Rythmik D15SE + Linkwitz Orion

[Warpdrv]

I will never even try to compete with warpdrv on subwoofers.


Not even the slightest tiny bit, huh?

You wouldn't have to compete with me on Subs because your not stupid.... I built what I built for 3 reasons..

1. Because I'm Stupid...

2. Because I made a conscious choice to try to pressurize a room the size of a stadium with the best quality bass possible, which also points back to # 1....

3. It was far cheaper to build my own subs then to buy commercial subs which just can't compete in the sheer output and SQ I needed....

My basis for posting about my subs, is to take the myth out of subwoofers for the general public which shows the amazing things that can be done without buying commercial products... Even a pair of paradigm Sub 2's would not come close to what 1 of my big boys would perform, but would cost me more then all I have invested in the whole sub setup....

Sorry, wasn't trying to show off all my cr@p, its all just stuff I've acquired cause I'm old, I honestly don't pay it much attention, to me they are just tools or toys.... I like nice things, and I've had to work hard all my life to get them.... Raised my son alone for the last 16 years while working 70+ hours a week, I think I deserve it...



BTW ADTG, congrats on the new sub - they are great sounding and more then powerful enough for a nice small - medium sized room and look great doing it.... have fun with the dust... ugh...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Raised my son alone for the last 16 years while working 70+ hours a week, I think I deserve it...

BTW ADTG, congrats on the new sub - they are great sounding and more then powerful enough for a nice small - medium sized room and look great doing it.... have fun with the dust... ugh...

Damn straight you deserve it! Every bit of it!

Hmm, yeah, about the dust -- is there a machine that sucks all the dust out of the air?

I'm really getting tired of having to dust my components, racks, and speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

One question I want to ask you guys is the setting on the sub.

Would you set the LIMITER to OFF to get a smoother response curve?

Or set the LIMITER to ON to get more output?

If you had only one choice, which would you pick?

Also, would you turn the RUMBLE FILTER to OFF or ON?

 

[Matt34]

Damn straight you deserve it! Every bit of it!

Hmm, yeah, about the dust -- is there a machine that sucks all the dust out of the air?

I'm really getting tired of having to dust my components, racks, and speakers.

Come live in Arizona for awhile then get back to me about dust. It hasn't rained here in 8 months.

 

[Warpdrv]

One question I want to ask you guys is the setting on the sub.

Would you set the LIMITER to OFF to get a smoother response curve?

Or set the LIMITER to ON to get more output?

If you had only one choice, which would you pick?

Also, would you turn the RUMBLE FILTER to OFF or ON?

What size is your room.... ?

Very important info to help with your settings....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What size is your room.... ?

Very important info to help with your settings....

Width = 14 ft
Length = 17 ft
Ceiling = 15 ft

 

[templemaners]

Width = 14 ft
Length = 17 ft
Ceiling = 15 ft

Oh yeah, that room is waaayyyy too big for just one sub.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh yeah, that room is waaayyyy too big for just one sub.

Oh, hush!

I actually had to turn down the Sub level on my AVP-A1 from 78dBC down to 75dBC because it was producing too much bass (Limiter Off, Rumble Filter On, Bass Extension 20Hz, Damping High).

Actually, I had to turn it down because my wife came into the room and told me to.

 

[Warpdrv]

I would turn off all that stuff in a small room such as that... You're not needing to push the limits to get a good amount of output... those filter settings are for larger rooms to limit excursion getting out of control....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would turn off all that stuff in a small room such as that... You're not needing to push the limits to get a good amount of output... those filter settings are for larger rooms to limit excursion getting out of control....

Thanks, Warpdrv!

So these filters (Limiter & Rumble) will only mess with the accuracy?

And turning them off will improve the accuracy and frequency response?

Would you set the bass extension to 14Hz or 20Hz or 28Hz?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Sting

I must have listened to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police/Sting a million times since 1983.

But I have never heard it sound THIS GOOD!

I mean as those bass strings are being plucked, they sound so vibrant, clear, and distinct with such great definition and resolution.

I have never heard it sound this good.

What a tremendous joyfull difference a great subwoofer makes indeed!

I have always believed that subwoofers were made just for movies.

But now I firmly believe that subwoofers are made for music.

I also compared "Time After Time" by Eva Cassidy and "Only You" by Sinead O'Connor between 2.0 & 2.1 with the Orion.

Wow! What a significant difference! Sure, there were bass there before. But I never knew there were that much bass in these gentle songs!

 

[jinjuku]

Well well well
I had a 2k$ REL 505 sub from Magnolia Hi-Fi (see my signature).
Your Rythmik 15 SE runs circles around the REL 505.
I do think it is a killer. For a 1100$.

Thank god. Over in another forum every time someone asks for a tight / musical / accurate sub it's almost always REL that is pushed

I forget which REL it was about 3 years ago that a Rythmik for less than 1/2 the price stomped the snot out of when I had a chance to listen.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm glad I got the Rythmik D15SE instead of 2 Linkwitz Thor subwoofers.

For the same price, I could get 2 D15SE subs.

I'm not getting another D15SE yet. As soon as GranteedEV gets his 2nd sub, I will get a second D15SE.

 

[GranteedEV]

I'm glad I got the Rythmik D15SE instead of 2 Linkwitz Thor subwoofers.

For the same price, I could get 2 D15SE subs.

I'm not getting another D15SE yet. As soon as GranteedEV gets his 2nd sub, I will get a second D15SE.

Might be sooner than ya think..

I already picked up a second J2500... and the driver will probably be on my way in a week or two...

then it's just matter of building a stupid 'box'

=( I just wanted to catch up on like six years of unplayed video games this spring/summer

Now I tell myself I have to build a 300lb box again? and finally finish off the other one??

ah well, back to my Ar Tonelico 1, 2 & 3 marathon. I spent my MDF budget at the bar last friday anyways -_-;

The number one thing holding me back from a second sub is that i only have a 15a circuit :-(

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Might be sooner than ya think...

DOH!

Do you know what's holding me back?

If I get another D15SE, I would have to put the AT6012 amp & Orion Crossover behind the 2 Orions again, which won't look as clean as putting them behind the VTI rack.

Aesthetics, man, aesthetics!

Rythmik says it's okay to put amps on top of the subwoofer, which makes sense because there is already an amp inside the subwoofer.

But do you think it's okay to put both the AT6012 & Crossover on top of the subwoofers? Or just put them on the rack on the floor?

 

[Warpdrv]

Thanks, Warpdrv!

So these filters (Limiter & Rumble) will only mess with the accuracy?

And turning them off will improve the accuracy and frequency response?

Would you set the bass extension to 14Hz or 20Hz or 28Hz?

I would go back and forth between the 14 and 20hz settings and see how they sound to you, IMO with a small room like you have you can likely get away with 14hz setting which shouldn't muddy up the upper ranges because your never having to push it that hard to get a good amount of bass.... benefits of a small room. If you find that its not as clean or tight musically, I would go for the 20hz setting and see how it fairs.

Of coarse your flying blind seeing as your not really doing any sweeps of any kind to see what the true FR is in measurements. Whether or not there are dips or peaks that you could work on with some EQ to smooth out your response even more for better bass......

Its nice to see you progressing into a separate sub system beyond what those bass drivers in your old towers would do.... I've never been happy with bass response from any tower speaker, even ones with built in subs. They just don't have a large enough bass cabinet to offer the kind of output IMO... Of coarse that would all depend on what your willing to invest in speakers.

I prefer a very capable speaker that can hit 50hz with no problems and a subwoofer system that one can tweak all on its own over a full tower every time - even for 2 channel setup.... much more control and far better accuracy. With a full range speaker your limited to placement in the bass dept - with separate subs crossed over properly you are not !!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I prefer a very capable speaker that can hit 50hz with no problems and a subwoofer system that one can tweak all on its own over a full tower every time - even for 2 channel setup....

I think a lot of people, including myself, have the false notion that subwoofers can't produce bass as accurately as good quality towers.

Definitely FALSE.

It would be interesting to see how the Revel Salon 2 compares to the Rythmik D15SE in terms of bass quality & quantity.

I know the $9K Linkwitz Orions can't even compete with the $1K Rythmik in terms of bass quantity, although the quality appears the same.

 

[Warpdrv]

I think a lot of people, including myself, have the false notion that subwoofers can't produce bass as accurately as good quality towers.

Definitely FALSE.

It would be interesting to see how the Revel Salon 2 compares to the Rythmik D15SE in terms of bass quality & quantity.

I know the $9K Linkwitz Orions can't even compete with the $1K Rythmik in terms of bass quantity, although the quality appears the same.

I wouldn't hold your breath on the Salons holding a candle next to what a good quality sub will bring to the plate... 3 x 8" bass drivers in each tower tuned high just can't compete with the surface area nor the excursion of a 15" driver period... You would be better off getting a pair of Gem 2's and running a good pair of rythmiks to even out room response, you will get the exact same response as the towers - as the drivers are the same... Cross over a bit higher and you can blow the paint off the wall... Even my S8's tout roughly the same cone area, and IMO its a waste if your running a sub/s, I should have gone with less expensive speakers, but they are pretty !

Only downside IMO is that Rythmik chooses to neuter the driver to a FR cut off just shy of 100hz, which poses limitations in my book. I prefer to xover a bit higher then 100hz if the sub is capable... My LMS's are flat all the way out to 500hz from the klippel test measurements I have studied and read through thoroughly.... That opens up a great deal many more options for xover...

Either way, you'll be fine...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I already picked up a second J2500... and the driver will probably be on my way in a week or two...

So if I ordered another D15SE today, I should get it in less than a week.

I suppose each Orion speaker deserves a D15SE.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I wouldn't hold your breath on the Salons holding a candle next to what a good quality sub will bring to the plate... 3 x 8" bass drivers in each tower tuned high just can't compete with the surface area nor the excursion of a 15" driver period... You would be better off getting a pair of Gem 2's and running a good pair of rythmiks to even out room response, you will get the exact same response as the towers - as the drivers are the same... Cross over a bit higher and you can blow the paint off the wall... Even my S8's tout roughly the same cone area, and IMO its a waste if your running a sub/s, I should have gone with less expensive speakers, but they are pretty !

Only downside IMO is that Rythmik chooses to neuter the driver to a FR cut off just shy of 100hz, which poses limitations in my book. I prefer to xover a bit higher then 100hz if the sub is capable... My LMS's are flat all the way out to 500hz from the klippel test measurements I have studied and read through thoroughly.... That opens up a great deal many more options for xover...

Either way, you'll be fine...

I thought the crossover max on the D15SE says "120Hz"?

But don't most people, including THX and Audioholics, recommend setting the crossover @ 80Hz?

Some people even say that setting the crossover higher than 80Hz will cause localization of the subwoofer bass. Is that nonsense?

Since you and everyone else thinks dual subs is the way to go, I will be placing an order for a 2nd D15SE.

IMO, the Salon2s are greatest in the bass when compared to the Orion and KEF speakers, but they are equal to the Orion and KEF 201/2 in terms of midrange and treble.

So I may just do Orion/Dual D15SE & KEF 201/Dual D15SE for music (not at the same time, of course.)