Subwoofer recommendation advice

pawelmwo
pawelmwo Posts: 137
Shopping around for a sub pair. I'm reaching my limits with the Polk 705 in the bass department when playing some heavy LFE track films around the -10dB mark I could hear the cassini woofers starting to struggle. My space is about 17' x 29' with vaulted ceilings 8' at the lowest point and 10 feet at the highest so probably around 4500 cubic feet. I've got some recommendations such as HSU VTF-15H MK2, SVS PB-3000, Monolith 15 and Rhytmic FV15HP, SVS PB12-NSD. The problem is all of these are huge and won't fly with the Mrs. We don't have space up front for subs due to room design. So they would either go to one side of the sofa and the rear corner of the room.

Due to the physical size, I resorted looking to sealed subs for HT and Music. Right now hovering to pull the trigger on an SVS SB-3000. Figured with their trial period and free shipping I can at least experiment and see how it works out. I'm reading great things about it but at the same time, am I setting myself up for disappointment due to the room size? I could expand to two of them given their size. What are your thoughts on this and if you went sealed are you happy with your decision?

Comments

  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    A pair of Rythmik F12’s should work in that room.
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,702
    Take a look at the REL S5 SHO.
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  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    rpf65 wrote: »
    A pair of Rythmik F12’s should work in that room.

    That is an option as Rhytmic is local to me within driving distance. Output wise how does that compare to the SB-3000?
  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    tratliff wrote: »
    Take a look at the REL S5 SHO.

    Should have said budget around $1000. But I do like that it looks more like a piece of furniture than a speaker. That would get the nod from the wife :)
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,644
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    rpf65 wrote: »
    A pair of Rythmik F12’s should work in that room.

    That is an option as Rhytmic is local to me within driving distance. Output wise how does that compare to the SB-3000?

    The Rhytmic is a servo sub. The SVS isn't.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    They should be very similar in performance. One could argue slightly more head room on the SVS, due to larger woofer size and amp, but I think it would be pretty close, within 1 Db or so.
  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    Another option is HSU ULS-15 mk2 for $807 shipped which has a 15" driver. Some savings there.
  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,547
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    rpf65 wrote: »
    A pair of Rythmik F12’s should work in that room.

    That is an option as Rhytmic is local to me within driving distance. Output wise how does that compare to the SB-3000?

    I doubt there would be any noticeable output difference, and the servo control circuit of the Rythmik will make it considerably more accurate, and that is an often overlooked but very important aspect of a sub - especially for music.

    No contest in my book - at least listen to the Rythmik - you will buy them if you do.
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  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    I know people tend to focus on the musical something new like the rhythmic and so on, but I have been very happy with my SVS SB16 U
    Great sub and monster power.
  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    daddyjt wrote: »
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    rpf65 wrote: »
    A pair of Rythmik F12’s should work in that room.

    That is an option as Rhytmic is local to me within driving distance. Output wise how does that compare to the SB-3000?

    I doubt there would be any noticeable output difference, and the servo control circuit of the Rythmik will make it considerably more accurate, and that is an often overlooked but very important aspect of a sub - especially for music.

    No contest in my book - at least listen to the Rythmik - you will buy them if you do.

    Sadly their location does not have a demo room. It's basically an office/warehouse. I suppose I will utilize their trial period to audition it at home. Still debating on the specific model. I suppose will try the Rythmik F12, need to see what the differences between the different versions are F12 / F12SE / F12G.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,644
    The differences are noted on their site.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    If memory serves, the Rythmik 12 has aluminum driver for double duty HT/2 channel, G model has paper cone for music/audiophile use and is slightly faster than the heavier AL driver and the SE is the piano black finish.
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  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    GlennDog wrote: »
    If memory serves, the Rythmik 12 has aluminum driver for double duty HT/2 channel, G model has paper cone for music/audiophile use and is slightly faster than the heavier AL driver and the SE is the piano black finish.

    It's a bit over my head what the benefits of aluminum vs paper would be. It states that the F12G would be benefitial if crossing over 80hz. Would speakers ever have a cross over higher than 80hz?

    Enrico over at Rhytmic said this in one of the other forums below, so if using LFE in will get you up to 180 no point in getting the F12G it seems.

    "If you have a Denon 4311 that's mean you are gonna use LFE IN, so it does not make any sense to get the F12G because the F12 with DS1200 aluminum driver goes up to 180Hz when you use LFE IN."
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    The difference in paper and aluminum cones, for simplicity, is the sound. They have slightly different sounds, that some can hear.

    If you’re running the 705’s you won’t have to worry about high crossovers. Small satellite speakers may not be able to produce 80 Hz tones, or struggle with it.
  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    edited December 2019
    I ended up driving over to Rhytmik and picked up the E15 HP. Nice folks helped me load it. The box would not fit in my car, had to take it out and slip it in the trunk. They have a lot of padding which is good for shipping. So far I'm running it without EQ just used an SPL meter from my listening position and set it to 75dB. Need to go through all the settings before I run Audyssey XT32. But initial impressions are very good, hearing some deep frequencies I havent heard before and the speakers seem to have opened up a bit from having more power. Pretty excited about the next few days dialing this in!
    Post edited by pawelmwo on
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,118
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    I ended up driving over to Rhytmik and picked up the E15 HP.
    I figured that would be the case. Daddyjt nailed it.

    It's not necessarily the brand. It's the servo sub technology IMO/IME.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    I ended up driving over to Rhytmik and picked up the E15 HP.
    A sealed 15" with a direct servo (IMO, the servo makes more sense for larger cones) , Nice Choice!



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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,118
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    Pretty excited about the next few days dialing this in!

    Any update on this? how are you liking it so far?

    Tom

    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    I want to get my hands on a PB-3000 or really a pair of them. I'm never a fan of just one sub in any given room due to un even bass. Output is always strange. I can dial in one seat but then the rest fall apart and usually many dips and peaks that are hard to smooth out. This is where a second sub comes in.
    We carry JL subwoofers and they are remarkable. They over the years have fallen into my favorite line. The In wall sub is stupid good. The back box install is awesome.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • pawelmwo
    pawelmwo Posts: 137
    treitz3 wrote: »
    pawelmwo wrote: »
    Pretty excited about the next few days dialing this in!

    Any update on this? how are you liking it so far?

    Tom

    I think it is absolutely fantastic as I've never owned anything that can get to such low frequencies. The bass is very tight and stops on a dime. I've been testing with various music and films it's yet to dissapoint. Naturally I'm still tweaking to see what I prefer more. Right now I have it at 14Hz with high dampening. But it has a 20Hz and 28Hz settings and lower dampening which can handle higher SPL. I also seem to have plenty of headroom at the 12 oclock position end up with a -7dB trim after running Audyssey.

    Originally I struggled a bit with some knocking coming from the laminate floor and that was remedied by purchasing a Subdude platform. Unrelated but I am strugling a bit with the room correction doing weird things to my higher frequencies. I've all but turned it off at this point besides the speaker distances and levels. I've got a UMIK-1 on the way and will be testing the response in the coming weeks.;