other subs (1 Viewer)

[Jason Lu]

I know svs and hsu subs are popular here, and there probably good even though i havent heard them but there has to be others out there like what about the athena as-p400 or the velodyne cht line or "ANYTHING" else i mean come on it sounds like this site is biased!

 

[JakubH]

For other companies that provide great bang/buck, Adire is great, as is ACI, as is Servodrive, as is AcousticVisions, as are the various kits offered by Dayton, Creativesound, Madisound, and the like.

Velodyne and Paradigm make nice subs off the top of my head, but IMO they can't match the value of SVS, HSU, and the companies above. If you must have a 'brand name' for whatever reason, you can't go far wrong with Paradigm and Velodyne.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

jason its hard to beat the hsu and svs for bang for the buckbecause they are sold direct and bypass the retailer i wouldn’t necessarily call it bias if people have tried them and like them i;m sure some people like the athena too if you want to find out what athena owners think why not start a thread and ask for some feedback by owners and see what comes back

 

[Chris Quinn]

Take a look at Tom Vousaine's measurements and see why.

The Athena reaches 29hz cleanly and has an output of 78dB at 25hz. The Hsu VTF-2 plays cleanly to 25hz and can put out 93dB at 20hz.

The Velodyne CHT15 is clean down to 30hz and is 92 dB at 25hz the SVS can hit 91dB at 20hz. These numbers and the price are why you keep hearing these two names.

Other great suggestions have been made in this thread.

 

[Chris Quinn]

Stay away from the Paradigm PDR series the PDR-12 can only reach 50hz cleanly and the PDR-10 is clean to 42hz.

 

[Marvin E]

There are other subs out there. Check out the following:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...&page_number=1

 

[Kevin_R_H]

Jason,

I don't know how to pronounce it, but the "Holy Grail" of bang-for-the-buck subwoofers seems to be spelled: VMPS. Even taking into account they are passive (they have no internal amplifier), their performance is said to be excellent.

Note I have no subwoofer in my main system, and will never buy one. I'm just reporting what I have read (such as 3 SVS owners dumping their subs - replacing them with VMPS after shootouts).

Hsu, Adire, SVS, and a number of others make superb subwoofers, and back them with equally superb Customer Service. It just seems that to those lucky few who have been exposed to VMPS subs, well, they speak with their pocketbook.

Kevin

 

[Al H.]

Thanx chris, I have most of the performance series from Paradigm except center and sub. Based upon the specs you just posted up there im not going to go with the prd series sub. The svs can hit 91dbs at 20htz.? That probably sounds as good as that spec looks. I listen to a lot of bass heavy music as well as movies and so on so forth, and to get a sub like that..... Which model svs and how much?

 

[Chris Quinn]

Any SVS will out perform the PDR line.

 

[Al H.]

Very impressive , do you mind me asking what sub and fronts you have? Just curious

 

[Chris Quinn]

Ascend Acoustics 340 CC and 170 L/R with a Hsu Research STF-2. Any Hsu will beat the PDR line too. There are some good subs in Paradigm's higher lines. The STF-2 is a VTF-2 in the max extension mode. Look above in this thread for the VFT-2 numbers.

BTW- I've got Paradigm Atoms(in white for WAF) as surrounds.

 

[Craig Chase]

Regarding the VMPS loudspeakers, especially their subwoofers, I have not seen a shootout in which SVS owners "dumped" their SVS and purchased VMPS.

I owned a pair of VMPS original subwoofers for 8 years, and gave them to my nephew after getting a pair of SVS 25-31 pc-plus last year.

The newer VMPS models are still all passive, and the original starts at $500, with a 12 inch active and a 15 inch passive radiator. Add for an amp, and you are easily more than a PB2-isd costs... and there is NO WAY the VMPS matches the SVS in this contest...

 

[CurtisSC]

Craig, I'm not sure they were "shootouts", but if you go to audiocircle.com that is where I believe Kevin read about people preferring VMPS over SVS.

 

[BrianAe]

Aperion Audio subs are great. As I've recently mentioned on other threads, I compared the 10" sub to the HSU VTF-2 and thought it sounded better (similar but better) and of course comes in a furniture grade finish vs a black box. I now have the 12" sub which I would expect to rival the HSU VTF-3 and SVS PB1-ISD.

I think SVS (and HSU) are amazing subs that easily outperform most other subs in all the price points they compete. However, notice that I said most and NOT all. I think there is a bias on this forum and many who have been trained to immediate post that SVS and HSU are better whenever someone asks or mentions another sub.

I do think that SVS and HSU become far less of a good deal when you look at their lines that offer furniture grade cabinets. I know SVS subs are all made in the US which could explain it. However, if you look at Aperion Audio or Onix speakers (not sub) you'll see that other companies are delivering quality sound in furniture grade finishes for way less of a markup.

 

[Dan Halchak]

That's like comparing apples to oranges. You have to realize that there is a LOT more internal bracing and a lot thicker wood used. I'm not saying they don't mark up the price on these, but I doubt it's as big of a markup as you might think.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Brian makes a good point as to cabinets.

It may seem strange, but sound alone is not the only reason that some people buy subs (or any speaker).

Adire makes some nice looking subs, reasonably inexpensively. Recently SVS has come out with products that look (to some people) more pleasing than their traditional black cylinders. Hsu, which for many has beauty only for the true audio enthusiast, now offers a version of their VTF-3 in a rosewood cabinet very similar to the rosewood Onix speakers.

And Onix does make a small, sub of its own that is very fine, so long as the end goal is not maximum SPL. And they are expected to come out with a larger sub to compete on that end as well.

ACI, of course also has truly beautiful subs.

Plus there are plenty of people who are regulars on this forum who will make stunning looking subs with (I’m told) great sound.

This covers a range from maybe $400 to a couple of thousand and while I have not personally listened to very one of these, I’m quite confident that they all will provide their owners with really great sound at a great price point.

Nothing against the name brands, but these are products (along with Hsu, SVS, & VMPS) that I tend to recommend when asked. I have nothing at all against the more well-known brand names, but I along with many others such as Curtis think that many Internet-direct companies provide outstanding value.

And why not? After all, this is an online forum.

 

[Lew Crippen]

A reasonable comparison would be the Hsu VTF-3 and the VTF-3R.

The internals ought to be the same. The surcharge would be for the cabinetwork.

 

[Craig Chase]

I ran a search at Audio Circle... no luck finding any thread regarding VMPS vs. SVS where anyone sold his SVS. There WAS one where a guy had an old SVS passive, bought and preferred a newer VMPS larger, then got a pb2 + and preferred that to the VMPS.

I did see a LOT of flaming there, including one "gent" who said SVS sounds like a Venereal disease.. THAT is not called for, by or about ANY company.

I do think Brian C. has been a great guy in audio, though, and would not hold these clowns against him.

 

[John Nunet]

VMPS originals since 86

 

[Craig Chase]

John - You must have the old "squared off" subs... Those are what I had, and they now reside in my nephew's room at school...

They are a classic, no doubt.

What amp are you using with them ?