2.1 setup for extremely heavy bass music

[haastyle]

Hi,

I haven't been on here for a long while and I am getting overwhelmed with all the information, need some direction. I am looking to get a 2.1 setup for now and in the future (could be a few years) move that to a 5.1. Right now I've been looking at Aperion Audio. I am interested in the 6B speakers and the 10D or 12D subs. They recommended Onkyo 708 and up to me. This will be mainly a music setup and ps3. I listen to very very heavy bass electronic music, the genre called Dubstep, probably the heaviest music known to man. There is plenty of mids and highs too though and they are very precise.

I'd like other recommendations or if those are a good bet, I'd say roughly 2,000 for speakers, sub & receiver if possible.

There isn't much of an issue on space, so a larger sub or towers would do fine. Room is about 14x21.

I appreciate your help!

Haas

 

[Docks]

If you were looking for a bit more jam from a system, i would use the onkyo as a preamp then get a separate power amp - behringer, qsc, crown.. etc. This way you can push some real current for the bass you need.
Do you want accuracy? or Loudness?
You could get an accurate speaker and then cross it over with a big sub for the bass you require, this way you get the best of both worlds!
Might i suggest paradigm studio 100's or revel f32's with a JL sub?

 

[haastyle]

i'd say accuracy is what I want, I'll take a look at those, thanks for the input!

 

[j_garcia]

6Bs seem like a good choice especially at the sale price. Have you heard them? They have a 30 day trial so I'd try them. Midrange is just as important as bass with electronic music. If you want output, you might want a larger bookshelf or tower, as the 6b has fairly low sensitivity. Might consider something like this: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

SVS PB-12NSD or HSU Research VTF-3 MkIII or, hopefully this month the Epik Legend will be released around the same price. Those subs will all give you a lot of bass for the price.

I've heard the CMt340SEs with the VTF-3 together and it sounded great.

Add an amp: www.emotiva.com

I listen to a lot of electronica/techno and D&B so I know where you are coming from. I am very happy with my Epik.

 

[haastyle]

I haven't heard the 6B but I really like the idea of them having that 30 day trial and the price at the moment until the 31st. I'd really like to hear them first still but I'm willing to bite cause they pay for shipping back.

Is the Epik really tight clean bass? cause that is what I like.

Thank you for the help!

Oh just saw the link for the CMT 340, I was actually looking at that the other day, man this is so tough.

 

[krzywica]

I would agree with eveyone that posted so far. The 6B's are awesome speakers and are great for electronic music. Good choice there. I would however power them with a dedicated amp if you are desiring the listening levels that you describe, especially for long periods of time. You haven't mentioned what type of processing you need or if you require HDMI. If you don't need HDMI I would get a cheap receiver used that has pre-outs and pick up a good 2 channel amp. Use this combo to power the 6B's and spend the rest on a sub or two....if you get the amp and sub or two all from Emotiva I would bet they would give you a discount.....you could even get the speakers from Emo as well. I have heard good things about their speakers but never actually heard them.

 

[j_garcia]

Is the Epik really tight clean bass? cause that is what I like.

Yes, the Epiks are sealed so the bass is very clean and it sounds great with electronic bass. I was listening to Meat Beat Manifesto the other day and I actually thought that the bass has never sounded better than this

Oh just saw the link for the CMT 340, I was actually looking at that the other day, man this is so tough.

The CMT340 is also on sale and they have the 30day trial as well, but I dont' think they pay return shipping. They are very neutral and clean sounding and the dual midbasses mean you get a lot of midrange with them. I've never seen them that cheap as a matter of fact.

 

[haastyle]

Yeah I would need HDMI on the receiver for sure, I'd have this hooked up my ps3 and Plasma as well. I probably won't be listening at very high volumes for extended periods of time just a few songs in a row, but decently loud for like an hour or two and then little above normal listening volumes for long periods of time. As for the subs, I am interested in very clean but deep bass. The main reason I was looking at Aperion so much is that why were so helpful and that return policy is golden.

All of Emo speakers are out of stock . Oh my those ERT 8.3's look so pretty.

Thanks for help

 

[shadyJ]

I love dubstep myself- when I made my main music system I made sure it could handle all the dubstep and D'n'B as loud as I wanted it, with the bass running extra hot. The Aperion 6B's would be good, they have great bass extension for bookshelf speakers, but they need some major juice for those occasions where you want to really rock out hard. If you decide to audition them, make sure they can get as loud as you want to go, because, with a 82 db sensitivity, they might not get there, depending on what amp you use.

For a system that hits hard, I might recommend some Klipsch RB-81's or RB-61's, some places are having some great deals on them to make way for the next series. Those will hit real hard, and any receiver or amp could drive them to deafening levels because of their efficiency. The new onkyo 708 could easily make those things blaze. They sound terrific too!

For the subwoofer, you can't go wrong with Epik, Hsu, or SVS. I might also mention a company called Tweakcity Audio which just came out with some new 18" subs that look great for the price, you would do well to look them up. You should also take a look at Elemental Design's line-up, lots of nice looking subs there. Another company worth mentioning is Outlaw Audio, who have subs much like Hsu's VTF series, those would have terrific bang for the buck.

 

[haastyle]

What is your current setup for music?

Any recommendations for some larger speakers, I don't have to go bookshelf. For some reason I want to stay away from Klipsch, I dunno why, just a gut feeling haha. Must have had a bad dream about them or something lol.

It seems everyone agrees on Epik, Hsu and SVS though, so thats narrowed.

Thanks!

 

[larry7995]

Get a pair of EL8.3 towers and A7s-650 sub from Elemental Designs

 

[haastyle]

I think thats getting a bit out of my price range, those towers are over 2,000 themselves

 

[haastyle]

Thank you all for your help!

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F15.html what about these subs? Any word on these?

and http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?t=2&products_id=640 vs http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=618 as well, massive wattage difference, but A5 show deep on the hz range.

 

[shadyJ]

the F15's are superb subs, but I don't think just one will cut it for you, unless you are in a small room. You could get one now and one later though, that would be a formidable setup. If I were you I would be looking at ported subs, hopefully two if you have the room. Two Hsu VTF2's or two Outlaw LFM-1 Pluses would kill for dubstep, and may be within your budget.

I have a few setups for music, my main music rig is some Hsu Research HC-1 speakers with a Hsu ULS-15 dual drive which is connected to a huge old Pioneer Elite receiver. This thing can pound out dubstep, D'n'B, or anything else, even the deepest pipe organ music with aplomb. The limit for my system is my ears, I can not take heavy bass all day, but once in awhile I will crank it to zero and feel the bass pulverizing my insides.

You don't need Klipsch speakers to have a hard-hitting setup, and you also don't necessarily need larger speakers if you are referring to floor-standing speakers. What you should be looking at is the bass extension spec rather than physical size of the speakers. Tower speakers are large because they have to be in order to produce a full range of sound, but since you are going to use subwoofers, the bass capability of towers is not something you will be taking advantage of; bookshelf speakers will do just as well, as long as they can reach down to 80 hertz. With that being said, there are some terrific and inexpensive tower speakers out there, take a look at the Infinity Primus p362's for starters. Also, a lot of positive things have been said about EMP's E5Ti's. Both of those are $500 or under. Ascend Acoustic's CMT-340 is somewhat large, although not a tower, and those are pretty highly regarded.

What also should be taken into consideration is your room and your speakers intended placement in it. If it is a small room, and your listening position is only a couple meters from the speakers, yeah the Klipsch would be overkill, and the Aperions would be nice in that role. But if you have some distance from the speakers, you will want some powerful ones that can project sound well.

 

[shadyJ]

Also, regarding the differences between the ED subs, the A5 doesn't need as much power because it is a ported subwoofer. Both sides of the cone is exposed, and is being used to push air, as opposed to the sealed A7S where only one side is exposed. More power is needed to achieve the same displacement of air in sealed subwoofers.

 

[krzywica]

Techno, D&B, and Dubstep all sound fantastic with my setup which can be had for less than $2k. Heck you might even be able to get 2 VTF2's for $2K if you get the EMP's and a cheaper receiver. Be warned though to get the best out of these speakers you will want a decent 2 channel power amp of at least 150wpc.

 

[Docks]

Use the onkyo as a preamp and use a behringer EP2500/EP4000 for power, I promise you will it.

 

[shadyJ]

Techno, D&B, and Dubstep all sound fantastic with my setup which can be had for less than $2k. Heck you might even be able to get 2 VTF2's for $2K if you get the EMP's and a cheaper receiver. Be warned though to get the best out of these speakers you will want a decent 2 channel power amp of at least 150wpc.

The VTF2's just went on sale for 509, after shipping that is just under $570 apiece. I'd jump on that myself if I didn't already have a bunch of Hsu subs! By the way, are the EMP's that power hungry? 150 wpc seems like that would be excessive.

 

[krzywica]

The VTF2's just went on sale for 509, after shipping that is just under $570 apiece. I'd jump on that myself if I didn't already have a bunch of Hsu subs! By the way, are the EMP's that power hungry? 150 wpc seems like that would be excessive.

Yes they are if you want to drive them at high volumes.....past 80db-85db the sound stage starts to collapse and the highs start to get shrill with my 663 powering it. I think the QSC I have is 200wx2@8ohms and it drives them to ear bleeding volumes with 0 distortion or coloration.

 

[haastyle]

Im trying to figure out where I would put the 2nd sub right now haha, I still like those Aperion 6Bs...they are so pretty and everyone says good things about them.