VELODYNE DD+18 OR JL AUDIO GOTHAM (g213) ??? OPINIONS NEEDED.

jtshaw43

IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN A VELODYNE DD+18. AND A JL AUDIO GOTHAM (g213) FOR YOUR HOME THEATER.WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE ? PLEASE BASE YOUR ANSWER ON SOUND QUALITY,SPACE, ECT, NOT ON PRICE. AS WE ALL ARE AWARE THAT THE JL'S COST IS CONSIDERBLY MORE THAN THE VELO. THKS....

leroyjr1

Neither. For HT you can do much better for a fraction of the cost.

jtshaw43

Hey leroyjr1, what do you suggest??

mantis

I've had the great pleasure of working with both of these subs many times. Honestly you can't go wrong with either but if I had to choose I'd go with the Velodyne as I find them to integrate slightly better then the JL.
Both are incredibly powerful and clean but the Velodyne is more musical and stable. Not to take anything away from the JL as if you have a theater room , I suggest 2 of them. The last job I did we used 2 and man it was amazing.

So if you plan on using them for music as well as theater, Go Velo, If just theater is your game , Pick one and run.

txcoastal1

I like the DD-Velo line, Like Mantis mentioned 2 would be real nice.

You mentioned space...??? Do you have your rooms cubic feet measured? You could go down a size or 2 and run a pair

leroyjr1

jtshaw43 wrote: »

Hey leroyjr1, what do you suggest??

Seaton, JTR, Funk audio.

jtshaw43

Thks dan,txcoastal1 and leroyjr1 !!!

ZLTFUL

Single JL Gothams are really good. But not blow your socks off good.
Dual Gothams on the other hand will melt your face and brings tears of joy and terror to your eyes.

(My buddy's shop carries both and I agree with Dan on the Velo...)

jtshaw43

Thks for your opinion zltful !!!

WLDock

mantis wrote: »

I suggest 2 of them.

IMO, this is the major drawback with the more pricey subs. In this price range to do it right it makes sense to have at least two. As great as subs like these are....these are the subs that drive the DIY market(18" Dayton Audio, Stereo Integrity, TC Sounds, etc.) as well as the the smaller companies like Seaton, Danley, etc than offer high performance products. In most cases, one can get just as BIG bass for less money. In the case of DIY one could do four 18's, DSP, and massive power and still have a bank load of cash left over compared to the cost of two Gothams.

ZLTFUL

WLDock wrote: »

IMO, this is the major drawback with the more pricey subs. In this price range to do it right it makes sense to have at least two. As great as subs like these are....these are the subs that drive the DIY market(18" Dayton Audio, Stereo Integrity, TC Sounds, etc.) as well as the the smaller companies like Seaton, Danley, etc than offer high performance products. In most cases, one can get just as BIG bass for less money. In the case of DIY one could do four 18's, DSP, and massive power and still have a bank load of cash left over compared to the cost of two Gothams.

Couldn't agree more. The place where the pre-made market shines is for those folks who don't have the space/means/knowledge to DIY.

jtshaw43

Thks for your imput wldock and zlful !!!

mantis

WLDock wrote: »

IMO, this is the major drawback with the more pricey subs. In this price range to do it right it makes sense to have at least two. As great as subs like these are....these are the subs that drive the DIY market(18" Dayton Audio, Stereo Integrity, TC Sounds, etc.) as well as the the smaller companies like Seaton, Danley, etc than offer high performance products. In most cases, one can get just as BIG bass for less money. In the case of DIY one could do four 18's, DSP, and massive power and still have a bank load of cash left over compared to the cost of two Gothams.

I don't find any drawbacks with owning 2 Gothams. If you sat in a room that I calibrated and tweaked to perfection with them, I bet your opinion would greatly change. They are truly one of the very best subs on the market today. They compete with the Velodyne DD series very well which IMO are probably the best subs in those price ranges.
I'm not a fan of SVS or most of the off brand subwoofers as I heard a few of them and left not impressed.

WLDock

mantis wrote: »

I don't find any drawbacks with owning 2 Gothams. If you sat in a room that I calibrated and tweaked to perfection with them, I bet your opinion would greatly change. They are truly one of the very best subs on the market today. They compete with the Velodyne DD series very well which IMO are probably the best subs in those price ranges.
I'm not a fan of SVS or most of the off brand subwoofers as I heard a few of them and left not impressed.

I guess my views about costly things are a bit different. If I were a multi millionaire, I still would not have the desire to have a 25,000 sq ft home, a 3 million dollar car, a 15 carot diamond for the wife, or a million dollar 2 channel rig.

However, at $12K each two Gothams would be the exception as I have repect for JL Audio as a company. I have talked to some of the guys over there and they were great in all cases. I have yet to hear the Gotham (I want to so bad!) but having long car audio roots I remember the release of the W7. At the time that sub changed the game and produced more clean low end than just about anything around. The measurements were astounding at the time.

Fast forward to today and all of the great innovations JL Audio had done, I would support them with a high end purchase if I were in the position to do so. Not sure if I would for any other company for sub bass at this cost?

However, $24K is a ton of cash for subbass and I know there are cheaper solutions that should offer pretty good impact. Given that I have never been rich, its hard to thing that I would not look at all solution before spending $24K. Maybe when I hit the lotto I will get a chance to find out? LOL!

jtshaw43

Many thanks to all who have commented on this post !!!!!

Narikisas

Audioholics Excel compilation-062613.pdfAudioholics Excel compilation-062613.pdfAudioholics Excel compilation-062613.pdf

GO through this will probably give you a good idea..

jtshaw43

thanks narikisas !!!!

Habanero Monk

I would get some plans from AVS Forum, Parts Express Tech Talk, Audioholics and see what a place that does custom car installation would charge you to get the cabinets built. Feel free to register and ask at those sites too since they tend to have a larger DIY culture there. Who knows you may be able to find someone there in your neck of the woods.

For the $5K that you are looking at I would think you can get something custom that will do better than either the Velo or JL Audio.

Also check out SVS, Rythmik, Powersound Audio, HSU.

jtshaw43

thks for the info Habanero Monk !!!

MikeC78

If those were my only two choices, I'd get the JL G213 anyday of the week! However, if it was my money, I wouldn't get either of those. If you want performance and bang for your buck, I'd look into something from JTR speakers for starts. Depending on your room and needs, look at the Captivator and the Orbit Shifter.

jtshaw43

thks MikeC78! I will check JRT Speakers out !!!

jtshaw43

I had been thinking about jtr subs. But more than likely i'm going to stay with the velodyne dd+ 18. Two of them would be a bit pricey. But would sound awesome!!!!

Phasewolf

I have owned Velodyne subs and they sound fine when they work but if something goes wrong and your out of warranty then good luck. They will not sell you a service manual or offer any help at all expect ship it back and well fix it for you. Having done service work for a living that is not how you treat a customer that pays good money for a product.

They tend to like to use drivers or did at the time I had one that uses a servo controlled sub woofer and if the little coil goes bad on it which it did on both of mine and a lot of others has had that issue too your done for.

I like Subs that are not some custom black box that if need be I can work on and can get service info for.

jtshaw43

Phasewolf when it comes to velodyne handling service issues ( with there product). I totally agree with you. At this very moment i have a velodyne hgs 18 that needs a new amp. Upon contacting them, i was told by (velodyne) customer service they would e mail me a form to fill out. Then i would need to ship my non working amp in for service.thats fine, and i totally understand the process. But the customer service personal didnt seem to customer friendly. But in all honesty i must admit, imo they perform very well in ht. Which is my sole reason for owning the hgs 18(and wanting 2 dd+ 18's). Thanks phasewolf!!!

Phasewolf

Just wanted to point out that most items if they break you can go to a local shop and get it repaired they don't allow for this even with old equipment.

jtshaw43

Thanks for the info !!!

jtshaw43

I've decided to stick with my current subs(two velodyne hgs 18's). I figure since one of them was serviced (complete overhaul includung new amp) by velodyne in 2011. That it would just make sense to spend a couple of hundred bucks , and have the second sub serviced. Even though they're older subs. My 18's still put out the kind of earth shaking bass that is not only heard, but also felt! Imo, this is better than spending $7,000.00+ for two new dd+ 18's. Besides... Doing this will allow me to buy that new yamaha cxa/ mxa 5000 combo that i want.

mantis

jtshaw43 wrote: »

I've decided to stick with my current subs(two velodyne hgs 18's). I figure since one of them was serviced (complete overhaul includung new amp) by velodyne in 2011. That it would just make sense to spend a couple of hundred bucks , and have the second sub serviced. Even though they're older subs. My 18's still put out the kind of earth shaking bass that is not only heard, but also felt! Imo, this is better than spending $7,000.00+ for two new dd+ 18's. Besides... Doing this will allow me to buy that new yamaha cxa/ mxa 5000 combo that i want.

The HGS series man was one of the greatest ever made. I'd love to own such fine subwoofers.

jtshaw43

I agree, imo the velodyne hgs serie s is still a nice sub to own. Proof of that is... Whenever they end up on ebay and/ or audiogon. They don't last long!!! Ijs...thanks mantis!

mantis

They are absolutely one of my very favorite lines of Subs of all times. When they came out , they took the audio world by storm.

jtshaw43

Yes they sure did. I figure i will hold on to mine for a little while longer before upgrading to the dd+ series. To be honest i really would like to upgrade now. But i just cant justify paying that ( $7,000.00+ ) kind of chees$e for a pair of dd+ 18's.ijs....