JL Audio Fathom

[RMK!]

Xxx

RMK! deleted many posts.

 

[Ron Temple]

Congratulations...I've been avoiding the Fathom threads due to serious sub envy problems, but I think you've nailed it from what I'm reading between the lines. There are going to be subjective and objective differences, however, preferences are going to fall on both sides.

Are you going to keep them both...and how about that Submersive? Looks like a monster competitor.

 

[RMK!]

RMK! deleted many posts.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Anyone else here have or heard the JL Fathom subs? I have the F113 in my HT and am doing a side by side comparison with the Velo DD-18. So far they very close in overall performance with the size/price advantage going to the JL. The JL goes lower and is reported to play louder although I feel the big Velo has more impact (room shaking) in big LFE movies. The Velo also has superior on board EQ (important in difficult rooms like mine), remote control (if you don't have one you have no idea how nice this is) and upgradeable software. These are my subjective opinions only and for me, the jury is still out.
Here is a picture of the two subs showing the size difference.

How is that f113 different from the f112? The f112 was just reviewed in Sound&Vision by Tom Nousaine.


http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/speakers/1853/test-bench-jl-audio-fathom-f112-subwoofer.html

 

[T2T]

How is that f113 different from the f112? The f112 was just reviewed in Sound&Vision by Tom Nousaine.

F112: 12" driver, 1,500 watts (RMS)

F113: 13" driver, 2,500 watts (RMS)

 

[RMK!]

RMK! deleted many posts.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... Actually, Daniel Kumin penned the review and Mr. Nousaine did the bench test. .

Yes. I forgot that part.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

My current sub is a 15" Peavey Low Rider in a 4.5' ported cab. Powered by a bridged Peavey CS800 crossed over at 150 Hz. While this setup isn't a true home sub, I like a rebuildable sub, and I have been fixing Peavey amps for years. Both the sub and amp are bullet proof and that suits me. So far I have cracked the drywall (wife isn't happy) and had to run to the bathroom because I felt like I was going to puke from exposure. But it is a good kind of puking.
overall performance is good, but overwhelming on certain program material. I usually have it turned down pretty low.

 

[Sheep]

My current sub is a 15" Peavey Low Rider in a 4' ported cab. Powered by a bridged Peavey CS800 crossed over at 150 Hz. While this setup isn't a true home sub, I like a rebuildable sub, and I have been fixing Peavey amps for years. Both the sub and amp are bullet proof and that suits me. So far I have cracked the drywall (wife isn't happy) and had to run to the bathroom because I felt like I was going to puke from exposure. But it is a good kind of puking.
overall performance is good, but overwhelming on certain program material. I usually have it turned down pretty low.

Whats the tuning for the enclosure?

I was at a small club last night for a friends birthday and they had 8 - 18inch subwoofers. Our booth was in a corner, just to the left of the subwoofers (20feet max).

It was almost sickening. I never thought I would be tired of bass. And because we were in a corner, the subs had decent low end, so all the infra sound was ripping us apart.

SheepStar

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

RMK,

Congrats on having two of the most wanted subs in audio. It must be tough picking between those monsters.

I've finally got the Plus/2 in my HT room, and the biggest gain was getting the kick drum slam back into the music. I bought this sub for HT as well as sub 25Hz reproduction, but was most surprised at the "quick" bass it provides.

I'd love to hear yours subs in a demo. Mine is a few steps down from those two, but still give me goosebumps every evening. It's hard to imagine better bass than what I have, but I know it's available - all you need is the almighty dollar to prove it.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

 

[RMK!]

Somebody change my diaper.

 

[kgb540]

holy giant subs Batman!! Looks great Buckeye! being that close to the couch and presumably the listening position, how high can you have the sub level set? with that monster, I'd imagine if it is up too far it would rumble you right off the couch!!

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

holy giant subs Batman!! Looks great Buckeye! being that close to the couch and presumably the listening position, how high can you have the sub level set? with that monster, I'd imagine if it is up too far it would rumble you right off the couch!!

Thanks for the kind words. I set it about 50%. Oddly enough, the lamp and remotes don't vibrate one bit. Neither does the entertainment center. I have it tuned to 20Hz with one port plug, and it will shake the window and dishes 20-30 feet away. You do feel it in the couch which is ultra cool. The sub is 140lbs, so it's pretty stable to say the least.

I haven't disassembled the bottom plate, but you can feel the surround and it's got to be close in size to the JL sub. It's huge, and the Xmax must be insane. I would have built one, but after seeing the build quality and amp with parametric control, I'm a happy camper.

RMK,
We do have understanding wives . I can't beat this sub for HT. For music, my Cadence was great, but Im probably 95% movies on this system, so sits the Cadence in the basement.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Here was the last batch of subs before the upgrade:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b152/tpc3416/DASub001.jpg

 

[Dr. Righteous]

Whats the tuning for the enclosure?

I was at a small club last night for a friends birthday and they had 8 - 18inch subwoofers. Our booth was in a corner, just to the left of the subwoofers (20feet max).

It was almost sickening. I never thought I would be tired of bass. And because we were in a corner, the subs had decent low end, so all the infra sound was ripping us apart.

SheepStar

Here is the link to the Peavey site.

http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item/106551/number/00493710/cat/236/begin/1/15%22+Low+Rider%AE+Subwoofer.cfm

The thing is a monster, but it will clearly preform best in large rooms. I'm not getting near it's potential with the old CS800 I'm powering it with.
There is a very detailed product PDF on the Peavey site, but you will have to hunt for it. A lot of the avaliable docs are not listed for easy access.
The enclosure I built is the "large enclosure" example. Volume was 4.5 cu.ft.
The Vb is 34Hz and the -3dB point was 33Hz.