SVS pb-12nsd's OR Elemental Designs A3-300's "Buying Two of either one!" (1 Viewer)

I have been in the market for some good Home Theater rumble and some good Bass for my music. I have been on the computer for hours weeks and months... I am going to narrow it down to buying two sub's, i understand the the bass will sound clean and fill my room with that cleaner bass feel better. My BIG question is i want two so i really dont want to spend over $1500 for these subs.. And i think 12's will do the job just fine. I am running 2 Aperion Verus Grand Towers for main left/right and Grand center . My next purchase is my subs and surrounds... I like the A6mtm from ED for the surrounds i am running 6ohms so they will do th job. But the Subs is where i am having a hard time deciding.. I will be moving soon to GA. soon, my new home will have about a 15ft x 20ft room with 8 ft ceilings. I am looking between 2 SVS PB -12NSD's or 2 ED A3-300's. Who has something to add for me t help with this decision?
Thanks, Joe

I am looking between 2 SVS PB -12NSD's or 2 ED A3-300's

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Between the two of those, I'd go with the eD since their driver has the potential output of an SVS plus driver.
At your budget, I'd go with dual Epik Empires - http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/empire.html
If you are willing to DIY, you can get dual 18's for under a $1,000 that would crush $3,000 worth of subs.

I have looked at the Dual Epik Empire's they are quit impressive. I apprechiate the response and your opinion.
:tu:

Curious about the differences in the amp's for the sub's? Witch is the better amp?

JoJoDancer said:

Curious about the differences in the amp's for the sub's? Witch is the better amp?

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None are "better". They chose the amps to get the best performance for the driver/enclosure combination.

Here we go again! So been looking again for subwoofers, I listen to music alot, and a wide variety of it. I been looking at the Epik Legends(dual), and for the price they seem that it would be a smart move to go with them! Empires i think i wouldnt get to use there potential alot! Dual Legends would add an excellent bass addition to my Verus Grand Towers, How does this all size up to You?

Empires i think i wouldnt get to use there potential alot!

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Let's say you get the Legends and crank them to 80% of their potential most of the time and reach 100% every once in a while. At 80% you are probably getting 5% distortion and the 100% mark is hitting 10% distortion. With the Empires at the same volume, you are running them at 50% of their potential most of the time and peaking at 80% every once in a while. At 50% potential, you are at 1/2% distortion and at 80% you are at 5% distortion.
Don't think of it as not reaching their potential, think of it as having additional headroom so that you have lower distortion.

I am very tempted with the Empire's, i think what there spec's tell me that they would be an all around multipurpose sub. I do like that the double power of them, and higher freq range. What you are describing makes alot of sense, I am one who if gets the chance to crank it up I DO and i love the Idea of being able to have room to het it louder.
Man Back and forth. I dont know what im gonna do with all my time not researching all these different sub's after buying them...
But i just might have to go with that extra comfort of more if i want it from the Empire's... You are providing me with another view and it is good.. Thanks.

You are providing me with another view and it is good

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You never answered my DIY question above. Are you willing to take that step? With a $1,500 budget we could design something like Empires but each cabinet has a pair of 18's.

Man that sound like a good set up! I dont think i could handle it though. I am pretty comfortabe wth th Empire's. I jst need to round up 2 pair of surround's. I thught wanted th eD A6mtm. still shopping arround though. I looked at the Cgraig sub's and just dontthink imrady for that big of a move. Like i really love music and hvebeen beack and forth about portedor sealed, 12's or 15's dual or single. At firsti started wit he 13 Ultra, then ended up looking at MK super fast tight basssubs, there a little pricey, i wld benifit from havig dual' for my set up. So, as of NOW i am looking at Empire's.. I am ver undecided but fo my taste of music which varies from old folk, acid-rock,Jazz, techno, hrd rock , rap, countr , i gus thereisnt really mutch i wuldnt listen too. So the sealed 15's fellik they wouldprvide alot for me, i love the movieexperience to, i watch Piratesof the Carrabien last night at lowvolumesbut was still stoked abot the the sound.Well doesnt mean that the 18's isnt out of the questin thouh....

looking at MK super fast tight basssubs

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When a sub is described as "fast", ignore it. It's marketing hooey. About 10 years ago, Dan Wiggins and Dr. David Hyre published a paper proving that all woofers travel at the same speed. http://www.diy-audio.narod.ru/litr/WooferSpeed.pdf

I am ver undecided but fo my taste of music which varie......, i love the movieexperience to

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What you want is an accurate sub. Whatever you signal you send it, it will reproduce it accurately. All of the subs I have recommended will do that.

hvebeen beack and forth about portedor sealed, 12's or 15's dual or single

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I'm a fan of sealed subs because they don't require a subsonic filter. The air in the enclosure acts as a spring to limit the cone movement down low. I run dual 15's with a 2,500w pro audio amp powering them. I also have a pro audio digital equalizer in the mix so that my in-room response is flat from 100hz to 17hz. My -3 is 14 or 15hz. I have usable output at 12hz. You can't get that with very many retail, ported subs.
Bass is all about moving air. You can either have a driver with a long stroke (more distortion at the peaks of the stroke) or you can use a larger cone and less stroke. I'm a fan of large cones and a lot of excursion but that's only available on DIY subs.

have you looked at Velodyne? I am looking at there EQ-Max 15

No because you get a better value from these smaller companies. Plus the support is better. You can post here that you have an issue with your SVS sub and someone will get in touch with you. You can call eD and talk to the guy that built your sub. You can call Epik and talk to Chad (the owner) or his father. Will Mr. Velodyne pick up the phone?
I'm also a little biased. Years ago, the DIY section here at HTF was extremely active. That's where Ron S. met Tom V. and they started SV Subwoofers. Ben, the owner of eD, posted a lot. Chad, the owner of Epik and at that time Ascendant Audio, posted a lot. Dan Wiggins, formerly of Adire Audio and inventor of XBL^2 low distortion speaker technology, along with a couple of employees were extremely active here. John J., owner of AE Speakers, posted his day to day activities here. I felt like I had a courses in acoustics, electrical engineering, finite element analysis, and other stuff I still can't understand just from reading the posts from these guys. This place and a few other forums took me from just follow instructions to actually understanding what I am doing when I build a speaker or a sub.

You know i have reached a decision and it is Epik Empire. I am going with the single Empire and i feel that it will bring me soooo much joy. I am also adding a couple Def Tech's Pro Monitors for some 7.1 sound! I am really excited i will let yall know how it turns out! I really do apprechiate the knowledge everyone has shared with me! You will be hearing from me soon! Later

FWIW, I went from a Velodyne to SVS. Velodyne was nice, but I got a TON more sub for my money with SVS. I'm a customer for life!!!

It's not that Velodyne is a bad company, it just you will get so much more buying internet direct. Same thing applies for speakers.

Yeah I am very happy with my Main Fronts and Center I bought from Aperion Audio and they still impress me, with te Empire sub I am goin to be blown away!!!!

If you had the budget, I would have suggested the Seaton Sound Terraform XL - http://www.seaton-sound-forum.com/post?id=4666795&trail=20 It's a 6th order bandpass sub. The back chamber is ported and contains dual 15's. The front chamber dual 18" passive radiators.
If you had said DIY, then a pair of Bill Fitzmaurice THT's. Each one is a horn loaded sub capable of about 120db using a $160 driver. With your budget you could have built 4. Each one is about the size of a top loading deep freeze.

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OK so the Empire is a MONSTER. It has been giving me alot of joy. I cant described the bass of this thing. I am very happy with the performance...