adire subs sound + SVS quesiton (1 Viewer)

[Donald_Spry]

What kind of sound difference can I expect from the Rava SE vs. the Dharman? They are in the same price range, so I am just wondering if there would be a detectable difference. I have Paradigm studio series, and use about 60/40 HT/Music.

I know this is a big SVS forum, and I am still considering the 20-39 cs+, but my wife is concerned with the style. This is a silly question, but can something like a- ivy plant be placed on top of the SVS?

Thanks in advance,

DJ

 

[SVS-Ron]

Don,

There is no problem putting plant in front of your SVS (if you really need to hide it, most wives find the subtle and rich material we use actually looks pretty hot! ;^). Don't try to put something on top of the sub though. It needs to breath and while it could be done probably, the idea of (over)watering the plant isn't something I'd want to respond to as a customer service issue.

If your wife is speaker phobic and you are battling the possibility of "getting those cute Bose speakers" then indeed an SVS might not be your best bet. Not sure what amp you would get to power the CS-Plus but I'm pretty sure it'd outperform the box subs (with enough power) by an audible margin, FWIW.

Still, the Adires are said to be good performers (the Dharman esp.) and I'd imagine putting an ivy plant on them wouldn't be a problem and the fact they are boxes sometimes appeal to the WAF in ways a cylinder won't (though the opposite seems often to be true too, you just have to check before walking down the aisle I guess ;^)

Ron

 

[Kerry Hackney]

I haven't heard the Rava SE but the Dharman can handle just about anything you want to throw at it. As your bias is more HT than music I am guessing you might like it a little better than the Rava SE. The Rava has always excelled at music because of the sealed design. I expect the SE is the same only more.

This board is a little biased towards SVS, not that they don't deserve to be applauded. I am sure they are great subs. And, maybe biased is a poor choice of words. But, that said, the Adire products are NOT a second rate contender by any measure. I would bet you would be equally impressed by either companys' products.

 

[DanWiggins]

Donald,
The Rava SE really is for a serious music rig; it keeps the same great platform of the Rava, but adds a MUCH better signal processing section. The crossover is a true 2 way, 4th order Linkwitz Riley unit, with independently adjustable high pass and low pass corners. Also includes a quasi-parametric EQ, gain, etc.
Basically, if you want to do a serious music rig, and need a good crossover, the Rava SE is, in my humble (and biased...) opinion, a very good choice. The crossover is clean enough that you can run your mains from it. In fact, my own home system uses the same amp, and I run from the CD player, to a tube preamp, through the amp XO, and then the high pass out from the amp goes to whatever mains setup I'm using (amplifier and speaker combination). EXTREMELY clean and quiet.
HOWEVER, like Kerry mentions, you're looking for something to integrate into your HT. In this case, the extra crossover functions aren't really needed, since you're probably using the LFE output from your processor. For more HT bump, I'd recommend our Dharman, if looking at our products. Kerry has one (along with a DIY Tempest), and can give you more input about the capabilities of the unit.
Dan Wiggins
Adire Audio

 

[Barry Barnes]

From all the research I did (which was a TON) the two best boxed subs in the "bang for the buck" category, are the Dharman and the Hsu VTF-3. I actually found that the VTF-3 out performed my SVS 20-39 CS in some areas (in other areas they sounded virtually identical). I can't speak to the CS+, but it's more in the same price range as the Hsu so that might be a better comparison.Tom Nousaine just took some measurements on the Dharman and they are some of the highest recorded SPL levels I've seen (of course most of the specs are very old on most of the other models).
Anyway, all three are great choices. If the VTF-3 hadn't worked out for me then the Dharman was next on my short list. I also tried the SVS and it was excellent too, but I understand the WAF dilemma. My Wife just couldn't get behind "the tube" look either. I blame her damn friends. One of them told her my SVS looked "home made" and that soured her on it. :frowning:
Anyway, if WAF is a factor, and she's not into the tube, you might take a look at the Hsu as well, although it's significantly higher in price than the Dharman. It's fairly compact and is shaped like an end table so it takes up very little wall space and can be "hidden" behind a couch etc. I couldn't be happier with mine for the quality and sheer sound levels and at the same time my Wife is happy because she doesn't have to look at it.