Power Sound Audio XS-30

[Steve81]

Don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere yet, so I thought I'd toss it out there:

POWER SOUND AUDIO — XS30

 

[Steve81]

No comments? This isn't the XV-30 folks, this is the XS-30, a dual opposed 15" sealed sub ala the Epik Empire or Seaton Submersive. Or maybe I'm just late to the party

 

[ahblaza]

No comments? This isn't the XV-30 folks, this is the XS-30, a dual opposed 15" sealed sub ala the Epik Empire or Seaton Submersive. Or maybe I'm just late to the party

Steve, Tom will be shipping starting on the 10th of this month and after first shipment price will return to the $1149 price. This is a real beast, I like the way the drivers are located in the cabs, seems you can fire the rear into the front wall and the front towards the LP, only 18.5" wide , makes placement a lot easier in my opinion. It was just announced a few days ago. Looking at possible single digit extension. Really tempting, the only problem is I have dual XV15s and am very satisfied, but still not ruling them out.

 

[j_garcia]

I don't need a smaller sub, but single digit extension does sound like fun Need a few other things first. Next year

I've been busy today, but I looked and this was the pic that caught my eye

 

[ahblaza]

I don't need a smaller sub, but single digit extension does sound like fun Need a few other things first. Next year

I've been busy today, but I looked and this was the pic that caught my eye

Me too. It's just about the same size as your Empire @111 lbs. Driver baffles are 1.75" and side baffles are 1". 750 Bash amp. I need to just not think about it for now, and be thankful I have the XV15s.

 

[ahblaza]

It's amazing the brace has the same finish as the exterior cab walls.

 

[jbrown15]

I ordered two of these bad boys on Sunday, and I can't wait to get them into my theater. Tom figures I could get extention down to 7-11hz in my 2100cubic/ft room!!!

Tom said two XS30s has almost the same output as three XV15s!!!

 

[Steve81]

Me too. It's just about the same size as your Empire @111 lbs. Driver baffles are 1.75" and side baffles are 1". 750 Bash amp. I need to just not think about it for now, and be thankful I have the XV15s.

I'm not exactly in the market either, but it looks like a very compelling option for the money. By the CEA estimates, it's definitely got some kick to it, especially in the 40-63Hz region. Instead of chest punch, you'll have Chuck Norris giving you a roundhouse kick Had this been out a few months ago, I might well be a PSA owner. Can't wait for some reviews!

 

[its phillip]

The XS30 looks like a mini submersive. Interests me far more than the empire does

 

[Steve81]

The XS30 looks like a mini submersive. Interests me far more than the empire does

I think the biggest advantage it'll have is the customer support aspect if Tom can keep up the good work. Reading through the Epik thread at AVS doesn't exactly fill me with confidence in Chad unfortunately.

 

[jbrown15]

Tom has awesome customer service, he has answered every question of mine not matter how silly it was. When I first started to look into an upgrade for my theater I looked at dual HSU ULS-15, dual Epik Empires, PSA XS15s & dual XV15s, JTR Captivator S1 and a Funk Audio 18.0C and I had a budget of $2500.

After a lot of back and worth with Tom I was going to pull the trigger on the XV15s, but he said they were just about to annouce a new sub that would blow my socks off. Well needless to say I'm glad I waited and I even came in under my budget a little too!

 

[ahblaza]

I'm not exactly in the market either, but it looks like a very compelling option for the money. By the CEA estimates, it's definitely got some kick to it, especially in the 40-63Hz region. Instead of chest punch, you'll have Chuck Norris giving you a roundhouse kick Had this been out a few months ago, I might well be a PSA owner. Can't wait for some reviews!

The 40-63Hz and above region is where dual XS30s have the advantage over dual XV15's and of course they will dig a bit deeper. Three XV15s will almost have the same output in those higher registers as two XS30s. Comparing a single XV15 to a single XS30 there will be a fairly significant output difference with the two, but dual XV15s and dual XS30s this difference is not so prominent until you get into the higher FR @ 60-120Hz, at the bottom end the XV15s can achieve real 15Hz output and the XS30s will achieve single digit output, is this a night and day difference, IMO no. I was going to return the XV15s (shipping not a factor, as I live an hour away) and get the dual XS30s, after talking with Tom (great CS, the reason I went with PSA) I decided to keep the XV15s, it would have only been an additional $600 to go with dual XS30s, but with the money saved with the XV15s I can afford to upgrade in the future to four XV15s. My room is over 3200cf and open to a small area, it is an ideal room to accommodate multiple subs (four). If you have the room for dual XS30s, go for it without a review, and a single will handle a large space. I've never had the pleasure that I've experienced with Tom and Jim of PSA with any other company (except TAI). They make your purchase a rewarding experience and their products deliver, trust me, I sound like a used car salesman
Cheers Jeff

 

[Steve81]

You know its a funny thing: spending time exploring the configuration options of my PB13U has given me a new found respect for what a sealed sub can accomplish in HT. I mean, even in sealed mode, I'd say it delivered far more excitement than my old PC12-NSD could have hoped to, in spite of the hefty advantage the PC12 enjoyed around tuning. I can't claim to have any great interest/need to swap subs again any time soon, but I wouldn't mind hearing what one or two of these bad boys could do given that they should enjoy a pretty hefty output advantage over the PB13 in sealed mode.

 

[walke108]

Steve81, I am upgrading my PSA XV-15 to the XS-30. I am curious to know what the difference between the ported and sealed will bring. I will be sure to provide some feedback on a very non professional opinion! Going from the cylinder to the PB13U had to be a significant upgrade! I was originally looking at SVS PB12, but the XV-15 was a better bang for the buck for me and I couldn't be happier with the performance and customer service. I am upgrading to the XS-30 strictly for future proofing, and maybe some day will grab another XS-30 if we move to a place with a dedicated theater. As long as Tom doesn't come out with a new sub 30 days after the XS-30 is delivered, I should be set for a while

 

[Steve81]

I am curious to know what the difference between the ported and sealed will bring.

To be quite honest, I haven't heard much (if any) difference in terms of sound quality, even doing my best to quickly switch among the modes. I was rather surprised that the sealed mode of the PB13U delivered as much impact as it did for HT, though I've not tried to compare its maximum output capability against the ported modes. Still, given that a single XS-30 delivers considerably more output than the PB13U in sealed mode, I could see myself being quite happy with one or two.

Going from the cylinder to the PB13U had to be a significant upgrade!

Ohh yes. It delivers tactile feel that the PC12 just couldn't. Of course, it's not a big surprise: the PB13 offers about 9dB more output on average than the PC/PB12-NSD, which is just shy of 3x the pressure. Given that we're talking about feeling, that should put things in perspective

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the XS-30!

 

[KEW]

Anyone care to speculate on where the Hsu ULS-15 is positioned amidst the XS15 and XS30?

The XS15 and ULS are both 15" sealed subs of roughly the same size. I am amazed at the weight difference. The ULS is spec'ed at 84 pounds and the XS15 at 73; however, the XS15 has a 1.5" think panel for that base which would weight ~14.5 pounds, so they end up at about 25.5 pounds difference.
The XS doesn't seem especially light, but the Hsu sure seems heavy for a 18" cube!

 

[Steve81]

Anyone care to speculate on where the Hsu ULS-15 is positioned amidst the XS15 and XS30?

Best guess is that it probably falls closer to the XS15 rather than the XS-30. This however is mostly based on commentary comparing the PB13U sealed mode to the ULS-15 (I've seen mention that they're fairly comparable in terms of raw output capability), and comparing Josh's numbers of the PB13U to the XS-15 & 30's CEA-2010 numbers on PSA's website. I wouldn't care to put money on it one way or the other though.

 

[jbrown15]

Sorry I don't know if this allowed or not but heres a link to AVSForum to a thread that was a sub shootout that directly compares the ULS-15 to the XS15. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1420544/ne-pa-ny-nj-de-md-va-gtg-take-two This thread is what got me pointed in the direction of PSA. I originally wanted to go with dual ULS-15s. Then I started reading about the XS15 and was going to do with two of those. But after some back and forth with Tom he said to just hold up and wait for a new sub which he figured I'd love.
That sub turned out to be the XS30 and I've since ordered two of them and they can't come soon enough!

I guess to give you the short version of the thread; the XS15 was just as good as the ULS-15 and was cheaper. But I will say there was a small noted problem with the ULS-15. But they still used it in the shootout. So if the XS15 can hang with the ULS-15 in theory a XS30 should blow it out of the water. And is quite a bit cheaper too.

 

[raynist]

Sorry I don't know if this allowed or not but heres a link to AVSForum to a thread that was a sub shootout that directly compares the ULS-15 to the XS15. NE PA/NY/NJ/DE/MD/VA GTG - Take Two! This thread is what got me pointed in the direction of PSA. I originally wanted to go with dual ULS-15s. Then I started reading about the XS15 and was going to do with two of those. But after some back and forth with Tom he said to just hold up and wait for a new sub which he figured I'd love.
That sub turned out to be the XS30 and I've since ordered two of them and they can't come soon enough!

I guess to give you the short version of the thread; the XS15 was just as good as the ULS-15 and was cheaper. But I will say there was a small noted problem with the ULS-15. But they still used it in the shootout. So if the XS15 can hang with the ULS-15 in theory a XS30 should blow it out of the water. And is quite a bit cheaper too.

What page is the comparison on (if you know)?

 

[theJman]

Sorry I don't know if this allowed or not but heres a link to AVSForum to a thread that was a sub shootout that directly compares the ULS-15 to the XS15.

I guess to give you the short version of the thread; the XS15 was just as good as the ULS-15 and was cheaper. But I will say there was a small noted problem with the ULS-15. But they still used it in the shootout. So if the XS15 can hang with the ULS-15 in theory a XS30 should blow it out of the water. And is quite a bit cheaper too.

I was at that GTG and I can assure you no direct comparison of those two subs took place. AAMOF, nothing was directly compared to anything else. It was more of a social event where we listened to a lot of subs. The XS15 did great, but that's about all you can really take away from the GTG.