I weep for my sub woofer (1 Viewer)

[Rumblethump]

I think I need therapy, my Velodyne SPL 12 (circa 2002) died Friday night. It is displaying a horrifying death rattle that I fear cannot be undone. It was a big purchase for me, and I'm a little shocked that it ended like this. I watch a lot of concert DVD's, such as U2 at Slaine Castle or Rush R30. I also do a lot of gaming on the PS3, so the sub gets quite a work out. It was 750 watts RMS and 1500 dynamic. My receiver is the Denon 3803. Nothing spectacular but very satisfying. What is out there that is comparable or even an upgrade. Will an 8" sub with more RMS wattage sound as good or better? I noticed a new line from Velodyne called Optimum, any reviews on these? A minimal footprint would be ideal, with a price range from $500.00 to $800.00. Thanks in advance for any helpful information you can provide to a newbie to the forum.

 

[SethH]

Sorry for your loss. If you're looking for a small footprint, you might look at a cylinder sub from SVS like the PC12-NSD which runs $549+shipping. This would most likely be a pretty noticeable upgrade for you.

 

[Robert_J]

Ignore the wattage. It's a useless specification when comparing subs. It's like a car company advertising that their car drinks gas like crazy. Yes, it sounds impressive but it's just physics. Small subs have to fight against high air pressure inside the box so they need more power to have the same amount of output as a large sub. Small subs don't play as low. So they have to have massive amounts of low end boost built into the amp. Boost requires power. That's why you see such huge power numbers on small subs.

Subs are all about moving air. In my opinion, an 8" sub is useless for watching action movies unless your room is about the size of your average coat closet. Get the largest enclosure and the largest driver as your budget and room allow.

The SVS mentioned above is large and ported (more efficient). It will crush all big box retail subs in the same price range while sounding great.

-Robert

 

[Rumblethump]

Thanks for the responses! I checked some reviews for the PC12 NSD and they are all quite favorable. After sniffing around the SVS site, I noticed a model that matches my current footprint and also has high reviews. It's the SB12 plus. $699.00 is reasonable, no remote though and setting the eq sounds troublesome. Would this sub be considered an upgrade over the SPL12?

 

[David Willow]

Remote for the sub? Why?

The parametric EQ is a bit confusing to set, but I suggest you use Audyssey in your Denon. It will be 1000 time better.

Not sure how much difference there is between the 2 subs. The SB12 Plus has a bit better driver and a few more watts. Should be a slight improvement.

 

[Rumblethump]

Willow, for 7hundy I need a better endorsement than that. I've seen your posts, come on, give me some inspiration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Robert_J]

I don't know a thing about your Velodyne but I have heard SVS subs as well as subs from their driver engineer when he worked at his previous company. I've go with SVS without reservation.

And setting a PEQ isn't difficult. I use a Behringer Feedback Destroyer as my sub EQ and it took less than an hour to measure, set and re-measure my sub's response. That was using sine waves on a CDR, an SPL meter and an Excel spreadsheet. My sub is basically flat from 100hz to 17hz. I can shake the concrete foundation of my house with ease. It's not an SVS but their driver engineer did have a hand in designing my sub.

-Robert

 

[David Willow]

Huh?

 

[David Willow]

Robert,

It's the settings on the amp that are a pain. Very confusing. Had to read the manual a dozen times before I got it. I had to read again a few times to figure out how to turn it off (all dials to the left).

Of course, it could be that I'm just a bit dense