Sigberg Audio 10D Subwoofer Review

[Sigberg Audio]

This was never supposed to be cheap. Our value proposition isn't low cost, at least not in absolute terms. However:

Anecdotal, but we recently had a potential customer come by to listen to the Manta prototypes combined with dual 10D subwoofers. Estimated mrsp for this setup is around 23,000 USD.

His current setup is B&W 803 D4 and dual Fathom F113 subs. Estimated mrsp in Norway is 32,000 USD (before adding power amps that are built-in to the Mantas).

His reaction after listening to it was that it literally wiped the floor with his setup. More details combined with less harshness. Tighter and better bass. Better imaging and pinpointing. At a significantly lower price.

 

[ryanosaur]

Oh I wish Sigberg success and expansion of their offerings, I'm just not a likely customer for them for this cost/performance level. So what makes the Monolith pre-pro better than Trinnov?

Oh... I meant the savings over buying a Trinnov as being better!

 

[lovinthehd]

This was never supposed to be cheap. Our value proposition isn't low cost, at least not in absolute terms. However:

Anecdotal, but we recently had a potential customer come by to listen to the Manta prototypes combined with dual 10D subwoofers. Estimated mrsp for this setup is around 16,000 USD.

His current setup is B&W 803 D4 and dual Fathom F113 subs. Estimated mrsp in Norway is 32,000 USD (before adding power amps that are built-in to the Mantas).

His reaction after listening to it was that it literally wiped the floor with his setup. More detail combined with less harshness. Tighter and better bass. Better imaging and pinpointing. At less than half the price.

New gear always has tighter and better bass, it's in the audiophile handbook Then again it's perhaps just the B&W/JL stuff too. I do wish you success!

 

[lovinthehd]

Oh... I meant the savings over buying a Trinnov as being better!

Oh hell, when you're going for new fancy stuff, go all the way!

 

[Sigberg Audio]

Looking ahead, we've seen the Sigberg Manta development, and there has been a tease of a possible 3-way W-C-W design using the same drivers as the previously reviewed SBS.1 but adding a 2nd woofer above the Coax.
Perhaps we see a Sub that can play lower, too.

There are no immediate plans for subwoofers that go lower. All our subwoofers typically play flat to 20hz in-room. Most energy in music and even movies is 30hz and up. High performance in the area from 30-35hz and up is much more important in practice.

 

[ryanosaur]

There are no immediate plans for subwoofers that go lower. All our subwoofers typically play flat to 20hz in-room. Most energy in music and even movies is 30hz and up. High performance in the area from 30-35hz and up is much more important in practice.

I'm one of those sickos that chases 16Hz for Pipe Organs. I admit. I have a problem.

And I won't change my ways!

 

[shadyJ]

With $57,000, you could almost buy a house for that cash. Maybe not in the fanciest area, but almost guaranteed it's an investment which will appreciate. or an M5, for that matter ;-)

You would have to be nuts to buy a older used M5. Or you would have to be on very good terms with your mechanic, because that thing is going to need constant attention to be drivable. Owning a BMW out of warranty is a terrifying prospect for my wallet. It's definitely not an investment that will appreciate.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

You would have to be nuts to buy a older used M5. Or you would have to be on very good terms with your mechanic, because that thing is going to need constant attention to be drivable. Owning a BMW out of warranty is a terrifying prospect for my wallet. It's definitely not an investment that will appreciate.

I meant the house, most cars just depreciate

 

[Sigberg Audio]

@lovinthehd I feel the need to point out that while buying SBS.1 for all 7 channels in a home cinema system is an interesting proposition (it would probably sound bonkers and we would obviously be happy to sell it), that was never the primary use case for this system.

The SBS.1 and accompanying subwoofers were designed to replace and outperform large, expensive floorstanders - and I'm happy to report that they do so very well. What you get is the performance of a large, high-end system with a significantly lower visual footprint. And while size will be a factor for many buyers, I'm confident the absolute performance is high too.

The subwoofers (since that's the theoretical topic of the thread) obviously go well with other good speakers as well.

 

[lovinthehd]

@lovinthehd I feel the need to point out that while buying SBS.1 for all 7 channels in a home cinema system is an interesting proposition (it would probably sound bonkers and we would obviously be happy to sell it), that was never the primary use case for this system.

The SBS.1 and accompanying subwoofers were designed to replace and outperform large, expensive floorstanders - and I'm happy to report that they do so very well. What you get is the performance of a large, high-end system with a significantly lower visual footprint. And while size will be a factor for many buyers, I'm confident the absolute performance is high too.

The subwoofers (since that's the theoretical topic of the thread) obviously go well with other good speakers as well.

I was more just extracting some numbers and perhaps a bit of humor from the situation, particularly due TLS' ongoing rants about various consumer audio issues

I do like your use of a dual opposed design....

 

[MandM]

That Scan-Speak woofer and Hpex amp combo seem quite popular!

Subwoofer-26W

 

[ryanosaur]

That Scan-Speak woofer and Hpex amp combo seem quite popular!

Subwoofer-26W

Troels has been using all the premium European Drivers and Hypex Plate Amps for a while.

 

[Sigberg Audio]

An update on pricing: For a while now we've had all included pricing, which meant that the price on the website included shipping and any import taxes and duties. This is also what was reported with regards to pricing in this review. This means we've basically had fixed, world wide pricing.

In practice, import taxes and duties are obviously not the same in all countries, and especially the USA often have relatively low import duties and these types of products (6-10% depending on the state as far as I've understood). This means our products have been more expensive than they could have been in the US and other countries with low import taxes.

As a result we've decided to go back to our more traditional pricing model, where foreign customers (anyone not from Norway) will pay an ex VAT/duties price. It will still include door to door shipping.

Note that prices are still fixed to NOK currency so will vary somewhat depending on currency rates, so the pricing below is based on USD currency rate as of today October 2nd 2022.

What does this mean in practice for international pricing?

• Inkognito 10 subwoofer is now 1983USD (was 2479USD)
• Inkognito 12 subwoofer is now 2351USD (was 2939USD)
• 10D subwoofer is now 2645USD (was 3300USD)
• Set of dual 10D subwoofers is now 4761USD (was 5950USD)
• The SBS.1 active speaker is now 4629USD per pair (was 5786USD)

This includes shipping, but does not include local import taxes and duties.


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