Most Precise / Accurate / Tight Sub 2022

[auraluxstudio]

Hello everyone! I know this is a loaded question, but I’m on a quest and need help. I am looking for a pair of subs for a mixing and mastering room that are precise, accurate, tight, fast and any other descriptive words you want to interject to describe a subwoofer that’s super low distortion that would be perfect for critical listening. I’m trying to stay in the 12 inch range as space is limited and would prefer something that doesn’t weigh as much as a car. Hoping to reach 20 Hz and avoid DSP if possible. I realize subwoofers being “musical” is a hotly debated topic and I don’t care so much about that as I do fidelity. TIA!

 

[Rednaxela]

Why avoid DSP?

 

[auraluxstudio]

Why avoid DSP?

I’m not totally opposed. Just would prefer less conversion steps.

 

[Vini darko]

Velodyne dd12 springs to mind. Can only find measurments for the 18" version though. The 12 has all the same gadgets just silightly less extension and spl. Here's some from audioholics

Velodyne DD-18 Subwoofer System Review

The DD–18 is a big sub that delivers truly big sub sound. It does so with a driver packed with performance-enhancing features, as well as a sophisticated digital drive control system. In every way

www.audioholics.com

And some from hometheaterhifi

Velodyne DD-18+ Subwoofer - HomeTheaterHifi.com

Just when you think a product can't get any better, it gets better. Velodyne, renown manufacturer of subwoofers from the very small to the very large, has released its latest very large sub, the DD-18+. It has a 1,250 watt RMS power amplifier (3,000 watts peak) and a frequency response of 14.4...

hometheaterhifi.com

 

[GXAlan]

Hello everyone! I know this is a loaded question, but I’m on a quest and need help. I am looking for a pair of subs for a mixing and mastering room that are precise, accurate, tight, fast and any other descriptive words you want to interject to describe a subwoofer that’s super low distortion that would be perfect for critical listening. I’m trying to stay in the 12 inch range as space is limited and would prefer something that doesn’t weigh as much as a car. Hoping to reach 20 Hz and avoid DSP if possible. I realize subwoofers being “musical” is a hotly debated topic and I don’t care so much about that as I do fidelity. TIA!

You’re asking for a unicorn since most 12” subs need a lot of excursion to go deep and so they need beefy amps/DSP and enclosures. I really like the Velodyne Digital Drive line but their servo subs are not cheap and there is a bit of uncertainty with the new owners.

You will need to build your own. The best 12” woofers for your need are the JBL 2213Nd-1 and -2. These are 12” versions of the JBL M2 15” woofer and are light because they use neodymium magnets. The -2 has low TCR wire.

In the JBL 4319 tested here, the -1 has very low distortion. You can imagine that as you crossover the driver so that it only needs to focus on 80Hz and below, it will work pretty well.

The 4312E ran the -2 12” woofer FULL RANGE which tells you about the distortion capabilities of the driver. Again, if you cross it over and use this as a sub, it will be OK.

Both use cloth surrounds like the Everest DD67000 woofers too.

The biggest challenge is that these are not “long throw woofers.” Today when you think about a 12” premium sub, it is easily delivering the same kind of bass that a regular 15” or larger conventional woofer in a full range speaker would be delivering. So these would be probably would be good to about 25 Hz or so even with a lot of power, so it wouldn’t be the best if you really want to go deep.

DSP and Servo technology are your friends when it comes to a subwoofer. I think even the most purist audiophiles are going to choose subs with a lot of technology and even room correction on board.

 

[ex audiophile]

I have a JL Audio e112, first 12 inch sub to get the Audioholics "large room" rating. I don't know how real the "tight, fast..." concept is but the driver is over engineered and I love the performance. You could get a pair new for less than 5k if you shop around.

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't know what's on the market...

any other descriptive words you want to interject to describe a subwoofer

The main things are frequency response and output level. A good sub shouldn't have excess distortion unless it's overdriven.

I’m trying to stay in the 12 inch range as space is limited and would prefer something that doesn’t weigh as much as a car.

Of course, size does matter when it comes to bass. That's both the driver and cabinet. I suspect a lot of subs are made with smaller than "optimum" cabinets because most people don't want a huge box and it takes more material to build, and takes-up more shipping and storage space. (But the optimum cabinet isn't always the largest.) Most studio subs are going to have heavier cabinets than portable PA subs and some portable PA speakers use neodymium magnets because they are lighter. (But most PA subs are tuned for around 40Hz because you can get more output if you tune higher and that's low-enough for most applications... The lowest note on a bass guitar is about 40Hz and it's low-enough for bass you can feel in your body.)

If you want to build your own, you can choose the driver and then design and "tune" the cabinet as you wish. There is software such as WinISD (FREE!) that allows you to enter the driver parameters and then you choose a cabinet design (sealed or vented, etc.) and it will suggest an "optimum" design and it will model the performance (including a frequency response graph. From there you can play-around with changing the cabinet size and/or port dimensions, or try with different drivers to see how that changes performance, before you buy or build anything.

 

[Rednaxela]

I’m not totally opposed. Just would prefer less conversion steps.

Right, thanks.

I think you wanna take care of your room modes somehow. It may actually be the key to what you’re asking. But maybe you already have DSP elsewhere to do this?

 

[stevenswall]

Without DSP all of the subs I've heard sound pretty fat and slow and busted, broken, ruined, wrong if I'm looking for precise and natural sound. (Power Sound Audio, The Swarm, Genelec, Polk, Klipsch, anything in any car.)

It can be fun for movies or showing off bass to friends though, and I'd rather have messy bass than none at all for pop music and videos.

In a fully treated studio with a few feet of absorption on every wall, floor, and ceiling this might not be the case, or if you have an analog EQ and can correct the frequency response very precisely without negatively impacting other aspects of the sound.

 

[jrosser]

Hello everyone! I know this is a loaded question, but I’m on a quest and need help. I am looking for a pair of subs for a mixing and mastering room that are precise, accurate, tight, fast and any other descriptive words you want to interject to describe a subwoofer that’s super low distortion that would be perfect for critical listening.

If it's mixing and mastering (and 'studio' in your name) I could take a guess there are pro audio interfaces involved and maybe active monitors, and perhaps you're chasing slightly different goals to some of the more HT oriented products already suggested?

If this is the case I'd be prioritising some of XLR I/O, bass management, DSP somewhere, bypass etc. Look at what Neumann, Dynaudio and Genelec offer and if there is something that meets your budget, size, SPL and extension requirements.

On the other hand, if none of that is important then you have lots of other options which are often deemed to be better value for money. This is a case of deciding which features you need and if that pushes you toward studio gear, or consumer.

Bass management and DSP eq was the best thing I ever did - no matter how "musical" you think something is, room modes will ruin it.

 

[morpheusX]

All comercial subwoofers have DSP "imbedded", either an HPF on ported/passive radiator enclosures, or a Linkwitz transform (and probably an HPF also) on sealed enclosures.
You would basically need to build your own to ensure it doesn't have a DSP applied

 

[Chrise36]

A 10" isobarik or 8" subs like ML Dynamo REL or Velodyne DD series come to mind. if you want bigger drivers there are many pro drivers but need large boxes.