that research means nothing? Why aren't you living in a cave protesting the advent of fire? I don't recall one major publication calling the SVS sub the best sub ever made. Sterophile, Hometheater mag, Ultimate AV have all given that title to JL. I'd love to come listen to the mud that comes from your array of subs. I hate to break it to you but must legit speaker manufacturers make their own drivers with the exception of Wilson. The only thing anyone should own that's made in a garage in Ohio is a Honda.

Here's a qutoe and link for you I've got a million of them:
"As for sound, the JL played deeper, louder, and tighter than the SVS with any material I chose. But this statement doesn’t apply only to the SVS PB12-Plus/2; it applies to every other active sub I’ve heard, at any price. The JL Audio Fathom f113 has become my new reference subwoofer."

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi...athom_f113.htm

"Never before had new audio gear reshaped the depth and width of the soundstage, doubled the dynamic range, and increased the transparency, all at the same time. My entire system achieved its best performance to date, producing clean, tight, solid bass signals with excellent pitch definition. Great work, JL Audio!"

http://www.stereophile.com/subwoofers/907jl/index2.html

Your link is broke and your attitude sucks.

 

[zhimbo]

[blah blah blah]

You made the claim that sealed subs are always better. Now you're talking about only 1 single make and model of sub, which is widely praised but not universally acclaimed as the Best...Sub...Evah!

See a problem?

And, seriously, you're arguing by review quotes? To prove what? That a single make and model of sub gets really good reviews? What the heck is the point of that?

 

[codexp3]

Your link is broke and your attitude sucks.

I fixed the link, but the attitude....

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Oh brother......

When it comes to music...give me a sealed sub EVERY single time. I've heard countless ported subs and while some sound good, a well made sealed enclosure always sounds better. Find me a ported sub that outperforms a fathom musically and I'll call you liar.

 

[Matt34]

This was taken from the "Myths about subwoofers" link.

# 4 Ported boxes don’t sound as good as sealed

In most cases this is strictly a result of linear response vs non-linear response and it could go both ways. 4th order systems or “vented” boxes tend to be far more particular to volume, port size and length and the driver TPS’s rather than sealed systems. Misalignments are therefore amplified and greatly affect the frequency response. Often times in car audio, ported boxes are not tuned low enough, or the volume is too large and there is a large peak in the frequency response from literately too much sensitivity or SPL at a very narrow frequency band. The other issue is if the driver does not have enough BL or has too high of a Qts and becomes under damped at resonance. This again leads to drastic peaks at the resonating frequency; however in this case, the driver will be peaky there regardless of content and it will sound ultimately less dynamic and very bottom heavy. However, a well designed vented box may have considerably lower distortion and higher dynamics than a sealed box because of the added SPL gained from the port without increasing the active driver displacement requirements. Sealed systems evoke the most non-linear driver behavior to reach any given SPL, so in fact, they could be the worst sounding system if your SPL demands are considerable. It is important to model a ported design or ask the manufacture for a recommendation. It is also critical to include a high pass filter on the active driver in a ported box for protection.

 

[Matt34]

What would you buy?

Ive tried:
VELODYNE VRP1200
JBL Sub12

Both sucked. I need serious bass but needs to sound clean.

I would recommend either the Epik castle right at your price point...

http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/CastleOverview.html


Or dual AV123 MWF-15

(Their website seems to be down)


Or save a bit more and get the SVS PB-13 Ultra.

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-pb13ultra.cfm

 

[mouettus]

I am also looking for a sub. Same thing than the OP (accuracy and "tightness" first, output then) but with less budget (500-750$). What I love is a quick kick with no "boominess".

All right now get off my shoulders for this, but I tend to think that sealed enclosures often sound better than ported, to my ears. I need something that will fill a 2500 cu.ft. room. A 10" preferably, maybe a 12 if it's sealed (needs more power).

You see, everybody talks about how HSU sounds good for music. I would LOVE to own one of those VTF3 MK3 but I live in Canada.
I am not a bass freak. I don't care for subsonic frequencies. I'd like something that blends well with my Energys. I'd love to hear one of those ESW-V10.

 

[InTheIndustry]

Priority There are an absolute ton of subwoofers to be had at $1K


I just tried an Atlantic Technology 642e which retails at $1K. A rep gave me a 4200e system to mess with for a couple of weeks and suggested I consider bring the line on if I liked it. I liked the system a lot and thought for the price it was excellent. I liked the sub because it was very very fast and accurate which is something the engineers really focused on. Starting when it was supposed to start, stopping when it was supposed to stop, and never muddying things up. No continued resonances or lingering which is, in my opinion, the absolute most bothersome trait a sub can have. It's not the most forceful thing in the world if your room is really large (think basement) so in large systems I would recommend 2 of them. Design: Sealed

http://atlantictechnology.com/default.asp?NodeId=51

The hands down best Subwoofer I can find (I have used, owned, sold, & installed A LOT over the years) under or around $1K are the Sunfire HRS Series subwoofers ranging from $700 for the 8" to $900 for the 12". All three have tremendous quickness and very high output. The HRS-10 is the 10" in the group and it is a beast. The 12" is just as impressive but you'd need a big big room to contain it. Extremely impressive! As a point of reference I'm a JLAUDIO dealer and find the HRS Sunfire line to be a great product with a fabulous "value" statement. I strongly recommend finding a dealer to demo one. Design: Sealed

http://sunfire.com/HRS.htm



For the record, I really don't care whether or not a sub is ported, sealed, or whatever. I did want to point out, however, that all Bose subs are ported.

View attachment 5677

 

[mouettus]

For the record, I really don't care whether or not a sub is ported, sealed, or whatever. I did want to point out, however, that all Bose subs are ported.

View attachment 5677

Ohhhhhh! lol mean.

Hey I just listened to the ESW-V8 (Energy's new sub) and I think the exact same thing, although it is small, it has a decent output and exactly as you were saying, no muddyness, no boominess. I was playing some Godsmack on them and with speakers off (only sub playing), I could still hear the song notes, not only woo-woo-woo-woo. I can't wait to audition the 10in. version though. Cuz at 730$ taxes in, it's a 10 incher in my house and out the Velodyne!

I'll post a thread on this audition soon.

 

[InTheIndustry]

Ohhhhhh! lol mean.

Hey I just listened to the ESW-V8 (Energy's new sub) and I think the exact same thing, although it is small, it has a decent output and exactly as you were saying, no muddyness, no boominess. I was playing some Godsmack on them and with speakers off (only sub playing), I could still hear the song notes, not only woo-woo-woo-woo. I can't wait to audition the 10in. version though. Cuz at 730$ taxes in, it's a 10 incher in my house and out the Velodyne!

I'll post a thread on this audition soon.

I'm an Energy dealer and the new subs are nice. Very pretty. The 8" is particularly good. At $730, though, you should be able to get the Sunfire HRS-10 (MSRP $800) and there is no comparison between the two.

http://sunfire.com/HRS.htm

Seriously, go find a dealer to try it out after the Energy Subs. Not even close!

 

[Sheep]

I'm an Energy dealer and the new subs are nice. Very pretty. The 8" is particularly good. At $730, though, you should be able to get the Sunfire HRS-10 (MSRP $800) and there is no comparison between the two.

http://sunfire.com/HRS.htm

Seriously, go find a dealer to try it out after the Energy Subs. Not even close!

Acsoutic memory is only 8ish seconds. I think you'll need to bring a recording.

SheepStar

 

[InTheIndustry]

Acsoutic memory is only 8ish seconds. I think you'll need to bring a recording.

SheepStar

Please explain what you mean.

 

[haraldo]

This may be stretching the budget, never listened to any of these guys, but sure looks interesting:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/ep400_main.html#

You'd probably need two of them.

Regards

Harald N

 

[mouettus]

I'm an Energy dealer and the new subs are nice. Very pretty. The 8" is particularly good. At $730, though, you should be able to get the Sunfire HRS-10 (MSRP $800) and there is no comparison between the two.

http://sunfire.com/HRS.htm

Seriously, go find a dealer to try it out after the Energy Subs. Not even close!

How about: I live in Canada. No Sunfire dealers here.

I can get the ESW-V10 for 650 +tx. Is that any good?

How can you compare the ESW-V10 and the Mirage Prestige S10? Sure looks like the same driver and amp. But is it the same cabinet?

I can get the S10 for 850$ +tx.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

For the record, I really don't care whether or not a sub is ported, sealed, or whatever. I did want to point out, however, that all Bose subs are ported.

View attachment 5677

"Bass module"

 

[mouettus]

"Bass module"

HAHA Agreed. Everything 120 and up is not bass... it's mid-bass or mids!

I think I never heard somebody here defend Blose

 

[gazcat]

Ended up getting a Dayton Titanic 15" for $400 shipped on ebay.

Thanks for everyones input!