Allstar And The Quest For A 15 Inch Sub

[allstar780]

Dear Blu-ray.com Forum Gang,

I return to you after an extended hiatus, not to deliver advice as I am known for, but seeking yours!

*record stopping on turntable abruptly sound*


Okay, so I'm looking at replacing my Klipsch RW-12D with something a little bigger... I may keep the Klipsch to use for music as I know the 15's aren't going to be as punchy, but a buddy of mine sold me on the idea of a 15 for home theatre after giving me a demo of his (an older sub, I believe Polk, that massively out-performs my Klipsch for the "house shaker" feeling)

I have no qualms about sacrificing a whole bunch of space for a big beast, but I have a relatively modest budget of about $1000, and would like to get a great performer for less than $999.99 if possible.

I have heard some good things about the HSU Research VTF-15H, as well as the ever-popular Elemental Designs A5-350, but shipping will cost a good bit, and I'd like to explore other options from manufacturers that are available perhaps in stores or from a Canadian reseller.

Any feedback on either of the subs mentioned will definitely be appreciated as well.

All suggestions welcome!

[Adam.C]

As far as the ED sub, they include shipping which is nice.

How big is the room?

You can get 2 Outlaw LMF-1 EX's for a little over $1k right now.

Epik Empire
HSU VTF-15H
Rythmik FV15
Dual Epik Legends
ED A5-350 or maybe the A7s-450 for sealed

Those are a few off the top of my head. I'm sure other will give some good suggestions.

[Big Daddy]

This is another great alternative for you. Parts Express does not charge for shipping to U.S. addresses. I know they ship to Canda. I do not know how much they charge for shipping. Unfortunately, their site is a bit slow.

Dayton 15" Titanic Driver and 1,000 watt amplifier, Fully Assembled, $899:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-765

The above in Kit, $749.85:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-764

The 1,000 Watt Amplifier:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-809

The 15" Titanic Driver:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-420

I have a 15" Dayton Titanic driver in a large cabinet built by ED and an external powerful Behringer amplifier. Its subwoofer cabinet is the largest single driver cabinet that I have ever seen and it can easily outperform subwoofers costing two or three times as much.

Another option is to buy a custom subwoofer from Funky Waves. They are a Canadian company and sell great 10", 12", 15", and 18" custom subwoofers. They build both cylinder and box subwoofers. Call them. You may be able to get what you want.

http://funkywaves.net/catalog.cfm?item=fw_15_1
http://funkywaves.net/catalog.cfm?item=fw_15_2
http://funkywaves.net/catalog.cfm?item=fw_15_3

[Adam.C]

Nice suggestions BD. How is that cabinet that comes in that kit from Parts Express? I have been eyeing that kit from them. Just dont know how the quality and output would compare from other pre built $1k subs.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Adam.C

Nice suggestions BD. How is that cabinet that comes in that kit from Parts Express? I have been eyeing that kit from them. Just dont know how the quality and output would compare from other pre built $1k subs.

The cabinet from Parts Express is sealed and medium grade. You can add a little more bracing to it. Alternatively, you can build a sealed or ported cabinet yourself.

The cabinet that I decided to use was custom ordered from ED and they built a monster. You can read about it in Post #614 of the DIY Subwoofers thread

Dimensions: 28" Deep, 20" Wide, 25" Tall

After I completed the sub, I put it on a dolly and pushed it to the HT room next to the one of the Hsu cylindrical subwoofers that I own. The Hsu sub is large with a diameter of 23", but looked small next to the monstrosity. The custom box has a depth of 28". It may be one of the deepest sub enclosures for a single driver.

You can compare it with other large and popular subwoofers.

ED A2 - 300 Subwoofer (12"), $350:
Dimensions: W 18.00", H 18.00", D 21.5"

ED A5 - 350 Subwoofer (15"), $800:
Dimensions: W 19.00", H 25.00", D 24.75"

ED A7S - 450 Subwoofer (18"), $850:
Dimensions: W 22.25", H 22.25", D 22.25"

ED A7 - 350 Subwoofer (15"), $1,200:
Dimensions: W - 20.0", H - 28.0", D - 24.0"

AV123 MFW -15 (15"), $799:
Dimensions: (H x D x W): 23.94" x 22.44" x 18.125"

SVS PB12-Plus (12"), $1,150:
Dimensions: Approx. 25” deep x 19" wide x 21" high.

HSU ULS-15 (15"), $1,300 to $1,400:
Dimensions: 18.875" (h) X 18.00" (w) X 19.25" (d)

Hsu VTF-15H (15"), $879 (BlacK), $999: (Rosenut)
Dimensions: 25.0"(h) x 18.0"(w) x 26.0"(d)

[wormraper]

I'm just going to chime in here and add another option if you don't mind building your own cabinet and size isn't a wild factor... but folded horns might also be an option. for about $700 total including an amps you could build 2 F-20's or THT's that would be EARTHSHATTERiNG for home theater and not too difficult to build. 2 F-20's would be fairly simple and could smooth out some room nodes by having multiples (and believe me these things put out some serious power)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1329971

you can use the MFW-15 Driver floating around or this one works well in either a THT or the F-20 as well

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-190

[Driver_King]

Long time no see! Elemental Designs has a kit, if you're looking for a little project (it's not too much work). If you're looking to do less work, this subwoofer and a Behringer EP2500 (sells for around $200 on eBay) would be an excellent option. It would be over your budget by a couple hundred dollars but it is a dual 18" subwoofer...

[Adam.C]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

Long time no see! Elemental Designs has a kit, if you're looking for a little project (it's not too much work). If you're looking to do less work, this subwoofer and a Behringer EP2500 (sells for around $200 on eBay) would be an excellent option. It would be over your budget by a couple hundred dollars but it is a dual 18" subwoofer...

Both of those are great options as well!

[-DLS-]

I think if you really want 15" you're gonna have to break your $1000 budget since you're in Canada. All good options mentioned by others but after duties/taxes the least you'll pay for one of the ones mentioned is probably around $1250. With the Cdn $ dropping a bit recentl you'll still probably be closer to $1300. I know Epik doesn't ship to Canada but if they did would be nice since the Empire is a bit cheaper.

You can probably get a good 12" sub from Funkywaves like Big_Daddy mentioned. They will probably be as good or even better than some of the 15" subs. You can call them and they can custom build one to suit you needs but that might get you slightly over 1k with them as well.

[allstar780]

Wow, a lot of options! The one from Parts Express looks great but I'd want a better box for it... Ugh! So many options! Thanks everyone for the suggestions, now to toss them all around a bit and try to make some kind of decision!

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by allstar780

Wow, a lot of options! The one from Parts Express looks great but I'd want a better box for it... Ugh! So many options! Thanks everyone for the suggestions, now to toss them all around a bit and try to make some kind of decision!

agreed on the parts express box. the Titanic 15 incher is an spl monster and the amp is good and solid for it but the box is a tad week. you can EASILY build a better one with some good MDF and pl