In your opinion, what is the 'gold standard' in subwoofers?

[Sal1950]

Guess it depends on the individual living situation, I for example use several pairs of loudspeakers since many decades without grilles and not secured to their stands and never had any accident or damage and I even have cats!

Lets hope your luck don't run out.

 

[thewas]

Lets hope your luck don't run out.

Even if it would, I could live with it after so many decades without any problems.

 

[YSC]

Even if it would, I could live with it after so many decades without any problems.

you know, in my hometown there's a saying if you speak proudly something never breaks, the next day it breaks

 

[thewas]

you know, in my hometown there's a saying if you speak proudly something never breaks, the next day it breaks

Will report tomorrow

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Based on my understanding there's the stuff you don't really want to buy, it's okay, but not worth the asking price - this includes subwoofers from brands like Klipsch, Polk, Sony, Wharfedale, etc.

Then there's the 'good value for money' stuff from brands like SVS, Monoprice-Monolith, and the like.

And then finally, there is the 'big name' brands like the KEF KF92, B&W, JL audio, etc.

REL is apparently, 'the best', but it might be a lot of marketing out there - I don't know, I've never owned one.

Which of these are the genuine, 'best-subwoofer', out on the market?

REL being considered "best" is all marketing and no substance.

 

[Ciobi69]

REL being considered "best" is all marketing and no substance.

And actually for the ones that can project and diy speaker it's very easy to design for example an ultimate 18 inch subwoofer for even less than 1000 dollar and to add a 1500w amp and you be set for life

 

[Astrozombie]

I would say Rhythmik and PSA and SVS would be in the top category if you include their higher end stuff. Same with Monolith. The gist that I get when browsing is most top out at $2K for their most expensive subs, so make it $4K if you want a pair, you probably want to land in the sweet spot in the middle to get the best value. Of course it depends on your room.

 

[OWC]

Will report tomorrow

and?

 

[thewas]

and?

Damn, rejoiced too soon

 

[Hellasärö]

Based on my understanding there's the stuff you don't really want to buy, it's okay, but not worth the asking price - this includes subwoofers from brands like Klipsch, Polk, Sony, Wharfedale, etc.

Then there's the 'good value for money' stuff from brands like SVS, Monoprice-Monolith, and the like.

And then finally, there is the 'big name' brands like the KEF KF92, B&W, JL audio, etc.

REL is apparently, 'the best', but it might be a lot of marketing out there - I don't know, I've never owned one.

Which of these are the genuine, 'best-subwoofer', out on the market?

That’s wholly dependant on your needs.

Budget? Main speakers? How low should it go? How loud should it play? Desktop/neafield/far field? Room size etc.?

Everytime this question is asked, for the sake of clarity, it should be followed by a description of the circumstances.

But generally (nowadays), SVS (dsp) is probably the safest bet.

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

That’s wholly dependant on your needs.

Budget? Main speakers? How low should it go? How loud should it play? Desktop/neafield/far field? Room size etc.?

Everytime this question is asked, for the sake of clarity, it should be followed by a description of the circumstances.

But generally (nowadays), SVS (dsp) is probably the safest bet.

Well I'd intended the context of this thread to be 'lifestyle' subwoofers.

Let me give you an example - I'd bought a SVS SB1000 6 months ago and thought it was quite small for a subwoofer - ordered the regular black finish with no gloss, but was given the glossy white instead.. I'm happy with it, it looks good for sure and doesn't take up much space - wait, let me rephrase that, it looks very good.

Some time later I saw an ad on the classifieds selling a Cambridge Audio Minx x300 for about $65 USD ($100 AUD) and decided, "why not", since it's so cheap and looked OK and performs fine for what it is.

It makes the SB1000 look like a behemoth in comparison - so now I can see how somebody would prefer to purchase the KEF or SVS 'mini' subwoofers.

Of course, going DIY and having two subs, each with heavy duty, high-excursion, 18-inch drivers, powered by high-current amps fed by DSP'd signals is the best, we all know this by now, but it might not be the best solution for those of us living with other people (who also happen to not be enthusiasts).

 

[witwald]

I'm yet to encounter a mix with content below 10Hz though.

I've found at least one example, with lots of low-frequency energy at 8.7Hz. The track is called "Bass I Love You" by Bassotronics. The highest peak is at 17.5Hz.

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

I've found at least one example, with lots of low-frequency energy at 8.7Hz. The track is called "Bass I Love You" by Bassotronics. The largest peak is at 17.5Hz.
View attachment 229802

That track is the 'Gold Standard' when testing subwoofer and demoing their excursion to viewers - there's some great part(s) of the song which make the speakers dance like nothing else.

It's mesmerizing actually.

 

[OWC]

I've found at least one example, with lots of low-frequency energy at 8.7Hz. The track is called "Bass I Love You" by Bassotronics. The largest peak is at 17.5Hz.

Don't really see the purpose, 99.8% of most speakers or subwoofers, is unable to reproduce, and based on my professional experience, at least a big portion of most amplifiers or other devices have a HP filter (DC block) around 7-15Hz or so.
Especially when you calculated all the devices in the chain, this will (probably) even go up (Tool also mentions this very briefly in his book)

There is also a lot of energy needed to feel those frequencies inside a room.
The majority of systems I see, is not set up right for it at all.

So in the end, it's like also running the risk of overloading some systems if they are not made well.

 

[witwald]

Don't really see the purpose, 99.8% of most speakers or subwoofers, is unable to reproduce, ...

I take your point. The 8 Hz content represents quite an extreme low-frequency signal, and its reproduction at higher levels would be problematic. However, the newer breed of DSP-controlled subwoofers can have a bit of a go at producing that energy, albeit at lower levels. It's there in the recording and needs to be reproduced if the content is to be reproduced as the artist intended.

...and based on my professional experience, at least a big portion of most amplifiers or other devices have a HP filter (DC block) around 7-15Hz or so.

That's a common enough performance characteristic of amplifiers. With the attendant phase shift, it could be regarded as a performance limitation. A DC-coupled amplifier is certainly going to be higher in fidelity than one that has a -3dB point at 7Hz, let alone 15Hz. DC coupled amplification accrues benefits when there are multiple such units in the amplification chain.

 

[OWC]

I take your point. The 8 Hz content represents quite an extreme low-frequency signal, and its reproduction at higher levels would be problematic. However, the newer breed of DSP-controlled subwoofers can have a bit of a go at producing that energy, albeit at lower levels. It's there in the recording and needs to be reproduced if the content is to be reproduced as the artist intended.

That's a common enough performance characteristic of amplifiers. With the attendant phase shift, it could be regarded as a performance limitation. A DC-coupled amplifier is certainly going to be higher in fidelity than one that has a -3dB point at 7Hz, let alone 15Hz. DC coupled amplification accrues benefits when there are multiple such units in the amplification chain.

We are not only talking about the amplifiers, but also the pre-amp section, as well as circuit around the DAC.

There are basically no manufacturers without a DC block section, mostly just to prevent the circuit from "blowing up" (said in very simple terms).
Cascading those HP circuits will bring up the frequency even more up.

It's there in the recording and needs to be reproduced if the content is to be reproduced as the artist intended.

Personally I find that a very very silly reason, but to each their own.
It's a reason that is even debatable, but that's an entire different deeply philosophical conversation.