Subwoofer Recommendation for a large room with great WAF

[blackiridium]

Hey everyone, I've been fine tuning my system over the past few months. It's currently made up of 2x KEF R6s driven by an Apollon dual mono amp fed by a Node Icon.
I'm missing the lower octaves and need a sub for the system. The WAF is a major issue here so I need something that looks good and/or can be hidden behind a couch or something. The sub would most likely need to be a white color to match the decor. I would prefer it to also have a wireless connection so that we can put it anywhere we'd like in the room. The issue is that the room is huge, something like 600sq/ft with an open floor plan to the kitchen and foyer. I've been looking at a few options:

Totem: https://totemacoustic.com/product/tribe-solution-sub/
Buchardt: https://buchardtaudio.com/collections/all-products/products/sub10
Sigberg Audio: https://www.sigbergaudio.com/products/inkognitosubwoofer 12" woofers here might be a better option?

Anyway, I wanted to see if I'm missing any others that I should consider?

 

[kemmler3D]

Your existing list seems good, I'll throw the KC62 in as an option with high WAF if you don't need high output. They are expensive for what they are, they don't go very loud due to size, but they do go low. I have two in my living room with LS60s and I'm flat down to 20hz in a living room / kitchen/ dining room open plan situation also. Because they are DOS you can put them on a shelf or something to improve WAF.

Similar for a bit less money is the SVS 3000 Micro.

 

[NTK]

You may also consider something like Dr Toole's current nearfield sub setup. The model of his sub is Paradigm's MilleniaSub.

 

[blackiridium]

Your existing list seems good, I'll throw the KC62 in as an option with high WAF if you don't need high output. They are expensive for what they are, they don't go very loud due to size, but they do go low. I have two in my living room with LS60s and I'm flat down to 20hz in a living room / kitchen/ dining room open plan situation also. Because they are DOS you can put them on a shelf or something to improve WAF.

Similar for a bit less money is the SVS 3000 Micro.

Thanks for that. I had considered the KEF KC92 as it has dual 9" woofers.
I've noticed some subwoofers have dual 8" woofers. Would that be a better option for a big room to a single 12" or 10" woofer?

 

[kyuu]

What's your budget? Have you considered an in-wall/in-ceiling option? About as high a "WAF" as I can imagine, but of course you have to be willing to cut a hole in your wall. And for some reason, in-wall subwoofer/amplifier combos are rather pricey.

 

[blackiridium]

What's your budget? Have you considered an in-wall/in-ceiling option? About as high a "WAF" as I can imagine, but of course you have to be willing to cut a hole in your wall. And for some reason, in-wall subwoofer/amplifier combos are rather pricey.

Budget is up to $3k

 

[kemmler3D]

Thanks for that. I had considered the KEF KC92 as it has dual 9" woofers.
I've noticed some subwoofers have dual 8" woofers. Would that be a better option for a big room to a single 12" or 10" woofer?

The relevant number is cone area, so...

8" woofer ~ 50"sq.
9" ~ 63" sq.
10" ~ 78" sq.
12" ~ 113" sq.

So it's just like pizza, a larger diameter gets you a lot more area. One large is better than two smalls. One 12" gets you (all else held equal) more bass than 2x 8" and almost 2x 9".

The advantage of the dual subs with small cones is you can fit them into the room more easily and they cancel out their own vibration. But larger cones tend to win easily in terms of output due to larger area. An 18" sub has 254 square inches of cone area... bigger than 2x 12". Small cones are good for WAF but you need a lot of them to equal one big one.

But if fitting into decor is a requirement ... which it often is... then multiple small cones can be a really good solution. Most rooms don't look great with a huge 18" sub sitting along one of the walls...

 

[kyuu]

Budget is up to $3k

With that budget you could do the SVS 3000 in-wall easy. Even get a second of the subwoofer (powered off the same amp) if you wanted. Alternately KEF has the KASA500 amp that you could pair with one or two Ci3160RLb-THX.

If you don't want to go the in-wall route and are looking for something capable while still quite small and good-looking, hard to beat the KC92 IMO.

 

[EERecordist]

Have you looked through https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...cally-beautiful-subwoofers-with-photos.61452/ ?

 

[Nih Noh]

You have a lot of room. Hide them behind curtains.

I do. Love that they are stealth. Room is much more amazing when you can't see the firepower.

 

[blackiridium]

Have you looked through https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...cally-beautiful-subwoofers-with-photos.61452/ ?

Yeah saw this thread. It’s where I got a lot of ideas from. Was trying to make sure I’m considering all the options.

 

[EERecordist]

Yeah saw this thread. It’s where I got a lot of ideas from. Was trying to make sure I’m considering all the options.

+1 you are on the right track. Are there partner deciding/listening tracks? If we don't have it, we should add it. Subs are a great DIY area. Ask the partner what they like and do not like. Hope it works out.

 

[GXAlan]

I have used the CP8 in a massive room with surprisingly effective performance for music. But I use it to extend below 40 Hz. If you need more midbass, can try several of these:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/quick-review-of-the-rockville-slim-shaker-10.3323544/

For cinema, you cannot replace displacement and more important than woofer size is physical cabinet size. Some of the impressive 12” driver subs are the size of 15” subs. For size and cinema, I have been very impressed with my Earthquake Sound LU-15.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/earthquake-sound-supernova-luminous-lu-15.3322370/

 

[blackiridium]

I think I've narrowed things down between the Sigberg 10D (maybe Inkognito 12" and the KEF KC92. What are you guys' thoughts on the differences?

 

[Matt_Holland]

For a large space I recommend the biggest drivers possible. Especially if you don’t want or can’t have multiple subs. The Inkignito with its shallow form factor would look to be ideal, plus @sigbergaudio himself is on here and might be able to offer some setup/tuning advice.

 

[blackiridium]

It seems that the 10D can go deeper and louder than the Inkognito...

 

[sigbergaudio]

It seems that the 10D can go deeper and louder than the Inkognito...

The frequency response is roughly the same in the low end for both Inkognito and 10D. So they both go about as deep. We've also recently revised the tuning of both so they have less drop off below 20hz. A customer who got the update saw an 8dB increase at 17hz and 4dB increase at 15hz in-room. This is all assuming the playback level is within the capacity of the subwoofer of course, otherwise the limiter will kick in.

And yes the 10D can play louder than the Inkognito.

Compared to the Kef KC92, the SPL capacity is significantly louder in both the Inkognito and the 10D. This is based on Erin's measurements of the KF92 which I assume is about the same as the KC92.

Kef KF92 25hz@2m: 92dB
Inkognito 25hz@2m: 98dB
10D 25hz@2m: 102dB

Kef KF92 50hz@2m: 103dB
Inkognito 50hz@2m: 113dB
10D 50hz@2m: 116dB

 

[digitalfrost]

If you have space, consider a single or a double bass array?

 

[blackiridium]

I bit the bullet and purchased a 10D. Can't wait for it to arrive.

 

[just1n]

I think I've narrowed things down between the Sigberg 10D (maybe Inkognito 12" and the KEF KC92. What are you guys' thoughts on the differences?

Purely sujective, but if you have kids or pets the exposed woofers of the KEF could pose a concern. I couldn’t do it if I was going to choose between the two.