Need advice on Subwoofers

[OkoPeeKee]

Can someone recommend a subwoofer that can compliment a pair of Polk Rti 10's that bottom out at 20hz. Is there something that can get down to 12hz or 15hz that does not cost $1000.00 or more? Thanks for any help you can give.

[OkoPeeKee]

I have a pair of Polk RTI 10's. They bottom out at around 20hz. Can anyone recommend a sub that can get down to about 15hz or even 12hz. Thanks!

[ManUtd]

Check out SV Sound PB12-Plus or SV Sound 16-46 PC-Plus. Both can go as low as 12Hz and can be had for less than $1000.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by OkoPeeKee

Can someone recommend a subwoofer that can compliment a pair of Polk Rti 10's that bottom out at 20hz. Is there something that can get down to 12hz or 15hz that does not cost $1000.00 or more? Thanks for any help you can give.

Hsu Research is a subwoofer specialist. All their subwoofers go below 20hz.

http://www.hsuresearch.com/subwoofers.html

There is thread on Calibrading Your Audio With An SPL Meter. It has a section on subwoofer placement and its interaction with the main speakers. It is a mistake to only worry about frequency response ratings. Read the main article in the thread. You will find it very useful.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=38765

[dobyblue]

They bottom out at around 20Hz, but for decent frequency response it's more like 35-38Hz.

Great speakers though, great high end; I'm sure you get LOTS of use out of them.

When matching with speakers like those I have to do what I normally don't do, which is recommend what I own, but given that you spend $1,000 on one pair of speakers like I do, I think it's acceptable.

The Paradigm Servo 15v2 has a frequency sweep of +/-3dB down to 18Hz, which is bested by a handful of subs, but in addition has incredibly low distortion right down to its low end of 12Hz. I have not seen any sub handle distortion at high levels of output the way the Servo can.
http://paradigm.com/en/reference/sub...-4-10.paradigm
$2200 - 15" - 1500 Watts - 114 lbs. - (Sealed, Servo controlled)

Other high recommendations:

Epik Conquest - probably the best for sheer output.
http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/ConquestOverview.html
http://store.epiksubwoofers.com/Prod...ProductCode=50
$1599 - 18" - 1000 Watt BASH - 200lbs. (Ported - front firing)

SVS PB-13 Ultra - The top of the line model from the #1 Subwoofer company on the web
http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-pb13ultra.cfm
$1499 - 13" - 750 Watt BASH - 155 lbs. +/- 3dB down to 16Hz in 20Hz mode (Ported - front firing)

Elemental Designs A7-900 - The #1 sub currently tested by Craigsub on the Avsforum.
http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=606
Hopefully the guys in the UK at AV Talk might get to take one for a spin soon too. It's always good to see the in depth results, which I prefer to the blind testing myself performed by the AVS guys.
$2,200 - 2 x 18" - 1300 Watts - 435 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Ported - down firing)

It doesn't matter which one of these subs you get. Put it that way.



Here's a look at the distortion levels on the SVS, Paradigm and Velodyne DD-15, which would also not be a bad sub in any house.

Velodyne DD-15



SVS PB-13 Ultra



Paradigm Servo 15v2

[Monkey]

check out AV123.com as well they have the MFW-15's which are supposed to be great (get a pair if you want) according to the massive craigsub thread at avs.

[JohnGalt]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

They bottom out at around 20Hz, but for decent frequency response it's more like 35-38Hz.

Very true, the spec claims a 20Hz bottom but doesn't cite the gain at that frequency so it's probably not spectacular way down there. That's not a slam on the Polks, nearly all speaker manufacturers stretch the stats quite a bit.

Even if you have good response to the 35-40 Hz range you can really improve bass response by setting your sub's crossover frequency to 60 or even 80 Hz. FWIW my mains are right around -3 dB @ 35 Hz but the best overall response from my system was obtained by sending all of the LFE to the sub and setting the crossover to 80 Hz. YMMV of course.

I'll second all of the suggestions above, there are some very fine sub mentioned. Do check out the SVS Ultras, the PB version features 20, 15, and 10 Hz tuning modes which might interest you.

[dobyblue]

Absolutely right John.

I toy with mine depending on what sort of impact I want. Sometimes I have it set to 50Hz, sometimes to 80Hz.

I don't like using the crossover on the sub...when I get the TX-NR905 I will probably toy more with the 60/70 settings. For now the jump from 50 to 80 is all I've got.

[JohnGalt]

I tried 40/60/80 using the crossover in my receiver and tried all of the speakers on large/small as well. Even though my mains are fairly capable I found that I liked the crossover at 80 Hz with all of the LFE to the sub. It just seemed to blend better there but I was also trying to move some of the load from the receiver's amp to the sub since my mains are a bit hard on amps.

[hagar852]

Does everybody know that you can't hear anything below 20hz?

So getting a sub with a low of 12hz doesn't do anything for your hearing pleasure.

[JohnGalt]

Some folks can and some can't. It's a fact that to hear sounds below 20 Hz they have to be pretty loud and the lower you go the louder the sound must be in order to be audible. See e.g., the Flecher-Munson curves of equal loudness:

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by hagar852

Does everybody know that you can't hear anything below 20hz?

So getting a sub with a low of 12hz doesn't do anything for your hearing pleasure.

Subwoofers are not made for hearing pleasure. They are made specifically for annoying "Pain In the Arse" neighbors.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by hagar852

Does everybody know that you can't hear anything below 20hz?

So getting a sub with a low of 12hz doesn't do anything for your hearing pleasure.

I remember in the 80's the tagline of Swedish porn flicks was "you don't have to know what they're saying, to know what they're doing" or something like that.

I know, that's pretty irrelevant, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.



In "The Incredibles" there are parts that hit 5Hz. Can you hear them? No. Can you feel them with a sub that hits 12Hz? Absolutely! Does it add to the overall experience of the movie? Hell yea's!!!!

Similarly in music, you can "hear" something by feeling it. When your ears stop givin gyour brain what it sounds like, the pitch of the wave is still allowing your brain to process what that note feels like, which is really another method of hearing....just ask people that cannot hear in the traditional sense.

[Beta Man]

I think this is a pretty good deal...... and I'm thinking about trading in my Def Tech for one.

http://www.amazon.com/MartinLogan-AB.../dp/B000XSFRI4

[OkoPeeKee]

Thanks to everyone for your detailed help and explainations!!

I am aware that the ultra low frequency is for the rumble and not so much for a jazz trio cd. The main reason for my original post is the understanding that there is an entire world that I am missing out on that lives in that low frequency area and I want to be a part of it.

[BinaryLinguist]

Originally Posted by Monkey

check out AV123.com as well they have the MFW-15's which are supposed to be great (get a pair if you want) according to the massive craigsub thread at avs.

Couldn't agree more.