Anyone ever heard a Klipsch RW8? (1 Viewer)

[KellyR]

I'm thinking about getting one and I was wondering how loud and accurate they are. My HT room is 12X14 with three walls (the room leads into my dining room). Obviously it isn't the best but will it still thump? What do you think of them?

 

[Rory Buszka]

It is pretty good for an 8". Klipsch subs have a history of not being the most defined sub out there.

 

[KellyR]

Do you have any recommendations for a better one at a similar price?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed. IMO 8- and 10-inch subs are the stuff of car audio, where a small driver gets lots of mileage from a tiny acoustical space.

 

[KellyR]

I guess I should clarify my earlier post. I'm not looking for heart thumping so much as I am looking for presence in my bass. Kind of along the lines that different levels of base are at least well defined.... and a little thump would be nice also.

 

[Rory Buszka]

The RW8 might be one of the better 8-inch subs out there as compared to Sony, Yamaha, and the usual host of BestBuy and CircuitCity suspects (Infinity, Polk). Here are some other higher-end 8" contenders:

Definitive SuperCube II
This one is a sub that is designed to save as much space as possible. It has been described as not all that musical, though its extension is deep and it should be quite good for a small home theater. Expect to pay a little more for this one. It features a very high-powered amplifier, 1250 watts. If you decide to get this sub, it will not disappoint. However, you do need to consider how much you are willing to spend. The SuperCube II has garnered some very good reviews from professional reviewers, but it carries a steep $899 price tag.

Athena AS-P300
This is one that I have heard, and I like it a lot. It has 300 watts of power, which is huge for an eight-inch. It is bass-reflex loaded, and it is quite tight and well-defined. If I had to select an 8" sub for myself, I would select this one. However, it lets you know when it has reached the edge of its performance boundaries. Generally, this was only with very loud levels, as the 8" driver just can't be expected to do THAT much. If you hear this one and decide you need louder output, you should look at a sub using a higher-excursion bass driver, like the Klipsch RW-8 or Definitive SuperCube II. This sub is worth hearing, period. Go to Best Buy and hear it. It does cost $300, but this is about a third what the SuperCube costs. It is quite possible that you will like this one. It has more power than the Klipsch RW-8. It might cost more, though. I am not sure how much the RW-8 costs.

Velodyne CHT-8
You can go to Circuit City to hear this one. This one has limiters on it to prevent it from being overdriven. This is good for making sure there is not a bunch of nasty distortion, but one concern that this raises is that at very high levels, tonal balance may shift to the mids as the sub begins to get out of the way when the limiters kick in. All in all, probably a very capable sub, though I have not heard it. Velodyne makes very decent products. This sub has 350 watts of dynamic power, which is good for getting that woofer hopping, but its RMS power (generally the accepted measure for the industry) is only 130 watts. Go and hear this sub before you count it out on account of its relatively low power. It still has a little more power than the Klipsch, though this might not translate into more output. I cannot be sure because I have not heard this sub. however, reviews on Circuit City's site say things like crisp, tight, and articulate, which are exactly the words you look for in a sub for music. $300 at Circuit City. Do yourself a favor and hear it.

Once again, let me reiterate how important it is to go and hear the subwoofer you are looking at. One person can be looking for a subwoofer based on a completely different set of criteria than another person may be.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

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