The Official Acoustic Audio Subwoofer Owners Thread

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Irrob

I got the black SUB12 for $179 and the maple for $120. Not sure why the maple is so much cheaper. The maple actually looks nice. Only physical difference I see between the two...the pegs that hold the front grill in place are hard plastic on the maple and metal on the black. Otherwise both are identical. And yes they are both very loud and tight after polyfil. I'm have to refinish the maple to black soon to enhance WAF.

Becaus of the metal pegs (couple of people in this thread had plastic ones arrive broken) and simple demand. Most folks want black over maple to match their equipment.

[callas01]

As far as returning items to retailers/distributors, I work for a wholesale distributor in the industrial supply chain, and I buy from Vendors and MFGs all the time. Things come in damage or broken from time to time, it is just part of the MFG process, especially with mass produced items.

The thing is with many vendors/suppliers is they feel if you are willing to pay to ship something back to them then you have a legitimate complaint and they are willing to fix or replace it and ship it back to you. They know it is an inconvience for you to ship it, and that is part of the way they know you are legitimate and not some douche.

I thought I had an issue with my AA sub at one point and I contacted DD and they got back to me instantly. He said (after the 30 days) if we cant repair it or find its not worth repairing, we will send you an new one. Personally I thought that was good CS.

[Aerodude73]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...71#post2227571 - Post# 465 ! Traitor! -- AA HD-Sub this, AA that, AA is KING, I love my AA - yadda yadda yadda...

[Schrup]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Go for the 12" subwoofer. As long as you calibrate your speakers and adjust their levels properly, there is no such thing as overpowering your speakers.

On Ebay, an offer around $30 to $50 below the normal price should be accepted. A few members were lucky enough to buy the subs really low. My guess is that the black subs are the most popular and the maple subs are the least popular. You should be able to get more of a discount on a maple sub.

Thanks Big Daddy, I score a 12" cherry one off ebay for $157. My new system does in fact lack bass, so I'm pretty stoked to be recieving this next Tuesday. I plan to set it fairly close to a corner about 2' from the end of a sectional on a pretty plush carpet. Do I need to pack it with poly-fill right away, or should I wait till it's broke in?

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

I tried this on the LOTR intro where the Dark Lord gets his hand whacked by Isuldor - where the sound visually radiates out - the driver bottomed out at medium volume. I don't have an SPL meter - don't plan on getting one - but I know what a sub should sound like. I had a JBL E150P 150w sub I gave to my son that sounded better and had better sound levels.

Just as an update to this saga - I had a Rockford Fosgate P110S4 10'' subwoofer offered to me for too cheap of a price to pass up. It was in good shape and for 10$ I wasn't going to quibble. Although its a single voice coil model and the PSW-10 driver is a dual voice coil I just brigded the amp - sort of - I doubled up the output wires and stuck them on the Fosgate terminals and turned it on. I've got it all back together and have sealed the slot so its become a sealed sub. While it will never make it as a home theater sub - it will do just fine for what I will be using it for - the bedroom sub.

I replayed the above scene again today before exchanging the drivers out and I can only describe the sound emanating from original configuration as being like the sound of a Jake Brake on a diesel truck hauling down off a steep grade. That has to be among the cheapest driver I've ever owned in any speaker outside of a few transistor radios I've owned. I'm 61 so I've heard a lot of cheap stuff.

So...I've replayed the above scene with the Fosgate driver in place - while it does not have the volume my Infinity PS212 has - and I didn't expect it to - it does very well - and sounds nothing like with the original driver - which obviously wasn't capable of keeping up and simply flapped about sort of like a large fish out of water. It had nearly the same sound as the Infinity but at much lower volume and impact.

So...there is hope for any of you that have bought one of these subs. It does music quite well. The amp runs hot - we will see what happens with that. Parts Express has replacement amps for cheap.

[bucho54]

Got my other HD-SUB10 today. Nerve racking opening the package since I had all the jack issues on the first. Luckily no problems! Now I have to build my entertainment center so I don't have a pile of equipment.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by bucho54

Got my other HD-SUB10 today. Nerve racking opening the package since I had all the jack issues on the first. Luckily no problems! Now I have to build my entertainment center so I don't have a pile of equipment.

Looks very good. Even though maple is the least popular color, I really like them.

In the future, use a picture editing program and reduce the width of the picture to less than 700 pixel so that we won't have to scroll to the right to see the picture.

[bucho54]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Looks very good. Even though maple is the least popular color, I really like them.

In the future, use a picture editing program and reduce the width of the picture to less than 700 pixel so that we won't have to scroll to the right to see the picture.

Sorry about that. Fixed.

[jonesyg27]

Hmmm. I don't understand the problems some people are having. After 2 or 3 days of break-in, my HD-SUB10 was loud as hell. I had to recalibrate it and turn down the gain on the back to below 50%. My jaw was hurting. Except for possible defective units, I tend to think it is a matter of taste. No judgment here, just preference. As for these subs not being musical, I don't listen to much classical or jazz, but I hear bass lines so much clearer now, without distortion, it's like my discs have been remixed. And movies, even TV, blows me away. Maybe I just got used to having so little bass over the years that I am odd, but I'm happy now. Happiness for $139, not too shabby.

[duneaholic]

When did you get yours?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by duneaholic

When did you get yours?

He received his sub on July 31. See posts #1751 and #1774.

[jruc03]

Originally Posted by jonesyg27

Hmmm. I don't understand the problems some people are having. After 2 or 3 days of break-in, my HD-SUB10 was loud as hell. I had to recalibrate it and turn down the gain on the back to below 50%. My jaw was hurting. Except for possible defective units, I tend to think it is a matter of taste. No judgment here, just preference. As for these subs not being musical, I don't listen to much classical or jazz, but I hear bass lines so much clearer now, without distortion, it's like my discs have been remixed. And movies, even TV, blows me away. Maybe I just got used to having so little bass over the years that I am odd, but I'm happy now. Happiness for $139, not too shabby.

I agree I don't know what the problem is with there subs defective maybe as Big Daddy has said before because mine has rocked since day one. Bass is clear and loud. Can't beat it for the price.

[Irrob]

Originally Posted by bucho54

Got my other HD-SUB10 today. Nerve racking opening the package since I had all the jack issues on the first. Luckily no problems! Now I have to build my entertainment center so I don't have a pile of equipment.

Looks wonderful! Are you going to put carpeting or a riser under your subs? Look forward to pics of your new maple entertainment center

[bucho54]

Originally Posted by Irrob

Looks wonderful! Are you going to put carpeting or a riser under your subs? Look forward to pics of your new maple entertainment center

I will be making risers, but I was going to wait until I finish building my entertainment center. I might put some carpet under them in the mean time. I will be building on to my horribly dated wall fireplace. I'm planning on putting all my equipment on the left, DVDs/Blu-Rays on the right, TV over the fireplace. After I'm done there will be no more of that 1970's brick. The fireplace will be tiled, and everything else will be wood and wood cabinets.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by kayvan79

Now I wasn’t really expecting that kind of power to come from the AA but I was expecting a noticeable difference from the HT sub I was currently using (an Aiwa 8” 150 watt thing I bought 9 years ago).

When the box arrived I was very excited to say the least. My Aiwa had only one sub connector while the AA had L+R inputs. No problems as I had the necessary wires but I decided to first try the one wire just to see the difference as BD said using the L+R would yield at minimum a 3db increase.

When I connected everything up and fired up some music that I knew had decent bass my big smile quickly faded away. I couldn’t help but remember MJ79’s thread about how he felt this thing sucked big time. I thought maybe doing the 2 wire thing would yield improved results. It did but still it was rather quiet. I couldn’t help but say “Aw man this totally blows…what a letdown.” The only other thing I thought was maybe this need to break in a bit for it to really sound good. I let it play for a while (a day or two)…and it did sound marginally better but in all honesty my Aiwa pretty much sounded as good.

Also I had to have the level and crossover knobs turned up all the way to get anything out of it. After a bit the plate amp would get really warm even though the sub wasn’t all that loud.

I thought well I guess I can live with it as it didn’t break the bank. The next weekend I just happened to go to Ultimate Electronics.

For those that are unfamiliar with this store they sell higher end stuff than Best Buy does. Probably Best Buy’s highest end stuff is around where Ultimate generally starts for comparison. Not always but generally.

While I was there I saw some of their discounted stuff. Evidently they are no longer an authorized Infinity Systems dealer so they were closing out all of their Infinity products. My original HT had Infinity Primus speakers and I was very happy with them. My car subs are Infinity actually.

I happened to see a new Infinity 12” HT sub (model PS212) for only $150.

Specs are 400 Watts RMS
700 Watts Peak
25Hz - 150Hz

The stats on the AA were better but I said well never hurts to try this out.

Took it home and plugged it in. WOW is all I can say. Now I know this isn’t some high end sub but Infinity is a respectable brand and the sound from this was like 4 times louder than the AA. (with gain at only 50%) And that was from the very beginning. It’s not even broken in yet. It was very deep with no distortion at all and for about $50 less than the AA.

I saw it on the internet stores for around $330 so I got a really good deal. Now is it fair to make a comparison between the two…..ABSOLUTELY. The amps are roughly the same and I did get them for around the same price. The Infinity plate doesn’t get anywhere near as warm as the AA does so I can only conclude the components in the Infinity are much better quality.

For what it’s worth every lady I asked which one looked better said the AA looked cooler. They then said the Infinity sounded WAY better.

I guess the AA would work well as a secondary sub. But the Infinity is plenty loud enough. Last and not least I think the Infinity’s finish matches better with my Polk Monitor speakers.

I’m almost curious to see if maybe one of the connectors to the sub got disconnected (maybe it’s only getting half the signal?) But I don’t have the time to really play around with opening it up.

At somewhat louder levels it does sound ok. It just doesn’t bump like the Infinity does…

So what do all of you think? Also what should I do with this thing?

All comments are appreciated. I added a new image gallery of all 3 subs so you can check them out.

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/ga...&folderid=2341

My experience is very similar to yours. And FWIW the Infinity PS212 is a REAL sub - I've owned one for nearly a year. The AA sub - at least the one I have - isn't much as subs go. I've heard and owned subs similar in power to the PSW-10 that I have - a JBL E150P 150 watt sub - which I never did warm up to and gave to my son. It puts out twice or more sound as this PSW-10 does - and with more fidelity - but thats not saying much. The JBL isn't noted for being a good sub.

I'm not sure what others are really experiencing with their AA subs - for me loud undefined booming noises aren't the hallmark of a good sub - good sound reproduction is - and the AA sub I own could not do that before I changed out the driver with something more competent - a Rockford Fosgate 10" single coil driver. A single bass guitar note can now be distinguished from a kick drum. The amp will also need to be changed out - it runs too hot to put my hand on for more than a few seconds.

Just as a note: I'm glad that the majority of you have found audio nirvana with your AA subs - I didn't - and the old caveat of buyer beware applies to these subs.

It reinforced my belief in the old adage "if its too good to be true".

I wonder how many people have bought these subs and have had the same experience as myself and were afraid to speak up for fear of being flamed? Which brings me to just that - flame away if you wish - but you can't change the experience I and others (see above) have had with these subs. Lousy quality control may have a lot to do with it - the fact that I haven't heard back from AA in over a week after several emails speaks volumes about the customer service - or lack of. Which is why I felt free to customize mine - they won't do anything to fix their steaming pile.

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

My experience is very similar to yours. And FWIW the Infinity PS212 is a REAL sub - I've owned one for nearly a year. The AA sub - at least the one I have - isn't much as subs go. I've heard and owned subs similar in power to the PSW-10 that I have - a JBL E150P 150 watt sub - which I never did warm up to and gave to my son. It puts out twice or more sound as this PSW-10 does - and with more fidelity - but thats not saying much. The JBL isn't noted for being a good sub.

I'm not sure what others are really experiencing with their AA subs - for me loud undefined booming noises aren't the hallmark of a good sub - good sound reproduction is - and the AA sub I own could not do that before I changed out the driver with something more competent - a Rockford Fosgate 10" single coil driver. A single bass guitar note can now be distinguished from a kick drum. The amp will also need to be changed out - it runs too hot to put my hand on for more than a few seconds.

Just as a note: I'm glad that the majority of you have found audio nirvana with your AA subs - I didn't - and the old caveat of buyer beware applies to these subs.

It reinforced my belief in the old adage "if its too good to be true".

I wonder how many people have bought these subs and have had the same experience as myself and were afraid to speak up for fear of being flamed? Which brings me to just that - flame away if you wish - but you can't change the experience I and others (see above) have had with these subs. Lousy quality control may have a lot to do with it - the fact that I haven't heard back from AA in over a week after several emails speaks volumes about the customer service - or lack of. Which is why I felt free to customize mine - they won't do anything to fix their steaming pile.

Lol - GREAT Post. And if anyone "flames" you or any others who might have an Issue with the AA's, well, that's just their problem for not understanding not everyone has Top Notch Service or Perfect equipment all the time. Glad you were able to "correct" your problem yourself. I'll be ordering my PA-120 tomorrow, although it'll take 2 or so weeks to get here (as I think many on this site have Back-logged them with orders!).

[Irrob]

Originally Posted by bucho54

I will be making risers, but I was going to wait until I finish building my entertainment center. I might put some carpet under them in the mean time. I will be building on to my horribly dated wall fireplace. I'm planning on putting all my equipment on the left, DVDs/Blu-Rays on the right, TV over the fireplace. After I'm done there will be no more of that 1970's brick. The fireplace will be tiled, and everything else will be wood and wood cabinets.

You're doing this by yourself? Impressive. Should look awesome when done. Be sure to post pics

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by Irrob

You're doing this by yourself? Impressive. Should look awesome when done. Be sure to post pics

Risers are actually not That hard to I've found (pics in my Gallery), especially with the DIY Risers thread on the site here; it gives you many different ideas, & styles to choose from. I'm a thousand miles from a "Bob Villa or Norm Abrams" from the old THIS OLD HOUSE show on PBS - & even "I" was able to make risers for my Fronts, & turn an end table into a nice high (20"+!) riser for my Sub. Home Depot or any hardware store, a few tools, some carpet, foam of some type---& you're good to go.

[bucho54]

Originally Posted by Irrob

You're doing this by yourself? Impressive. Should look awesome when done. Be sure to post pics

Thanks, I'll be sure to post pics. If you check out my HT gallery you can see a picture of the bedroom I built by myself (not contracted out). I have also built several furniture pieces over the years. An entertainment center and risers shouldn't be a problem for me. As far as projects go, it's a small one.

[sergmark]

Well I've had my sub for a few weeks now and I have no complaints. I have the settings .. The volume is a little more than half and the dog still jumps at certain times. I can't complain for the cost. I did add some polyfill and I'm happy with the tighter bass . It's in a 16 x11 carpeted room..