Are narrow wall mounted subs any good?

[JakeK]

I'm upgrading the sound system in a room where I want to keep almost everything off the floor. I want more bass but I don't want a sub taking up floor space so I've looked at slimline subs and wall mount subs and their specs just don't look that good to me. Is it better in my case to get just a stereo pair that go low instead of doing 2.1?

This is probably the best I've found which can be wall mounted at a sensible price: https://www.nubert.de/en/nusub-xw-800-slim/a041354

It says 'low frequency down to 36Hz' which is pretty good for a slimline! I'm thinking about asking them if they want to send one to be measured by Amir.

 

[staticV3]

Frequency response is not really of concern for subwoofers because in the end, that'll be taken care of by EQ (which the Nubert has built-in) and what really matters is how loud it can play at a given frequency before distortion becomes audible.

This is defined by CTA-2010.

Of the subwoofers that have been measured using this standard, the most competent, "slim" subwoofer (<18cm) within your budget is the KEF T2 at 85dB SPL Peak at 20Hz/2m.

Here's a spreadsheet compiled by @sweetchaos which has all the CTA-2010 numbers and a staggering amount of other subwoofer data:

Subwoofer Comparison

I've created a *slightly large* subwoofer comparison spreadsheet. :D Info: -==Link to my Subwoofer Comparison spreadsheet ==- https://bit.ly/SubwooferComparison

www.audiosciencereview.com

And screenshots with all slim subwoofer models in his sheet:


(Three screenshots required because manufacturers don't specify LxWxH in a consistent manner, so I had to filter each separately for <18cm)

If you do decide to send the Nubert off for review, then consider sending it to someone like Erin who's equipped to measure CTA-2010, as this is valuable information.

 

[JakeK]

That is interesting but I'm struggling to get my head around that spreadsheet! The KEF doesn't wall mount but I could make a shelf for it.

 

[staticV3]

I'm struggling to get my head around that spreadsheet!

To filter the sheet according to your needs, go to Data->Create filter view

Or do you need help with another aspect?

 

[napfkuchen]

Since I have been dealing with the topic for a while due to space constraints, my 5 cents on this: The spreadsheet is very useful, but it also lists many subwoofers with stone age (obsolete) technology by today's standards, or very old and no longer available products.

My current top 3 (without ranking):
Sigberg Incognito (close to 3.000 Euro)
Buchardt Sub10 (1.300 Euro)
Lyngdorf BW-2 (1.450 Euro)

These subwoofers have already been discussed here in various threads and all include modern Class D amplification. These subwoofers all play down to 20 Hz, although the Nubert should certainly be sufficient for music at least (depending on the genre). In the case of the Buchardt (my personal favourite from a price performance standpoint), there is also room measurement via iPhone available, albeit limited compared to current surround receivers/processors.

Without wanting to hijack the topic, I would also be interested in other recommendations for this type of subwoofer.

 

[JakeK]

To filter the sheet according to your needs, go to Data->Create filter view

Or do you need help with another aspect?

You picked out the best ones (T2) in the spreadsheet so that's very helpful thanks! Apart from the KEF T2 measurements I wasn't sure what you were showing me with the screenshots though.

I had a poke around with it and found Q Acoustics 3060S that seem competent and lots that had no measurements or aren't available.

 

[JakeK]

Since I have been dealing with the topic for a while due to space constraints, my 5 cents on this: The spreadsheet is very useful, but it also lists many subwoofers with stone age (obsolete) technology by today's standards, or very old and no longer available products.

My current top 3 (without ranking):
Sigberg Incognito (close to 3.000 Euro)
Buchardt Sub10 (1.300 Euro)
Lyngdorf BW-2 (1.450 Euro)

These subwoofers have already been discussed here in various threads and all include modern Class D amplification. These subwoofers all play down to 20 Hz, although the Nubert should certainly be sufficient for music at least (depending on the genre). In the case of the Buchardt (my personal favourite from a price performance standpoint), there is also room measurement via iPhone available, albeit limited compared to current surround receivers/processors.

Without wanting to hijack the topic, I would also be interested in other recommendations for this type of subwoofer.

The buchardt does seem good with measurement app etc. like the Nubert but it's more than I was planning to spend and it doesn't seem to be made for wall mounting.

I think the nubert may be a good option with measurement app and built in DSP and combining wirelessly with some of their other speakers maybe but it's hard to say unless it's been measured.

This doesn't answer my question about is this definitely better than just getting a stereo pair that go low such as Adam T8V?

Adam T8V Studio Monitor Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Adam T8V active monitors (speaker). It was kindly sent to me by the company a few months ago. I was surprised at the very low cost of these speakers at US $299 (each) considering that they are DSP speakers with dual amplification. This is one...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Paffi]

I´ve four of the XW800 - given it´s price there is not really a competition, when it comes to the formfactor. I´ve wallmounted them at front and back wall. If you have questions regarding that model, just ask.

 

[JakeK]

I´ve four of the XW800 - given it´s price there is not really a competition, when it comes to the formfactor. I´ve wallmounted them at front and back wall. If you have questions regarding that model, just ask.

You must really like them if you got 4! I'm curious what setups you use them in, with other nubert speakers, what sources etc? Also have you found any measurements of the sound?

 

[Paffi]

I think they are great and much underestimated. For the purpose of music I would rather get many / more of these than one or two of more expensive ones. And as they are that slim, they can be distributed and integrated perfectly in a living room. I use them currently in an dba-configuration (the back subs are time delayed and phase inverted). Fronts are currently still KEF LS50 meta, but I´m looking for other speakers. Unfortunetly I haven´t found measurements from third party testers.

 

[Roland68]

I'm upgrading the sound system in a room where I want to keep almost everything off the floor. I want more bass but I don't want a sub taking up floor space so I've looked at slimline subs and wall mount subs and their specs just don't look that good to me. Is it better in my case to get just a stereo pair that go low instead of doing 2.1?

This is probably the best I've found which can be wall mounted at a sensible price: https://www.nubert.de/en/nusub-xw-800-slim/a041354

It says 'low frequency down to 36Hz' which is pretty good for a slimline! I'm thinking about asking them if they want to send one to be measured by Amir.

If you are looking for a really deep and powerful subwoofer and have a free corner of the room, then take a look at the TL SUB from Visaton.
114 dB at 20 Hz and a maximum sound pressure of 121 dB from 30 Hz, with an amplifier power of only 200 watts.

 

[JakeK]

If you are looking for a really deep and powerful subwoofer and have a free corner of the room, then take a look at the TL SUB from Visaton.
114 dB at 20 Hz and a maximum sound pressure of 121 dB from 30 Hz, with an amplifier power of only 200 watts.

That's an interesting sub, looks like it's designed to work below another sub. It's also very large at 2.1m and not suitable for what I'm trying to do. When I first saw the photo I thought it was long and slim but it's actually just really long!

 

[JakeK]

If you do decide to send the Nubert off for review, then consider sending it to someone like Erin who's equipped to measure CTA-2010, as this is valuable information.

Do you mean send it to Erin instead of Amir?

 

[napfkuchen]

I think they are great and much underestimated. For the purpose of music I would rather get many / more of these than one or two of more expensive ones. And as they are that slim, they can be distributed and integrated perfectly in a living room. I use them currently in an dba-configuration (the back subs are time delayed and phase inverted). Fronts are currently still KEF LS50 meta, but I´m looking for other speakers. Unfortunetly I haven´t found measurements from third party testers.

Can you supply some measurements? I'm also interested in using 4 subs in a similar setup with Dirac Live Bass Control and hopefully Dirac Art in the future. My focus is music listening, all speakers are very close to the listening position (about 2m) and I don't need that much output below 40 Hz anyway (to be precise: I don't want my neighbors to "enjoy" that much deep bass).

 

[staticV3]

Do you mean send it to Erin instead of Amir?

Yes.

 

[Paffi]

Can you supply some measurements? I'm also interested in using 4 subs in a similar setup with Dirac Live Bass Control and hopefully Dirac Art in the future. My focus is music listening, all speakers are very close to the listening position (about 2m) and I don't need that much output below 40 Hz anyway (to be precise: I don't want my neighbors to "enjoy" that much deep bass).

I´m currently experimenting with MSO and released the dba configuration for that - that beeing said, it´s an experiment and I´ve not decided, what I finally prefer more. Will take some weeks, because it´s time consuming and so much variants still to be tested. Maybe I can ad a current measurement from my mso experiments.

 

[Flaesh]

wall mount subs

4 pcs wall mounted subs, 200 l, 1' depth each, no EQ\RC:

IMO not bad at all

 

[JakeK]

4 pcs wall mounted subs, 200 l, 1' depth each, no EQ\RC:
View attachment 402265
IMO not bad at all

What subs are those?

 

[Flaesh]

Link in signature. And https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...underdriven-pa-subwoofers.57216/#post-2095349
Actually, subwoofers can be any. Any suitable)).

By the way, I'll read the article linked in your signature.

 

[JakeK]

From reading your links I think I can work out that this describes your subs '2 old-fashioned country cheap PA 18" (Fs 29. Qts .29 Vas ~400 l) in a bad 200 liter sealed box each'. 4 x 200 liter or even one box that big is not what I'm looking to put in this room.