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Rythmik Audio F12 Direct Servo Subwoofer

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#1 ·
Rythmik Audio F12 Direct Servo Subwoofer

Description:
12" sealed audiophile subwoofer
 
#2 ·
The Rythmik F12 is an excellent subwoofer with performance way beyond it's price

review by mlundy57

The F12 is up and running. Boy oh boy this thing is sweet.
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I realize that conventional wisdom is that in a 4,000 cubic ft room (20x25x8) I needed a 15" and/or ported sub but I'm glad I stuck with the 12" sealed. I have it hooked up with both the LFE and line in from the preamp outs (and no, the earth's magnetic field did not reverse itself
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). I ran Audssey with LPF on AVR/12, crossover at 50 Hz (my mains go down to 44 Hz), Delay/phase at 0, rumble filter off, & extension filter at 14 Hz mid damping. I'm using a Marantz SR 7005 AVR. Audssey set the sub at -0.5dB and about 2 feet farther away than my main speakers.

For music I listened to Beethoven's 5th, the Telarc Cincinnati Pops recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (in both DTS 5.1 and 176/24 flac formats), and the Chesky test disc Vol 2. For movies I watched parts of Demolition Man and Serenity both in DTS-MA.

I listened to the sub with the damping set at both mid and low and volume ranging from the initial -0.5 dB to +2.5 dB (3 dB hot). I ended up settling on the initial settings of mid damping and -0.5dB.

Even with damping on mid and not running the volume hot this sub fills the room amazingly. With music the bass is full and sweet, not overpowering or localized. You cannot tell the bass is coming from the sub unless you walk over and stick your ear next to the driver. The bass strikes and cannon fire in the 1812 Overture are full without being overpowering or harsh. As for the movies, Serenity has never sounded so large or come to life so much. This 12" sealed sub can definitely shake the walls (I may have to switch to high damping once the wife gets back home
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). Even though this sub is putting out way more punch than anything I have had in this system before the effect is desirable not harsh or nerve grating.

Up until a few weeks ago I had never heard of Rythmik. I'm sure glad I did and that you all have been as helpful, and tolerant, as you have. Brian, thanks for your help both on the forum and over the phone.

The F12 is so far beyond any other $800* sub [*last year's sale price] I've been auditioning over the past two months it isn't even funny. It even blows away the $1,600 servo sub I was trying to justify buying. Bottom line: even if your listening area is larger, don't discount the F12, I couldn't be happier. Now, back to the movie.

1 year follow-up: I have now had the F12 playing in this system for almost a year. Everything I said about it above still holds true today. From pipe organ music to big budget action movies the F12 fills the bill with room to spare. I realize the conventional wisdom is that you cannot get satisfying bass from a puny sealed 12" sub but then, there is nothing puny about this 12" sub.

ProsCons
clear, articulate, fast, smooth, dynamic, expressive, and all in a small footprintFor my tasts with my system in my room I haven't found any

Ratings
Design5
Features5
Performance5
Value5
Overall5
 
#3 ·
The Rythmik F12 is an excellent subwoofer with performance way beyond it's price

review by mlundy57
My F12SE, purchased in 01/12, is one of the first with the then new A370PEQ3 amplifiers.

That said, your review is spot-on. My room is slightly smaller than yours, but my F12SE fits quite well in that environment. Initially I felt I should have purchased F15HP, but once the F12SE had run-in for a few months it sounded much cleaner and more accurate.

BTW, I'm running LFE input at 110 Hz.Absolutely no localisation issues at all.
 
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