Funky Waves FW 12.X Subwoofer Review

[funky waves]

I just checked out funkywaves website, and there is only one woodgrain finish that I would consider (wheat), the one tested looks terrible. I also noticed that the same model costs $1950 if you want to purchase it within the United States, so why is the retail price listed in the review $1750?

I am also curious about the recommendation considering you're paying $1300 ($300 for the TC Sounds LMS-R 12" DVC Subwoofer at partsexpress, and $250 for the EuropowerEP2000, $100 for EQ.2) for a sub cabinet that isn't that small and is butt ugly. My wife said that the only way any of those finishes would jive in our house was if we renovated to a log cabin, so the WAF is irrelevant.

14.5" wide 24" high 24" deep
115lbs shipping weigh

We were going to have the price listed at $1950, shipped to the US, but none of the other entrants included shipping in their prices, most are at least $100, so we are listing at $1750, free shipping in Canada and $200 to the USA. BTW we are going to be having free shipping in all North America for the month of March. So it will be $1750

The Brindle is the most unique looking of the bamboo options, love it or hate it, it seems. The others are much more subdued and even colored. Bamboo can also be stained; we are currently working on making samples of Charcoal and Cherry red. Note the sample pictures shown are unfinished as you can see how much darker the brindle is, so the others darken similarly when finished.

FYI to everyone, this subwoofer is only available in Bamboo construction due to the design of the port. All our other products are available in Bamboo as well as listed options, may cost extra depending on size etc.

 

[billy p]

We were going to have the price listed at $1950, shipped to the US, but none of the other entrants included shipping in their prices, most are at least $100, so we are listing at $1750, free shipping in Canada and $200 to the USA. BTW we are going to be having free shipping in all North America for the month of March. So it will be $1750

The Brindle is the most unique looking of the bamboo options, love it or hate it, it seems. The others are much more subdued and even colored. Bamboo can also be stained; we are currently working on making samples of Charcoal and Cherry red. Note the sample pictures shown are unfinished as you can see how much darker the brindle is, so the others darken similarly when finished.

FYI to everyone, this subwoofer is only available in Bamboo construction due to the design of the port. All our other products are available in Bamboo as well as listed options, may cost extra depending on size etc.

..............

 

[GranteedEV]

Nice review and thnaks.

If I understand what I quickly glossed over,

1. the amp used to drive this monster is Berhinger and it is supplied with the sub?
2. the reviewer recommends a compressor as wel to get the most out of this unit. Isn't that DSP or some form of electronic control?


Although I'm very impressed with its capabilities, I suspect that all the tweeking required to get the most out of this sub is too much both in money and effort for most people to dial it in correctly. I'm wondering if this will reduce the target market.

The compressor would mostly just protect the driver from overexcursion on the most absolute extremes of transients in very large rooms. If you aren't listening to sine waves at reference levels, chances are that the supplied equipment will result in great longetivity. I think the compressor is a valuable feature in terms of making the sub foolproof from abuse, but that's an engineer's position, not a normal person who would not push it too much, and at any sogn of distress likely sooner get a second subs and never push either to its limits. It's kind of like how some amps have 6ohm limiters.

 

[Warpdrv]

The tonal character is not matched by any of the other shootout entrants.

This is the exact thought I have towards TC-Sounds drivers, although I particularly wouldn't choose a 12" driver, when 15" drivers are readily avail and can still work into a small footprint (TC drivers are designed for smaller enclosures then most) - the SQ of the TC drivers is inherently unmatched in SQ and performance IMO...

I have built many subs with TC drivers 15" and up and I have never been disappointed with them, they may cost a bit more on the entrance fee, but you will be hard pressed to match the output, linearity and SQ of them....

 

[scott911]

The funky guys certainly like the interesting, exotic finishes.

It's like engineering a awesome car - perfect suspension, etc. But deciding to offer it only in lime green and neon pink.

In my opinion, they are really limiting the audience:

Their customer HAS to appreciate super high quality subs, AND have alot of money, AND be into funky finishes, AND be unmarried as virtually no woman I know will go for those finishes in a shared living space.

 

[scott911]

I have built many subs with TC drivers 15" and up and I have never been disappointed with them, they may cost a bit more on the entrance fee, but you will be hard pressed to match the output, linearity and SQ of them....

interesting comment : certainly the 15" will deliver more output, but do they also trump the same brands 12" in SQ? I would have thought not, as the 12" should be slightly more responsive.

And relately, wouldn't a pair of 12"'s then be better than one 15" - you increase the output, and gain a slight advantage in SQ? And gain the benifit of x.2 placement flexibility...

 

[MinusTheBear]

The funky guys certainly like the interesting, exotic finishes.

It's like engineering a awesome car - perfect suspension, etc. But deciding to offer it only in lime green and neon pink.

In my opinion, they are really limiting the audience:

Their customer HAS to appreciate super high quality subs, AND have alot of money, AND be into funky finishes, AND be unmarried as virtually no woman I know will go for those finishes in a shared living space.

This isn't true. Browse their website for a bit and you will see you don't need a lot of money to get a beautiful sub at budget pricing. They have subwoofers in their catalog starting at around $500-$600 for the budget minded folks that has fit and finish that is unmatched in the budget market. Funky Waves are the opposite of limiting the audience, in fact they have limitless options as you can get them to build a custom subwoofer at whatever target price point.

 

[GranteedEV]

interesting comment : certainly the 15" will deliver more output, but do they also trump the same brands 12" in SQ? I would have thought not, as the 12" should be slightly more responsive.

And relately, wouldn't a pair of 12"'s then be better than one 15" - you increase the output, and gain a slight advantage in SQ? And gain the benifit of x.2 placement flexibility...

This is a myth. Smaller drivers are generally desired because of their wide dispersion at midrange and high frequencies, smaller box requirements, and naturally lower inductance and mass.

Since for an 21 and 8 inch driver, the passband (15 to 160hz or so) of a subwoofer will be equally omnidirectional, dispersion isn't an issue. Since we want to low pass them at 80hz, the rolloff and reduction in pistonic behaviour around 200-500hz is essentially irrelevant. And since box size only impacts us aesthetically, it does not indicate sound quality if well designed.

A well designed 21 inch driver will wipe the floor with a comparably designed 12 unless you need it working up high in a 2.5 or 3 way. The sound quality at bass frequencies, if anything, will be improved because displacement becomes less dependant on excursion, keeping the BL high. High BL means stronger control over driver motion, so keeping it high means consistency. Combined with a well damped enclosure and O would take great 15s for sound quality at bass frequencies any day over great 12s. Having a great motor is key. You can't put a 10 inch driver's motor on a 15 inch cone and expect control but this motor, LMS, is a tough to beat option, plain and simple. The 15 and 18 inch LMS drivers are just scary ;P and Funkywaves uses them too.

Bass frequencies aside, often we want a narrow dispersion pattern. Some speakers, as those such as JTR, JBL, Geddes, use very large, low mass pro style drivers at frequencies as high as up as 2khz for very controlled dispersion resulting in excellent inroom sound quality and high output levels... They're ugly though.

And you must know not-awesome women because that finish is sexy.

 

[Ron Temple]

Great review...great build and what I expected...the physics of the box and driver acheiving linearity, rather than eq. I am surprised, even with all that power, that the output was so high. In a small room, where you might never take it to it's limits, you'd never need to worry...and as said...maybe just get 2(if you can find a spare circuit).

After reading all 4 of Paul's reviews, I see that no one got a free lunch.

 

[Warpdrv]

The funky guys certainly like the interesting, exotic finishes.

It's like engineering a awesome car - perfect suspension, etc. But deciding to offer it only in lime green and neon pink.

In my opinion, they are really limiting the audience:

Their customer HAS to appreciate super high quality subs, AND have alot of money, AND be into funky finishes, AND be unmarried as virtually no woman I know will go for those finishes in a shared living space.

Really...?
Apparently you missed the post with my recent sub cabinet built by Funky Waves.... You are only limited by YOUR OWN imagination. http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=794670&postcount=683

 

[templemaners]

Seems like a winner to me in terms of craftsmanship, driver quality, and overall design. Not a fan of the brindle look - at all - but some of those other bamboo finishes would look real nice. As long as you're able to work around the electronics side of things, I don't see why it wouldn't be a popular choice, especially for Canadian buyers.

It is nice that the biggest complaint/discussion point with the review has been the finish and not the performance.

 

[GlocksRock]

It's price point puts it in line with the SVS Ultra, I'm curious to know how it compares to that.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Seems like a winner to me in terms of craftsmanship, driver quality, and overall design. Not a fan of the brindle look - at all - but some of those other bamboo finishes would look real nice. As long as you're able to work around the electronics side of things, I don't see why it wouldn't be a popular choice, especially for Canadian buyers.

It is nice that the biggest complaint/discussion point with the review has been the finish and not the performance.

The funny thing is the FW 12.X was the only sub to get a perfect 5 stars on appearance. It just goes to show that appearance is the only subjective thing about reviews such as these.

 

[scott911]

MinusTheBear :I'm commenting about THIS subwoofer being reviewed - so my comments about its price point and finish stand.

from Funky: "FYI to everyone, this subwoofer is only available in Bamboo construction due to the design of the port."

 

[its phillip]

MinusTheBear :I'm commenting about THIS subwoofer being reviewed - so my comments about its price point and finish stand.

from Funky: "FYI to everyone, this subwoofer is only available in Bamboo construction due to the design of the port."

Yes, but there are 8 finishing options on the bamboo:

 

[MinusTheBear]

MinusTheBear :I'm commenting about THIS subwoofer being reviewed - so my comments about its price point and finish stand.

from Funky: "FYI to everyone, this subwoofer is only available in Bamboo construction due to the design of the port."

Its not limited at all just because its made out of bamboo construction. Bamboo is very high quality . In fact the FW 12.X has the most finish options available than any other subs tested I believe. It is not limited to the brindle finish that is shown in the review. On the product page it shows such options as Flat grain caramelized, Flat grain natural, Vertical grain caramelized, Vertical grain natural, Brindle, Chestnut, Java, Wheat.


http://www.funkywaves.net/catalog/inventory/fw12_x_b_large.png

 

[Ron Temple]

It's price point puts it in line with the SVS Ultra, I'm curious to know how it compares to that.

It's not far off if you convert Ilkka's numbers. It's within a db or 2 throughout the range. The curves and linearity are similar with perhaps the U13 in 20hz mode going to about 18hz rolling off (IIRC). However, as is the PB12+, the SVS is a flexible finished solution, which reading between the lines is why Paul rated it so highly.

 

[billy p]

It's price point puts it in line with the SVS Ultra, I'm curious to know how it compares to that.

Well not really...and here is why...the ultra retails for 1899 cdn. If you include shipping and taxes your looking at ~2200.00cdn and for local pick up ~2150.00 not entriely an apples to apples compo. The fw12 is more in line with the plus(1580-1680 taxes in) here in Canada....I recall this question was asked over at Avs and he basically said the 15 series could likely do that(comparing to the pb13) using a 15" LMS and the FW15.3 is the larger brother to the sub tested here...if I recall correctly.

But I've being wrong before.....

 

[GlocksRock]

Well not really...and here is why...the ultra retails for 1899 cdn. If you include shipping and taxes your looking at ~2200.00cdn and for local pick up ~2150.00 not entriely an apples to apples compo. The fw12 is more in line with the plus(1580-1680 taxes in) here in Canada....I recall this question was asked over at Avs and he basically said the 15 series could likely do that(comparing to the pb13) using a 15" LMS and the FW15.3 is the larger brother to the sub tested here...if I recall correctly.

But I've being wrong before.....

I'm going by USD, not CAD, but either way, you could still say the price is in line as the PC13 Ultra with the new sledge amp is only USD1,599.00 plus shipping, which offers practically identical performace as the box version.

 

[GranteedEV]

Nathan mentioned over at AVS that he is working on incorporating the MiniDSP into his designs for those who want it.

I'm enjoying the MiniDSP so much I have relegated my DCX2496 to the basement and am contemplating selling it.

have you or anyone else ever measured the outputs on the miniDSP?