In need of low bass advice

Emlyn

Okay, I have my own Two Towers times two (4 RTi150s). Although I'm happy with music reproduction, the .1 factor in 5.1 surround movies isn't satisfying me. I have a Polk PSW450 subwoofer and am running bass to it and the mains. There is a considerable drop off in bass if I direct bass just to the subwoofer. The subwoofer is obviously the weak link my my system. Should I remove it entirely?

Just using the RTi150s won't satisfy me in the long run, so I would like to consider a better subwoofer. I have a rather small footprint of 20" by 24" for a subwoofer available in the front left corner of my room. The room is 12' wide by 20' deep. The room is over my garage. Construction is typical plywood and drywall over wooden frame. The left wall is solid except for a fireplace in the middle. The right wall is open to the rest of the level of the house for the middle 14' of the 20' length of the room. There is plenty of room for any size subwoofer along the left wall, but it wouldn't be in a corner.

If I consider only SVS subwoofers, would I be better off getting a cylinder (no room for two), or a PB2 box? The cylinder would go in the corner. The box would have to go along the left wall with no other placement options for it.

Any advice is appreciated.

goingganzo

you can allways buld a sub your self or can you power the subs of the 150 by them self? if you can get a plateamp and bridge the right and left channel onto the plateamp. with would be olny about 100-125 opton.

gidrah

That's a fairly big room. You're gonna need a big sub. If you can't go out, then go up. This is where the cylinders come into play.

Going along the lines of Ganzo's wonderful suggestion I came up with RonP's execution.http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2932&highlight=construction
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3138&highlight=construction
I believe the pics are expired, but they might still be around somewhere. I hope so. Right now I have a small room with a powered sub that works good enough. I've also got a 10" Dayton, sonotube, and an amp just waiting for the larger room in the new house.

If you don't want to go the DIY route, I'd suggest an SVS cylinder. I've never heard one, but the reviews on this and other forums have me reconsidering.

Tour2ma

Originally posted by Emlyn
1. The room is 12' wide by 20' deep.
2. The room is over my garage.
3. The right wall is open to the rest of the level of the house for the middle 14' of the 20' length of the room.

1. Yup that's pretty good size, but still only medium-ish at a shade over 2000 cu ft (assuming a 8.5 ' ceiling).
2. Ugh... complicates things. Get some slate for the sub to sit on.
3. OK, this offically makes the "room" large, maybe XL.

Call SVS for advice, but I'd guess you're in PB2 territory.

Emlyn

I got in touch with Tom at SVS after doing a quick drawing of my room layout and sending it in an e-mail message to their tech support address late Friday night. One thing I didn't mention above is that I use my system more for music than home theater. Tom replied with a message within a couple of hours and suggested a PB2-ISD. So, I ordered one early on Saturday morning. The small footprint in the corner turns out to be no problem because the PB2-ISD can be turned so the ports face up and the driver is no longer down firing. It will fit easily in the corner that way, but I may be able to squeeze it in the conventional way as well.

Dr. Spec

Congrats! I bet Sid is jealous. You will really love the ISD. It only gives up a few dB in max output to the Plus, and will sound almost identical at lower volumes.

hamzahsh

Buy 4 15" subs or 4 12". Two for front-stage and 2 for rear-stage.

Velodyne and SVS make great subs. Especially bang for your bucks.

I love the RTi150 for music but for movies I recommend true sub for sure. You're lucky that you've large room so take the benefit.

Tour2ma

Originally posted by hamzahsh
Buy 4 15" subs or 4 12". Two for front-stage and 2 for rear-stage.

You are joking.... aren't you?

hamzahsh

Oh I thought the place is too big. You'll be more than enough with 1 15" plus the
RTi150s you've. My fault! Oooops!