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

13

Comments

  • Irrenhaus
    Irrenhaus Posts: 1,082
    Polkie2009 wrote: »
    That Rythmik Audio F25 sub is a total beast ! What size room do you have it in,lol?

    Is about 13X19 with 8ft ceilings.
    HTAVR-Pioneer SC99XPA-DR3 Differential Reference AmpPolk R-700Rear- RT150Side- RT150Center-CSi5Sub-Rythmik audio F25Player- Panasonic DP-UB9000Projector- Optoma CinemaX P2Screen- Silver Ticket Products STR Series 6 120"Audio Room 2ch rig.Cary AE-3, Onkyo M-504, Marantz SA8005, Azur 851NWharfedale - Linton, SVS SB12-NSDMinis Forum PC (streamer) and Panamax MX5105Headphone rig;Schiit JOTUNHEIM and different headphones.Samsung 42" flat screen TV.
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Oh yea, that baby is hitting hard! ;)
  • jb5200
    jb5200 Posts: 10
    I have owned and heard a lot of different subs - JL Fathom 112, SVS SB13 Ultra, Klipsch Reference, Velodyne are some of the more known subs. Nothing even comes close to a DIY sub. One of the best subs on the planet in my opinion is the TC Sounds LMS 5400 Ultra, however they are extremely expensive and heavy (90lbs just for the driver).

    I went from the SVS to the TC and SVS was not even in the same league - it was so boomy, muddy, bloated, etc. to the TC and the harder you drove the TC the more it laughed at you!

    If you go to the Data-Bass website you can compare the driver specs and very few subs will best it and if they do they cost a minimum of 4x the price, such as the Paradigm listed above.

    The people that win car audio shows use TC Sounds. Unfortunately TC just went out of business but you can sometimes find them here and there for sale!
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    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.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    jb5200, I got TC Sounds confused with TC Electronics . Used to see some of the TCE gear in recording studios, exceptional quality gear. What happened to TC Sound?
  • adabro
    adabro Posts: 212
    I went from a PSW12 to an SVS pb10-nsd - money well spent....
  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    edited November 2015
    I went from two mid-fi 12" Sonys, to the SVS PB-2+. The Sonys have usable output down to about 22Hz. The PB-2+ ports are set for 16Hz. After calibrating everything, my Sister and I were watching a movie, I forget which one, and she asked me why the floor was moving. I had smile from ear to ear. I knew the SVS would kick butt for the LFE channel, but I was also amazed how it augmented certain tracks when I have the system in two channel mode.
    The Sonys are still flanking my 2As. I plan on connecting them to the center channel pre-out.
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
  • 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.

    12310415_10153429027324401_877220367568167376_n.jpg?oh=154242e076c59db3a132ad580cdf55bb&oe=56D4C7C5
  • seabeerob213
    seabeerob213 Posts: 1,840
    edited December 2015
    Went from a little Phillips Magnavox computer speaker sub, to a psw 110, to and rbh 1010 sep, and the Polk was great while it lived, but the 1010 is just awesome.musical, digs deep, just sounds awesome with my monitors
    2 Channel(work in progress):DAC: Schiit modi 2 uberAmp:Parasound 1200 MK IISub:RBH 1010-SEP Speakers: Monitor 5A peerlesscurrently running some krk rokit 3g since the HK pre outs died and i need to start breaking everything down to move in a couple monthsHeadphones:Source: tidalDAC: schiit modius epre: schiit sysAmp: AQ dragonfly black/ schiit magni2 Cans: Velodyne V-True, Grado SR225i, sennheiser x drop gaming headsetPC:DAC: schiit modius e(over spdif)pre: schiit sysspeakers: prenous eris 5 xtSub: Earthquake Sound MiniMe-P63most of my comments are passing on of info, im a noob, im just trying to help how i can, if im wrong or out of place to comment, dont hesitate to let me know :)"WITH WILLING HEARTS AND SKILLFUL HANDS, THE DIFFICULT WE DO AT ONCE, THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A BIT LONGER, WITH COMPASSION FOR OTHERS. WE BUILD - WE FIGHT FOR PEACE WITH FREEDOM"Seabee Memorial, Arlington, VA
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    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.

    12310415_10153429027324401_877220367568167376_n.jpg?oh=154242e076c59db3a132ad580cdf55bb&oe=56D4C7C5

    This will be a massive build, you're going l o w_________. :) Bowel shaking earthquakes, of doubt and remorse.... :)
  • dizzy
    dizzy Posts: 91
    I went from a PSW10 to a Paradigm dsp 3200. Huge difference. I don't know if the Paradigm falls in the list of high end or not. Probably not. I may be in the market for a better sub. No idea which one though.
    Pioneer sc-07
    center-CSi5
    fronts-RTi8
    Surrounds-Polk FXi A4
    sub-Paradigm DSP 3200
  • When I purchased my first 2B SDA speakers in the late 80's, I picked an Infinity SSW-210 (dual 10 inch woofer) to go with them from HiFi-Buys in Atlanta. It's is still in use today. The wife was not fond of it and she is gone now.
    "Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"


    Harry / Marietta GA
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,638
    The wife was not fond of it and she is gone now.

    Sig material right there...
  • Polkie2009 wrote: »
    This will be a massive build, you're going l o w_________. :) Bowel shaking earthquakes, of doubt and remorse.... :)

    Most people have no idea. :)

    1009915_10153507642639401_5548938982980017942_n.jpg?oh=fec36855fe5c99fd3bb81231ffb4bcad&oe=5745C7F6
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,638
    Polkie2009 wrote: »
    This will be a massive build, you're going l o w_________. :) Bowel shaking earthquakes, of doubt and remorse.... :)

    Most people have no idea. :)

    1009915_10153507642639401_5548938982980017942_n.jpg?oh=fec36855fe5c99fd3bb81231ffb4bcad&oe=5745C7F6

    Dayum.. Details please...
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    4 18"'s , yep, that looks like a massive alter of dispersion. :D
  • MetropolisLake
    MetropolisLake Posts: 128
    edited January 2016
    la2vegas wrote: »
    One question, where's the forklift you used to move that behemoth? Very impressive.

    I had to bring it in a piece at a time. :) There are two cabinets that house two subs each, they weigh 140 pounds each by themselves before hardware like insulation, wire, terminals, etc. Had to bring a friend over and get those in. 280 or a little more for those, add nearly 50 pounds each for the drivers, just put those in once in the room. The granite is probably about 300 pounds based on 18 pounds per square foot, but I got them to cut it in half, plus they sent two guys out who move this stuff every day out to bring it in. If you consider the amps as well altogether my sub setup probably weigh 800 pounds. Except that's not counting the two in the back from my old boxes, going to run two more nearfield firing into the seats, don't have drivers right now but when I do it will be over 1,000 pounds total.
  • Dayum.. Details please...

    four ultimax 18's, cabinet grade double-refined MDF cabinets that are heavily braced, "absolute black" granite from Sweden on top, after displacement a little over 4 cubic feet each driver, filled with R-19 insulation, did have a Crown 2502 on them but I already blew it up, should have a Speakerpower 4,000 watt amp soon.
  • K_M
    K_M Posts: 1,627
    We have owned almost a dozen subs over the last 15 years, and the one that we can not bear to get rid of for how it sounds with music, is our vintage Polk Audio PSW1000.

    Not the final word in loud movie bass at all, but as far as music goes, he and I agree it is the only one that works well in our main listening room and does music really well.
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,521
    I bet those pups can produce a brown note from h*ll. LOL
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
  • Jaybeez
    Jaybeez Posts: 737
    Just replaced a PSW404 with a Rhythmik F12SE. This is for my 2 channel system. Night and day difference. Still have a bit of tuning / set up to get it perfect, but so far so good!
  • MetropolisLake
    MetropolisLake Posts: 128
    edited March 2016
    steveinaz wrote: »
    I bet those pups can produce a brown note from h*ll. LOL

    115 db at 12 hz. It rolls off a bit below that in my room before coming back up and leveling off, not sure why, but at the theoretical "brown note" frequency, which most people tend to consider to be 7 hz since France tried to weaponize it many years ago, it's probably at least 110 db. At this frequency and output, it slams two heavy solid core doors back and forth and rattles the doorknobs pretty good as if somebody is trying to get into both of them. When running sweeps I usually just start at 12 hz because of these issues.
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Hehe, that's moving some air there. :D
  • Geoff4rfc
    Geoff4rfc Posts: 2,116
    My experience was that of "Oh yeah, I have a REAL theater now".

    I went from an Onkyo 12" entry level sub and an Energy 10" sub. Both would bottom out regularly.

    Then I got a single Epik Empire, wow, what a dif.

    Eventually I got a second and have had both amps replaced, and like Polkie, I'll most likely add two more from PSA.

    When my oldest step daughter would bring her friends over after school to check out the Tron Legacy demo, I'd dial all the bass settings to max, I'd hear things like, "wow, this is better than the movies" and "hey, my voice sounds funny" and "I think my insides are coming out"
    Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2

    Cables: AudioQuest McKenzie XLR's/CDP/Amp, Carbon 48/BRP, Forest 48/Display

    EXPERIENCE: next to nothing, but I sure enjoy audio and video MY OPINION OF THIS HOBBY: I may not be a smart man, but I know what quicksand is.
    When I was young, I was Superman but now that old age has gotten the best of me I'm only Batman
  • Polkaguy58
    Polkaguy58 Posts: 352
    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.

    mm5vw2o3izmd.jpg
    cwn3vnfb9hrm.jpg
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,521
    Just like a well designed tweeter gives you transparency, air, and depth---so does a good subwoofer for the low end, giving bass depth and dimensionality. (is that a word?)
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
  • ROHfan
    ROHfan Posts: 1,014
    Loving all the stories. Keep 'em coming!
    TV: 65" Samsung QLED 4K
    Fronts: Energy RC70 --- Center: Energy RC-LCR
    Front Heights: Polk RC65i --- Rears: Polk RC85i --- Sub: Power Sound Audio XS15
    Pioneer VSX-1120K --- Parasound HCA-1000A --- Oppo BDP-103
    Vincent Audio SA31 preamp --- Teac UD301 DAC
    AIYIMA Tube T7 preamp --- Nobsound 12AX7 tube preamplifier
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    I was at @SCompRacer house and we did a little demo of his HT.

    He put on Master and Commander and, while sitting in my chair, I felt my pant leg fluttering. I mentioned this, he smiled and said, "that's the sub."

    The SVS produces subsonic bass that I couldn't hear, but I could feel it. Of course, I heard it too but, that was what made me want an SVS of my very own. I still regret selling it but the 20-39PCi brought me years of enjoyment. I laughed like a child almost every time it rumbled; I think the "Darla" scene from Finding Nemo was my favorite.
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • mikeyb128
    mikeyb128 Posts: 2,885
    edited May 2016
    halo wrote: »
    I was at @SCompRacer house and we did a little demo of his HT.

    He put on Master and Commander and, while sitting in my chair, I felt my pant leg fluttering. I mentioned this, he smiled and said, "that's the sub."

    The SVS produces subsonic bass that I couldn't hear, but I could feel it. Of course, I heard it too but, that was what made me want an SVS of my very own. I still regret selling it but the 20-39PCi brought me years of enjoyment. I laughed like a child almost every time it rumbled; I think the "Darla" scene from Finding Nemo was my favorite.

    The Darla scene seems to be the standard theater demo scene. I haven't tried it in my new living room which is situated on top of my garage. The cement slab in my old basement could barely handle my dual ultras with the Darla test. :smile:

    I remember my buddy saying he felt his belly flapping. And he was off to the side, not even in the sweet spot.
    2 channel:
    Bryston 4B3, Bryston BDA3, Cary SLP05, Shanling CDT1000SE with parts conneXion level 2 mods, Nottingham analogue ace space 294, soundsmith Carmen MKii, Zu DL103 MKii, Ortofon MC 20 MKii, Dynavector XX2 MKii, Rogue Audio Ares, Core power technologies balanced power conditioner, Akiko Corelli power conditioner with Akiko Audio HQ power cable, Nordost heimdall 2, Frey 2, interconnects, speaker and power cables, Focal Electra 1028 BE 2, Auralic Aries Femto, Black diamond racing cones, ingress audio level 1 roller blocks, JL Audio E110 with Auralic subdude, Primacoustics room treatments.
    Theater:
    Focal Aria 926,905,CC900, SVS PB ultra x2. Pioneer Elite SC85, Oppo BDP93, Panamax M5400PM, Minix neox6, Nordost Blue heaven LS power cables.