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It's funny to me you recommended RSL subs, because I have two massive vintage 12" RSL Deapthcharge subs from circa 1990 just sitting here unused. They're not "real" subs by today's standards, but sound at least as good as typical woofers on a large floorstander.
Whelp! Emotiva is out of the sub market, Klipsch killed off Jamo, and Infinity (which I was also recommended) has left the home audio market to focus on automotive. It seems decent 12" subs under $200 no longer exist.
Most of us agree that a sub would enhance our listening experience but it's totally dependant on where you live. In a semi-detached property or apartment, the one thing guaranteed to piss off your neighbour is you having a sub, as it's the bass frequencies that transmit structurally. A caveat worth considering.
By placing your subwoofer on top of an IsoAcoustic isolation stand, or any other brand name of your choice, you won't be pissing off your neighbor, plus your bass quality will be improved by getting it off of the floor by 3-4 inches...
Bean Bag chairs are now filled with memory foam chunks & make really great affordable low frequency sinks. Plus the bag is a nice microfiber faux suede & it's easy to move around. $85 for a 3 foot diameter & you can sit on them too, lol. Stack 2 in each rear corner and you should get some simple decent bass dampening.
Put it on a stand and dial it in. If you listen to music, it is very easy to do, even easier with a sealed sub. It should not bother anyone in the building. I have my two SB3000's dialed in, around 40Hz on the crossover, volume at around 43 +/- db and it fills in the music without rattling the dishes, or anything else for that matter.
Only 2 pipe organs in the world have a 64' pedal stop, which gets down to 8Hz (Midmer-Losh at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and William Hill & Son in the Sydney, Australia, Town Hall). Most very large pipe organs get down to 16Hz (32' stop). Many organs don't have stops lower than 16', which bottom out at 32Hz. Incidentally, the Boardwalk Hall pipe organ is the largest musical instrument ever built.
I've had a subwoofer since I stopped using my Altec Lansing Santana two speakers which has 12 inch woofers I would not be without a subwoofer as you say without it you are missing a lot of the music
Yes, that's why I want to visit Atlantic City. Cathedral sized pipe organs are bad ass. They were the most complicated devices ever devised by humankind up to that point.
When I was a young audio guy in the 70's, I tried EVERYTHING to improve the bass. Speakers in the corners, stuffing the cabinets etc. The only thing that helped some was a 15" woofer. But back then, who could get a beast like that?? Not to mention a lot of the old amplifiers only went down to 30Hz anyway. We had "air suspension" speakers like Acoustic Research or JBL's but it wasn't enough. We just couldn't get it down to 20. Funny thing though, if you listen to older records today, the 20Hz information was there all along. We just needed the subwoofer to reproduce it. The subwoofer has to be one greatest audio developements of all time.
Spot on, and it was so damn frustrating! I now own two SVS SB3000 subs, pairs are the only way to go. I use a 1970 vintage Sansui 4000 receiver, along with its phono stage. This Sansui gets down in the dirt in regards to bass, especially with my Zu DW6 Supremes. The Zu's go there with the Sansui, with my Parasound A23+, nothing, not even close. I sold the Parasound. That old Sansui with the pair of SB3000's is audio nirvana. I have some LP's, Blue Note offerings, recorded in the 1950's, and everything is there as you stated in those recordings... I really do not need the subs with the old Sansui, but they sure make a positive influence on the overall sound. I have them set at around 43Hz, volume around 45db... The Zu/Sansui combo, throw in the pair of SB3000's... Heaven.
@LeRoySL-nk4hpNeither one of us are speaking of movies, 20Hz, at least not myself. I was speaking about music and what a good subwoofer, or a pair of them can do for the reproduction of the sound. Many speakers on the market today do not get any where near 35Hz, much less into the 20Hz range, which is ridiculous to even mention in regards to music, at least what I listen too.. Subwoofers, to get the most out of a recording, make a tremendous amount of sense. They increase the size of the soundstage, allow lower volume listening and just make sense.
Subwoofers are a slippery slope, man. You start out with a 10" JBL, then move to a 12" Velodyne, then the next thing you know you're driving across the state to pick up two 15" Hsus... You gotta be careful.
For me is one the cheap 10 inch Polk sub, which gave me the taste, now I'm currently working towards something in the $1000 range, with a 15 inch monoprice sub, which showed me more of what I'm missing, but it's not that good.
@@spencerford11I got a Polk PSW10 over a decade ago and I've never really liked it. The cheap pair of 90's hand-me-down JVC towers I had in high school could play lower. I'm always annoyed when certain songs come on and it struggles to play low enough.
Grabbed an SVS SB-1000 (non-pro) a while ago for $400. It was transformative vs my old Dayton 12-inch sub, and half the size. I don't really miss the pro features, because I mostly depend on Dirac to tune the setup.
English is not my first language. Please forgive any errors from my translation software. Upon reflection, it becomes evident that it's not solely the subwoofer that has elevated my audio system, but rather every component I've discovered through Randy's videos - including streamers, DACs, preamps, power amps, and speakers. I extend my heartfelt gratitude, Sir, for opening up this world of audio excellence.
Well 10,12,15,18,24 inch woofers are all good and have all been done before. If you go back into the 1950's and 1960's you see a lot of 18" and 24" woofer's but the entire speaker cabinet was rated at 125W and that was with 5 way speakers. First the recording media was not that great neither where the microphones for picking and recording low freq. Second the amplifiers where not that powerful. Third they did not have the ability to make crazy bass outside of kettle drums and actual cannons that would be fired in classical music so most music was mids and highs. You always have to have some common sense in how you design you sound system to match with your desired outcome. There are rules of thumb with reguard to how much power your mids and highs should have to match with X amount of subwoofer power. It takes a lot of power for sub-woofers to over power mids and highs and again that would reflect on the owners not the speaker!
facebook marketplace is your friend! i got a klipsch spl120 that retails for $400 for $100 from a guy who hooked up his system, didnt want that much bass and just threw it in his closet.. in other words- dude was loaded and just wanted to get rid of it.. best $100 ive spent!
I have a 10in Dayton Audio & a 12in Dayton Audio subwoofer. The 10 is connected to my 2 channel stereo & my 12 is connected to my home theater system in the living room. OMG, you don't know what you're missing when you're not using a sub! I friggin' love'em!! 🤘🏻
I added in a subwoofer in 1993 when Jurassic Park came out, and when the T-Rex made the puddle ripple, I could get the same effect in my room. I had to move it not because of the subwoofer crawl but because my roommate kept complaining about having to pick his stuff off the floor that was on his shelf when Rocking the Casba.
I used a Boston Acoustic VR500 for about 20 years, fantastic for movies. Finally replaced my Boston VR30 towers and VR12 center after 20+ years with the Wharfedale Diamond 12.2's and 12.C, mostly based on your review. Replaced my sub with an SVS SB1000, the 12.2's barely needs a sub for music, but the SB1000 lacked for movies. I recently replaced the SB1000 with a PB1000 Pro, that's the ticket right there. Thanks for all you do!
Be careful because once you hear your music with a subwoofer you can’t go back and unhear it and you’ll be hooked. I had 300 powered subwoofers in the tower speakers I used for my home theater system. When I moved to a 2 channel system for just music I stuck with towers with strong bass. Then I bought a SVS SB1000 Pro and I noticed better bass. Then I bought a second one. Have one in each of the 2 front corners. The bass is awesome digging down to 20 Hz. I’m happy and hooked for life.
My polk 10" just blew up after many years of great service. i just Built one of the refer sized 4.5 cuft ported and tuned to 31 hz enclosures. I'm going to fill that box with the most beautiful 5k watt 15" subwoofer. It will see 1500 watts to start with. I completely agree with you and highly recommend subwoofers.
One of my hi-fi mentors told me that no matter how expensive a stereo system might be, you need a subwoofer. I have a semi-budget system but I paired Bowers and Wilkins 606 with a Polk PSW10. It sounds fantastic and is much fuller sound than the B&W’s by themselves.
As I said in a previous post, I have a pair of QA 3030i + yamaha A-s501. I didn't feel they need a sub. I added sub (SVS sb1000). I am now sure they didn't need a sub. The sub either doesn't matter or ruins the sound, depending on how I set it up. I am clueless of why everyone says a sub makes everything better.
Couldn’t pass up the 12in Emotiva sub at the reduced price a few months ago. Now it’s the second sub in my home theater setup. Really brings out the realism in dinosaur and space combat films.
Fun fact - a car door slamming has a fundamental frequency of about *5*Hz. And so does a canon being fired - so anyone who wants to get the full experience of listening to the 1812 Overture *needs a BIG subwoofer*.
A subwoofer is really handy even if you've only got tiny speakers that are say, 90Hz-20KHz. My cheap sub fills in that 35Hz-90Hz musical info. Get a sub with a manual crossover dial so you can fine tune it yourself. For movies I'd say a sub is essential too for that cinema OOOMPH.
Dual subs at minimum for me. Do not want them to dominate, just amazing how they fill in what you do not even know is missing. Dual RSL 12S for me and will add two 10S as well!
I have 12Ss and 10Ss.. I ended up using dual 10S for my music (everyday) listening setup over the 12S. Dunno why, but the 10S is so much better with music. 12S is far more useful in home theater
@@UTR1 I will have both the 12S and 10S in my area for music. I set mine up left and right channel and is preferred by me this way. Absolutely amazing what they add to the music!
@@patrickgeorge141 if it sounds good to you then great! I didn't have a great time with matching the two sizes, but maybe that's just my ears in this room here
Absolutely Love my dual SVS SB 1000 Pro(s) with the sound path isolation feet. Customer service at SVS is excellent. Listen to vinyl primarily. Rep at SVS guided me the whole way through with the SVS app to dial them in perfectly. Also use the SVS SoundPath RCA cables. Y splitter out if the Pre Out on my Rega Elex R integrated amplifier.
SVS SB16 here, and am considering adding a second and/or two additional smaller subs to run in stereo next to the towers. For me, the trick with any sub is to EQ them for big gain at or below 20 Hz, and greatly reduce output as frequencies rise. You get the physical impacts without the mud.
My first high end speakers - "Allison Acoustics CD9s - made great bass... as long you stood in the corner of the room like you were in time-out! Adding a sub did all the magic you mentioned to sound stage and smoothing out bass throughout the room. Great vid, Randy, Thanks!
I have 12" Sound Dynamics Sub that's to much for my studio, I wanted something to hook up to my Edifier R1850DB bookshelf speakers, so I went on marketplace and for $60 I purchased what appeared to be brand-new Polk PSW10 sub delivered right to my door no less... and litterly shakes the walls. Keep that in mind in when shopping for gear.
I noticed right away with my Klipsch SW (bought based on review here) that I don't have to listen to music at the same volume as before. With my bookshelf speakers, I had to bump up tone controls and crank volume to feel like I could hear the low end. No longer!
Once you experience your home system with a good sub there is no going back, even if only for music. I had large floor standing speakers with dual 10” woofers and thought they had great bottom end, and they do BUT after adding a HSU 15” sub I can’t live without it now. I also agree that it seems to add more depth to the soundstage as well, the trick is tuning the sub so that it does not draw attention to itself, less is more. A must for good home theatre experience and adds a third dimension to music.
Thanks for your spot-on videos! I am running a few subs (listed below) in the house right now and can agree that there is a sub out there for all setups. Dayton Audio SUB-1000 10" - desktop system, yes it makes base, but at $150 don't try to make it the centerpiece of a home theater in a large room. Emotiva Airmotiv SE12 Flex Subwoofer - this is a huge step up for the current price of $270 and includes some nice features along with enough power to fill medium to large spaces. RSL Speedwoofer 12S - family heirloom level (for me) and at $800 it should be. I can't imagine having this in an apartment.
Despite what some say, Ive been using 2 Polk PSW10's for 10+ years. While I've upgraded my towers and AVR's I've always kept these cheap 10" Polk subs. If you spend some time to equalize and tune them properly. they sound great mated with my towers.
Got the SVS SB1000 pro a few months back. I have Klipsch RP8000 F speakers and couldn’t be happier with the performance. SVS sub let’s my speakers come alive as they don’t have to hit the lows.
Same here. I have the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 and they work perfect paired with my older Polk PSW10. In my better basement system I have Monitor Audio Silver 6 floors paired with KEF Q150 surrounds, a Polk Signature Elite series ES35 which Is off for music but does a great job with hearing spoken words against a backdrop of special effects and lastly the subwoofer is a beautiful Polk HTS12. It’s all mated to an Anthem MRX500. I got everything for around $1800 (CAN$). Most used or open box items.
I own the Jamo S 810 for my office home sound, and it’s amazingly acceptable for the $150 sale price. I wish it had a more responsive auto-turn-on circuit, and it’s not going to shake things off the walls. But small footprint, pretty nice finishing, decent extension for desktop speakers…and a dry nice price…yes please!
50 years ago, I arrived at college. A few days later I was in an upperclassman's apartment. He had amt 1s and a phase linear 400. My parents had a stereo but it was a piece of furniture, I had never heard audiophile anything. The speakers were about 5' from any wall, 6' apart, toed in. He sat me down 6' back from the speakers and put on the bitch is back rather loud. It changed my life. Just moments ago I unpacked my new amt 1d legacy's. And put on the bitch is back, rather loud. God that was fun. I own about a dozen subs. These speakers don't need them. Btw, you would love the amts. They have that u shaped response you love, they're nothing like as flat as my magnepans. Not quite as clear in the lower mid range either. But a lot more fun. A lot. Not everyone needs a sub.
I put a 12" Infinity sub in my truck a few years back. It changed my life. I was inspired after riding in my nephews truck, which was set up with 3 10" Infinity subs in a box that occupied the whole back seat. Clean, crisp bass that just punched right through you, but no distortion at all. What I get out of one Reference 1252w is insane, like driving in my own concert hall. It's matched up with six other Infinity speakers in the four doors. If you want to experience the fourth dimension, Infinity will show you the way. Honorable mention for Sony's indestructible power cord!
I use two of the 12 inch Dayton Audio subs (one per channel) in my two channel system supporting my Elacs Velas. They seem to do great! I aslo have a bass transducer under my chair to augment the bass effect.
Have you ever experimented with multiple subs to make cardoid arrays? Endfire, single reverse, it can really make a massive difference to the room response……
I have a Polk PSW10 which gets a lot of hate online. I have it paired with a couple of different vintage receivers to round out the low end. I use it for both vinyl, CDs and streaming. I also will hook it up to my TV surround out system - it works perfectly fine for me. I love it.
you can always give it a little more ''pump'' , if you're using it for pc and know about VST plugins , you can tweak the same equipment to blow a hole in your roof ... a simple Zen Dac V2 usb amp , connected to a pair of Edifier R2750DB , together with some Dolby Atmos , a little reverb , some EQ , Drive , Compression , you name it , all for free i don't even feel the need For a subwoofer because i can tweak these till they Sound like a woofer
Hi. I recently got the Jamo C912 to match with the Vanatoo T1 encores. it really opened up the sound, exactly like you suggested. I couldn't get them to sound right without extensive eq'ing before. It was a fantastic upgrade. Thanks for the good advice.
My main sub for my home theater is a DIY that I built with stuff from Parts Express. It has an 18" driver and is 11 cu. ft. 300 watt RMS. Total cost was under $600.
paradiddle paradiddle, bought an RSL Speedwoofer 10sii a few months back on your recommendation and love it. It definitely fills things out and not just electronic music like you said!
As a fan of the pipe organ I am rather fond of subs. There are some old school mains designs that can handle the 16' ranks but very few that can do the 32' ranks (16Hz). Only a few organs in the world have 64' ranks. One factor is that many of the modern mains that can reach into the 30s simply don't have enough cone area.
I have a sub in my home theater system and I have one each in two separate two channel systems. I use the speaker in/out connections and take the load off the main speakers. This eliminates any possible low frequency distortion.
Bose!!! Ive an old Acoustimas red band cubes with bass module connected to an Emotiva BasX A100. Bass so tight. Great for a phone with Onkyo app with EQ connected to a Modi DAC. Just enough power for happy music and keep the neighbors sane.
We had subwoofers in the 1970's. In THX movie theaters. Going a bit earlier than the first Star Wars movie, "Earthquake" convinced me that subwoofers are important. Though honestly, nothing replicates the actual feeling of a real earthquake, sonic boom or thunderstorm.
100% agree with this. There are very few speakers that will not benefit from a subwoofer. I have a pair of Heresy IV's and it's a day and night difference.
I listen to a lot of rock music and adding a sub to my sound system was a game changer. I then added a cheap used Monoprice sub to my bedroom stereo with bookshelf speakers and it totally changed the listening experience for the better.
Subwoofer is essential for enjoying audio in Surround on Blu-ray 5.1. Immersion edition Pink Floyd Wish you were here Sounds astounding. Also 30th Anniversary DSOTM surround SACD is also a heavy benefit from the subwoofer.
I keep picking up used 10” polk subs at goodwill for $10-$30. This is a great deal. Needless to say I have 6 subs around the house in all different rooms.
When I added a Rythmik 15 HP sealed servo sub to my system at first I couldn’t tell that it was working. Then I played a track with very low notes, my room was totally energized with glorious tight bass. It transformed the entire spectrum, it frees up your main speakers and amp from power sucking bass notes!
I recently bought a pair of Wharfedale Elysian 4 speakers which go down to 28hz in room and thought i could dispense with my twin BK subs, but nope.They still add something to the sound, although I now cross them at 45hz rather than 60hz as previous.
I never needed a sub back in the day. I owned a set of cerwin vega VS120 since the eary 90s all the way up until 2012. Those speakers had plenty of clean deep bass. You dont see floor stand speakers like that much these days so you definitely need a sub.
💯 % spot on. Every system benefits from a sub and two are even better. If rich, get 3 on each side and set them up as shown in the Rel video with John Hunter.
Subwoofers sure add to the enjoyment of music and movies. However, tuning that beast can be demoralizing and make one nearly go mad. Tuning a sub to perfection is like trying to get tame a 600 pound gorilla. Just when you think - Yeah that's just right! Nope! Not right as you play the next song or during the next day's listening session. The battle can go on and on for weeks(months). My last subwoofer tuning evening was helped by watching Andrew Robinson's latest subwoofer tuning video and using his suggestions. I think I might very close to having it tuned correctly, but a day with the laptop and REW may prove my last tuning attempt was not even close. Again! I have to keep reminding myself - "This is just a hobby, not a career". Hahaha All the best folks!
Not sure what Andrew's tips were, but I use a 25-150 audio sweep I found here on youtube. Was easier (for me at least) to tell if there were rises or dips in decibels, by playing it very quietly just so I could barely hear it.
@@johnh3642 John, I also use RUclips sweeps and long single tone. They are really helpful. Since my big subwoofer issue is always with my HT system the crossovers and delays are part of the battle for may sanity. Hahaha. Hey, it can be very frustrating, but the fun is the reward. Please enjoy your system and as Randy says - "Keep listening"!
Low octaves enhance the thin sound field,if you have car sub your home sound system is anemia audio. I have duo 18's 70 hz down to 20hz. Sounds live or like a sound contest..at home
Yup, definitely needed a subwoofer to augment a pair of small ADS L300C sealed box mini satellites. Pre-sub was down to maybe 85Hz ~ anemic sound at best. Post-sub got the bass down to 35Hz in my small 18ft × 12ft room. To avoid room modes I built a sealed box 1 cubic ft enclosure for an ADS 7" bass driver powered by a Kemo M034N bridge amp. The advantage of having low bass from a sub actually allows you to hear mids and treble better, and is key to sounstage depth.
For those who strive for bass. Get a sub! It allows you not augment by adding loudness and upping the bass. The sub does it well. Makes you speakers sound better.
I listen to music while working on the computer. I connected the computer to a small ONKYO receiver. that was 10 years ago. One of my friends noticed that my ONKYO has a subwoofer output.since then I have been living on the more beautiful side of audio. it's been 4 years already
I use a sub on every serious music and home theater system system I have. Not only do they fill in the bottom end, I find that the main speakers play more clearly when you take the load of the low bass off them. Some people have a low opinion of subs, but I suspect they either used a crap sub or had it set up wrong. Common mistakes are to cross them too high and run them too hot, causing things to muddy up.
Thats always my first purchase if I'm looking to upgrade, just something about the deep bass that really adds to music. I generally go with the big honkers, had a 12inch in my dorm and house for a long time never turned up loud just enough to add to the ambiance.
I have had 3 stereo systems from the 70's to the 90's whiteout any subwoofer, and thought they sounded awesome! Now I have the Onkyo RZ TX-50 with RSL Speakers including the SpeedWoofer 10s MKII and I will never go without a subwoofer again! I agree Randy it just makes everything more realistic and full sounding. Apricate You Randy & what you share on your channel!
I moved down to TN for expanding our company and I'm currently living in a 5th wheel camper until I can buy a house down here. I have most of my audio stuff in storage, but I brought down my Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 bookshelf's along with my old (45 pound) home theatre amp.. back when Harman Kardon made decent HT amps. Anyway, I don't have the room for my SVS subs but I found a ridiculous deal on a GoldenEar SuperSub X from a guy that works at a HIFI store in Nashville. He wanted 1000 and he took 700 cash. Only used twice, and still have the box and warrantee. He ended up buying their bigger subs so he wasn't using it. It might not be the perfect application for bigger rooms or for the price, but wow does that thing shake the camper haha and it's super small! My SVS subs don't disappear like this does with the music either. Next on the list is the Emotiva amp and Preamp/DAC.. and then a house lol
I have an 8" Magnat that is down-firing, I was the one that fit next to my couch and the corner of the wall and was the only space I had available. The bass is really good being so close to my listening position that often at night (when I usually listen) I have to take it down to -6 db from the receiver.
I still say my best thrift store CD find is The Gap Band's greatest hits. Has very nice synthesized bass. Favorites of the hits are "Early in the Morning" and "You dropped a bomb on me" Been enjoying JBL Studio 590's, I guess I should add a subwoofer.
I started with dual sb1000's sent back went to dual Pb2000's sent back. Now have settled in and sticking with a single Sb3000, yep this single sub shake and bakes my room. 10'1" x 11' x 7.5' ceiling. Full 5.1.4 LG g2 65", Emotiva speakers, Denon 3800h, Basx A11 and for "me" my current itch is scratched, for now 🤪😁😂 🔊 🎼 subs were my largest change in and outs, so I agree subs make a huge difference 🔊💯💥
Generaly you setup a home subwoofer to only produce low freq. @ and bellow 100hz. In a good setup this also allows you to high pass output to the rest of your speakers taking the low freq. load off of them which normaly cleans up the sound substantialy. It also gives the amp doing the mids and highs more headroom for the remaining freq. they are ampliphiing because bass production is the hardest most demanding thing the amplifier can do.
My project for the past couple of months has been to get my series 2 Bose 901s to sound good without an equalizer. Just bought a sub off of FB Marketplace with an adjustable cut-off. I also purchased some Tweeters (not super-tweeters) from Amazon and directly connected them to the 901s. New amp and DAC, and I am declaring the project a success! They sound great.
The subwoofers I'm using now are thrift store salvage in sealed home made boxes with plenty of teddy bear fluff running on cheap chinese class D subwoofer amps. Salvaged two 8" Pioneer Andrew Jones and a 12" Bic F12. I'm satisfied.
Everything you say about subwoofers is dead-on, and your delivery and explanation is perfect. Your way of explaining things through examples and relating to everyday scenarios where a subwoofer is beneficial to the average person is excellent. I've been in to high-quality audio equipment since the age 12 years old, but I still enjoy all of your videos because they are high-quality, and entertaining, even when I'm not even interested in the product you're discussing. Anyway, thanks for all of the work you put in to your channel. I look forward to watching your videos every day.
Love the content, have to disagree with the one sub if it's for a theater set up. 2 subs evens out the bass in the room so that bass is audible in all seats equally.
A little trick to get the most from a front firing sub. Is take the driver of the sub, face it towards the wall, preferably in a corner so the speaker is facing 90 degrees (you don't want the sub facing backwards). At about 12-16 inches from the wall. The larger the sub, the further the distance. You will be surprised at the performance increase and extra "rumble" you can get instead of placing the sub conventionally. Generally best to pick a wall too that does not have a window close by. Enjoy.
Actually waiting on delivery of my subwoofer now... I bought the JBL 550P 10" sealed sub for what seemed like a ridiculously low $149.99 (including shipping). Just recently got a set of Klipsch "the Fives" to use at my desk. Correction... just took delivery... gotta go.
I’ve had the sb1000 for several years. I needed a small sub to fit between my entertainment center and my doorway area. It fit my needs for not a bad price and is plenty loud for my family movies. I feel like it’s little too deep thuddy sounding for music but that’s just my opinion. I’d like something tighter and punchier and I think that would match my def tech 800’s better.
man, i totally agree, i had a pair of wharfdale saphires hooked up to the aiyima t9pro and i had a pair of pioneer andrew jones floorstanders with a sony 2 channel stereo. I ended up getting a bose acoustimass 15 donated to me, and well i didn't really wanna hook up the satelites but i thought i would try out the sub with both setups. and wow what a difference it made. Hahah, so then i got rid of that cause well, i was told bose is a no no for audiphiles lol and well it only went down to like 45 hz or something so i ended up with a BA cr 400 and a def edition 700 watt sub both go down to 20 and 18 hz, and i ended up getting a pioneer elite 9.2 amp and now everything runs through the aiyima t9pro with telefunken tubes(given to me by an old school tube roller who had 2 sets of them, old stock and WOW it sounds amazing,) into the pioneer and wow. I am such a happy dang camper. literally the pioneer sounds more analogous and has an even wider sound scape with the tubes and the guitar just wails through the tubes, but mostly, that fat 808 analogue sound on house tracks just hits right there in the gut. Thanks for the aiyama reccomendation mr cheap audio man! i am now purchasing a decware amp thanks to your video which now put me down the black hole of tube rolling. :P
Hey Randy, this is Randy. I really enjoyed your video about subwoofers and I understand how much they help but at 68 years old I don't want to mess with one due to cost or the physical exercise in moving one around. Besides my wife is not a happy person as it is when I crank my system up with 2 JAMO S803s in the rear and running DV84s and a DV62 Center up front. Thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents...
For my main TV system I have a Polk HTS12 which replaced a Polk PSW10 (the PSW10 was added to my upstairs system which made a huge difference). The HTS12 is a huge improvements for deep base in movies that the PSW10 would waffle with. The HTS12 was worth the extra especially since I got it at half price (open box) but perfect.
Emotiva Subs bit.ly/3rnN4Le (Closeouts!!!!!)
SVS SB-1000 Pro 12" howl.me/cf7Rf5wo9ko
Jamo Subs amzn.to/46kXYzY
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Which sub would you Pick for the Elac DBR 62 ? :)
It's funny to me you recommended RSL subs, because I have two massive vintage 12" RSL Deapthcharge subs from circa 1990 just sitting here unused. They're not "real" subs by today's standards, but sound at least as good as typical woofers on a large floorstander.
Whelp! Emotiva is out of the sub market, Klipsch killed off Jamo, and Infinity (which I was also recommended) has left the home audio market to focus on automotive. It seems decent 12" subs under $200 no longer exist.
Most of us agree that a sub would enhance our listening experience but it's totally dependant on where you live. In a semi-detached property or apartment, the one thing guaranteed to piss off your neighbour is you having a sub, as it's the bass frequencies that transmit structurally. A caveat worth considering.
By placing your subwoofer on top of an IsoAcoustic isolation stand, or any other brand name of your choice, you won't be pissing off your neighbor, plus your bass quality will be improved by getting it off of the floor by 3-4 inches...
@@christopherviers8302 REL say otherwise.
Bean Bag chairs are now filled with memory foam chunks & make really great affordable low frequency sinks. Plus the bag is a nice microfiber faux suede & it's easy to move around. $85 for a 3 foot diameter & you can sit on them too, lol.
Stack 2 in each rear corner and you should get some simple decent bass dampening.
@@christopherviers8302 Yes, I use IsoAcoustic stands myself and they will help but will not suppress any airborne bass output.
Put it on a stand and dial it in. If you listen to music, it is very easy to do, even easier with a sealed sub. It should not bother anyone in the building. I have my two SB3000's dialed in, around 40Hz on the crossover, volume at around 43 +/- db and it fills in the music without rattling the dishes, or anything else for that matter.
Only 2 pipe organs in the world have a 64' pedal stop, which gets down to 8Hz (Midmer-Losh at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and William Hill & Son in the Sydney, Australia, Town Hall). Most very large pipe organs get down to 16Hz (32' stop). Many organs don't have stops lower than 16', which bottom out at 32Hz. Incidentally, the Boardwalk Hall pipe organ is the largest musical instrument ever built.
I finally have a reason to go to AC. Usually avoid that town. Would be awesome to feel those low notes
I've had a subwoofer since I stopped using my Altec Lansing Santana two speakers which has 12 inch woofers I would not be without a subwoofer as you say without it you are missing a lot of the music
Yes, that's why I want to visit Atlantic City. Cathedral sized pipe organs are bad ass. They were the most complicated devices ever devised by humankind up to that point.
I’m so lucky that I get to spend my professional life playing these magnificent instruments! I haven’t yet been to to see the AC organ, though!
Diane Bisch?
When I was a young audio guy in the 70's, I tried EVERYTHING to improve the bass.
Speakers in the corners, stuffing the cabinets etc. The only thing that helped some was a 15" woofer. But back then, who could get a beast like that??
Not to mention a lot of the old amplifiers only went down to 30Hz anyway.
We had "air suspension" speakers like Acoustic Research or JBL's but it wasn't
enough. We just couldn't get it down to 20. Funny thing though, if you listen to older
records today, the 20Hz information was there all along. We just needed the subwoofer to reproduce it. The subwoofer has to be one greatest audio
developements of all time.
Spot on, and it was so damn frustrating! I now own two SVS SB3000 subs, pairs are the only way to go. I use a 1970 vintage Sansui 4000 receiver, along with its phono stage. This Sansui gets down in the dirt in regards to bass, especially with my Zu DW6 Supremes. The Zu's go there with the Sansui, with my Parasound A23+, nothing, not even close. I sold the Parasound. That old Sansui with the pair of SB3000's is audio nirvana. I have some LP's, Blue Note offerings, recorded in the 1950's, and everything is there as you stated in those recordings... I really do not need the subs with the old Sansui, but they sure make a positive influence on the overall sound. I have them set at around 43Hz, volume around 45db... The Zu/Sansui combo, throw in the pair of SB3000's... Heaven.
@LeRoySL-nk4hpNeither one of us are speaking of movies, 20Hz, at least not myself. I was speaking about music and what a good subwoofer, or a pair of them can do for the reproduction of the sound.
Many speakers on the market today do not get any where near 35Hz, much less into the 20Hz range, which is ridiculous to even mention in regards to music, at least what I listen too..
Subwoofers, to get the most out of a recording, make a tremendous amount of sense. They increase the size of the soundstage, allow lower volume listening and just make sense.
Very cool info, thanks for the memory sharing!
Subwoofers are a slippery slope, man. You start out with a 10" JBL, then move to a 12" Velodyne, then the next thing you know you're driving across the state to pick up two 15" Hsus... You gotta be careful.
Ha! Ya I’ve been there more than once, fun times!
Nice..
For me is one the cheap 10 inch Polk sub, which gave me the taste, now I'm currently working towards something in the $1000 range, with a 15 inch monoprice sub, which showed me more of what I'm missing, but it's not that good.
I am not driving for the 15" just yet...but I might be getting there LOL!
@@spencerford11I got a Polk PSW10 over a decade ago and I've never really liked it. The cheap pair of 90's hand-me-down JVC towers I had in high school could play lower. I'm always annoyed when certain songs come on and it struggles to play low enough.
Grabbed an SVS SB-1000 (non-pro) a while ago for $400.
It was transformative vs my old Dayton 12-inch sub, and half the size.
I don't really miss the pro features, because I mostly depend on Dirac to tune the setup.
English is not my first language. Please forgive any errors from my translation software. Upon reflection, it becomes evident that it's not solely the subwoofer that has elevated my audio system, but rather every component I've discovered through Randy's videos - including streamers, DACs, preamps, power amps, and speakers. I extend my heartfelt gratitude, Sir, for opening up this world of audio excellence.
Well 10,12,15,18,24 inch woofers are all good and have all been done before. If you go back into the 1950's and 1960's you see a lot of 18" and 24" woofer's but the entire speaker cabinet was rated at 125W and that was with 5 way speakers. First the recording media was not that great neither where the microphones for picking and recording low freq. Second the amplifiers where not that powerful. Third they did not have the ability to make crazy bass outside of kettle drums and actual cannons that would be fired in classical music so most music was mids and highs.
You always have to have some common sense in how you design you sound system to match with your desired outcome. There are rules of thumb with reguard to how much power your mids and highs should have to match with X amount of subwoofer power. It takes a lot of power for sub-woofers to over power mids and highs and again that would reflect on the owners not the speaker!
facebook marketplace is your friend!
i got a klipsch spl120 that retails for $400 for $100 from a guy who hooked up his system, didnt want that much bass and just threw it in his closet.. in other words- dude was loaded and just wanted to get rid of it.. best $100 ive spent!
I have a 10in Dayton Audio & a 12in Dayton Audio subwoofer. The 10 is connected to my 2 channel stereo & my 12 is connected to my home theater system in the living room. OMG, you don't know what you're missing when you're not using a sub! I friggin' love'em!! 🤘🏻
Very cool!
I added in a subwoofer in 1993 when Jurassic Park came out, and when the T-Rex made the puddle ripple, I could get the same effect in my room. I had to move it not because of the subwoofer crawl but because my roommate kept complaining about having to pick his stuff off the floor that was on his shelf when Rocking the Casba.
Oh, Randy. I can't possibly commit to buying a subwoofer right now. I'm expecting to win one during your 100k giveaway!
To late he already took my bribe 🤥
Earlier in life without a subwoofer both myself and my music were a lot thinner...
I can totally relate to your comment! 😂
There are very few things that make a night and day difference in home audio, but subwoofers is probably near or at the top of the list.
I used a Boston Acoustic VR500 for about 20 years, fantastic for movies. Finally replaced my Boston VR30 towers and VR12 center after 20+ years with the Wharfedale Diamond 12.2's and 12.C, mostly based on your review. Replaced my sub with an SVS SB1000, the 12.2's barely needs a sub for music, but the SB1000 lacked for movies. I recently replaced the SB1000 with a PB1000 Pro, that's the ticket right there. Thanks for all you do!
Be careful because once you hear your music with a subwoofer you can’t go back and unhear it and you’ll be hooked. I had 300 powered subwoofers in the tower speakers I used for my home theater system. When I moved to a 2 channel system for just music I stuck with towers with strong bass. Then I bought a SVS SB1000 Pro and I noticed better bass. Then I bought a second one. Have one in each of the 2 front corners. The bass is awesome digging down to 20 Hz. I’m happy and hooked for life.
My polk 10" just blew up after many years of great service. i just Built one of the refer sized 4.5 cuft ported and tuned to 31 hz enclosures. I'm going to fill that box with the most beautiful 5k watt 15" subwoofer. It will see 1500 watts to start with. I completely agree with you and highly recommend subwoofers.
One of my hi-fi mentors told me that no matter how expensive a stereo system might be, you need a subwoofer. I have a semi-budget system but I paired Bowers and Wilkins 606 with a Polk PSW10. It sounds fantastic and is much fuller sound than the B&W’s by themselves.
Same Subwoofer as mine. Mine is paired with ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UN52’s. ELACs are nice but the subwoofer improves the sound overall.
As I said in a previous post, I have a pair of QA 3030i + yamaha A-s501. I didn't feel they need a sub. I added sub (SVS sb1000).
I am now sure they didn't need a sub. The sub either doesn't matter or ruins the sound, depending on how I set it up. I am clueless of why everyone says a sub makes everything better.
Couldn’t pass up the 12in Emotiva sub at the reduced price a few months ago. Now it’s the second sub in my home theater setup. Really brings out the realism in dinosaur and space combat films.
Fun fact - a car door slamming has a fundamental frequency of about *5*Hz. And so does a canon being fired - so anyone who wants to get the full experience of listening to the 1812 Overture *needs a BIG subwoofer*.
A subwoofer is really handy even if you've only got tiny speakers that are say, 90Hz-20KHz. My cheap sub fills in that 35Hz-90Hz musical info. Get a sub with a manual crossover dial so you can fine tune it yourself. For movies I'd say a sub is essential too for that cinema OOOMPH.
Dual subs at minimum for me. Do not want them to dominate, just amazing how they fill in what you do not even know is missing. Dual RSL 12S for me and will add two 10S as well!
I have 12Ss and 10Ss.. I ended up using dual 10S for my music (everyday) listening setup over the 12S. Dunno why, but the 10S is so much better with music. 12S is far more useful in home theater
@@UTR1What is the room size that the RSL 10s is in?
@@damianhaber4890 ~850 sqft. 14' ceilings
@@UTR1 I will have both the 12S and 10S in my area for music. I set mine up left and right channel and is preferred by me this way. Absolutely amazing what they add to the music!
@@patrickgeorge141 if it sounds good to you then great! I didn't have a great time with matching the two sizes, but maybe that's just my ears in this room here
Absolutely Love my dual SVS SB 1000 Pro(s) with the sound path isolation feet. Customer service at SVS is excellent. Listen to vinyl primarily. Rep at SVS guided me the whole way through with the SVS app to dial them in perfectly. Also use the SVS SoundPath RCA cables. Y splitter out if the Pre Out on my Rega Elex R integrated amplifier.
In 2004 I bought the Yamaha YST-SW105 for $99.00. This was best money I spent and still going strong till this day.
SVS SB16 here, and am considering adding a second and/or two additional smaller subs to run in stereo next to the towers.
For me, the trick with any sub is to EQ them for big gain at or below 20 Hz, and greatly reduce output as frequencies rise. You get the physical impacts without the mud.
My first high end speakers - "Allison Acoustics CD9s - made great bass... as long you stood in the corner of the room like you were in time-out! Adding a sub did all the magic you mentioned to sound stage and smoothing out bass throughout the room. Great vid, Randy, Thanks!
I have 12" Sound Dynamics Sub that's to much for my studio, I wanted something to hook up to my Edifier R1850DB bookshelf speakers, so I went on marketplace and for $60 I purchased what appeared to be brand-new Polk PSW10 sub delivered right to my door no less... and litterly shakes the walls.
Keep that in mind in when shopping for gear.
I noticed right away with my Klipsch SW (bought based on review here) that I don't have to listen to music at the same volume as before. With my bookshelf speakers, I had to bump up tone controls and crank volume to feel like I could hear the low end. No longer!
Once you experience your home system with a good sub there is no going back, even if only for music. I had large floor standing speakers with dual 10” woofers and thought they had great bottom end, and they do BUT after adding a HSU 15” sub I can’t live without it now. I also agree that it seems to add more depth to the soundstage as well, the trick is tuning the sub so that it does not draw attention to itself, less is more. A must for good home theatre experience and adds a third dimension to music.
Thanks for your spot-on videos! I am running a few subs (listed below) in the house right now and can agree that there is a sub out there for all setups.
Dayton Audio SUB-1000 10" - desktop system, yes it makes base, but at $150 don't try to make it the centerpiece of a home theater in a large room.
Emotiva Airmotiv SE12 Flex Subwoofer - this is a huge step up for the current price of $270 and includes some nice features along with enough power to fill medium to large spaces.
RSL Speedwoofer 12S - family heirloom level (for me) and at $800 it should be. I can't imagine having this in an apartment.
Despite what some say, Ive been using 2 Polk PSW10's for 10+ years. While I've upgraded my towers and AVR's I've always kept these cheap 10" Polk subs. If you spend some time to equalize and tune them properly. they sound great mated with my towers.
Got the SVS SB1000 pro a few months back. I have Klipsch RP8000 F speakers and couldn’t be happier with the performance. SVS sub let’s my speakers come alive as they don’t have to hit the lows.
i have a sub paired with my elac unifi references and the sound is complete. Pair that with a lokius eq I'M IN HEAVEN!!!! Yes you need a subwoofer.
Same here. I have the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 and they work perfect paired with my older Polk PSW10. In my better basement system I have Monitor Audio Silver 6 floors paired with KEF Q150 surrounds, a Polk Signature Elite series ES35 which Is off for music but does a great job with hearing spoken words against a backdrop of special effects and lastly the subwoofer is a beautiful Polk HTS12. It’s all mated to an Anthem MRX500. I got everything for around $1800 (CAN$). Most used or open box items.
I own the Jamo S 810 for my office home sound, and it’s amazingly acceptable for the $150 sale price. I wish it had a more responsive auto-turn-on circuit, and it’s not going to shake things off the walls. But small footprint, pretty nice finishing, decent extension for desktop speakers…and a dry nice price…yes please!
50 years ago, I arrived at college. A few days later I was in an upperclassman's apartment. He had amt 1s and a phase linear 400. My parents had a stereo but it was a piece of furniture, I had never heard audiophile anything. The speakers were about 5' from any wall, 6' apart, toed in. He sat me down 6' back from the speakers and put on the bitch is back rather loud.
It changed my life.
Just moments ago I unpacked my new amt 1d legacy's. And put on the bitch is back, rather loud.
God that was fun.
I own about a dozen subs. These speakers don't need them.
Btw, you would love the amts. They have that u shaped response you love, they're nothing like as flat as my magnepans. Not quite as clear in the lower mid range either. But a lot more fun. A lot.
Not everyone needs a sub.
Thanks!
I put a 12" Infinity sub in my truck a few years back. It changed my life. I was inspired after riding in my nephews truck, which was set up with 3 10" Infinity subs in a box that occupied the whole back seat. Clean, crisp bass that just punched right through you, but no distortion at all. What I get out of one Reference 1252w is insane, like driving in my own concert hall. It's matched up with six other Infinity speakers in the four doors. If you want to experience the fourth dimension, Infinity will show you the way. Honorable mention for Sony's indestructible power cord!
I use two of the 12 inch Dayton Audio subs (one per channel) in my two channel system supporting my Elacs Velas. They seem to do great! I aslo have a bass transducer under my chair to augment the bass effect.
Have you ever experimented with multiple subs to make cardoid arrays? Endfire, single reverse, it can really make a massive difference to the room response……
Can’t live without a sub for sure. Thanks Mr Randy! 😊
You got that right!
I have a Polk PSW10 which gets a lot of hate online. I have it paired with a couple of different vintage receivers to round out the low end. I use it for both vinyl, CDs and streaming. I also will hook it up to my TV surround out system - it works perfectly fine for me. I love it.
@@NotoriousOzTheMan same I have a PSW10. I can’t blast anything in my condo so I’m happy for now. I do like reviews I hear of SVS entry level subs.
I bought my first subwoofer in 1985 and have owned quite a few. I would have to give the performance to cost ratio to emotiva.
you can always give it a little more ''pump'' ,
if you're using it for pc and know about VST plugins , you can tweak the same equipment to blow a hole in your roof ...
a simple Zen Dac V2 usb amp , connected to a pair of Edifier R2750DB , together with some Dolby Atmos ,
a little reverb , some EQ , Drive , Compression , you name it , all for free
i don't even feel the need For a subwoofer because i can tweak these till they Sound like a woofer
Hi. I recently got the Jamo C912 to match with the Vanatoo T1 encores. it really opened up the sound, exactly like you suggested. I couldn't get them to sound right without extensive eq'ing before. It was a fantastic upgrade. Thanks for the good advice.
Bought a BIC PL300 300, and there is definitely a difference between hearing a movie, and feeling a movie.
My main sub for my home theater is a DIY that I built with stuff from Parts Express. It has an 18" driver and is 11 cu. ft. 300 watt RMS. Total cost was under $600.
paradiddle paradiddle, bought an RSL Speedwoofer 10sii a few months back on your recommendation and love it. It definitely fills things out and not just electronic music like you said!
As a fan of the pipe organ I am rather fond of subs. There are some old school mains designs that can handle the 16' ranks but very few that can do the 32' ranks (16Hz). Only a few organs in the world have 64' ranks.
One factor is that many of the modern mains that can reach into the 30s simply don't have enough cone area.
I have a sub in my home theater system and I have one each in two separate two channel systems. I use the speaker in/out connections and take the load off the main speakers. This eliminates any possible low frequency distortion.
Bose!!! Ive an old Acoustimas red band cubes with bass module connected to an Emotiva BasX A100. Bass so tight. Great for a phone with Onkyo app with EQ connected to a Modi DAC. Just enough power for happy music and keep the neighbors sane.
We had subwoofers in the 1970's. In THX movie theaters. Going a bit earlier than the first Star Wars movie, "Earthquake" convinced me that subwoofers are important. Though honestly, nothing replicates the actual feeling of a real earthquake, sonic boom or thunderstorm.
100% agree with this. There are very few speakers that will not benefit from a subwoofer. I have a pair of Heresy IV's and it's a day and night difference.
I listen to a lot of rock music and adding a sub to my sound system was a game changer. I then added a cheap used Monoprice sub to my bedroom stereo with bookshelf speakers and it totally changed the listening experience for the better.
I got my sub from goodwill and I couldn't be happier.
Subwoofer is essential for enjoying audio in Surround on Blu-ray 5.1. Immersion edition Pink Floyd Wish you were here Sounds astounding. Also 30th Anniversary DSOTM surround SACD is also a heavy benefit from the subwoofer.
I keep picking up used 10” polk subs at goodwill for $10-$30. This is a great deal. Needless to say I have 6 subs around the house in all different rooms.
I have 2 klipsch, 1 SPL 120 and a SPL 100. They do the trick for all the lows.
When I added a Rythmik 15 HP sealed servo sub to my system at first I couldn’t tell that it was working. Then I played a track with very low notes, my room was totally energized with glorious tight bass. It transformed the entire spectrum, it frees up your main speakers and amp from power sucking bass notes!
No mention of Klipsch? They have 2 or 3 inexpensive options that are certainly as good as many that you mentioned.
I recently bought a pair of Wharfedale Elysian 4 speakers which go down to 28hz in room and thought i could dispense with my twin BK subs, but nope.They still add something to the sound, although I now cross them at 45hz rather than 60hz as previous.
I never needed a sub back in the day. I owned a set of cerwin vega VS120 since the eary 90s all the way up until 2012. Those speakers had plenty of clean deep bass. You dont see floor stand speakers like that much these days so you definitely need a sub.
I bought the the SVS non pro 1000 on sale for $349 2 weeks ago, still great minus the app.
💯 % spot on. Every system benefits from a sub and two are even better. If rich, get 3 on each side and set them up as shown in the Rel video with John Hunter.
I bought a REL sub many years ago and have never been disappointed. I would love a small one for bookshelf speakers. 😊
I literally bought this emotiva last night... I watched one of your super old reviews, and turned around and bought one at around midnight last night.
No mention of Klipsch. Did they not make the cut?
Subwoofers sure add to the enjoyment of music and movies. However, tuning that beast can be demoralizing and make one nearly go mad. Tuning a sub to perfection is like trying to get tame a 600 pound gorilla. Just when you think - Yeah that's just right! Nope! Not right as you play the next song or during the next day's listening session. The battle can go on and on for weeks(months).
My last subwoofer tuning evening was helped by watching Andrew Robinson's latest subwoofer tuning video and using his suggestions. I think I might very close to having it tuned correctly, but a day with the laptop and REW may prove my last tuning attempt was not even close. Again!
I have to keep reminding myself - "This is just a hobby, not a career". Hahaha
All the best folks!
Not sure what Andrew's tips were, but I use a 25-150 audio sweep I found here on youtube.
Was easier (for me at least) to tell if there were rises or dips in decibels, by playing it very quietly just so I could barely hear it.
@@johnh3642 John, I also use RUclips sweeps and long single tone. They are really helpful. Since my big subwoofer issue is always with my HT system the crossovers and delays are part of the battle for may sanity. Hahaha. Hey, it can be very frustrating, but the fun is the reward.
Please enjoy your system and as Randy says - "Keep listening"!
Low octaves enhance the thin sound field,if you have car sub your home sound system is anemia audio. I have duo 18's 70 hz down to 20hz. Sounds live or like a sound contest..at home
Yup, definitely needed a subwoofer to augment a pair of small ADS L300C sealed box mini satellites. Pre-sub was down to maybe 85Hz ~ anemic sound at best. Post-sub got the bass down to 35Hz in my small 18ft × 12ft room. To avoid room modes I built a sealed box 1 cubic ft enclosure for an ADS 7" bass driver powered by a Kemo M034N bridge amp. The advantage of having low bass from a sub actually allows you to hear mids and treble better, and is key to sounstage depth.
For those who strive for bass. Get a sub! It allows you not augment by adding loudness and upping the bass. The sub does it well. Makes you speakers sound better.
I listen to music while working on the computer. I connected the computer to a small ONKYO receiver. that was 10 years ago. One of my friends noticed that my ONKYO has a subwoofer output.since then I have been living on the more beautiful side of audio. it's been 4 years already
Even a small sub, like the Emotiva SE8, will really help almost any stand mount speaker.
I use a sub on every serious music and home theater system system I have. Not only do they fill in the bottom end, I find that the main speakers play more clearly when you take the load of the low bass off them. Some people have a low opinion of subs, but I suspect they either used a crap sub or had it set up wrong. Common mistakes are to cross them too high and run them too hot, causing things to muddy up.
Thats always my first purchase if I'm looking to upgrade, just something about the deep bass that really adds to music. I generally go with the big honkers, had a 12inch in my dorm and house for a long time never turned up loud just enough to add to the ambiance.
I have had 3 stereo systems from the 70's to the 90's whiteout any subwoofer, and thought they sounded awesome! Now I have the Onkyo RZ TX-50 with RSL Speakers including the SpeedWoofer 10s MKII and I will never go without a subwoofer again! I agree Randy it just makes everything more realistic and full sounding. Apricate You Randy & what you share on your channel!
I moved down to TN for expanding our company and I'm currently living in a 5th wheel camper until I can buy a house down here. I have most of my audio stuff in storage, but I brought down my Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 bookshelf's along with my old (45 pound) home theatre amp.. back when Harman Kardon made decent HT amps. Anyway, I don't have the room for my SVS subs but I found a ridiculous deal on a GoldenEar SuperSub X from a guy that works at a HIFI store in Nashville. He wanted 1000 and he took 700 cash. Only used twice, and still have the box and warrantee. He ended up buying their bigger subs so he wasn't using it. It might not be the perfect application for bigger rooms or for the price, but wow does that thing shake the camper haha and it's super small! My SVS subs don't disappear like this does with the music either. Next on the list is the Emotiva amp and Preamp/DAC.. and then a house lol
Picked up a pair of Emotiva SE 8’s earlier this year. They do very well for their size.
I have an 8" Magnat that is down-firing, I was the one that fit next to my couch and the corner of the wall and was the only space I had available. The bass is really good being so close to my listening position that often at night (when I usually listen) I have to take it down to -6 db from the receiver.
I still say my best thrift store CD find is The Gap Band's greatest hits. Has very nice synthesized bass. Favorites of the hits are "Early in the Morning" and "You dropped a bomb on me"
Been enjoying JBL Studio 590's, I guess I should add a subwoofer.
Q: Paradiddle? A: Flamadiddle!
BTW, my S.O. Won’t have a full system in the LR. Therefore I have KEF LSX II’s and Emo Xs8. Nice compact system.
I started with dual sb1000's sent back went to dual Pb2000's sent back. Now have settled in and sticking with a single Sb3000, yep this single sub shake and bakes my room. 10'1" x 11' x 7.5' ceiling. Full 5.1.4 LG g2 65", Emotiva speakers, Denon 3800h, Basx A11 and for "me" my current itch is scratched, for now 🤪😁😂 🔊 🎼 subs were my largest change in and outs, so I agree subs make a huge difference 🔊💯💥
Generaly you setup a home subwoofer to only produce low freq. @ and bellow 100hz. In a good setup this also allows you to high pass output to the rest of your speakers taking the low freq. load off of them which normaly cleans up the sound substantialy. It also gives the amp doing the mids and highs more headroom for the remaining freq. they are ampliphiing because bass production is the hardest most demanding thing the amplifier can do.
I have the cheap monoprice 60W in my living room. I'll upgrade eventually but it still makes a huge difference!
My project for the past couple of months has been to get my series 2 Bose 901s to sound good without an equalizer. Just bought a sub off of FB Marketplace with an adjustable cut-off. I also purchased some Tweeters (not super-tweeters) from Amazon and directly connected them to the 901s. New amp and DAC, and I am declaring the project a success! They sound great.
The subwoofers I'm using now are thrift store salvage in sealed home made boxes with plenty of teddy bear fluff running on cheap chinese class D subwoofer amps. Salvaged two 8" Pioneer Andrew Jones and a 12" Bic F12. I'm satisfied.
The OSD 12’’ is amazing compact goes to 20hz Even if your main speakers go low the subwoofer offers a nice filler
Everything you say about subwoofers is dead-on, and your delivery and explanation is perfect. Your way of explaining things through examples and relating to everyday scenarios where a subwoofer is beneficial to the average person is excellent. I've been in to high-quality audio equipment since the age 12 years old, but I still enjoy all of your videos because they are high-quality, and entertaining, even when I'm not even interested in the product you're discussing. Anyway, thanks for all of the work you put in to your channel. I look forward to watching your videos every day.
Love the content, have to disagree with the one sub if it's for a theater set up. 2 subs evens out the bass in the room so that bass is audible in all seats equally.
A little trick to get the most from a front firing sub. Is take the driver of the sub, face it towards the wall, preferably in a corner so the speaker is facing 90 degrees (you don't want the sub facing backwards). At about 12-16 inches from the wall. The larger the sub, the further the distance. You will be surprised at the performance increase and extra "rumble" you can get instead of placing the sub conventionally. Generally best to pick a wall too that does not have a window close by. Enjoy.
I have meridian dsp8000s and added my svs ultra 13 really helped. Love the sound and bass
Actually waiting on delivery of my subwoofer now... I bought the JBL 550P 10" sealed sub for what seemed like a ridiculously low $149.99 (including shipping). Just recently got a set of Klipsch "the Fives" to use at my desk. Correction... just took delivery... gotta go.
I got the Emotiva Flex 12 subwoofer when it first went on sale. Instant buy at that price.
Rockville ROCK SHAKER very good inputs. 99 buck-a-roos!
I have Four, 12" Subs from SVS. Can't agree more with this video.
I’ve had the sb1000 for several years. I needed a small sub to fit between my entertainment center and my doorway area. It fit my needs for not a bad price and is plenty loud for my family movies. I feel like it’s little too deep thuddy sounding for music but that’s just my opinion. I’d like something tighter and punchier and I think that would match my def tech 800’s better.
man, i totally agree, i had a pair of wharfdale saphires hooked up to the aiyima t9pro and i had a pair of pioneer andrew jones floorstanders with a sony 2 channel stereo. I ended up getting a bose acoustimass 15 donated to me, and well i didn't really wanna hook up the satelites but i thought i would try out the sub with both setups. and wow what a difference it made. Hahah, so then i got rid of that cause well, i was told bose is a no no for audiphiles lol and well it only went down to like 45 hz or something so i ended up with a BA cr 400 and a def edition 700 watt sub both go down to 20 and 18 hz, and i ended up getting a pioneer elite 9.2 amp and now everything runs through the aiyima t9pro with telefunken tubes(given to me by an old school tube roller who had 2 sets of them, old stock and WOW it sounds amazing,) into the pioneer and wow. I am such a happy dang camper. literally the pioneer sounds more analogous and has an even wider sound scape with the tubes and the guitar just wails through the tubes, but mostly, that fat 808 analogue sound on house tracks just hits right there in the gut. Thanks for the aiyama reccomendation mr cheap audio man! i am now purchasing a decware amp thanks to your video which now put me down the black hole of tube rolling. :P
Hey Randy, this is Randy. I really enjoyed your video about subwoofers and I understand how much they help but at 68 years old I don't want to mess with one due to cost or the physical exercise in moving one around. Besides my wife is not a happy person as it is when I crank my system up with 2 JAMO S803s in the rear and running DV84s and a DV62 Center up front. Thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents...
For my main TV system I have a Polk HTS12 which replaced a Polk PSW10 (the PSW10 was added to my upstairs system which made a huge difference). The HTS12 is a huge improvements for deep base in movies that the PSW10 would waffle with. The HTS12 was worth the extra especially since I got it at half price (open box) but perfect.
RSL is my got to .. the 10S or 12 are fantastic per the $
I would rather listen to music in mono with a sub, than in stereo without a sub. That's how important a sub is.
I have Klipsch cinema 800 with the 10” sub it sounds amazing