Help me decide a subwoofer for music only and high WAF

[Frewat]

Checking the Arendal website, the 1961 sub does not have an app for your phone, you have to go up to the more expensive sub to get it. This is a huge issue. I would not recommend getting that sub. So, I would look at the SVS line. You get better features. There is a reason why SVS is such a big company. Good product and great value. I would not get a sealed sub, but you can do what you want. I think any SVS sub will add fantastic depth to your music. I'm surprised you have not bought one by now. Just tell the wife that you are turning your place into a man cave. That should reassure her that you will not make it look too bad!

In Europe, yes, the SVS subs still have quite good value, definitely not in the US.

Arendal have better price/performance ratio then SVS in Europe.

There was a time when SVS where the sub of the subs, but now... Great customer support though!

OP, I'm from Sweden as well by the way. We have it quite tough when we are looking for a great price/performance sub here in Sweden. It really is all about Arendal and SVS.

As I wrote before, app or no app, convenience or performance.

You won't be disappointed in either choice. The SVS SB 1000 pro will be great as well. The positive thing with SVS is that we have a AV store that sells them in Sweden. They also have a great customer support.

Objectively, the Arendal 1961 s1 are the best sub that you had on your list of candidates.

 

[Chrise36]

Elac SUB 2030 Subwoofer

Köp Elac SUB 2030 Subwoofer, 7 490,00 kr /st. Fri frakt. HiFi Experience - ljudutrustning & hifi av hög kvalitet!

www.hifiexperience.se

Canton Power Sub 12

Köp Canton Power Sub 12, 9 490,00 kr /st. Fri frakt. HiFi Experience - ljudutrustning & hifi av hög kvalitet!

www.hifiexperience.se

Amazon.com

 

[Spkrdctr]

Yes, if you live in Europe, it is very different than ordering in the US. You have to make sure you can get the brand and then you have to see if it is affordable. A lot of cheaper priced gear goes up a lot when shipped to Europe and taxes are paid etc.

 

[StefanSweden]

Im about to pull the tigger on the svs. What cable should I buy? The Edge has a sub out but the svs has two i puts?

 

[Timcognito]

Im about to pull the tigger on the svs. What cable should I buy? The Edge has a sub out but the svs has two i puts?
View attachment 285873

Usually its just a good coax <$10 a meter for LFE.

 

[NTK]

Im about to pull the tigger on the svs. What cable should I buy? The Edge has a sub out but the svs has two i puts?
View attachment 285873

Connect the Powernode Edge's sub-out to the sub's LFE input.

 

[StefanSweden]

So, a few days ago we decided to pull the trigger. I went with the SVS after debating pros and cons.

My first impression when unboxing the sub was that the build quality was extremly good. The sub arrived at our front door at 10 pm, so the family was a sleep but I could not wait to set i up - thats why the pictures are a bit blurry. I downloaded the app and pluged in the sub. Its placed between our sideboard and the wall. Im sure its not the best place musically but right now it need to be protected from flyting toys.

I set the crossover in the Powernode Edge at 80 Hz as recommended by SVS. Tried a few songs and my first impression was "is this it?!". Sounded boomy and drowning yhe soundstage. Dialed back the gain to -15 and the sub dissapered yet still filled the room. Played around with the gain but came back to -15. At this point the wife had woken up and came down the stairs. Her first impression was that it was big, but very good looking. She praised the grille, the rounded edges and to my surpise she liked the white gloss as did I.

The day after I spent a few hours playing different music. I can say that setting the cossover at 80 Hz it really took the burden of my Dali Oberon 1s. The can now play a bit louder without straining and the way the SB-1000 Pro fills the room leavs me in aww. They couple wonderfully! Mark Knopfler, Infected Mushroom and everything in between sounds soo damn good. I realize many of you guys systems would surely blow my stuff out of the water, but for the small foot print this system has and how it well it sounds (IMHO) Im more than satisfied!

Thank you all for helping me and doing your best awnsering my questions!

 

[Timcognito]

Did you set it up with the smartphone app?

 

[StefanSweden]

Did you set it up with the smartphone app?

Well, I downloaded the app and have just used the gain/volume and tried some presets etc. Guess I can fiddle with phase and polarity. I dont think I can do much more without using a mic and a softwere?

 

[Timcognito]

Don't have SVS but for my Elac you just use the phone as the mic without the Bluesound amp connected. I would be important as you put the sub in the corner which is okay but you need DSP.

 

[Timcognito]

 

[Keith_W]

I am a bit late to this thread. But there is nothing more WAF friendly than a subwoofer that blends in with your furniture. It has to be custom made, of course.

 

[Spkrdctr]

Well, I downloaded the app and have just used the gain/volume and tried some presets etc. Guess I can fiddle with phase and polarity. I dont think I can do much more without using a mic and a softwere?

Now you can fiddle with the phone control. You are seeing how easy it can be to set it up. You can vary the crossover point from 80 up to 110 if you have small speakers that really should not pound out the bass. You already found out how easy it is using the volume to make it disappear and blend in. If you find you are in the mood for a more bass heavy presentation (music) than use a preset so you can easily just go to the preset and bam, your done. You have A LOT of functionality with your sub. I'm glad you got the SVS. You will not regret it. Remember, keep all your paperwork and receipts as if you ever do need any warranty work, they might ask for a receipt to show the day it was purchased. This is very important as if anything happens, SVS has very good customer service. Welcome to the sub club! I enjoyed your journey as much as you did! It was fun. Oh, if anyone tells you that you "need" a microphone and REW and such, you can ignore them. For your use if it sounds really good your fine. Down the road if you want to play around with REW you can, but it IS NOT necessary. Do it only if you want to fiddle around with it. I wish I could come over and hear your system. But living in Florida makes for a long trip.

 

[JLGF1]

I dont think I can do much more

-> PEQ (DSP)

With subs, EQ is your best friend, particularly when locked into one physical location that you don't want to change (easier to fix peaks than nulls). However, tuning a 3-band PEQ by ear might be a little tricky, but it should be doable even without precise measurements.

When you get it sounding great to you is really all that matters (you may already luckily be there). Looks great, BTW.

 

[StefanSweden]

Now you can fiddle with the phone control. You are seeing how easy it can be to set it up. You can vary the crossover point from 80 up to 110 if you have small speakers that really should not pound out the bass. You already found out how easy it is using the volume to make it disappear and blend in. If you find you are in the mood for a more bass heavy presentation (music) than use a preset so you can easily just go to the preset and bam, your done. You have A LOT of functionality with your sub. I'm glad you got the SVS. You will not regret it. Remember, keep all your paperwork and receipts as if you ever do need any warranty work, they might ask for a receipt to show the day it was purchased. This is very important as if anything happens, SVS has very good customer service. Welcome to the sub club! I enjoyed your journey as much as you did! It was fun. Oh, if anyone tells you that you "need" a microphone and REW and such, you can ignore them. For your use if it sounds really good your fine. Down the road if you want to play around with REW you can, but it IS NOT necessary. Do it only if you want to fiddle around with it. I wish I could come over and hear your system. But living in Florida makes for a long trip.

Thank you for your kind words! I really really like the app! Did not thought it would make that much of a difference. As someone said, once you dial in the sub you dont need to tweak it again .. well, for me who is completly new to this, sitting in the sofa and adjusting on the fly is extreamly important!And today I realized I needed to save every adjustment in the app for it to be saved woke up this morning and played some music before work thinking to my self .. something is off - was it a bad buy after all? .. Well .. save save save

Can I ask a "how long is a string" kind of question? Today i fiddled around with "Room gain compentsation". As far as I understand, this is to be used in smaller rooms, but when I turned it on the boomynes or bloating I´ve sometimes heard (tried before to adjust via the gain but to no avail) disapered. It sounds much better now, cleaner in the very bottom frequencies. Is this me going mad or can it be right? My room is not particularily small at 35 square meter (376 square feet).

Love Florida! Actually worked there for a short period of time in Bradenton

-> PEQ (DSP)

With subs, EQ is your best friend, particularly when locked into one physical location that you don't want to change (easier to fix peaks than nulls). However, tuning a 3-band PEQ by ear might be a little tricky, but it should be doable even without precise measurements.

When you get it sounding great to you is really all that matters (you may already luckily be there). Looks great, BTW.

Thank you kind sir!

Im trying my best to EQ the sub to my likings, but its harder than I thought! Please see the above question to @Spkrdctr about room gain compensation.

 

[radix]

I´ve suggested it, but .. its to big and would be hard to make disappear.

The Arendal is designed to be placed with the narrow edge facing out at the woofer facing the wall. You can, of course, turn it sideways and have the woofer facing out too.

 

[MarkS]

Today i fiddled around with "Room gain compentsation". As far as I understand, this is to be used in smaller rooms, but when I turned it on the boomynes or bloating I´ve sometimes heard (tried before to adjust via the gain but to no avail) disapered. It sounds much better now, cleaner in the very bottom frequencies. Is this me going mad or can it be right? My room is not particularily small at 35 square meter (376 square feet).

Certainly this can be right, it can be very dependent on the listening position as well as other details of the room.

Im trying my best to EQ the sub to my likings, but its harder than I thought!

It's not easy without measurements. Your options are (1) keep fiddling until it sounds good, or (2) get a UMIK1 measurement microphone and REW software and measure to find out where there are peaks in the bass that you can tame with the SVS app.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Thank you for your kind words! I really really like the app! Did not thought it would make that much of a difference. As someone said, once you dial in the sub you dont need to tweak it again .. well, for me who is completly new to this, sitting in the sofa and adjusting on the fly is extreamly important!And today I realized I needed to save every adjustment in the app for it to be saved woke up this morning and played some music before work thinking to my self .. something is off - was it a bad buy after all? .. Well .. save save save

Can I ask a "how long is a string" kind of question? Today i fiddled around with "Room gain compentsation". As far as I understand, this is to be used in smaller rooms, but when I turned it on the boomynes or bloating I´ve sometimes heard (tried before to adjust via the gain but to no avail) disapered. It sounds much better now, cleaner in the very bottom frequencies. Is this me going mad or can it be right? My room is not particularily small at 35 square meter (376 square feet).

Love Florida! Actually worked there for a short period of time in Bradenton




Thank you kind sir!

Im trying my best to EQ the sub to my likings, but its harder than I thought! Please see the above question to @Spkrdctr about room gain compensation.

That’s why I recommended you early on this and said that good sub integration is not possible by ear:

Post in thread 'Help me decide a subwoofer for music only and high WAF'
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...or-music-only-and-high-waf.44169/post-1571127

(See also the subsequent posts with the comparison of the various options)

 

[bodhi]

Time to make "just get UMIK-1 first" the default answer to any questions about tweaking the frequency response by EQ or other means.

 

[StefanSweden]

Certainly this can be right, it can be very dependent on the listening position as well as other details of the room.

It's not easy without measurements. Your options are (1) keep fiddling until it sounds good, or (2) get a UMIK1 measurement microphone and REW software and measure to find out where there are peaks in the bass that you can tame with the SVS app.

Im hoping that I will be home alone sometime during the weekend to listen and adjust over a couple of hours. Its hard trying to listen when the kids are playing around the house

I guess I can get it to sound good enough, as of now, but if I know myself good enough I will eventually buy a mic and learn more about that.