Looking hard at the PB13-Ultra for my new sub. I am still not sure which sub in the same price range will outperform it for music only listening.

Looking hard at the PB13-Ultra for my new sub. I am still not sure which sub in the same price range will outperform it for music only listening.
Granted, I did not hear the PB13-Ultra in the same room, but I think it was fairly easy to discern and IMO, the JL F112(not really the same price range), Hsu ULS-15, and Rythmik 15" sealed sound better, cleaner/tighter/more articulate presentations. This is not to say the Ultra isn't excellent in its own right.

Possibly the Fathom, HSU ULS-15?

The PB13 is quite good though. Depending on the size of your room, two PB13's in sealed mode would sound quite nice for music. 1 may not be enough, in sealed tune that is.

In 15hz tune it sounds incredible as well. When a few of us tested the PB13 vs F113 at my place and jakeman's, I think we gave the slight nod to the F113 in terms of music (well, depending what kind of music was playing that is!).

In reality, you'd likely be extremely happy with any of the above.

Possibly the Fathom, HSU ULS-15?

The PB13 is quite good though. Depending on the size of your room, two PB13's in sealed mode would sound quite nice for music. 1 may not be enough, in sealed tune that is.

In 15hz tune it sounds incredible as well. When a few of us tested the PB13 vs F113 at my place and jakeman's, I think we gave the slight nod to the F113 in terms of music (well, depending what kind of music was playing that is!).

In reality, you'd likely be extremely happy with any of the above.

I would tend to disagree with one point. For music only, one PB13 even in sealed mode can put out substantial amount of bass. The reduced output would fall mainly in the frequencies below where most music lies. For movies, the reduced ouput in sealed mode would be more noticeable.

I recently purchased a Mark Seaton SubMersive, and I'm very happy with it. It is a dual 15" sealed sub, with a 1kW ICE amp. Corner loaded, with a DCX 2496 and Audyssey (along with multiple corner bass traps), using REW, I am at 78.0 dB at 13 Hz (peak bass of 81.5 dB at 35.1 Hz). The roll off starts around 21.7 Hz, but as you can see, it is very gradual. At 10 Hz, it is down to 70.3 dB, and at 5 Hz it is effectively at rolled off at 54.5 dB. However at 2-4 Hz, REW still reads 49-50 dB, and with AV 123's Strata Mini, with Audyssey curve, at 18k I measure 52.7 dB but with Flat curve, I get 56.7. What this means is that at 5 Hz, the SubMersive is putting out a little bass (noise floor at least below 52.7).

Note, I did use an uncalibrated ECM8000, so it is not perfect, though it is much better than the RatShack.

I recently purchased a Mark Seaton SubMersive, and I'm very happy with it. It is a dual 15" sealed sub, with a 1kW ICE amp. Corner loaded, with a DCX 2496 and Audyssey (along with multiple corner bass traps), using REW, I am at 78.0 dB at 13 Hz (peak bass of 81.5 dB at 35.1 Hz). The roll off starts around 21.7 Hz, but as you can see, it is very gradual. At 10 Hz, it is down to 70.3 dB, and at 5 Hz it is effectively at rolled off at 54.5 dB. However at 2-4 Hz, REW still reads 49-50 dB, and with AV 123's Strata Mini, with Audyssey curve, at 18k I measure 52.7 dB but with Flat curve, I get 56.7. What this means is that at 5 Hz, the SubMersive is putting out a little bass (noise floor at least below 52.7).

Note, I did use an uncalibrated ECM8000, so it is not perfect, though it is much better than the RatShack.


Congratulations on your recent purchase. The figures in your post are similar to what other Submersive owners have reported.

The issue is that the threshold of hearing is 90 db at 15 Hz, and between 95-100db at 10 Hz.

What would be of much greater interest is the FR at 110 and 115 db. I do not recommend that you actually try this although the Submersive is said to handle this kind of test without self-destructing.

The submersive reminds me of the old Mirage BPS-210 bipolar sub about 10 years back. The submersive being larger and the 210 used a feedback accelerometer, but it was very musical.