A thread for testing $2000-$2500ish subwoofers (1 Viewer)

[Edwin-S]

Is this going to be one of those subs that gets delivered strapped to a wooden pallet and you're going to need a group of guys from the local military base to haul it into your house?

I've never heard of Funk Audio but I've seen some really cool pix of some of the larger SVS subs getting delivered!

Not sure whether it will be mounted to a pallet or not. Weight of the unit, according to Nathan, is about 90 to 95 lbs. I had never heard of Funk Audio until Dave Upton provided a link to their site in "The Expanse" thread. I had posted in there about how that show seemed to be taxing my poor old Mirage BPSS210 sub.

Funk Audio has been around for about 20 years according to their site. They started as Funky Waves.

From looking at the site, their main business is building custom subs. The one I bought is a bit more "mass market" orientated. Their custom subs run for considerably more than the one I bought. You should take a look at their site. He has a line called the LFE series. I started thinking, "how do you get the forklift into the house?" when I looked at them. Either that or hire "The Hulk".

I can repost the link Dave Upton gave me here or anyone interested can find it in the aforementioned "The Expanse" thread.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Would love to see some pix, too, Edwin, if possible.

 

[Edwin-S]

Would love to see some pix, too, Edwin, if possible.

I'll see what I can do when it comes in. Just post them here?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Sure!

Just click on the button (that looks like a landscape) next to the smilie button above the text box and enter the URL of the images. They can be hosted anywhere. If you want to host them here on the HTF, just click on the GALLERY button at the top of any page. Create an album and you can upload the pix there. If you need any help, just ask.

 

[Edwin-S]

Sub finally made it up to me a couple of days ago. Took a few pics and made an album. How do you link the album to here? Clicking on the image button seems to be looking for a link to one pic.

View media item 5992
Edit: Looks like I have it now. Clicking the link will take a person to the album.

No pallet, but the unit was well packed in the cardboard box. They had wood veneer liners inside the box to protect against puncturing and cornering damage.

The sub was well wrapped with foam.

Fit and finish is excellent.

One downside is that there is no manual for setting up the sub or for or using the plate amplifier functions, which reduces one to trial and error when it comes to figuring out the functions. I also wish the amp display had been on top or on the front of the enclosure.

Using the display requires the sub to be to pulled out or turned tin order to see it.

I need to set it up properly, but I decided to try it out of the box without adjusting it. At the settings out of the box and the volume I had my receiver at the sub had a massive amount of slam. The sonic mine sequence from AoTC almost felt like it did when I saw it in the theater. The seat I was sitting in was vibrating.

Hell, everything was vibrating; the walls, floor, ceiling and curio cabinets. It was nuts. I played a few sequences from AoTC, SPR and SW: TLJ.
When I was finished, I took a look around. Pictures on my fireplace were skewed and a bunch of ornaments in my curio cabinet had walked across the glass shelves. The sub, itself, had walked out of position.

The slam was fantastic but definitely too much at the levels I was at. It is too bad that I have to cut way back on the volume because it was something else. Definitely a huge improvement over my old BPSS sub.

I need to set it up properly, but I have very limited location options in my living room. I've cranked things down quite a bit to give it a proper break in period.

 

[JohnRice]

Sub finally made it up to me a couple of days ago. Took a few pics and made an album. How do you link the album to here? Clicking on the image button seems to be looking for a link to one pic.

View media item 5992
Edit: Looks like I have it now. Clicking the link will take a person to the album.

No pallet, but the unit was well packed in the cardboard box. They had wood veneer liners inside the box to protect against puncturing and cornering damage.

The sub was well wrapped with foam.

Fit and finish is excellent.

One downside is that there is no manual for setting up the sub or for or using the plate amplifier functions, which reduces one to trial and error when it comes to figuring out the functions. I also wish the amp display had been on top or on the front of the enclosure.

Using the display requires the sub to be to pulled out or turned tin order to see it.

I need to set it up properly, but I decided to try it out of the box without adjusting it. At the settings out of the box and the volume I had my receiver at the sub had a massive amount of slam. The sonic mine sequence from AoTC almost felt like it did when I saw it in the theater. The seat I was sitting in was vibrating.

Hell, everything was vibrating; the walls, floor, ceiling and curio cabinets. It was nuts. I played a few sequences from AoTC, SPR and SW: TLJ.
When I was finished, I took a look around. Pictures on my fireplace were skewed and a bunch of ornaments in my curio cabinet had walked across the glass shelves. The sub, itself, had walked out of position.

The slam was fantastic but definitely too much at the levels I was at. It is too bad that I have to cut way back on the volume because it was something else. Definitely a huge improvement over my old BPSS sub.

I need to set it up properly, but I have very limited location options in my living room. I've cranked things down quite a bit to give it a proper break in period.

Would you remind us what it is?

BTW, there is ZERO chance the settings are even close to right, straight out of the box, with not even making an adjustment to the sub output of your receiver.

 

[theJman]

Would you remind us what it is?

Appears to be a Funk 18.0e.

One downside is that there is no manual for setting up the sub or for or using the plate amplifier functions, which reduces one to trial and error when it comes to figuring out the functions. I also wish the amp display had been on top or on the front of the enclosure.

Why not give Nathan a shout? I'm sure he can help you with the learning curve.

 

[Edwin-S]

Would you remind us what it is?

BTW, there is ZERO chance the settings are even close to right, straight out of the box, with not even making an adjustment to the sub output of your receiver.

I didn't really expect them to be right. Just tried it to see what it could do and it can do quite a bit.

Appears to be a Funk 18.0e.


Why not give Nathan a shout? I'm sure he can help you with the learning curve.

Yes. It is a Funk 18.0E which replaces their 18.0SE. The characteristics are similar with the enclosure being slightly wider and taller with larger a corner radius.

Should have called the album by model name and make rather than what I did.

I could but it feels odd calling someone,who probably has plenty on his plate, for setup assistance. A manual would have been better for basic setup since it wouldn't require me to disturb him unless I really ran into problems

 

[Dave Upton]

I didn't really expect them to be right. Just tried it to see what it could do and it can do quite a bit.



Yes. It is a Funk 18.0E which replaces their 18.0SE. The characteristics are similar with the enclosure being slightly wider and taller with larger a corner radius.

Should have called the album by model name and make rather than what I did.

I could but it feels odd calling someone,who probably has plenty on his plate, for setup assistance. A manual would have been better for basic setup since it wouldn't require me to disturb him unless I really ran into problems

Setting up a sub is a bit of an art and a science. Have you read Mark Seaton's guide on how to set up a sub?

 

[Edwin-S]

Setting up a sub is a bit of an art and a science. Have you read Mark Seaton's guide on how to set up a sub?

I don't believe so. Where can I find it?

One of my major problems is that I don't have much leeway on location right now. I'm pretty well stuck with back of the room about 6" from the back wall and about 8' from the outside wall. This is due to the front area being taken up by my TV credenza, stereo gear rack and LCR speakers. The back wall corner contains one of my curio cabinets and the rest of the area is my seating and a coffee table. The seating is probably about six to seven feet from the back wall. Not a lot of room to maneuver or move furniture.

I'd rather have all of this gear in a dedicated room downstairs, but I'm not sure where to start when it comes to renovating my old rumpus room into a decent media room.

 

[Dave Upton]

I don't believe so. Where can I find it?

One of my major problems is that I don't have much leeway on location right now. I'm pretty well stuck with back of the room about 6" from the back wall and about 8' from the outside wall. This is due to the front area being taken up by my TV credenza, stereo gear rack and LCR speakers. The back wall corner contains one of my curio cabinets and the rest of the area is my seating and a coffee table. The seating is probably about six to seven feet from the back wall. Not a lot of room to maneuver or move furniture.

I'd rather have all of this gear in a dedicated room downstairs, but I'm not sure where to start when it comes to renovating my old rumpus room into a decent media room.

Here's a couple of links:

1) https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...optimize-subwoofers-in-a-system-take-1.15802/
2) https://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-...e-subwoofer-calibration-bass-preferences.html

 

[Mike Frezon]

Thx for the pix, Edwin.

That thing looks MASSIVE!

Sounds like you had fun putting it through those pre-tweaking paces.

 

[theJman]

I could but it feels odd calling someone,who probably has plenty on his plate, for setup assistance. A manual would have been better for basic setup since it wouldn't require me to disturb him unless I really ran into problems

Agreed, a manual is always a good thing to have. FA is a boutique manufacturer though and with that comes certain differences compared to what you might find with a mainstream company (both good and not so good).

 

[JohnRice]

Agreed, a manual is always a good thing to have. FA is a boutique manufacturer though and with that comes certain differences compared to what you might find with a mainstream company (both good and not so good).

Still, it seems like they should have a PDF manual.

 

[Edwin-S]

Here's a couple of links:

1) https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...optimize-subwoofers-in-a-system-take-1.15802/
2) https://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-...e-subwoofer-calibration-bass-preferences.html

Thanks for the links. I am looking over the setup guide at AVS.

Still, it seems like they should have a PDF manual.

You would think so, but I have checked their site and couldn't find one. If need be, I'll call him but the set up guide that Dave Upton provided a link to should be a good starting point.

I've figured out how to page through the menus for the sub amp. For example, I found and figured out how to adjust the gain on the sub and I was able to see that LP and HP filters are in the off position.

 

[MiataMan]

Anyone going to review the SVS PB-16 Ultra in this thread? I saw the sealed version got some attention already.

 

[Bob Bielski]

Anyone going to review the SVS PB-16 Ultra in this thread? I saw the sealed version got some attention already.

You might want to ask Dave Moritz, a long time member. He acquired this model several months ago and has nothing but praise for it's performance. I think his neighbors 2 blocks away might agree with him LOL

This is a nice read for multiple subs.

Two Great Articles on Multiple Subwoofers by Dr. Earl Geddes

I have written before on the absolute necessity of multiple subwoofers for high-fidelity reproduction of modal region frequencies in a hom...

seriousaudioblog.blogspot.com

 

[JohnRice]

Anyone going to review the SVS PB-16 Ultra in this thread? I saw the sealed version got some attention already.

Yeah, I got Dual SB-16s last year, and Dave got a PB-16 around the same time. I guess that's just in his My Home Theater Page thread. You'll have to dig to the middle of last year. Don't disregard the sealed models. The old yarn of "only ported is good for movies" is sorely outdated. In the last 18 months or so, three of us have gotten dual SVS subs, and all of us got sealed models.

 

[Josh Dial]

Yeah, I got Dual SB-16s last year, and Dave got a PB-16 around the same time. I guess that's just in his My Home Theater Page thread. You'll have to dig to the middle of last year. Don't disregard the sealed models. The old yarn of "only ported is good for movies" is sorely outdated. In the last 18 months or so, three of us have gotten dual SVS subs, and all of us got sealed models.

Co-signed. I moved to dual SVS SB-16 Ultras last year and haven't looked back.