CEA-2010 Subwoofer Testing Master Thread

[hardisj]

<snip>

At some point what I *might* do is create a little script to generate SPL values for frequencies from n to nn. And filtering will be done the same as it is now with the "max spl" graphics.

But, for now, I'm just going to provide the FR data in .txt format and let others download it and do what they want with it (i.e., view it in excel, or in REW, etc). In my reviews I will provide appropriate comparisons, such as my last "winners" of the budget 10-inch shootout vs the monoprice budget 12-inch, but I don't have the time right now to get all the data in the right format and plopped down in to my google sheet. Maybe I can tackle that this winter when (if) things slow down.

 

[Willem]

Do we have any recent tests such as of the Elac 10.2?

 

[hardisj]

Do we have any recent tests such as of the Elac 10.2?

Nope. I might be testing that one relatively soon... next few months. A fellow offered to loan me his so we just have to work out a time when he can come over and hang out while I test it.

In the pipeline are the 4 monoprice subs; 24 total tests thanks to all the configurations.

But I also have a slew of other stuff going on. I'm purposely trying to limit my input because the bottleneck (me) is increasing.

 

[Willem]

I asked because the Elac sub1010 does not sell in Europe but the 10.2 does and for only about 170 euros ($189, tax incl).

 

[hardisj]

I asked because the Elac sub1010 does not sell in Europe but the 10.2 does and for only about 170 euros ($189, tax incl).

We discussed this previously:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...oofer-testing-master-thread.15964/post-529233

At that time it was $289 USD. It is currently on sale but at $229 USD.

 

[sweetchaos]

Deal of the day...

Subwoofer (for US buyers):
Sony SACS9
Reviewed by Erin recently.
Typically US$200, now on sale for US$100 on amazon.com (lowest price in last year).
This makes value ($/dB) from Erin's chart at $0.94/db, which is best-value of all tested models so far.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Erin's Master Sheet of CEA-2010 Results:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18bz7z-xIlRJsC-bw6k4mHkuwv_uiGAMyEhgrTkjwdXc/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks Erin The link seems to be broken for me, however. Has the sheet moved locations?

 

[richard12511]

Would be great if you could test some studio subwoofers from Genelec/Neumann.

 

[Doodski]

Thanks Erin The link seems to be broken for me, however. Has the sheet moved locations?

https://globalnews.ca/news/7520242/google-gmail-youtube-down/

 

[hardisj]

FWIW, I see the Elac SUB1010 that I deemed my personal favorite in the 10" budget subwoofer shootout I did a few months ago is now on sale for $109, which is about $20 lower than my tested price. This makes this the best bargain subwoofer I know of next to the Monoprice 12 that is $99.

It won't play much below 50Hz (none of these budget ones do) but that's what you get for the subwoofers in this price range. Still, if you or someone you know is looking for some decent thump on a budget I was quite fond of this subwoofer. Now, if you want actual *sub* woofer performance then that's about 3x more in price brackets.

(shootout linked below in case you missed it above)

 

[EJ3]

FWIW, I see the Elac SUB1010 that I deemed my personal favorite in the 10" budget subwoofer shootout I did a few months ago is now on sale for $109, which is about $20 lower than my tested price. This makes this the best bargain subwoofer I know of next to the Monoprice 12 that is $99.

It won't play much below 50Hz (none of these budget ones do) but that's what you get for the subwoofers in this price range. Still, if you or someone you know is looking for some decent thump on a budget I was quite fond of this subwoofer. Now, if you want actual *sub* woofer performance then that's about 3x more in price brackets.

(shootout linked below in case you missed it above)

Price & size or just price?

 

[hardisj]

Both, really.

 

[EJ3]

Both, really.

I am running a pair of 12"s using the largest of the old Radio Shack ported subwoofer boxes (supposedly the port is tuned for 29 Hz) with Pioneer dual 4 Ohm (operating as a 2 Ohm circuit) Car Audio speakers that are rated from 20-80 Hz. Powered by the NAD 2200 that Amirm reviewed (it was mine) running in stereo (he did not run it in 2 Ohm, unfortunately) but in 4 Ohm we know that the power is over 1/2 KW a channel, so I would presume at least 600 watts a channel. While I have no sheet that proves how low it goes, I will say that I have pretty good actual SUB woofer bass.

 

[preload]

Does anyone by chance know how the harmonic distortion % cutoffs in the CEA-2010A/B protocols were determined? I know they're based on the predicted audibility of HD products due to masking, but how were these thresholds determined and under what conditions? Curious if there's an AES paper that I might have missed.

 

[amirm]

Does anyone by chance know how the harmonic distortion % cutoffs in the CEA-2010A/B protocols were determined?

They look like wet thumb in the air to me....

 

[preload]

They look like wet thumb in the air to me....

As in, they came out of the "rear port?"

 

[amirm]

As in, they came out of the "rear port?"

In human terms, yes!

 

[preload]

In human terms, yes!

Well that's discouraging. I always assumed it was based on "something." To be sure, I obtained a copy of the CEA-2010B standard, and loh and behold, there are NO references or explanations as to where the distortion cutoffs came from (unless I missed it). I've seen website explanations that contain visual depictions of distortion audibility, but they're not terribly scientific, and there are no references.

In fact, the only empiric studies of HD audibility on bass frequencies I've been able to find are from the Fielder & Benjamin paper in 1988, which has significantly lower HD cutoffs.

This suggests the possibility that:
1) Distortion might be audible at dB levels BELOW the values reported on the CEA-2010 report table. (Perhaps someone has an authoritative source that demonstrates otherwise?)
2) CEA-2010 is inadequate to predict how a subwoofer will perform at listening levels of interest (i.e. for music/movie listening).