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Short list of musical subwoofers

I plan to invest a "musical" subwoofer to augment the music listening experience of my current two-channel sound system. After a few digging over the acting forum and on-line reviews, it seems the following budgetary sealed (primarily) subwoofers are often mentioned and raved:

- Rythmic L12 (18Hz; sealed, servo controlled; 300 watts RMS; $609);

- RSL Speedwoofer 10S (24Hz; front ported; 350 watts; $428);

- Rel T5x (8 in; 32Hz@-6db; 125 watts; $680)

- SVS SB 1000 (24Hz, sealed; 300 watts; $450) or 2000 (19Hz; sealed; 500 watts; $600);

All above claim to have quick, accurate bass that is good for music listening. Rel, although not being able to extend to 20Hz, has been highly rated for easy integration into the sound system. I am not even sure if being able to get down low and/or the wattage of the active amp are critical to the musical application. My living room is about 25 ft wide and 20 ft deep. I do have limited budget but if others are warranted for a higher price tag in your opinion I am willing to bump up the budget. You inputs are highly appreciated.

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marty46127
4 posts
 

MartinLogan Dynamo 1600 X.  Deep, musical bass. What sold me was ARC built in plus simultaneous input input flexibility (LFE + PreOut) making it perfect for Stereo and Movies.  

erikt
256 posts
 

Rythmik sealed with a plate amp option that has the PEQ feature which offers some additional control on taming room nodes.

The continuously variable phase control 0-180degrees is another important feature - I would never buy another sub that didn't have this feature.  It made a huge difference for my room and setup for proper integration.

 

winnardt
170 posts
 

REL subs seem to be the only company/product that the majority of Audiogoners can agree on. I've never seen anything like it. Are there dissenters? Of course, but we're talking "majority" here.

classdstreamer's avatar
classdstreamer
160 posts
 

Of the subs on your list, I’ve only auditioned the SVS and REL brands, and I auditioned them head-to-head. The REL was a HT model, and it integrated so much better than SVS. Based on that audition, I went with a single REL HT 1205 in my small HT space (no room for two subs), and it was a nice upgrade over the more affordable sub I had been running.

 

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,223 posts
 

Describing a sub as "musical" is odd. Turn everything else off except the subwoofer and play a record. Does that sound musical? Aside from the sub moaning and thudding away you will also get to hear the rest of your environment buzz and rattle. The music masks it. Subs add visceral impact to the music and when used correctly unload the bass from the main speaker increasing headroom and lowering distortion. I suppose you could say they make the main speakers more musical. None of the subs mentioned incorporate a high pass filter for the main speakers so one might assume that none of them are musical.

If you are at all handy look at the subwoofer kits Parts Express sells. They are a bargain. Two of them with a two way crossover would be substantially more musical than anything above.

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