Poll: best sub to match LSi series

polkatese

Gang,
I need help in deciding on sub upgrade to match my current setup: LSi15/C/Fx...What I am looking for has to complement LSi15 on music. It must have tight bass, no boominess, 10" driver and up. Any suggestions? Thanks..

RuSsMaN

My favorite 'musical' sub is the Jm Lab Chorus. 11 inch, sealed enclosure. About $600. The Vandersteen model with 3 8's sealed is a great music sub also.

You feel the LSi15 needs a little more low end? I felt they stood alone musically, no sub needed.

Cheers,
Russ

polkatese

Russ,
it's more of convenience....LSi15 definitely has enough low end, I like to listen to stereo 5.1 mode, and I don't like to tinker with the setup (between HT and music)...so the sub that I am looking for has to "balance" with the LSi15, keeping the detailed tonal quality, without overwhelming them with "unnatural" artifacts....(I know, picky picky...)...where can one audition Jm Lab Chorus?

RuSsMaN

http://www.focal-jmlab.fr/gb/home/chorus/sw700.htm

I have a dealer, the website seems a little confusing as far as finding a 'retail' outlet, I'm still looking for ya.

Cheers,
Russ

RuSsMaN

http://www.audioplusservices.com/audiopl/mn1-aps.htm

Select Jm Lab, and enter your zip, it pulled up my local dealer.

Cheers,
Russ

It's worth a listen, I promise.

polkatese

Russ,
thanks, I'll audition it and let you know...

tpeter

www.svsubwoofers.com glad i made the move with one of their subs. Sounds great with the Lsi series.

mantis

while your out demoing,try a REL Strata 3.And a REL Q201E.

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

check out M&K -- they can be played loud and hard -- their new mx-125 is a kick arse subwoofer, plenty of headroom, push pull -dual 12 inch drivers, they go way below 20 hz -- they should fit ur needs perfectly

polkatese

Thanks all for your suggestions, I will get back to you with my impressions...the wife had put one more requirements: it has to be furniture friendly that is not an eyesore. I've heard about SVS, but boy, its appearance definitely less than desirable...

Russ,
I went to JMLab page, looks very appealing....

mantis

Rel Strata comes in cherry,super close to the finish on the Lsi's.Beautiful looking sub.

Frank Z

psst...Sunfire!

polkatese

Dan,
Rel Stadium III, what do you think of it? any idea on the pricing? I really like the rosenut finish, it will match well with my wall unit. thanks...

RuSsMaN

Originally posted by polkatese
Thanks all for your suggestions.Russ,
I went to JMLab page, looks very appealing....

Hey, keep us posted on the demos.

Cheers,
Russ

TroyD

Paradigm Servo-15.

BDT

Dr. Spec

Velo HGS-12. HSU VTF-3. Klipsch RSW-12.

Also, SVS is on the cusp of introducing a box line of subs.

Doc

mantis

polkatese,
It's a big one.I haven't heard it but just saw it.The finishes come in the Strata and up, the Q series is black ash.It's gotta be over 2 grand for that sub.The Strata is 1295.99 and the Storm is 1999.99 depending on finish.

Roll over to Tweeter and check them out.
The thing that I like about the RELS other then just awesome musical sound quality is the fact it has 2 preamps built in.One for music and one for LFE.They run at the same time as well.Balanced to the main speaker posts sharing a common ground,then run the usual LFE line level cable to the other.They both have seperate crossover points and volume control.2 cool.

polkatese

Dan,
this is very interesting, is it to say that one preamp feeds of the output level from main? so it actually complementing the low-end of the main (or LSi15) in my case? does tweeter carry several Rel series?

mantis

Yes.......let me explain how they work....

Rel makes there own Balanced cable that is speaker level.It hooks right up with your mains on the main out binding posts..speaker level.It has 3 wires.Yellow,red and black.Red is right positive,Yellow is left Positive and black is right or left ground.I usually just use the right ground.You can set the crossover on the REL to 40 hz.A nice place to finish out the full range for the Lsi15's......super cool and exactly what I'm gonna do.Then you blend in that input with music.Balance out so it goes away in the room never calling attention to itself and sounds like your Lsi15's just got a bigger woofer.........o so cool.
Next the sub can play double duty......enter LFE for theater....a seperate input,crossover,level. Just keeps getting cooler.Now you can bypass the internal crossover in the sub and take LFE straight from the Rotel....Set the Rotel at 60hz.Man I gotta tell you,the juice is flowing ..REL is all about me.......dude.

Tweeter has the Q series,StrataIII and Storm III.Thats it.But for your system I'd go with the StrataIII in your color of choice.....Cherry would match the speakers......but you deside.

polkatese

thanks for the explanation, Dan..this is great, that is exactly what I am looking for since it will let me independently tweak them for music and LFE. hmm.....I'll check them out at tweeter, too bad that they don't carry LSi15 too for a real life auditioning session

rosenut is my color, I have ebony on the LSi15 and bordeaux colored wall unit....

mantis

Have fun man,I'm hooked on there sub's and thats one of the big reasons why.

mangata572

I am considering the Rel StrataIII vs. StormIII. The Strata is sealed, while the Storm has a port. Any thoughts? Anyone?

polkatese

Dr. Spec,
any idea on the eta of svs cube? pricing? thx

Dr. Spec

Man, I looked all over creation for a "technical" review of REL subs. All I found was a slew of largely subjective reviews (many of them British) that pretty much raved about sound quality for music, but had next to nothing to say about "hard" data. Sure, there were a few comments here and there about subjective perceptions of extension and sound pressure, but nothing to really sink your teeth into.

I am a firm believer that anything audible is also measureable. Before I laid out over 2 large on a sub, I'd want to see a Tom Nousaine / Howard Ferstler / Brian Weatherhead / Dr. John Johnson type review with Frequency Response, THD, SPL, Transient Response, Port Noise, etc. all specified in objective terms.

Mantis - can you help here?

Doc

Dr. Spec

Originally posted by polkatese
Dr. Spec,
any idea on the eta of svs cube? pricing? thx

I'm just going on what I've read on other HT forums, but the end of the year (i.e,, within 5 weeks) is a good bet.

Product line-up and pricing will be comparable to the current PCi, PC+ line.

SVS has already admitted that their cylinder design subs will still offer a slightly better performance/$$ ratio than the new box design subs - in exchange for a slightly better Wife Acceptance Factor. This is a trade-off SVS is willing to bet many potential consumers will make that have heretofore been put off by the conspicuous cylinder design.

At the same time, though, they make the claim that their new box design will outperform any other competitor's similarly priced and sized box design.

SVS is also putting the final touches on a "super sub" (which for them is REALLY saying something). It will be a large box design, almost assuredly multiple drivers, have a user tunable FR down to 7 Hz, can handle 5 kilowatts of power, and will be capable of 130+ dB peaks at 20 Hz and higher with much less than 10% THD. It will be THE sub for those with really large rooms who need to achieve "reference level" (i.e., 121 dB bass peaks with the speaks set to small) play back for HT.

Doc

mantis

Mantis - can you help here?

Yes I can shed some light here in my own words and experience with REL sub's.

Strata III

For hard data reasons:
Frequency responce=20hz to 120hz
Amp=100 watts mosphet power and 200 peak power.
driver=10 inch bottom mounted downward firing.
Finsih=black,Cherry,Light Oak,Rosewood,Walnut,or Grittex Black.

The Cherry is my personal favorite.

Performance:
To date I haven't heard a more musical sub.These British made subs are fantastic for 2 channel,Multichannel.Smooth bass,Quick as hell,acurate,Blends so well you'd sware you added another driver for bass in your exsisting speaker system...super musical.
For Theater it's powerfull and clear.It can shake all but the biggest rooms.It's not boomy and overly explosive,so if your looking for a sub that just rips the walls down and thunders over the rest of your system, this sub isn't for you.If you like to hear what was recorded then REL is all about you.
Thats the short and sweat version of my review.I could typr all night long and not get across how much I love em.

Storm III

Frequency=18-120Hz
Amp= 150 watt and 300 peak
This sub is ported.
Comes in all the same colors as the Strata.It's bigger.

Performance.......Awesome.Musical...........can shake a large room.
Same review as the Strata except it can fill a large room.

These sub's are so good.The fact that you can play music and theater without having to adjust the levels is so damn good.It's that damn good.
Sound pressure you want??is playing clean over 100db ok?How about 110db??Not a problem with the big REL's.

Y

RuSsMaN

//a side note to Dan, everyone else disregard//

Mosphet? Jesus H Christ man.

www.hop.com

Cheers,
Rooster

mantis

dude you know I can't spell to save my life..........thats just what I do.......Spelling challenged me........I mean well...

Dr. Spec

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
//a side note to Dan, everyone else disregard//

Mosphet? Jesus H Christ man.

www.hop.com

Cheers,
Rooster

OMG!! We just about DIED over here!!!

metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)

Mantis has hereby graduated HOP school.



Dan, thanks for the info - I was hoping for an independent technical review, but I guess we'll take your word for it. All the othe reviewers seem to agree on the sound quality.

Doc

mantis

Ph and F make the same sound am I right or what????Glad to give everyone a laugh at my expense........cool.

Doc,
Technical review???I could go on with a full review...MANTIS style but Technical?Naaa.Quoting spec's is about as technical as I'm gonna go with it.I'd rather talk more about what Iv'e experienced then Tech talk.......just my style dude.

polkatese

Doc,
thanks on svs insight...

I went to tweeter today, auditioned the REL strata III and Storm III running off B&K 507 and Vienna Mozart and Sonus Faber Grand Piano. While listening to them, I am actually making a comparison between my LSi15 and these two speakers. My first impression, LSi15 outperform the Mozart, it lacks the clarity and details that my ears start to appreciate much more, and I am damned proud of it (outshining a $2400 speakers, I think, is not too shabby) now I have to bow to Sonus Faber GP though, the amount of the details coming out SFGP just floored me, it's like listening to a live performance, amazing. But at $3500, you better get what you paid for!

ok, let's go back to the REL, it is a very musical sub, on the strata, that 100w is kinda misleading, because it's actually has the same punch as the Rotel (in terms of high-current). The guy actually try to redirect my interest to the storm. The manager has one black ash finish in the warehouse that he is willing to give it to me for $1600. The problem is, the storm is actually taller than your typical sub, and somewhat not wife-friendly, and black ash finish definitely not helping. What do you think Dan? I felt that the storm is a bit overkill, next to LSi15. But, they are very musical sub.On SACD materials, it is very apparent that the low end became very defined and punchy

...check this out, the sales guy actually giving kudo to Polk LSi series. It's almost funny that they felt the decision to not carry Polk start haunting them. He mentioned that they lost some Klipsch business to LSi convert...interesting huh....