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Vandersteen Sub woofers v Rythmik Subs

I really love the idea of the Vandersteen Subs where they are connected with the mains via extra speaker cable off right and left channels off the main amplifier, which is supposed to provide better bass transition from the mains while keeping the signature from the main amplifier. My question is with Vandersteen coming out with the SUB THREE and the price going significantly higher, I was wondering if there are other subs for less that you could integrate in the same way. (Most subs seem to rely on the line level input which is just a sub-woofer RCA going from the pre-amp to the amp on the sub). Can this same Vandersteen set-up be achieved with other subs?
I picked Rythmik since they are known (in the home theater community anyway) for being one of the best bang for the buck subs and the most "musical" of the bunch. (between Hsu, SVS, PSA).
And could I possibly achieve even greater sub-woofer nirvana since I could get an 18" for around $1500? Vandies only have 3 eight inchers.

I am a Vandersteen fanboy and I would like to support RV whenever I can, but don’t know much about my other sub-woofer options so looking for some feedback. Doesn’t even have to be related to Rythmik necessarily. If you know of other subs that can integrate the same way I want to know about it!

Thanks
bstatmeister
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
Bass room gain?? Bass is all over the map in any room but an anechoic. ±30db is not a typical.

A multi-sub system may smooth out level, but it will be a phase nightmare. Imagine a rectangular box filled with water. Drop in a pebble. The wave will bounce around dependent on wall reflectivity. Add additional pebbles and interference patterns develop in the primary wave.

Subs that connect to speaker terminals do not 'take on' the main amp character. They add their character to the main amp.

mr_m
1,900 posts
 
"Subs that connect to speaker terminals do not 'take on' the main amp character. They add their character to the main amp."

ieales,
Talk to Richard Vandersteen about that topic and he will 'educate' you.
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
No need. I can do the math.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
Certainly the load the main amp sees can influence the sound
jn a properly designed system such as Vandersteen the transfer function of the main amp is preserved, the sub amp is optimized and power factor corrected to properly drive the sub and present a fairly benign load to the main amp
most people think the sonic virtues outweigh any small math issues....
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@ieales   What cred. would you have to "correct" Mr. V.?  😯
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