Well I went ahead and bought a V15, despite a limited amount of info and reviews being available. It came in today. First impressions are mixed. It's my first ever decent quality sub, so I guess I'm not sure what it's supposed to sound like.
I set it up and listened to some tunes (mostly Bassnectar) in a 2.1 setup with my new Polk LSiM703s and Denon X4300H in the exact same position as I was testing previously with my cheapo deepo Polk PSW505. It is admittedly a poor and unrefined test, just quickly thrown together in my huge open-floor main level room. Nothing close to the sealed rectangular basement room (being finished now) that my HT will be in.
What the sub did not do was vibrate my house and blow my mind as I had hoped. I cranked it up a bit, but not too far as I've read that's unwise on a brand new speaker. It was actually not as loud as my Polk at most frequencies. Maybe I'm just accustomed to poor, boomy base and out of control resonances, but it definitely did not give me goosebumps like I was expecting.
What it did do was stay much more true to the actual pitch of the music, especially at lower frequencies. I think I have a decent ear for pitch, and it's always bothered me when my cheap subs try and fail to reach the low notes. There was certainly no problem with pitch that I could hear. It also was much cleaner sounding overall. I was hearing effects that were either muffled, hidden, or just missing from the Polk.
Obviously I cannot draw any educated conclusions from this 20 minute test (had to go back to work). I'm still optimistic, but I am a little bit tentative about the output. I don't want to be wishing for more bass!
