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Help Choosing Between Subs

I’m looking for two new subwoofers to replace my 20+ year-old Sunfire True Signature subs. While they’ve served their purpose, I’ve never been fully impressed with their performance for music, which makes up 60% of my listening (movies are the other 40%). Often, while listening to stereo channels, I’d turn them off and run my Polk R700s in full range since the Sunfires felt too boomy, even with ARC Genesis room correction.

I’m currently considering two sealed models: the Rythmik E15HP2 and the SVS SB17 Ultra. I prefer sealed subs, I don’t have the space for larger cabinets. I know either of these would be a massive upgrade. Still, I’m particularly intrigued by the Rythmik’s reputation for excelling with music—quick, tight, and detailed—while still delivering impressive performances for movies. Their measurements show they extend down to 14 Hz, and both models offer a very flat response curve with plenty of SPL.

My priority is something that integrates seamlessly with my system, providing the highest-quality playback for music (both 2-channel and 5.1 studio/live recordings) and enhancing the cinematic experience for movies. What are your thoughts on these two options? Does anyone have experience with either?
What do you expect a change in sub will do "for music" particularly? Integration depends on you, your tools and your room.
 
What do you expect a change in sub will do "for music" particularly? Integration depends on you, your tools and your room.

Accuracy is my top priority. I’ve tried everything to get the Sunfires to integrate seamlessly, but I’ve never been completely satisfied. I’ve adjusted placement, used REW with a MiniDSP, and relied on ARC Genesis. While these tweaks have helped somewhat, the subs still come across as boomy and lack the musicality I’m looking for, even with DSP. I’m hoping that upgrading to new subwoofers will be the solution. I’d love to hear about real-world experiences with both brands/models and see what others are using or recommending.
 
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Accuracy is my main priority. I’ve tried numerous approaches to get the Sunfires to integrate seamlessly, but I’ve never been 100% satisfied. I’ve experimented with placement adjustments, used REW with a MiniDSP, and even relied on ARC Genesis. While these tweaks have helped to some degree, the subs still feel boomy and lack musicality, even with DSD playback. I’m hoping that upgrading to new subwoofers will finally solve the issue.
Forget the good for music thing. It’s a misleading term used by the audiophile to say a particular sub is better at music because it’s faster, blah blah, blah. A sub plays at the specific frequency (speed) or it doesn’t. However, if you want a sub for both music and Movies (most movies have music soundtracks so essentially the same performance is needed) with the exception of Low Frequency capabilities. For Movies you want to look at subs that can output ULF down to at least 20Hz. I prefer 12-14 Hz.

Before you proceed. A few questions arise. Do you have neighbors? Live in a Condo or apartment complex. Share walls, floors or ceilings with neighbors? If yes, be forwarded that low frequency bass will travel through walls and can end up causing problems. If you live in a detached single home. Great.

Let’s discuss your room. Can you give us the dimensions of the room and calculate the total Square footage please. If you can’t close doors and seal the room off. Include all hallways and room space that is open to this room. Also what type of floor do you have? Slab, floating wood, ect?

How important is Movie sound? I love my music. But for Movies I want my Subs to shake the room when appropriate. Is this important for you?
 
Accuracy is my top priority. I’ve tried everything to get the Sunfires to integrate seamlessly, but I’ve never been completely satisfied. I’ve adjusted placement, used REW with a MiniDSP, and relied on ARC Genesis. While these tweaks have helped somewhat, the subs still come across as boomy and lack the musicality I’m looking for, even with DSD playback. I’m hoping that upgrading to new subwoofers will be the solution. I’d love to hear about real-world experiences with both brands/models and see what others are using or recommending.
Why would dsd playback be different? Boomy can be for a variety of reasons but a good sub isn't inherently boomy otoh. I don't have much experience with Sunfire but a friend of mine had one of their early models. It was fine altho believe developed amp issues. Can't say I've ever seen measurements for one either. I have no idea what musicality means in a sub, tho (or any other hifi gear). These days I diy subs but would think either SVS or Rythmik would be fine...maybe add the Hsu ULS15 to your consideration.
 
I’m currently considering two sealed models: the Rythmik E15HP2 and the SVS SB17 Ultra.
Either of those subs would produce stellar results, take your pick.
May I also recommend the new HSU VTF-TN1, I know you said you'd prefer a sealed box but the HSU offers the variable port tuning which
might give some options of sound response. Also the new taller box takes up less floor footprint.
Just something to think about. ;)
 
Accuracy is my main priority. I’ve tried numerous approaches to get the Sunfires to integrate seamlessly, but I’ve never been 100% satisfied. I’ve experimented with placement adjustments, used REW with a MiniDSP, and even relied on ARC Genesis. While these tweaks have helped to some degree, the subs still feel boomy and lack musicality, even with DSD playback. I’m hoping that upgrading to new subwoofers will finally solve the issue.

Why would dsd playback be different? Boomy can be for a variety of reasons but a good sub isn't inherently boomy otoh. I don't have much experience with Sunfire but a friend of mine had one of their early models. It was fine altho believe developed amp issues. Can't say I've ever seen measurements for one either. I have no idea what musicality means in a sub, tho (or any other hifi gear). These days I diy subs but would think either SVS or Rythmik would be fine...maybe add the Hsu ULS15 to your consideration.
Not DSD playback. Apologies. I meant using DSP.
 
Forget the good for music thing. It’s a misleading term used by the audiophile to say a particular sub is better at music because it’s faster, blah blah, blah. A sub plays at the specific frequency (speed) or it doesn’t. However, if you want a sub for both music and Movies (most movies have music soundtracks so essentially the same performance is needed) with the exception of Low Frequency capabilities. For Movies you want to look at subs that can output ULF down to at least 20Hz. I prefer 12-14 Hz.

Before you proceed. A few questions arise. Do you have neighbors? Live in a Condo or apartment complex. Share walls, floors or ceilings with neighbors? If yes, be forwarded that low frequency bass will travel through walls and can end up causing problems. If you live in a detached single home. Great.

Let’s discuss your room. Can you give us the dimensions of the room and calculate the total Square footage please. If you can’t close doors and seal the room off. Include all hallways and room space that is open to this room. Also what type of floor do you have? Slab, floating wood, ect?

How important is Movie sound? I love my music. But for Movies I want my Subs to shake the room when appropriate. Is this important for you?
I own a home. No neighbors to worry about ;)
My room is 16x16. 256sf. The basement floor is slab with carpet.
 
I own a home. No neighbors to worry about ;)
My room is 16x16. 256sf. The basement floor is slab with carpet.
My apologies I meant to ask for Cubic Feet not square feet. So celing height is important. It’s a volume thing. The size of a 30Hz sound wave is approximately 37 feet in every direction from the sub. So the instant the note plays the sound will fill the room bounce off the walls and hit them a second time instantly. A 70hz note is about 16 feet. Which will fill your room instantly. The two subs you are considering will be more than adequate to fill your room with deep and intense bass. Based on the ceiling height, placement of these two subs will be important for reducing the effects of standing wave nulls. A few photos of the room will help us provide placement option recommendations.

This will be a major upgrade and you may want to install seatbelts in your main listening position! It will feel like a Disney ride.

A recommendation. If you don’t have a calibration microphone and a boom stand. Please consider getting one. Using (REW) which is free and the measuring microphone you can post plots of the Subs Frequently Response and we can use that data to help you dial in your setup to get the maximum possible performance.

Examples of what you will need: (A laptop or IPad Pro to run the software REW). https://www.roomeqwizard.com/

miniDSP UMIK-1 Omni-Directional USB Measurement Calibrated Microphone https://a.co/d/cFAMssx

Or


And

 
My apologies I meant to ask for Cubic Feet not square feet. So celing height is important. It’s a volume thing. The size of a 30Hz sound wave is approximately 37 feet in every direction from the sub. So the instant the note plays the sound will fill the room bounce off the walls and hit them a second time instantly. A 70hz note is about 16 feet. Which will fill your room instantly. The two subs you are considering will be more than adequate to fill your room with deep and intense bass. Based on the ceiling height, placement of these two subs will be important for reducing the effects of standing wave nulls. A few photos of the room will help us provide placement option recommendations.

This will be a major upgrade and you may want to install seatbelts in your main listening position! It will feel like a Disney ride.

A recommendation. If you don’t have a calibration microphone and a boom stand. Please consider getting one. Using (REW) which is free and the measuring microphone you can post plots of the Subs Frequently Response and we can use that data to help you dial in your setup to get the maximum possible performance.

Examples of what you will need: (A laptop or IPad Pro to run the software REW). https://www.roomeqwizard.com/

miniDSP UMIK-1 Omni-Directional USB Measurement Calibrated Microphone https://a.co/d/cFAMssx

Or


And


I don’t really need this type of info, but thank you so much for taking the time to help me—I truly appreciate it!
I’ve spent countless hours working on subwoofer placement and have found great spots for my current subs. I also use a MiniDSP 2x4 for adjustments and have experimented with ARC, though I realized it wasn’t giving me the best results. Using REW with the MiniDSP has allowed me to really dial things in. The issue, however, is the subwoofers themselves. Even their anechoic response is pretty terrible, and room boundaries have added unwanted frequencies on top of that. DSP has helped. LOL! I'm just ready to dump these things!
The main reason I posted is to get your opinions on both brands—customer service, build quality, sound quality—and, honestly, whether you think I’d notice much difference between the two models and brands. I know it’s a subjective question, but your insights might help sway me one way or the other. Cheers!
 
The main reason I posted is to get your opinions on both brands—customer service, build quality, sound quality—and, honestly, whether you think I’d notice much difference between the two models and brands. I know it’s a subjective question, but your insights might help sway me one way or the other. Cheers!
Both brands have a solid reputation and Customer Service experience. Both subs will sound basically the same except for extension and output capabilities (see comparison spreadsheet below). I already answered your question about whether you will notice the upgrade above. But moving to this level of Subwoofer will be transformative. Especially for Movies and Music with Low Frequency Content (Dance club, Dub, Pop and more). The thing about separate powered subs is that you can easily and remotely adjust them to be present or disappear into the background.

I would go ported versions for the extra output. Even if you don’t use it. The subs will work easier and put less load on the Amp and moving parts.

Only you can determine what sub offers the features and performance you are searching for. We have a Subwoofer Comparison Spreadsheet produced by @sweetchaos
that can help you compare performance characteristics between the two subs you mentioned. There are many other options as well and the spreadsheet might help you widen your search. The more research you do the better you will feel about your final decision. Upgrading to separate powered subs was the biggest and best upgrade I have ever made in my Audio System.

 
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