Cornwall IV and subwoofers

Lot’s of good info here. Thanks to all. My budget will flex for whatever gives best sound and integration, and will also fit in my restricted lateral space. Unfortunately, a pair of anything is not really possible, given space constraints, so I’m thinking about just a single sub at this point. If I set it to around 40hz, I doubt it will be directional. I listen almost exclusively to jazz via vinyl and don’t really need to plumb the deepest depths.

I’ve been experimenting with a 15-year old Von Schweikert VRS/1 that I’ve had parked in another system. It’s sealed, 10-in, down-firing, and won’t cross over below 50hz, so it is certainly suboptimal for the Cornwalls, though it is just right for the Merlin TSM that it’s normally used with. Still, I can readily hear the advantages of a sub with the CWs: soundstage opens up, ambience increases, music is more visceral and floats on its foundation. I’m connecting at this point via low pass, and 50hz doesn’t quite mesh to my ears, giving a bit of a hump. Volume is set just to intimate the bottom frequencies, not push them at me.

After reading around, I think I’m leaning toward a Rythmik F12 or F15. They are compact enough, especially the 12, and offer myriad adjustments. Servos get a bad rap among some audiophiles but this version of the tech gets a lot of positive comments for "speed" and musicality.

Has anyone compared Rythmik to some of the other big players like Rel, JL, Hsu, SVS? Curious how it stacks up.

Bill

Bill,

I don't think I'd high pass the CW as was mentioned above. Their bass quality down into the mid  to upper 30s is too good to mess with. I'd just roll the sub in and let it do it's thing way down low.

Oz, I'm with you. That's my feeling as well.

@wrm57 ,  FYI,  classic golden age jazz (50s-60s) is my favorite cup of tea.  And, the RELs really augment the lifelike sound that's present.  Surprisingly, even with 1950s recordings--they bolster the ambiance of the recording room.  I was playing Oscar Petersen's 1959 Porgy and Bess last night and the RELs do more than I would even expect on such old recordings. 

One more thing---

I think the Cornwall IV bass response is accurate where it exists. It's not bloated at all.  But, if you have a bigger room they may need help to pressurize it.  If you put these in a smallish room, I bet the bass end of things would sound larger than life.  My room is 15.' wide by 22' long with 10 foot ceilings.  It's big for me.