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Why so few subwoofer reviews?

Marc v E

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As per the title, I could find only 1 official measurement by Amir: the Rhytmic 12.

Are they so uninteresting to measure or is it so easy to choose a good one by just
specs or brand ?
 

DonH56

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Also, remember Amir reviews what people send him, and it is likely that few feel it worthwhile to ship a sub for review. Or, if not worthwhile, too costly.
 

Sancus

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Measuring a subwoofer properly requires doing CEA2010 which is very different from a Klippel run.

The frequency response of subwoofers is basically useless and they don't have directivity so the normal things done in the speaker reviews would be a waste of time.
 
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Peluvius

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As per the title, I could find only 1 official measurement by Amir: the Rhytmic 12.

Are they so uninteresting to measure or is it so easy to choose a good one by just
specs or brand ?

I have found subs so dependant on room placement and speaker integration that performance reviews are all even harder to relate to than usual. I look for connectivity, configurability and experience of other forum members (if your lucky there might be a review from a reputable reviewer). I think the criticality of placement and integration aspects of Subs means that many people have actually never heard what great Bass sounds like in their rooms.

As has been said by quite a few already (and experience by me for sure), a bad sub, well placed and integrated will outperform a great sub which has not been well placed or integrated.
 
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ryanosaur

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I think knowing the output capabilities of a Sub are important. Seeing the CEA-2010 Burst Test and Long Term Compression Sweeps along with the Distortion Measurements tell you a great deal about how the Sub can perform. Group Delay is good to see, too, just to make certain there are no surprises, though fortunately most modern Subs from reputable companies are crushing the GD measurement.
I agree, no measurement will not tell you how a Sub will behave in your room.
But, understanding what performance you can get is a key thing, especially for some of the guys that want to put more than 4 Subs in their HT Rig so they can hit 115dB strong with headroom to spare.
It's less of a thing for music, though I do know some folk that think Concert Level playback is a thing. :eek: :rolleyes:

More to the point is that Subwoofer measurement is a different beast and Ground Plane measurements are the way to go. It would be grand to see Ricci and Data Bass continue, but James Larson and Erin have contributed some great measurements and reviews to help us out. It would be nice to see more Subs reviewed, but I get it: Size, cost, time, location and weather... it all comes together and can be problematic.
I know I would love to see 3rd Party testing of PSA Subs, for example. Since they won't send anything out for review, somebody would need to order one specifically to get it tested. Perhaps return it... I know that's not in my piggy bank though! ;)
 

HighImpactAV

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The frequency response of subwoofers is basically useless and they don't have directivity so the normal things done in the speaker reviews would be a waste of time.
The frequency response is very important for matching to the mains. Some of my calibrations have subs that don't extend high enough in frequency to work properly with the mains. Low frequency output capability at 30 Hz differs by over 30 dB among various subs and the difference is even greater at 20 Hz. Frequency response (different than output capability) also differs quite a bit below 50 Hz among subwoofers.

Subs like the Fulcrum Acoustics Passive Cardioid do have directivity.
 

Sancus

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The frequency response is very important for matching to the mains. Some of my calibrations have subs that don't extend high enough in frequency to work properly with the mains. Low frequency output capability at 30 Hz differs by over 30 dB among various subs and the difference is even greater at 20 Hz. Frequency response (different than output capability) also differs quite a bit below 50 Hz among subwoofers.

Subs like the Fulcrum Acoustics Passive Cardioid do have directivity.
But it doesn't matter at all. Only output capability matters and it has minimal relation to frequency response. You can EQ nearly all subwoofers to have any frequency response you want at any remotely normal subwoofer frequency.

Yes there are edge cases for people who want to cross subs very high or very low but it's not worth any effort from a reviewer. You're deep in "do your own work" territory at the point where you're crossing subs above 120hz or something.

Cardioid subs are similarly just way out of scope of domestic hi-fi, not worth reviewing.
 

DWPress

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Because any decent sub worth having weighs a lot and @amirm would have to get a room hoist to get it situated on the Klippel. Not to mention the shipping....
 

Slyman

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Supply and demand. Speakers are generally funnier than subs. Broader frequency spectrum means more nuances in the sound. More drivers. More fun.
 

alex-z

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Are they so uninteresting to measure or is it so easy to choose a good one by just
specs or brand ?

Subwoofers are "easy" to measure, the lack of significant directivity means the requirements are a calibrated mic + large open space. Running one through a Klippel NFS is like using an electron microscope to check if your car has a flat tyre.

Look at the CEA-2010 data, pick a model which has strong output in the 20-40Hz region. 60-100Hz is usually not an issue, limited purely by amplifier power rather than driver excursion.
 

DanielT

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