Most Precise / Accurate / Tight Sub 2022 for Critical Listening. POLL

[auralux]

Hello everyone! I know this is a loaded question, but I’m on a quest and need help. I am looking for a pair of subs for a mixing and mastering room that are precise, accurate, tight, fast and any other descriptive words you want to interject to describe a subwoofer that’s super low distortion that would be perfect for critical listening. I’m trying to stay in the 12 inch range as space is limited and would prefer something that doesn’t weigh as much as a car. Hoping to reach 20 Hz and avoid DSP if possible. I realize subwoofers being “musical” is a hotly debated topic and I don’t care so much about that as I do fidelity. TIA!

 

[shadyJ]

What is your budget? Will you need balanced inputs given that you are using these for mixing and mastering?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

questions:
Are you in the USA or other parts of the world?
Do you have a budget in mind?
Musical, fast, and tight - are all wrong terms to describe subwoofers. I guess what you're looking to describe type of woofer design, specifically low Q/qts : https://www.bestcaraudio.com/speaker-q-and-how-it-affects-sound-quality/.
Another one is how accurate the sub is judged by its frequency response (FR - you'd want to be flat as possible) AND Total Harmonic Distortion (THD - as low as possible)
More reading on Bass myths:

Data-Bass: Subwoofer Measurements

data-bass.com

space is limited? Do you have a specific size idea? Woofer size doesn't describe the sub's size well. You could have horn-loaded subs with 10" which takes half room or fairly small sealed subs with a 15" driver.

 

[auralux]

What is your budget? Will you need balanced inputs given that you are using these for mixing and mastering?

Budget is $3000 ish. I can handle RCA and XLR.

 

[auralux]

questions:
Are you in the USA or other parts of the world?
Do you have a budget in mind?
Musical, fast, and tight - are all wrong terms to describe subwoofers. I guess what you're looking to describe type of woofer design, specifically low Q/qts : https://www.bestcaraudio.com/speaker-q-and-how-it-affects-sound-quality/
space is limited? Do you have a specific size idea? Woofer size doesn't describe the sub's size well. You could have horn-loaded subs with 10" which takes half room or fairly small sealed subs with a 15" driver.

I’m in the USA. 15” cubed would be a good size.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

15" cube for sub size? Even an SB1000 - sealed 10" sub is bigger than that - approx 17-18" cube.

 

[auralux]

15" cube for sub size? Even an SB1000 - sealed 10" sub is bigger than that - approx 17-18" cube.

Ok, then let's bump it to 18" cubed.

 

[auralux]

15" cube for sub size? Even an SB1000 - sealed 10" sub is bigger than that - approx 17-18" cube.

FYI for SVS SB-1000 Pro:

• Dimensions (without grille): 13.5” (342mm) H X 13” (330mm) W X 13.9” (352mm) D

 

[shadyJ]

Ok, then let's bump it to 18" cubed.

The Hsu ULS-15 mk2 is basically an 18" cube and it has a 15" driver. It does not have DSP, and in its EQ1 mode it achieves a flat response down to 20Hz. It also has XLR inputs. That is nearly perfect. Another sub that fits your criteria is the Rythmik F12. It's a bit smaller, but it won't have the headroom of the Hsu. If you can get over DSP, look at the SVS SB-3000 and Arendal 1723 1S. Both of those are very good subs.

 

[auralux]

The Hsu ULS-15 mk2 is basically an 18" cube and it has a 15" driver. It does not have DSP, and in its EQ1 mode it achieves a flat response down to 20Hz. It also has XLR inputs. That is nearly perfect. Another sub that fits your criteria is the Rythmik F12. It's a bit smaller, but it won't have the headroom of the Hsu. If you can get over DSP, look at the SVS SB-3000 and Arendal 1723 1S. Both of those are very good subs.

I am not opposed to SVS, I have just always heard they are just flabby bass boxes and are not articulate. Opinions?

 

[j_garcia]

I am not opposed to SVS, I have just always heard they are just flabby bass boxes and are not articulate. Opinions?

Never once heard that said about SVS, certainly not the sealed models, but not even the vented ones.

 

[auralux]

Never once heard that said about SVS.

I guess I should say they are referred to as SPL boxes as opposed to SQ or “sound quality” boxes. You’ve never really heard this before?

 

[j_garcia]

I guess I should say they are referred to as SPL boxes as opposed to SQ or “sound quality” boxes. You’ve never really heard this before?

I've owned subs from various manufacturers, currently have a sealed SVS. When the discussion about "one note" bass comes up, SVS isn't part of that conversation. They would usually be recommended as an upgrade from the brand name subs in terms of SQ. They make their own drivers with SQ in mind, not just "boom".

I am not in the mixing/mastering field though, so you may hear something different.

 

[auralux]

I've owned subs from various manufacturers, currently have a sealed SVS. When the discussion about "one note" bass comes up, SVS isn't part of that conversation. They would usually be recommended as an upgrade from the brand name subs in terms of SQ. They make their own drivers with SQ in mind, not just "boom".

I am not in the mixing/mastering field though, so you may hear something different.

Hence the reason for my post. I am up for an education.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

FYI for SVS SB-1000 Pro:

• Dimensions (without grille): 13.5” (342mm) H X 13” (330mm) W X 13.9” (352mm) D

/facepalm - I was looking at shipping dimensions. oops

 

[ryanosaur]

I am not opposed to SVS, I have just always heard they are just flabby bass boxes and are not articulate. Opinions?

I've seen people say this but there is nothing in the way of real evidence to back it up, thus firmly falling into the category of more audiophool subjective-mythology.
You can see reviews for all of the current SVS lineup of subs here on AH, all measured my @shadyJ , thus all consistent. You can compare those measurements to all the new Monolith Subs, also reviewed by Shady, and see how they compare and contrast with each other.

Simple truth is that sometime in the last 6-10 years, Subwoofer design has taken a serious step forward, both in the Driver-only category, as well as cabinet and whole system design/build.

All that said, you as the potential end user, will still have to set them up properly in your space. That means taking care to find locations where they will not be interacting poorly with your room (creating nulls or peaks which directly effect SQ).

 

[auralux]

The Hsu ULS-15 mk2 is basically an 18" cube and it has a 15" driver. It does not have DSP, and in its EQ1 mode it achieves a flat response down to 20Hz. It also has XLR inputs. That is nearly perfect. Another sub that fits your criteria is the Rythmik F12. It's a bit smaller, but it won't have the headroom of the Hsu. If you can get over DSP, look at the SVS SB-3000 and Arendal 1723 1S. Both of those are very good subs.

I am intrigued by this Arendal. Can you tell me more about it?

 

[shadyJ]

I am intrigued by this Arendal. Can you tell me more about it?

It will have insanely good build quality. I haven't used that particular model yet but the 1723s are built like tanks in general. The feature set is excellent as well as the warranty. It won't have the most output at its pricing, but if you aren't after gobs of headroom, it's hard not to be impressed by it. It should do extremely well with respect to distortion and time-domain performance.

 

[auralux]

It will have insanely good build quality. I haven't used that particular model yet but the 1723s are built like tanks in general. The feature set is excellent as well as the warranty. It won't have the most output at its pricing, but if you aren't after gobs of headroom, it's hard not to be impressed by it. It should do extremely well with respect to distortion and time-domain performance.

Was I reading somewhere that the positioning of the inputs and the amp is weird, like on the side? There website is far too minimalistic and difficult to see the sub from all angles.

 

[everettT]

I guess I should say they are referred to as SPL boxes as opposed to SQ or “sound quality” boxes. You’ve never really heard this before?

Didn't we go through this already on ASR, regarding the SVS?