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Rythmik L12 Subwoofer Review

3dbinCanada

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Here are my reasons for selecting the custom cabinets for Rythmik E22es:
  • Custom mahogany and piano block cabinets match the Ultima2s
  • Dual 12" drivers provide high output - somewhere between a 15 and 18" subwoofer
  • Rytmik servo subs have measured lower distortion and freedom from long term output compression
  • At 14" wide, they can fit in the limited space available.
  • Analog PEQ and other adjustments allow tuning to address at least 1 room mode without incurring A/D D/A delay.
  • Price for each custom subwoofer is considerably less than than a JL Fathom F112 that also had high output and small footprint.
The downside is they will take a while to arrive, likely, October.
Rythmik is likely to make the E22es in piano black a standard product in the same time-frame.

- Rich

P.S. Here are the measurements for the Rythmik sealed 18" subwoofer: https://data-bass.com/#/systems/5ad778f92d279a0004669a18?_k=t5aeiq

Hey Rich,

Is the servo technology included in this?
 

RichB

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@RichB Rythmik seems to already have a dual vertical 12" sub in the L22, but it is the paper cone version. Is this 'E22' the same but with the aluminium cones? Kind of like the difference from the L12 to the F12?

I would love to see Rythmik have more subs available in painted gloss black. If I put together another system when I get back home it will probably be dual 12" sealed from them, likely L12 due to size/cost but those don't come in gloss/piano black. You have to step up to the F12SE at $1099 and 50% larger volume for a that finish option. They do have a ridiculous amount of options from a size/feature standpoint at a nice price-point spread so finish options is a very little thing to complain about.

The E22es is not yet a standard product but it includes the following upgrades over the L22:
  • HX800XLR3 amplifier
  • Dual DS1204 black aluminum cone driver front mounted
  • Gloss Black
I think this will be a killer product.

- Rich
 

RichB

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jhaider

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agreed. integrating a subwoofer is literally a skill and requires training, proper tools and practice. the good news is if you get good at it you won't need DSP or calibration and your system will sound amazing.

Why would anyone willingly approach a task with three limbs hacked off and the 4th tied behind the back?

I suppose there are people who prefer to unscrew fasteners with their teeth rather than a screwdriver too...
 

Gatordaddy

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I just picked up one of these. In gloss white to match my speakers. The finish is very high quality throughout. The addition of a PEQ is great and makes integrating it a lot easier. The addition of a PEQ imo makes this more usable than SVS' SB1000. Coming from two JBL 550p subs there's really no comparison. Less expensive mass-market subs just aren't able to dig low enough to make the trouble integrating them worth it.

The L12 puts out usable energy down to 20hz without taking up much space and is a bit more than half the price of Rhythmik's metal cone variant while only losing 1db. This sub does everything I could ask for in my small/medium sized listening room. I highly recommend it.
 

Trouble Maker

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I just picked up one of these. In gloss white to match my speakers. The finish is very high quality throughout. The addition of a PEQ is great and makes integrating it a lot easier. The addition of a PEQ imo makes this more usable than SVS' SB1000. Coming from two JBL 550p subs there's really no comparison. Less expensive mass-market subs just aren't able to dig low enough to make the trouble integrating them worth it.

The L12 puts out usable energy down to 20hz without taking up much space and is a bit more than half the price of Rhythmik's metal cone variant while only losing 1db. This sub does everything I could ask for in my small/medium sized listening room. I highly recommend it.

Did you go with only 1 or 2? In previous systems I've only ever had 1 sub, and not this high quality or output. I'm wanting 2 subs but I'm not sure I have a good place for 2 subs. If only 1, how are you finding the situation with only 1 compared to previous 2 sub system?
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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I think for subs or anything related to bass, the extension is how loud it can get.
What does 'loud" really mean? I turned my sub off. I do not desire feeling base telegraphed through the foundation of my home. I don't want a speaker flapping my pants. I can buy a 40 inch commercial fan from Rural King for that effect. I suspect a sealed sub with low distortion might be worth a try. Maybe Revel sealed sub worth a try.
 

Gatordaddy

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Did you go with only 1 or 2? In previous systems I've only ever had 1 sub, and not this high quality or output. I'm wanting 2 subs but I'm not sure I have a good place for 2 subs. If only 1, how are you finding the situation with only 1 compared to previous 2 sub system?

I went with one, and will get a second if i move into a larger space. The single Rhythmik handily outperforms the two JBL subwoofers I had before. At moderate listening levels in my ~2000 ft^3 listening space the Rhythmik achieves similar performance to the SVS PB-12 that takes up too much space.

I found that I couldn't get usable output below about 30hz using two JBL 550P subs. Some people have luck but they are using a mix of DSP and time. I would recommend not bothering with a mass market sub so long as budget allows. One sub that produces usable output down to 20hz (like the Rhythmik does) will perform better than several that can't dig below 30hz.
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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Keith is smart but that kind of testing could only be justified in the age of print magazines and profitable models. Today's online world won't support large scale testing. And at any rate, outdoor testing limits reviews to just summer months or so.

With my rig, I can test subs very quickly so throughput can be incredibly high.

The problem is that they are so damn heavy. Just took this one down and shipped it. Boy, was it painful to deal with. I can get a crane to lift things and that might help but eventually I need to ship these things back. So not sure I want to do a lot of them or at least heavy ones (this one weighed 60 pounds).
I have never liked any sub purchased over the years. Just not to my liking.
 

Gatordaddy

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What does 'loud" really mean? I turned my sub off. I do not desire feeling base telegraphed through the foundation of my home. I don't want a speaker flapping my pants. I can buy a 40 inch commercial fan from Rural King for that effect. I suspect a sealed sub with low distortion might be worth a try. Maybe Revel sealed sub worth a try.

You may very well like this one. My house is old enough that a behemoth subwoofer will shake the window panes and I would rarely listen at that level unless I'm watching a movie. Though I am very happy with my stand-mounted speakers, I do notice they can't reproduce the bottom octave. Music sounds more realistic with the bottom octave included, but I notice it most on orchestral or jazz programming that includes large drums or double bass.
 

Trouble Maker

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I went with one, and will get a second if i move into a larger space. The single Rhythmik handily outperforms the two JBL subwoofers I had before. At moderate listening levels in my ~2000 ft^3 listening space the Rhythmik achieves similar performance to the SVS PB-12 that takes up too much space.

I found that I couldn't get usable output below about 30hz using two JBL 550P subs. Some people have luck but they are using a mix of DSP and time. I would recommend not bothering with a mass market sub so long as budget allows. One sub that produces usable output down to 20hz (like the Rhythmik does) will perform better than several that can't dig below 30hz.

Our living room is just about the same size. You have me thinking it could be worth it to try 1 and see how it does. I can always get a second one if I'm not happy it and think that will fix the problem.
 

Gatordaddy

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Our living room is just about the same size. You have me thinking it could be worth it to try 1 and see how it does. I can always get a second one if I'm not happy it and think that will fix the problem.

I'd encourage you to take the plunge. If you're looking for "earth-shaking bass for home theater" you'll probably have to go bigger. But for something that digs to ~20hz in a small/medium listening space and integrates pretty easily I think the L12 is phenomenal.

I'm of the opinion that the voices saying one *needs* more than one subwoofer are exaggerating, or have very large/symmetric listening spaces. I'm sure they make marked improvements when cost and space are no object. However, having messed around with several mass-market subwoofers, I'm of the opinion they are a waste of time and money.
 

Senior NEET Engineer

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What does 'loud" really mean? I turned my sub off. I do not desire feeling base telegraphed through the foundation of my home. I don't want a speaker flapping my pants. I can buy a 40 inch commercial fan from Rural King for that effect. I suspect a sealed sub with low distortion might be worth a try. Maybe Revel sealed sub worth a try.

Small sealed subs like the ones Revel sells usually have the worst distortion.
 

sigbergaudio

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agreed. integrating a subwoofer is literally a skill and requires training, proper tools and practice. the good news is if you get good at it you won't need DSP or calibration and your system will sound amazing.

Not sure I agree that you don't need DSP to properly integrate a subwoofer, but agree with the rest of it. :)
 

goldark

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Recently got a Rythmik L12 in gloss white for the office.

It sounded subjectively good but I still needed a way to EQ for the room when it so happened I stumbled upon a review of the Dayton DSP-LF DSP controller: https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews...on-audio-dsp-lf-low-frequency-dsp-controller/

It sounded promising so I bought one for myself. It's $60 so a relatively cheap; also had to buy the iWoofer Pro app for $5 and it took a little bit of time to learn the ins and outs of it and how everything worked, but the result subjectively is tight, linear, punchy bass. The posted graph shows the final measurements of the subwoofer in my room. The different color curves are different measurements around the main listening position. The black line is the corrected response at the main listening position at ear level. Pretty flat! The app is calibrated for mics only for IOS devices. Dayton says this is because there are too many makes/models for Android so they couldn't possibly do it for Android devices. Definitely recommended.
 

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Gatordaddy

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3dbinCanada

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I'd encourage you to take the plunge. If you're looking for "earth-shaking bass for home theater" you'll probably have to go bigger. But for something that digs to ~20hz in a small/medium listening space and integrates pretty easily I think the L12 is phenomenal.

I'm of the opinion that the voices saying one *needs* more than one subwoofer are exaggerating, or have very large/symmetric listening spaces. I'm sure they make marked improvements when cost and space are no object. However, having messed around with several mass-market subwoofers, I'm of the opinion they are a waste of time and money.

I have the entry ported version, LV12-R , a rear ported version. For an entry level sub, it does alright digging down to 19 Hz. Its articulate as well with non of that sloppy booming bass.

Having multiple subs does even out the in room bass response in both amplitude and frequency as different room locations emphasize different frequencies with respect to the listening position.
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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You may very well like this one. My house is old enough that a behemoth subwoofer will shake the window panes and I would rarely listen at that level unless I'm watching a movie. Though I am very happy with my stand-mounted speakers, I do notice they can't reproduce the bottom octave. Music sounds more realistic with the bottom octave included, but I notice it most on orchestral or jazz programming that includes large drums or double bass.
I agree. Do I need a ported beometh for that effect? My opinion has changed. Rhythmic, SVS and Revel produce and sell sealed subs for a reason. I suspect not just for saving space and unobtrusive. Maybe I am wrong.
 

Chromatischism

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I agree. Do I need a ported beometh for that effect? My opinion has changed. Rhythmic, SVS and Revel produce and sell sealed subs for a reason. I suspect not just for saving space and unobtrusive. Maybe I am wrong.
You're right – sealed are recommended for very small rooms because space is at a premium and you get a unique room gain effect that brings up the low end a lot anyway. However, they won't produce the same rumble, which is why I'm switching to low-tuned (12.5 Hz) vented, even if they are larger. Plus the efficiency advantage is impossible to ignore.
 

Gatordaddy

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I agree. Do I need a ported beometh for that effect? My opinion has changed. Rhythmic, SVS and Revel produce and sell sealed subs for a reason. I suspect not just for saving space and unobtrusive. Maybe I am wrong.

Unless your space is very large or you listen to music very loud--a behemoth is probably overkill.

HT enthusiasts are going to want to be producing over 100db near 20hz. Sealed subs will require a lot more money and amplification to get you there. Looking at the output for the LV12 versus the L12--the ported version gains almost 3db over the sealed version at a ~50 dollar premium, at the expense of a much larger enclosure. Sealed subs are popular because they are much less obtrusive, can be designed to be "good enough" for music in smaller spaces, and will be less likely to exhibit response errors that can cause localization (chuffing).
 
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