Which one to go for : Rel HT1508 Predator, SVS SB3000 or Rythmik (small form factor)

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Nitin K said:
Hi Friends,

I needed your advice on this. I know that auditioning is the best way to go but due to the ongoing covid conditions, it may not be possible to do that.
Currently I am having the SVS PC 2000 & I am very much satisfied with it for movies & it's decent for music though may not be like a sealed sub.
Although it occupies very less floor space it is tall & is big for the room (14 feet L X 11 ft W X 11 ft H.)

Hence I would be going for a sub with a smaller form factor & reasonably light in weight (less than 35 kgs) to shift it just in case (looks like age is catching up). The above mentioned subs are on my list & I am open to other brands as long as they sound good for movies & music as my preference for both is 50:50. I don't mind sealed or ported as long as they sound good for both. I do understand I may not get the best of both but somewhere close is also fine.

I know that the SB 3000 would go much lower down but I am assuming that the quality & articulation of the bass in the Rel may better( I may be wrong on this). Hence I don't mind sacrificing low frequency extension for that. I have heard a lot of good reviews about the Rythmiks, but the good ones seem big & heavy. If there is a smaller one which can pressurize the room size then great. The above subs are in a similar price bracket. Thank you.

Regards,
Nitin
Click to expand...
If you are looking for compact size factor , i think Golden Ear Forcefield-5 12" sub would suit your requirement. Its neither sealed or ported , it uses passive radiator technology and looks compact ,and it has powerful amplifier too. As per reviews it seem to beat SVS subs in the same price range.

They have super sub modles also (two 12" sub) + passive radiator. If you have budget you can also check this.

You can also check about this Sub. PM me if you are interested, i am also considering this sub for its compact size and powerful amp + radiator design.
 
edjamesx said:
If you are looking for compact size factor , i think Golden Ear Forcefield-5 12" sub would suit your requirement. Its neither sealed or ported , it uses passive radiator technology and looks compact ,and it has powerful amplifier too. As per reviews it seem to beat SVS subs in the same price range.

They have super sub modles also (two 12" sub) + passive radiator. If you have budget you can also check this.

You can also check about this Sub. PM me if you are interested, i am also considering this sub for its compact size and powerful amp + radiator design.
Click to expand...
Hi Edjamesx,

Thanks for the suggestion. With no disrespect towards Golden Ear, I would suggest you to be wary of the specs going down to 12 Hz with a 1500 watts which actually is peak. I may be wrong but I doubt whether it could actually go so low with the required amount of output & distortion.
Few years ago I had a Definitive Prosub 1000 with a passive radiator (The Definitive founder has started Goldenear) which had tall claims but had nowhere near the PC2000 output(not a fair comparison in totality since the driver size, cabinet size & amplifier of both were different). For me, the SVS delivered the goods. Anyways I may be wrong here about this Golden Ear sub but the specs still don't look convincing & I would suggest to hear & compare them first before buying it.

Rgs,
Nitin
 
Last edited:
Nitin K said:
Hi Edjamesx,

Thanks for the suggestion. With no disrespect towards Golden Ear, I would suggest you to be wary of the specs going down to 12 Hz with a 1500 watts which actually is peak. I may be wrong but I doubt whether it could actually go so low with the required amount of output.
Few years ago I had a Definitive Prosub 1000 with a passive radiator (The Definitive founder has started Goldenear) which had tall claims but had nowhere near the PC2000 output(not a fair comparison in totality since the driver size & amplifier of both were different). For me, the SVS delivered the goods. Anyways I may be wrong here about this Golden Ear sub but the specs still don't look convincing & I would suggest to hear & compare them first before buying it.

Rgs,
Nitin
Click to expand...
Yes its true . The power wattage mentioned there is peak power ,1500 watts. I think , in terms of rms it may be 700 to 900 watts.

Irrespective of that it has good reviews + price vise its far less compared to SVS. One may go with dual Sub if one does not do well.

Review:
hometheaterhifi.com

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review
hometheaterhifi.com hometheaterhifi.com

Below is the comparison between svs and golden ear sub
 
Last edited:
edjamesx said:
Yes its true . The power wattage mentioned there is peak power ,1500 watts. I think , in terms of rms it may be 700 to 900 watts.

Irrespective of that it has good reviews + price vise its far less compared to SVS. One may go with dual Sub if one does not do well.

Review:
hometheaterhifi.com

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review
hometheaterhifi.com hometheaterhifi.com

Below is the comparison between svs and golden ear sub
Click to expand...
Sure, thank you.
 
Nitin K said:
Sure, thank you.
Click to expand...
Golden Ear Sub also lacks some of Room/Parameterized EQ features -where as SVS /XTZ subs have these features. Not sure how much its helpful , i have seen from forums some people always turn off this feature. My earlier subs too dont have this feature .

Considering a budget option, Golden Ear Sub seems to be good deal for me :) . SVS/XTZ / REL going out of my budget.
 
Nitin K said:
Hi Friends,

I needed your advice on this. I know that auditioning is the best way to go but due to the ongoing covid conditions, it may not be possible to do that.
Currently I am having the SVS PC 2000 & I am very much satisfied with it for movies & it's decent for music though may not be like a sealed sub.
Although it occupies very less floor space it is tall & is big for the room (14 feet L X 11 ft W X 11 ft H.)

Hence I would be going for a sub with a smaller form factor & reasonably light in weight (less than 35 kgs) to shift it just in case (looks like age is catching up). The above mentioned subs are on my list & I am open to other brands as long as they sound good for movies & music as my preference for both is 50:50. I don't mind sealed or ported as long as they sound good for both. I do understand I may not get the best of both but somewhere close is also fine.

I know that the SB 3000 would go much lower down but I am assuming that the quality & articulation of the bass in the Rel may better( I may be wrong on this). Hence I don't mind sacrificing low frequency extension for that. I have heard a lot of good reviews about the Rythmiks, but the good ones seem big & heavy. If there is a smaller one which can pressurize the room size then great. The above subs are in a similar price bracket. Thank you.

Regards,
Nitin
Click to expand...
You could also look at the SVS 3000 micro which has a small footprint
 
edjamesx said:
Golden Ear Sub also lacks some of Room/Parameterized EQ features -where as SVS /XTZ subs have these features. Not sure how much its helpful , i have seen from forums some people always turn off this feature. My earlier subs too dont have this feature .

Considering a budget option, Golden Ear Sub seems to be good deal for me :) . SVS/XTZ / REL going out of my budget.
Click to expand...
Exactly what is the price point for Golden Ear sub? And is it available in Bangalore?
 
Hi Nitin K,

For PC2000 let me know for the resell. I am in Mumbai and I am looking for one. (9833912380)
 
Recently one of our friend sold PB3000, it was extremely good. Due to relentless complains from neighbors in Mumbai. he sold it last week. The sub was 1 week old. He bought PB2k Pro now and is happy.
 
edjamesx said:
Golden Ear Sub also lacks some of Room/Parameterized EQ features -where as SVS /XTZ subs have these features. Not sure how much its helpful , i have seen from forums some people always turn off this feature. My earlier subs too dont have this feature .

Considering a budget option, Golden Ear Sub seems to be good deal for me :) . SVS/XTZ / REL going out of my budget.
Click to expand...
If you are deep into room equalization then the SVS and XTZ have a lot to offer in their app.
I don't go too deep into that as I am not a very technical person in this field.
Love4sound had his XTZ 12 edge sub for sale at a good price. It's just a few days old. You can check with him . All the best for your search.
 
Before you blow another lac (or few) on a new sub woofer, why not try blocking the port with old sport socks and see if it helps. Just ensure its a fairly tight seal. The PC2000 maybe old but it is a fine sub woofer for movies and music that you should not need another one. Unless your preferences have changed and you prefer the sound of a sealed enclosure unit.

Not an apples to apples comparison. I tried the old sock trick on a KeF iQ9 (now sold) several years ago and it sorted all my bass concerns from this speaker. Not that these KEF's play super low. I just could not give it up as its other qualities such as highs and midrange were so good that I did not want to even look at another speaker. Not only did it drop some of that excess bass which I did not need for my room, it also tightened it up.
 
sandeepmohan said:
Before you blow another lac (or few) on a new sub woofer, why not try blocking the port with old sport socks and see if it helps. Just ensure its a fairly tight seal. The PC2000 maybe old but it is a fine sub woofer for movies and music that you should not need another one. Unless your preferences have changed and you prefer the sound of a sealed enclosure unit.

Not an apples to apples comparison. I tried the old sock trick on a KeF iQ9 (now sold) several years ago and it sorted all my bass concerns from this speaker. Not that these KEF's play super low. I just could not give it up as its other qualities such as highs and midrange were so good that I did not want to even look at another speaker. Not only did it drop some of that excess bass which I did not need for my room, it also tightened it up.
Click to expand...
Hi Sandeep,

Thanks for chipping in. I have absolutely no issues with the amount of bass or the type of bass the PC 2000 gives out.
Infact I am very happy for the way it performs for movies and music for my tastes.
The issue is the size as it is big for my room. If I had a bigger room, I wouldn't have sold it in the first place. Infact I had booked the PB2000 but since the depth and weight was quite a lot, I opted for the PC where floor space was much less. A bigger room will do justice to this sub and I need something smaller for the room.

Rgs,
Nitin
 
Nitin K said:
Hi Adeep,

Thanks for the advice. I am getting the Rel at 1,35k inclusive of GST.

For SVS, I have not yet asked the latest price. Assuming it may be around 1,40k when I had enquired quite some time back.
Click to expand...
I would go for the Rel Predator any day of the week.

Cheers..
 
Hi friends,
Took the leap and went for the Rel Predator 1508. It got delivered to my place yesterday evening.

Firstly, I would like to thank the fellow members for the advice and suggestions given to me and HifiVision for helping to sell my previous subwoofer to make things happen.
I would specially like to thank Mpw(ex member), Prateek (ATAS), SijuSid , Vivek Batra and Jim ( non member) for taking a lot of their valuable time in reaching out and helping in taking a decision.
It's unboxed, but need to calibrate it. Bigger and heavier than I anticipated as compared to the SB3000 but top notch build quality and finish. Let's see how it goes.....
 
@Nitin K you bought a bigger sub!:D
I don’t think you can go wrong with REL for quality lower frequency reproduction.
I do look forward to your first impressions of how the Rel Predator 1508 sounds.
 
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