Subwoofer suggestions
- Thread starter sujithblaze
- Start date
pkhammu2005
Active Member
Which brand u r looking at?
Considering the room size, the best fit looks to be SVS SB2000, it is above budget, but it can go deep to 19Hz.
Price is way above the budget, but if you can stretch, it will be a good buy compared to Polk HTS10, or other ported subwoofers
SB1000 may not be able to give you that deep bass you are expecting.
Price is way above the budget, but if you can stretch, it will be a good buy compared to Polk HTS10, or other ported subwoofers
SB1000 may not be able to give you that deep bass you are expecting.
You’ve raised a valid point. Lots of port noise at lower frequencies when you pump the volume in the yamma. I have both the yamma and a REL t9i which have the same driver size and the REL is ever so slightly smaller than the yamma with rated bass extension at only 28hz but it does not distort even when you pump the volume much above the yammas. Guys, if you havent heard a REL, at least give it an audition before you settle for something else. I chose the REL over the XTZ 1x12 though they were priced exactly the same and despite output of the XTZ being much higher. No dount, the XTZ is a brilliant sub in its own right but you havent heard how sweet bass notes can be till youve heard a REL. Again, very different applications but anyone whos inclined towards music should try out a REL which is no slouch for movies either.
Agreed. I recommend the yamaha too for music at this price. I got my yamma for more or less the same price and was quite content with its performance to price ratio even after having heard an XTZ 1X12, SVS PB3000, XTZ 10.17 and a Q acoustics QB12(which is again rather brilliant for the price at 47k). But they were all about more output (the Xtz 1x12 did deep bass rather well whereas the PB3000 was all about slam, both perfect for movies). Than i heard the REL and it has rendered my Yamma entirely redundant. The innate musicality of the REL is truly unparalleled (yet to hear a Rhythmik Sub so take this comment with a pinch of salt) and the yamma only ends up muddling the sound.
If you have a space issue, try out the REL t9i or the t7i. They are extremely compact. I know this is my third comment on the same lines but its only been 2 weeks since i got the REL and i still cant get enough of it. Im rediscovering my entire music collection with the RELs and the last time i had so much fun (and amazement) with loudspeakers was after i got the KEF Q350s (which still gets my foot tapping more than my wharfedale evos or the quad s5). Also, with limited placement options, it becomes difficult to integrate the sub with your speakers and get the optimum output as well as even bass distribution throughout the room while avoiding dead spots. The REL acts like room treatment as no matter where you place it, you’ll get more or less even bass distribution everywhere ( im not sure of thats an effect of the downfiring driver since this is the first downfiring sub i have ever heard and lived with). It is also extremely easy to integrate with your speakers, so much so that the crossover point becomes entirely inaudible and seamless and the bass sounds very much an extension of your loudspeakers. Guys, check out the reviews by Thomas & Stereo, Zero Fidelity and Next Best Thing Studio about the RELs on youtube. They explain it better than i do and after hearing it, i can relate to each and every bit of what they were on about.
Me too. I’ve lived with it for 2years and its a great sub for a small space (though i have it in my relatively largish living room). But if you can stretch to 47k, get the q acoustics qb12. It beats the yamma hollow and its a sealed design so port noise is a non issue.
I concur wholeheartedly. For 26k, its a steal deal.
The EQ function is useless. Whether its movies or music, the switch is best left at movie mode. But it does have a host of connectivity options including a high level input and the auto wake/standby function is pretty good. Another great thing about the sub is that is has the volume and power knob up front at the top so its very convenient to adjust.
Not when you choose a REL. it integrates seamlessly with each and every speaker i have though they all sound wildly different. For reference, the quad s5 has a ribbon tweeter, a mid range driver, two drivers for low end and three passive auxiliary bass radiators in the back(all drivers are kevlar), the wharfedale evos have air motion tweeters (AMT) with a soft dome midrange driver and a bass driver (kevlar) with downfiring port. The KEF Q350 has a metal dome tweeter with an aluminium mid bass driver. The Boston Acoustics A26 is a more coventional design inasmuch as it has a soft dome tweeter and a ceramic/glass fiber woofer. Lastly, the Altec Lansing MX5021 has a horn loaded tweeter and a polypropylene mid bass. All of the above blend seamlessly with the REL (dare i say any REL with ta high level speakon neutrik connector?) with slight adjustments to the crossover and gain depending on the characteristics of each speaker. The magic is the high level input and the best part is that you can have the LFE connected for home theatre applications and it’ll still reproduce the bass of the front LR channels seamlessly. Hopefully, i can attach a REL to each of my speakers someday for a complete HT setup.
@DB1989 first of all thank you for all the reviews/opinions and responding to all the comments, enjoyed every bit of it...After reading all your posts I am now ready to sell one of my kidneys to buy a REL sub.Now I am no more looking at an NS300...
REL, REL...REL....
Where did you purchase it from? How much do I have to save up to get a 10"one?
By the I am amazed at the collection of speakers that you have... Obviously the KEF 350 seems to be your favourite. How do you like the BA A26? Which amp are you using?
REL, REL...REL....
Where did you purchase it from? How much do I have to save up to get a 10"one?
By the I am amazed at the collection of speakers that you have... Obviously the KEF 350 seems to be your favourite. How do you like the BA A26? Which amp are you using?
Ha ha... sorry guys, i guess i got a little (read 'a lot') over enthused about the fact that you guys were discussing the NS300 (which was my pick till a couple of weeks back as the VFM king). I got my REL T9i for 79K which I believe was a damn good price considering it was much cheaper than both current UK and US prices. As to where i got it from, I have a dealer in Delhi who usually gives great prices on Marantz amps and Q acoustics speakers (for that matters, most gear). The BA A26 is fantastic for the price (i got it for 14K from Amazon) but is outdone by the newer crop of 20-30K speakers which include the 3020i which is an absolute no brainer for 22K (I havent personally heard the PSB Alpha Series but i've heard great things about those as well). The amps that I'm currently using are a Marantz PM6006 and a Marantz SR6013. They are woefully underpowered for my Quad S5s which require a good deal of power to excite the bass. I'm hoping to get a NAD C275BEE power amp very soon though I'm going in blind cuz I've never heard it. Would really appreciate some inputs for a good power amp or integrated around the 75 - 1.2 range.
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BTW, the Quad S5s are my favourite as the stereo imaging, vocals and detail retrieval are phenomenal (listening to Yoshi Horikawa through them is a goosebump inducing experience). However, whenever i have guests over, i put on the KEFs cuz they have that pleasing foot tapping musicality, depth to the sound and a big soundstage (though the Wharfedale evos are even better with soundstage) whereas the Quads are rather analytical and sound underwhelming when a person is not seated in the "listening position".
You didn't mention which amp you are using and where you purchased the REL sub from. I found the RELs are way beyond my budget as I searched for it. Tell us more about your components. The way you have described the q350s I feel that is the speaker I should get, I too like to listen to foot tapping music. But I think these too will be beyond my budget. Do you know of any other speaker at lower price points which have similar characteristics??
alphacentury100
Well-Known Member
Hi,
People here have given you good suggestions and have shared their experiences. It will definitely help you understand a lot about AV gears.
But just dont presume anything before auditioning and make any blind purchases because not every persons ears and brain are same so different people hear differently and their brains will interpret the received signals differently.
There is no one good Subwoofer in this Industry. One persons favorite sub may be another persons worst sub.
Of course the REL makes good subs but not every one may prefer the sound of the Rels. Some people comment the Rel to be lean sounding. Some people even prefer distorted bass to clean bass.
One of my AV friend sold his legendary Rythmik FV15HP and after few days, the buyer did not like the sound of the Rythmik and choose the BIC PL200 over the FV15Hp's distortion free flat response down to 16hz and below sound and hence he returned it.
So, Get advice from all the experts here and at the end of the day, audition as many subwoofers as you can in all the price range. Who knows, you may like the Rel or may not.
AV gears are like girls, some like them voluptuous and some like them muscular and some prefer tall and some short and the difference in preferences goes on.....
"AV gears are like girls, some like them voluptuous and some like them muscular and some prefer tall and some short and the difference in preferences goes on....."
Great way to describe the bass.
I totally agree. Bass is so very subjective. An audiophile will prefer a REL or a Rythmik. But most of the common listener will prefer a little boominess with the bass gear. Audition is the best way to find out what you like the most.
Just like, you can't select a life partner by seeing the insta-posts or fb shares. You need to date, spend time together, to understand the person and to fall in love. The person who is obsessed with REL/Rythmik must have fall in love by spending time, understanding the character of it. Good sounding speakers are just like "love". Go and date some subwoofers, you'll get your soul mate.
Great way to describe the bass.
I totally agree. Bass is so very subjective. An audiophile will prefer a REL or a Rythmik. But most of the common listener will prefer a little boominess with the bass gear. Audition is the best way to find out what you like the most.
Just like, you can't select a life partner by seeing the insta-posts or fb shares. You need to date, spend time together, to understand the person and to fall in love. The person who is obsessed with REL/Rythmik must have fall in love by spending time, understanding the character of it. Good sounding speakers are just like "love". Go and date some subwoofers, you'll get your soul mate.
Thank you so very much for taking time and explaining everything so wonderfully. The last part was a delight...even in such cases too people long for an upgrade....
Now the sad thing is the place where I live is devoid of any opportunity for an audition. To make things worse i don't find a single soul with such audiophile afflictions to listen to another system. So auditions are only a dream. I haven't heard a stereo system other than my own in my life till date!!!!
dazzwilliams
Active Member
alphacentury100
Well-Known Member
Boys will be BOYSI see
alphacentury100
Well-Known Member
We all love to upgrade ( I just meant the speakers)
Since audition is difficult, you will have to make a blind purchase. Of course we all have made blind purchase at least once and the outcome was sometimes rewarding and sometimes an expensive lesson. Of course that is part of the AV life.
I will just explain the characteristics of some subwoofers (These are just my perception). Hope you get some clarity.
SVS: Very good for movies and average for music.Thick and heavy sound with lot of bottom end and average midbass. Has a lot of features and impeccable after sale support and warranty but pricy compared to the US price.
RYTHMIK: Very good for music but will be behind the SVS for movies. A bit lean sounding compared to the SVS but has even more bottom end than the SVS and can even reach 12.5hz with authority but the midbass strength varies based on the model. Very musical and very fast and tight but some people may need getting used to the sound of it to like it. Good built quality like the SVS but less feature rich compared to the SVS. The price was good but the recent hike (The price got increased twice in India during 2020 even though the International price had no change) in the indian price has taken it closer to the SVS in terms of price, which is a disadvantage as SVS has already been well established in India and no other brand until now can match the customer support provided by the svs.
REL : IF you are a 100% music guy then this is the sub most of us will recommend you until you can get a pair of Seaton Submersive HPi or a pair of Funk Audio Subs. Very nice mid bass, but very poor bottom end. Very good for music but not recommended for movies. Very fast and clean sounding. Their pricing is also in pair with the international price. Well built and very very beautifyl. Got decent features like High level input. But a remote app would have been great. Will have less placement issue as its lowend isn't that strong.
XTZ: These subs bas a bit of both the worlds. Decent Bottom end but not comparable to SVS or Rythmik. Midbass is also decent. Not so clean as the Rythmik or fast as the REL but a Jack of all trade. Pricing is also good. Recently they have launched Sealed dual opposed 12" 1000W sub, which may be more musical (just my prediction). Have also lauhcned a 15" ported model to compete with the big boys like the SVS and Rythmik.
Velodyne: Good for both movies and music but extremely over priced.
BIC: Good sub for beginners. Good value for what you pay. Will give you a taste of what HiFi subs are all about. Any person without exposure to highend sub will love this sub. Does every thing well for the money.
Hope it helps.
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