Torn Between Subs | Need Help

incloud

I am soon to order and feel as though I have finally settled my thoughts. I have been torn between going with bookshelfs (RtiA3) or Floorstanders (RtiA5) and also whether saving a few bucks is worth it on Polk Direct with the chance of getting and being stuck with a cosmetically marred product. But that's not the point in this thread, I'm now trying to decide between getting 2 Polk Subs off of Polk Direct or getting one SVS sub for a few hundred more. The choices I'm deciding between are below and any and all feedback id greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time...

Polk Subs 440i (2)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DSWpro440wi-8-BLACK-Powered-Subwoofer-POLK-AUDIO-EACH/360750198637?_trksid=p2046732.m2060&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D3428904077040481963%26pid%3D100040%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D231026377734%26

SVS Sub (Sealed)

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/sealed-box/SB12-NSD#.Uq54wvRDu1c

SVS Sub (Ported)

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/PB12-NSD#.Uq55BvRDu1c

aboroth00

What are you intended purpose for the subs? Listening habits? Movies vs music? Room size?

tonyb

Sealed SVS sub.

incloud

My goal is to have the best impact possible at low volumes mainly as I am moving into a condo soon. I currently have a Klipsch Synergy Sub 12 and it has always been fairly boomy. I'm moving from Klipsch to Polk primarily for movie watching and very little music. I'm not looking to rattle the house as much as I am looking for very clean tight bass. I hate being able to tell where the bass is coming from when I watch movies and that has always been the case with my Klipsch. Then again, my surrounds are Quintets rated 120hz up. Just trying to assemble the best system possible for an average cost and average sized living space. I'm not sure the exact dimensions as of yet but not over-sized by any means.

incloud

DSkip wrote: »

For your needs, this is it.

That's what I had my head set on...

aboroth00

Boominess is usually a room artifact rather than a sub design artifact. Ported enclosures are harder to build than sealed ones so usually with ported subs, they'll sound worse. I have owned plenty of ported SVS, Hsu, Epik subs which were ported and not boomy. Looking at the SB12, it has a very small enclosure with a 400W amp. Odds are there's significant EQ to make it extend into the lower region and it'll roll off more significantly than other sealed designs because of the EQ otherwise it would roll off earlier. The PB12 is flat to 18hz and probably rolls off quick around there due to its port tuning freq. Much larger enclosure with a similar or identical driver. In this case, the sealed design will run out of juice much sooner than the ported design and have much lower headroom. This might not be a concern in your case but who knows you might want to crank it one day. After all you want to watch movies not use it for music. I owned a PB10 back in the day and I really liked it and never thought it was boomy and I bet the SVS ported subs nowadays are in the same vain. The PB12 used to be much more expensive IRC than the sealed design.

For an extra 50 bucks I'd probably get the ported design especially when you won't listen to music. It's more flexible and you get a bigger cooler sub! Twice the weight and you're literally getting more for your money. It sounds silly but it's true. If you want you can also stuff the port and decrease the amount of higher group delay you get (usually the cause of flabby bass). But you'll probably still have a higher Q sub than the sealed design and you might get bumps at 80hz and near the resonant frequency. You might like this as it creates a house curve with more midbass. But I bet the sub will start rolling off a little lower than the sealed design. Of course this is all up in the air considering the room will play havoc with everything.

incloud

Thanks for the detailed explanation! The PB12 seems to be the more popular way to go so I will most likely go with that. Guess I was under the impression I would get the tightest bass from the SB12. Being as you've owned a few, would you suggest the flat finish or the piano gloss finish? Piano I'd imagine looks nicer but also must be a PIA to keep up. Thanks again...

aboroth00

incloud wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed explanation! The PB12 seems to be the more popular way to go so I will most likely go with that. Guess I was under the impression I would get the tightest bass from the SB12. Being as you've owned a few, would you suggest the flat finish or the piano gloss finish? Piano I'd imagine looks nicer but also must be a PIA to keep up. Thanks again...

For music, sure the sealed design would work wonderfully and the flabbiness of the bass would be more distracting. But for movies, you're not concerned about that. You want extension, headroom and impact. And SVS subs will be tight regardless. I only owned the flat finish. I liked the matte look and if there's errant light or you plan on putting the sub near your tv, reflections will be a concern. The only problem with piano gloss finishes is that they're nice to look at and you want to show them off but if they're visible when you're watching movies they'll catch light and draw attention. And yeah fingerprints are a pain.

aboroth00

In all honesty you might not even want a flat subwoofer with tight bass. I'm currently running a sealed subwoofer which is optimized in my room to be flat to ~18hz. Plenty of output but it's flat... and boring... for movies... People may not know it but the bass they hear and want is midbass. They want that bump at 60-80hz to give them the wow effect and bump to the chest. I miss my ported subs then. But I sometimes cheat and crank the subwoofer couple dbs hot and adjust the EQ for a rising house curve. For purely movies, my recommendation is unreservedly the ported sub.

incloud

Do you feel my choice of RtiA5, CsiA6 and FxiA6 with the PB12-NSD will give me a nice punchy but detailed theater setup? I'll be powering the speakers with an Emotiva LPA-1 and Emotiva XPA-100. Any suggestions are welcome. Moderate sized room!

Pre / Pro is Emotiva UMC-200

aboroth00

I think the equipment you had chosen would be great for your application. You would be happy with either the PB12 or the SB12. I just think the PB12 would be more logical in a movie only application.

However, when you put all your speakers into a room, all bets are off. Placement and setup are paramount for getting the most out of your setup. YMMV depending how you setup your sub, putting it in the right location so on so forth. For the longest time I had the hardest time getting my sub not to sound boomy. This is a sealed sub mind you. I was crossing the sub at 80hz but it turns out the subwoofer where it was was exciting a 80hz peak in my room and caused a 10db peak at ~80hz. No wonder it sounded boomy! I crossed the sub much lower at 50hz and tight bass was there. Do your best to setup the sub in the correct location, using the crawl test, getting a SPL meter, calibrated mic. This is the not so fun more daunting part of the hobby. But if you pay attention and put effort into it you'll be rewarded 10 fold.

If you live in a condo, people have had good results using an Auralex subdude to control unwanted vibration. I use one and thinks it helps. http://www.avsforum.com/t/644330/auralex-subdude-owners-thread. YMMV witht his product considering the flooring you're on and what you want to achieve.

drummer86

I'll throw another wrench in the decision process... the HSU VTF subs come with the port plugs and the Q control which makes them very flexible for whatever your wants are. I'm running mine completely plugged right now since I have a smallish room and primary focus is music with tight clean bass. Every now and then I "pull the plugs" and let 'er rip for movies. Lots of options with those subs.

aboroth00

drummer86 wrote: »

I'll throw another wrench in the decision process... the HSU VTF subs come with the port plugs and the Q control which makes them very flexible for whatever your wants are. I'm running mine completely plugged right now since I have a smallish room and primary focus is music with tight clean bass. Every now and then I "pull the plugs" and let 'er rip for movies. Lots of options with those subs.

HSU VTF subs are great subs and I've owned couple HSU subs in my day. However, for an exclusively or predominantly movie setup, I'd still recommend the SVS. It's bigger, digs deeper, and probably has a bit more headroom. The HSU is usually well known for being musical subs, but musicality is a secondary concern to extension and headroom for movies. But if the OP intends to use the sub for music, then the HSU definitely merits consideration as you can change the settings/Q values to suit the amount of dampening (plugging the ports) to suit your intents.

thsmith

HSU makes a very musical sub, I too have had several HSUs.

incloud

I asked a question elsewhere and got reprimanded for it so I will try here. I am still torn on which sub to go with as far as ported or sealed. I've attached an image to show my layout plans for my media center and possible suggestions for type. Thanks and i apologize if I'm loosing track of where I've been researching.

ken brydson

incloud wrote: »

I asked a question elsewhere and got reprimanded for it so I will try here. I am still torn on which sub to go with as far as ported or sealed. I've attached an image to show my layout plans for my media center and possible suggestions for type. Thanks and i apologize if I'm loosing track of where I've been researching.

I wouldn't suggest putting the subs on the media center...