Picking a subwoofer(s) is hard...

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I've got a pair of Paradigm Studio 60's and an HK AVR 335 receiver to drive them, now I need to figure out what I'm going to do for my subwoofer(s).

Right now just to get a reference point I'm using my parents' JBL PB12 that we've had for 5-6 years or so IIRC.

First, I was looking at this: http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-plpow2.cfm
Then I was also looking at the STF-3: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/

I'm not too worried about the frequency response of the subwoofer since I'll be watching a lot of movies and most of my music doesn't involve lots of pipe organs or anything hitting pretty low notes and so I'm looking to see if I can save a little money compared to spending $825 on the SVS subwoofer.

My main issue is that I have to power quite a bit of area, this is all in a 14 by 34 foot room with an 8.5 foot ceiling. The single JBL PB12 isn't enough power even with it's turned up pretty high.

I might look around for this slightly used: http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-plpow3.cfm

Anyone have any advice what I should look for? I have no issue getting 2 subwoofers that are $250-$300 each at all, they do need to push a nice amount of air though. I might end up getting the SVS 25-31 PC+ unless I can find some other kind of better deal.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Was it Viper GTS who had that massive, 6-foot tall, Subwoofer of Death? The one that could kill rodents in a two-block radius?

- M4H

 

[Fenixgoon]

just get an SVS cylinder series... they are godly

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
just get an SVS cylinder series... they are godly

Have you heard one in person? I haven't ever to be honest and none of the local shops carry it, obviously because it's an internet brand.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
just get an SVS cylinder series... they are godly

Have you heard one in person? I haven't ever to be honest and none of the local shops carry it, obviously because it's an internet brand.

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/animation.htm

- M4H

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
just get an SVS cylinder series... they are godly

Have you heard one in person? I haven't ever to be honest and none of the local shops carry it, obviously because it's an internet brand.

yes, my brother owns one, it's absolutely amazing

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
just get an SVS cylinder series... they are godly

Have you heard one in person? I haven't ever to be honest and none of the local shops carry it, obviously because it's an internet brand.

yes, my brother owns one, it's absolutely amazing

Which one and any idea on the dimensions of his room? See, I was trying to fit in a laptop within this budget as well, if I don't get a laptop obviously I have a lot more. I may end up getting this and then just buying the laptop later closer to the summer.

 

[envy me]

The BEST price per performance subwoofer you can get would be the Resonant Engieering XXX series which can be found here : http://www.reaudio.com/

 

[EvilYoda]

Nice Paradigms

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Nice Paradigms

Hehe, thanks, ended up getting the Paradigm's, the Klipsch sounded too "boomy" and unresponsive if that makes sense. I'm very happy with my Paradigm's, have had them for about 6 days now

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Nice Paradigms

Hehe, thanks, ended up getting the Paradigm's, the Klipsch sounded too "boomy" and unresponsive if that makes sense. I'm very happy with my Paradigm's, have had them for about 6 days now

Should've bought the 100s, I hear they're much better ^_^

hehe, but seriously, congrats!

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Nice Paradigms

Hehe, thanks, ended up getting the Paradigm's, the Klipsch sounded too "boomy" and unresponsive if that makes sense. I'm very happy with my Paradigm's, have had them for about 6 days now

Should've bought the 100s, I hear they're much better ^_^

hehe, but seriously, congrats!

Yeah, but I wanted to budget in a nice subwoofer as well, wish I had the cash for the center channel though, that would make watching movies superb coupled with an SVS sub. After I get this subwoofer I'm going to lay off buying things other than a laptop for some time, college is just around the corner and the goal is to pay for all living expenses and such myself. (everything except tuiton)

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Get the Paradigm PDR10!!

Those are pretty damn sweet.

We have them paired up to 4 Paradigm Titans and a CC170. The bass is ridiculous on that. Very crisp and clean as well. Not boomy at all.

How much were the Monitors that you got?

 

[myusername]

Originally posted by: envy me

The BEST price per performance subwoofer you can get would be the Resonant Engieering XXX series which can be found here : http://www.reaudio.com/

The XXX series is not included, but if anyone is looking for a sub, RE is going though some sort of restructuring (not sure if it's business model or product line that is changing) and has some awesome prices over the next two weeks.

http://forum.carstereos.org/showthread.php?t=56605

I didn't "Hot Deal" it because I didn't figure a lot of interest, but if someone thinks it's worth being in HD, go ahead and post it.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Get the Paradigm PDR10!!

Those are pretty damn sweet.

We have them paired up to 4 Paradigm Titans and a CC170. The bass is ridiculous on that. Very crisp and clean as well. Not boomy at all.

How much were the Monitors that you got?

The Studio 60's were a pretty penny

I got it from a local shop around here since I prefer that much more than ordering online. Plus, one of the locations is owned by the father of a good friend of mine

Pics will come as soon as I get everything setup and organized, waiting on some cables to come in so that my computer is connected to it through optical and component wiring

The issue with hearing the Paradigm subwoofer is that I won't be able to compare it in any way to the SVS unless they're side by side. I'll probably base my decision on reviews I hear unless I can find someone locally with an SVS cylindrical subwoofer. I know I'll be happy with either one though.

Edit: Price removed

 

[Fenixgoon]

I *think* this is the SVS sub my brother has (he hasn't responded to my IM)

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

wow. Thats a lot of money to spend on just two speakers.

Our entire home theater (all paradigms and a yamaha reciever) came to around that before tax!

They must be a hell of a speaker pair.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
wow. Thats a lot of money to spend on just two speakers.

Our entire home theater (all paradigms and a yamaha reciever) came to around that before tax!

They must be a hell of a speaker pair.

Well, I'll be keeping them for a very long time without a doubt, 7-8 years easily unless I win the lottery, heh. I also use them for hours on a daily basis and pretty much always have something playing so I think it's worth it.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

yeah thats true.

I just bought the paradigm home theater this past weekend....wiht hte intention that we will be using it for a long time as well. I bought it for my parents (altho i will enjoy it on the weekends! )

how do hte studio's sound compared to the lower end paradigm speakers?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
yeah thats true.

I just bought the paradigm home theater this past weekend....wiht hte intention that we will be using it for a long time as well. I bought it for my parents (altho i will enjoy it on the weekends! )

how do hte studio's sound compared to the lower end paradigm speakers?

Obviously you get what you pay for, but like many other things, the higher up you go, the greater the premium for something better. The lower end Paradigm's aren't bad at all and I'm sure your parents will LOVE them, it was a good purchase and very kind of you to do

 

[DaveJ]

FWIW, I have a smaller SVS powered sub, the 25-31PCi, in a room 13x22 with a 12ft. vaulted ceiling, and open to another 8x11x8 room. The sub is excellent, but it won't come close to reference level in that space. When I talked to SVS about an upgrade they recommended the PB12 Plus/2. Since your space is roughly equivalent in volume to mine, IMO you'd probably be better off with dual subs... Maybe you could find someone selling a set of CS subs + amp?

OTOH, you could probably build a monster sub for a fraction of the price of the SVS set...

Dave

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: DaveJ
FWIW, I have a smaller SVS powered sub, the 25-31PCi, in a room 13x22 with a 12ft. vaulted ceiling, and open to another 8x11x8 room. The sub is excellent, but it won't come close to reference level in that space. When I talked to SVS about an upgrade they recommended the PB12 Plus/2. Since your space is roughly equivalent in volume to mine, IMO you'd probably be better off with dual subs... Maybe you could find someone selling a set of CS subs + amp?

OTOH, you could probably build a monster sub for a fraction of the price of the SVS set...

Dave

Yeah, agreed, dual subs is probably what I'd be best off with, the issue I face then is price, I definitely won't go even higher in price.

I appreciate your advice and specs as well, probably the most meaningful so far because you're in a somewhat similar situation.

I have no issue building a sub as long as it can turn out nice even though it's my first speaker build. How should I go about researching this option a bit more?

 

[Howard]

PM me, Yoyoyo, Viper GTS or Viperoni or any others for info

(mainly because i'm too lazy to put info in this post)

EDIT: It probably also decreases the chances of being syringered, like with all other audio threads.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Is two subs really worth it though? I think at that point you hit the wall of diminishing returns.

You should aim for the Paradigm Servo-15 sub. The technology in that is amazing, especially if you are an EE who will learn control systems.

They have an accelerometer that measures the acceleration of the cone and feeds that back into a control system. This allows the sub to hit an insanely low 13Hz.

Not sure what hte price for it is...you may need to sell a kidney...which is fair considering that sub could possibly damage one anyway.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Is two subs really worth it though? I think at that point you hit the wall of diminishing returns.

Multiple subs even out the response, in addition to increasing maximum SPL.

Subs with feedback aren't all that rare (or difficult to implement). Rhythmik Audio has a DIY kit.

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/servo_product.htm