Klipsch R-121SW Subwoofer Review

[gimpy]

shadyJ, thx for this review. I just bought this sub on Black Friday (Thanksgiving) at my local BB store at a very good price. It replaced an older DIY sub that I built several years ago (a Dayton 15 inch woofer in a sealed 20" square box) with a 250 watt (I think) amplifier. Any way, I don't think my sub had been working the last couple of years (this was confirmed when I hooked the Klipsch up and it started rattling the house).

I have a mixture of a 5.1 speaker setup and was wondering what you had your gain set on the back of the sub? I initially set it halfway. That is when it really rattled the house making the wife complain about it. I have run audessey a few times since and have gotten the gain at —7.5 readout on my Denon avr. So, just curious what your gain was set at.

When I ran an spl meter, I was getting quite a bit lower dB readings than the 75.(in the 60's). Would you suggest using the audessey settings, or running the test tones using my spl meter and raising the gain/dB levels?
I would appreciate any answers you could/would give me.
Thx.

 

[shadyJ]

shadyJ, thx for this review. I just bought this sub on Black Friday (Thanksgiving) at my local BB store at a very good price. It replaced an older DIY sub that I built several years ago (a Dayton 15 inch woofer in a sealed 20" square box) with a 250 watt (I think) amplifier. Any way, I don't think my sub had been working the last couple of years (this was confirmed when I hooked the Klipsch up and it started rattling the house).

I have a mixture of a 5.1 speaker setup and was wondering what you had your gain set on the back of the sub? I initially set it halfway. That is when it really rattled the house making the wife complain about it. I have run audessey a few times since and have gotten the gain at —7.5 readout on my Denon avr. So, just curious what your gain was set at.

When I ran an spl meter, I was getting quite a bit lower dB readings than the 75.(in the 60's). Would you suggest using the audessey settings, or running the test tones using my spl meter and raising the gain/dB levels?
I would appreciate any answers you could/would give me.
Thx.

Markers on the sub's volume dial are almost arbitrary and don't usually mean anything specific, unless you have a sub that has a gain tied to some reference point like THX. I don't remember what I had the gain set at. If I were you, I would just use Audyssey to set the levels initially, and then adjust the gain from there to where ever you think it sounds the best. The bass level is a matter of personal preference, so there is no right answer here unless you are just going after a level-matched setting with your speakers for the most accurate sound.

 

[Teetertotter?]

I have had their R-100SW{10"] for 3 years, in my 10 X 12 room. It has been a stellar subwoofer and have the gain turned down, as do not like a whole lot of base, but just enough. At low AVR volume, the base still comes through loud and clear for all movies. Thank you for your review.

 

[gimpy]

FYI, for anyone interested in this sub, Crutchfield has it on sale right now.

 

[davidvthokie]

So, how do you feel about the 200W continuous power rating for this amp? Is it sufficient? Do you recommend a pair of them?

Trying to decide between this and an SVS-SB2000 which has superior specs. Understood that it is sealed and a bit of a different beast - but the price points are the same.

 

[shadyJ]

So, how do you feel about the 200W continuous power rating for this amp? Is it sufficient? Do you recommend a pair of them?

Trying to decide between this and an SVS-SB2000 which has superior specs. Understood that it is sealed and a bit of a different beast - but the price points are the same.

The 200 watts is sufficient for a subwoofer of its class and pricing. I think a pair would make for a pretty good system, so long as they are purchased at a significant;y discounted price from their MSRP. Between a dual Klipsch R-121SW system and a single SVS SB-2000, I would go for the dual Klipsch subs.

 

[TLS Guy]

The 200 watts is sufficient for a subwoofer of its class and pricing. I think a pair would make for a pretty good system, so long as they are purchased at a significant;y discounted price from their MSRP. Between a dual Klipsch R-121SW system and a single SVS SB-2000, I would go for the dual Klipsch subs.

Shady, I have trouble to see how you can really recommend a device like this. Honestly is only virtue is cheap.

You can't have a serious design using half inch MDF for any panels.

This is a classic "thumber" sub almost certainly done with malice aforethought.

The sub peaks at around 60 Hz, the "thumper" frequency.

The sub is 10 db. down by 32 Hz.

That was done on purpose to make an impressive thump in the show room.

The shame is that this could be a far higher quality sub, with only the extra cost be 3/4" MDF all the way round. That cost would be minimal.

I think one better sub would easily best two of those.

You don't have to tolerate a sub like this and maintain price.

Below would be a high value ported sub, of reasonable dimensions.

 

[shadyJ]

Shady, I have trouble to see how you can really recommend a device like this. Honestly is only virtue is cheap.

You can't have a serious design using half inch MDF for any panels.

This is a classic "thumber" sub almost certainly done with malice aforethought.

The sub peaks at around 60 Hz, the "thumper" frequency.

The sub is 10 db. down by 32 Hz.

That was done on purpose to make an impressive thump in the show room.

The shame is that this could be a far higher quality sub, with only the extra cost be 3/4" MDF all the way round. That cost would be minimal.

I think one better sub would easily best two of those.

You don't have to tolerate a sub like this and maintain price.

Below would be a high value ported sub, of reasonable dimensions.

Regarding your criticisms of the paneling, the half-inch MDF panels do have some bracing reinforcement. Also, owners could easily and cheaply add additional panel mass or bracing if desired; that is basically the cheapest and easiest speaker mod that can be done. Some additional acoustic stuffing could also be thrown in there at low cost.

Per your criticisms of the response shape, I doubt that is deliberate. That is a classic inductance hump. It is expensive to address in the sub's design, and that is what all the low-cost subs that I have measured have had. You need to insert a copper or aluminum sleeve in the permanent magnet iron, and then you need to apply far more power to magnetize the iron since the shorting ring is fighting against the magnetization process. Even some of the more expensive subs have had some inductance-related issues affecting the response. Klipsch could have EQed that out in DSP, but that would add to the group delay, and you will note this sub actually does have very good time-domain performance.

Another reason why this response shape is not a big deal is stated in the review: the room is going to mangle the response regardless of how pristine it is in an anechoic environment. The room is going to determine the response shape much more than the sub itself. But the good news is that multiple subs can address this much better than a single sub, so I think two of these subs with their peakish response would be able to yield a better overall in-room response than a single higher-end sub that has a flat response.

I am not saying that the Klipsch is a great sub, and at its MSRP, I don't think that it is, and I say so in the review. But it often sees pretty serious discounts, and from $300 to $400, I think it is a pretty good value. At near $300, you are going to have a difficult time finding a better sub.

 

[-Jim-]

I said here I stole a Klipsch R-121SW and that it's all @shadyJ 's fault!

I powered it up it my Man Cave (Junk Room) setup and it works just fine. I haven't had time to dial it in yet. At the price I paid it'll be fun to play around with it with no remorse. Thanks @shadyJ for the review.