The first time you heard a "real" subwoofer after owning an entry-level sub

steveinaz

"War of the Worlds" will blow your hair back too.

Irrenhaus

steveinaz wrote: »

"War of the Worlds" will blow your hair back too.

Tell me about it. Went from a 12" JBL to a Rythmik F25 that was the first movie I try. One of the smoke detectors fell from the ceiling........

codycatalist

Polkaguy58 wrote: »

My latest sub is an older model Cambridge SoundWorks sealed job, with a 12" woofer and the option of running a secondary slave unit from the amp plate. (something I'll probably never need)
I really like the sound a big sealed cab over a ported one, but my old passive NHT in the kitchen set up (with the velodyne external amp) sounds pretty nice too.

@Polkaguy58 Haven't seen you post in a bit...actually since I FIRST got my Monitor 5s and you assisted me with identifying them. I remember you talking about how musical this sub was and how great it complimented the vintage monitor line.

kharp1

Polkie2009 wrote: »

I have to give some credit to some of those original sub makers like M&K and Velodyne. Hats off to them A number of those old subs are still working and they have to be at least 20 to 25 years old. I honestly doubt any__ of the sub plate amps made nowadays will last that long.

I agree. I had an old M&K that I recently gave to a buddy in need. Aside from replacing a foam surround, it has performed incredibly and astounds everyone that has a chance to experience it. I may regret giving it away (it's a long term loan, but, how do you ask for it back after a year?) but, I'm sure there are great subs out there that I can experiment with.

I had went for years with a couple of JBL PB12's and then moved to a Velodyne 12. The M&K was worlds apart from the mediocre bass delivered by either of those subs.

Polkie2009

The old used M&K V2B sub I bought about 10 years ago off Ebay for about $100 bucks was awesome sounding for a two channel setup.

Polkaguy58

I still have my Cambridge sub from last year and love it..............but if the truth be told, I'd trade it in a minute for a chance to own another vintage passive Dahlquist (DW1 ?).
One of my guitar customer's mom gave it to me, telling me that her late husband had brought it back from his days in Viet Nam.
(my guess was he bought it at the PX in Germany)
She'd been using it as a coffee table for years.
I kid you not, I had that baby hooked up to a Sony department store surround sound receiver, with the powered sub output built in.
I used 5 modified Radio Shack Optimus 7's for surrounds and that system kicked **** !
Sometimes all the planets align and sh#t actually shines !

scottyboy76

MetropolisLake wrote: »

Maybe one of these days I'll experience a "real" subwoofer in my theater room. For now I'll have to settle with 8 feet worth of sealed 18's topped with 300 pounds of granite. Not quite done yet.

8 feet worth of sealed 18s topped with 300 lbs of granite, what am I missin, and plese tell me what your dream sub setup is

MetropolisLake

scottyboy76 wrote: »

8 feet worth of sealed 18s topped with 300 lbs of granite, what am I missin, and plese tell me what your dream sub setup is

My dream setup, oh boy. Well, primarily I want corners so I can put one in each of them and not deal with nulls anymore. I have doors that keep me from doing that.

As for equipment, probably four JTR Orbit Shifters.

mrloren

For me it was a long move up the food chain.

first sub in 2000 post Advent's (eerr still a little mad at the wife for those)

1st got a little sub Costco had for like $100. was not bad with the in ceiling speakers

2nd around 2003 I got a 12" Sony sub that was twice as big as the POS Costco one and sounded good. I am still using it in the warehouse at work.

3rd 2005 got my first taste of a real sub. HSU STF-2. I didn't know what I was missing. On the first movie the lamp started shaking, wife asked me what I was smiling at.

4th 2009 or 2010 got my HSU VTF2-MK3 OH YEAH. run it in 2 ports open and the room gain brings it down to around 20hz. Nice to feel bass.

Next up will either be a VTF3-MK5 or SB13.

mpitogo

First sub was a Polk PSW450. Upgraded to dual Polk DSW microPRO 3000. Unfortunately I don't have the space for big subs (aesthetically). Best I heard BagEnd Infrasub 18.

Joey_V

I recall being stunned the first time I heard an SVS PB12+/2. I was in college and picking up a used SVS 25PC+.... I asked him to turn his PB12+/2.... although it was boomy, the output was impressive.

dannylightning

i must be weird but i find my psw505 and my old psw450 to sound great. a few friend i used to have had some high end subs and they did not sound that much better to me. i have had a few different brands of sub as well and always liked my polk subs.

i haven't heard a home audio JL sub but i have a feeling i would love one of those. always love their car speakers more than any other brand.

[Deleted User]

I won't tell the story but here are the pics;

rpf65

Wouldn't exactly refer to Polk subs as junk. There are better ones out there, and the 505 is pretty good for its price point. Actually one of the better ones at that price point.

JiminKY

In the context of this site and thread, I'm not sure if the SVS SB12-NSD is considered "real" or "entry-level." But compared to the 15-year-old Sony HTIB ported-8" it replaced, it is real enough for me. Night and effin' day real. Never "got it" until I heard this thing.

spazmo

I went from a 10" sony to a Polk PSW10,a Klipsch SW350 and to my current Sunfire SDS 12.Love the Klipsch and the Sunfire.

treitz3

tonyb wrote: »

Can't comment on the TC, but boomy, muddy, bloated are not words I'd use to describe the SVS....or any of the other subs you mentioned.

They are words I would describe, Tony. I can not comment on the TC because I don't even know what it is but I have heard the rest and his comments would be word for word mine. Now before you think I am running off to go don my flame suit, there won't be a chance in hell I will do so. I'll stand by my comment.

They are all great for HT and great for a certain client that prefers that type of bass. With that said, I am not that type of clientele. I can't stand any boom at the bottom at all and will spend dearly or design differently to eliminate it.

Now I will say this....when it comes to the other subs? It may have been that the owner had them set well above where they should have been set at to where they overtook the mains. They may have had the slope, frequencies or other setting well off the mark of where it should have been. I'll give them that. Regardless, the end result (to me) were the words described above.

Tom

EndersShadow

@treitz3

"TC" is referring to the manufacture "TC Sounds". They made a lot of the initial drivers for the older SVS series, as well as a run of stand alone drivers lots of folks liked.

The "TC" drivers where what Trey @VR3 was using in his franken VMPS sub that I wish I could have heard.

They were GREAT drivers, and still are TOLT if you can find them, but the company went under and toward the end their Quality Control started to stink, which didn't help the situation.

treitz3

Ah, then you can include them in the list as well. Thanks for clarifying. Hard hitting and massive with authority but simply no finesse at all. Superb for HT use.

Tom

EndersShadow

treitz3 wrote: »

Ah, then you can include them in the list as well. Thanks for clarifying. Hard hitting and massive with authority but simply no finesse at all. Superb for HT use.

Tom

So what are some subs you consider that DO have finesse?

mikeyb128

EndersShadow wrote: »

treitz3 wrote: »

Ah, then you can include them in the list as well. Thanks for clarifying. Hard hitting and massive with authority but simply no finesse at all. Superb for HT use.

Tom

So what are some subs you consider that DO have finesse?

Only his lol

treitz3

I have only heard 3 of them. The VMPS Larger w/upgrades, the Rythmik F-25's I have and the ugly sub I heard at an audio event last year. I believe that was an Infinity sub but don't hold me to it. Both the ugly sub and the F-25's were direct servo subs, FWIW.

Tom

mrloren

For having the HSU VTF3-MK5 HP for about 6 months now, I'm really liking it. I finally got the fine tuning of it down perfect. Part of the joy and pain of an HSU VTF sub it the different tuning of the sub. It can be run in 5 different modes, trick is finding the right mode for the setup.

My current mode is 4" port open, EQ1 and "Q" set to 5.5. bass is deeeeeeeep rumbles the house and still sounds great on music