Rythmik FV15HP Subwoofer Review

[clouso]

I agree with templemaners, lots of options are a good thing, so perhaps all Rythmik needs to do is document them better. Anyway this looks like a absolutely solid subwoofer, output measurements put it right up there with the previous review of the PB12-Plus and Hsu's measurements of the VTF-15H. The review is terrific also, there is a lot of valuable information in there, and depth. Honestly I don't need a subjective experience record to tell me how it sounds with War of the Worlds with every single sub, I can understand what it would do just fine with the measurements recorded. There is lots of valuable data in the article and by the time this series of reviews is done with, I think these will be the new reference point for new sub buyers. Ilkas tests were the gold standard certainly, but they are getting a bit old, what with all the new models and new versions of the same subs he tested.

yeah right so i know the vtf-15h will be an upgrade...im out..lol...im ordering it on thursday and yes your right...usually i like and take all advices but this time i know i will have a damn good subwoofer....what ever you guys say.......i must sleep now...have a good night........

 

[billy p]

Rythmik is a brand that not only targets itself to the the HT crowd but also takes full advantage of the 2-channel music listener with the analog pre-amp etc. I fully support the complex plate amp, they probably just have some tweaking to do is all.

I can see some advantage with the added features but it only drives up cost of the sub. Maybe mfg's should design their subs with a basic plate amp for the less discerning members and a more advanced plate for those who required a more complex unit and are willing to spend to get it. Fwiw...I added the ED eq2 to help in that area.

 

[cschang]

I can see some advantage with the added features but it only drives up cost of the sub. Maybe mfg's should design their subs with a basic plate amp for the less discerning members and a more advanced plate for those who required a more complex unit and are willing to spend to get it. Fwiw...I added the ED eq2 to help in that area.

It then becomes an issue of is it more economical to make more of the complex amp, or less of the complex amp and add a simpler amp.

economies of scale

 

[idi74]

I have one of the Rythmik audio 12" sealed subs which I am very impressed with.

The only problem is that I want to buy another one.

 

[anamorphic96]

I love all the options the Rythmik offers. Makes integrating this sub that much easier. For 2 channel and HT. Especially 2 channel.

 

[ntrain42]

Article mentions a couple times - leave the switches alone and use bass management functions of your processor. I do this in my system.

Why then are there so many switches and controls? I'm sure it adds some flexibility, but in reality, the type of buyer who seeks our a special, non-best-buy-amp, like this Rythmik, is almost certainly going to have a decent receiver or processor that includes bass management.

Rythmik (and others) could cut a lot of complexity, and cut a lot of cost.

Decent recievers and processors normally have pretty cr@ppy and limited "bass management" systems built in. Even alot of the upper tier recievers and processors are highly limited.

WHat if I want a 24db low pass filter at 50hz? How many recievers or processors can YOU think of off the top of your head that will give me a steeper slope other than the typical 12db slope found, or a lowpass point lower than 80hz?

How many recievers processors offer a fully 3 way adjustable 1 band PEQ?

How many recievers or processors offer a rumble filter for people who use records? How about extension/damping controls?

TO people who know how to use these "switches and controls" these are highly desireable and useful controls. This is why the RYthmik is considered a ture audiophile sub. Its not the typical boom boom HT ported sub you find from companies like HSU,eD,Epik etc which are designed more around big bang for the buck output, and not subtle fine tuning controls for high resolution bass resolve.

Its nice to know that Rythmik now has a killer sub that is good enough to satisfy the serious audiophiles, yet has great output for HT systems in a single sub solution.

 

[ntrain42]

I can see some advantage with the added features but it only drives up cost of the sub. Maybe mfg's should design their subs with a basic plate amp for the less discerning members and a more advanced plate for those who required a more complex unit and are willing to spend to get it. Fwiw...I added the ED eq2 to help in that area.

Rythmik actually does that. You have a choice of the BASIC class A/B bare bones A300 watt plate amp, the class A/B A370PEQ2 parametric plate amp, the A370 XLR Class A/B plate amp that has XLR input/output and can allow subs to be daisy chained together in master/slave mode, and the Class H H600PEQ2 high output parametric eq plate amp, and the H600XLR master/slave high output plate amp.

Rythmik kind of has ALL the users covered.

 

[bread29]

Great article and great review, once again! Not being too well versed with the Rythmik brand, I'm very suprised by the output and low distortion of the product. Being a die hard Hsu fan, I have to question my allegiance...that is until the Hsu review comes out .

 

[gene]

Decent recievers and processors normally have pretty cr@ppy and limited "bass management" systems built in. Even alot of the upper tier recievers and processors are highly limited.

This is NOT true. Most decent receivers have variable crossover settings and adhere to THX recommendations of 24dB/Oct slopes for LPF and 12dB/Oct slopes for HPF.

WHat if I want a 24db low pass filter at 50hz? How many recievers or processors can YOU think of off the top of your head that will give me a steeper slope other than the typical 12db slope found, or a lowpass point lower than 80hz?

Again most modern receivers offer variable crossover settings and 24dB/Oct slope on the Low Pass should be more than sufficient. I don't know of any receiver only offering a 12dB/Oct LPF.

How many recievers processors offer a fully 3 way adjustable 1 band PEQ?

Lot's of receivers today offer PEQ function and editable room correction systems to fine tune bass response.

It is typically always better to do all of your bass management in the digital domain which is why we recommend in most cases to bypass subwoofer filters in favor of the processor. In some cases, I use both when setting up multi subs that don't properly integrate at the Xover frequency in the listening area.

I wrote a very detailed article about it which is also referenced in the Rythmik Review:

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/multiple-subwoofer-setup-calibration-1

 

[GranteedEV]

This is NOT true. Most decent receivers have variable crossover settings and adhere to THX recommendations of 24dB/Oct slopes for LPF and 12dB/Oct slopes for HPF.

Again most modern receivers offer variable crossover settings and 24dB/Oct slope on the Low Pass should be more than sufficient. I don't know of any receiver only offering a 12dB/Oct LPF.

I wish manufacturers would be more transparent with us on this.

I once sent Marantz customer service an email to find out if it's a 24db or 12db slope being used on the SR6003.

I never even got a response, although they took care to add me to thier mailing list .

Maybe audioholics should measure this too

 

[gene]

I wish manufacturers would be more transparent with us on this.

I once sent Marantz customer service an email to find out if it's a 24db or 12db slope being used on the SR6003.

I never even got a response, although they took care to add me to thier mailing list .

Maybe audioholics should measure this too

I measure the bass management of every A/V receiver I review including the SR6004 I previously reviewed here.

 

[GranteedEV]

I measure the bass management of every A/V receiver I review including the SR6004 I previously reviewed here.

Sweet, I just read that.

 

[Hi Ho]

I absolutely love my DIY Rythmik sealed sub. Their DIY kits are awesome. I really look forward to building a second one. It's good to see a review of one of their prebuilt units.

 

[ntrain42]

This is NOT true. Most decent receivers have variable crossover settings and adhere to THX recommendations of 24dB/Oct slopes for LPF and 12dB/Oct slopes for HPF.

I disagree. Most xovers are slope and band limited. Many do not allow you to crossover lower than 80hz, many offer only a few fixed points. What if I want to change the highpass to smaller mains to 24db instead of 12? Or set the lowpass to the sub to 12db instead of 24db?

Regardless I'd like to have a small list of the processors or recievers that do offer what I would consider excellent flexibility. One processor that I know of that does offer excellent hi/low pass xover settings is the UMC-1. You can ajust the slope and have a dozen or so band points to select from starting around 30-40hz all the way up past 150hz if I recall. But even this bass management system in itself is flawed still due to the sub channel EQ not working for 2 channel music.

Again most modern receivers offer variable crossover settings and 24dB/Oct slope on the Low Pass should be more than sufficient. I don't know of any receiver only offering a 12dB/Oct LPF.

The previous statement had a typo, I meant the other way around.

Lot's of receivers today offer PEQ function and editable room correction systems to fine tune bass response.

Like? Examples please. And what specific bands? Are we talking about near worthless octave or higher spacing?

It is typically always better to do all of your bass management in the digital domain which is why we recommend in most cases to bypass subwoofer filters in favor of the processor. In some cases, I use both when setting up multi subs that don't properly integrate at the Xover frequency in the listening area.

Well if you can't adjust a boost or dip in the frequency response at the specific point needed or the with the proper Q, then no its not necessarily better at all.

I have a pair of Onkyo SC 886's and even the 15 band eq it has per channel(and 6 bands for the sub) is kind of limited for my need to maximum fine tuning. I could get the in room response relatively smooth with it(A hell of alot better than Audessy XT ever will)but I ended up with some dips and boosts that were not at the EQ points, so I went with 3 Rane DEQ 60L(2 channels per) 1/3 octave 30 band EQ's instead(5 channels for the mains, 1 for the sub) and the response in room is now near perfect. Something I cannot do with the typical run of the mill processors and recievers on the market. The only home processor I feel is audio worthy is the AudioControl Diva, but unfortunately its major $$$. But there should be more products like that on the market.

I wrote a very detailed article about it which is also referenced in the Rythmik Review:

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/multiple-subwoofer-setup-calibration-1

 

[AVRat]

Bump to top -STICKY?

 

[scott911]

plugging my port.

I've learned (thanks to these sub review threads) that perhaps a sealed sub would have been a better choice for me. Can I plug the port (a long narrow axionm audio 350 port, so I'm not sure how that would be accomplished) and then have a sealed sub?

I have pretty good trinnov correction, that I would re-run...

Or does that just not work out, and I need to grab one of these rythmic sealed subs!

 

[H Stevens]

Scott911, go here to the FAQ. He addresses that issue and many more.

rythmikaudio.com/faq

 

[AVRat]

To the top again

 

[Theresa]

like flexibility

I support Rythmik for including the flexibility that they have. Why does everything have to be dumbed down for it to be acceptable? I built my own with a competitor's drivers but Rythmik was my second choice partially because its flexible setup.

 

[Theresa]

Decent recievers and processors normally have pretty cr@ppy and limited "bass management" systems built in. Even alot of the upper tier recievers and processors are highly limited.

WHat if I want a 24db low pass filter at 50hz? How many recievers or processors can YOU think of off the top of your head that will give me a steeper slope other than the typical 12db slope found, or a lowpass point lower than 80hz?

How many recievers processors offer a fully 3 way adjustable 1 band PEQ?

How many recievers or processors offer a rumble filter for people who use records? How about extension/damping controls?

TO people who know how to use these "switches and controls" these are highly desireable and useful controls. This is why the RYthmik is considered a ture audiophile sub. Its not the typical boom boom HT ported sub you find from companies like HSU,eD,Epik etc which are designed more around big bang for the buck output, and not subtle fine tuning controls for high resolution bass resolve.

Its nice to know that Rythmik now has a killer sub that is good enough to satisfy the serious audiophiles, yet has great output for HT systems in a single sub solution.

One of the least expensive pre/pros, the Emotiva UMC-1, has such flexibility in bass management allowing to specify crossovers with either 12db or 24db/octave at many frequencies.