Official Rythmik Audio Subwoofer thread - Page 282

I ran through a few movies this weekend with the LV12R too, I am also really impressed. The way the bass hits your chest when the cannon balls are firing from the ships in Master & Commander is just awesome. Didn't know what I was missing before.

This was my first foray into internet direct audio equipment, I did my homework and really like what I read about Rythmik subwoofers and the company. Really impressed by the product and their customer service; keep up the good work.

Thanks Brian.

I will try to play with the volume knob, audessey and come back


I dont know if my expectations are way too much here. Though fantastic for music with a lot of string instruments etc I still have to experience the out of world chest thumbing smooth bass from my single F15 in a 21*14*9 fairly sealed room. I am seriously thinking of adding one or two F15HP/FV15HP too if it can help me. I have calibrated my system with Audessey and have a hard stop at -20db from reference. so which ever option I go with, I need to make sure I get the max benefits around that listening level. I dont want to play at reference as I live in a town home. If I push the F15 more, I get the feeling it is LOUD/not so smooth. May be this is my problem. In other words I want to feel and hear excellent bass without going very near to reference levels. Am I completely insane ?:-)



Also I keep hearing that multiple subs can smoothe the bass. what exactly does it mean? Does it mean that overall SPL/db does not increase but the perception of bass increases?

But before I spend any more money on gear, I will try to get some acoustic treatment done.

Do a lot of research before going into room treatment, it can be effective with A LOT of treatment, but experimenting with sub and seating placement will give better results based on my research, which was quite in depth.

+1 Most room treatments do not have a large impact on bass frequencies. Do a search for "sub crawl" and try that first. Your room has some doubled room modes around 80 Hz plus singlets at 27, 40, and 53 Hz. If you are sitting in a null that could account for the lack of "thump".
Edited by DonH50 - 2/17/13 at 9:33pm

Will Bill Me Later via Paypal be accepted by Rythmik?

I received my FV15HP last week(shipped to Canada, no problems there, thanks Brian!) and have just got around to plugging it in and taking it for a spin. I haven't run any sort of equalization/calibration yet so I've just hooked it up raw to my processor (Marantz AV7005).

Initial impressions are pretty good although I think there is room for improvement via proper calibration (sub is in one port mode, LFE is crossed at 80hz).

Couple quick questions for other folks:

1) the first blue ray i tried was TRON Legacy.... the chapter where the star first gets transported into the Grid... pretty crazy dip there, I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I could hear the woofer audibly flapping for a few seconds. I mean it was moving like crazy and obviously the bass signal was pretty insane but still I was a little surprised that the sub seemed to be stressed by that. Is that scene normally punishing on subwoofers? Is that flapping normal even on the 'monster FV15HP'?

2) My front speakers are paradigm Studio 60's, while they don't go insanely deep they do a reasonably good job on bass for their size (2.5 way floorstanding speakers). I understand that the 'normal' scenario for setting the crossover on the front channels is to set the mains to small and let the sub deal with all lfe signal (crossed at 80hz) exclusively. But can good performance be had with leaving the mains at big and having the processer send LFE signal to both the front channels as well as the subwoofer? Or is that almost universally considered 'bad practice'?

This is my first dedicated subwoofer and I can already hear that subtle increase in fullness/richness of sound even in 'regular', non bass heavy scenes. Oh and the sub is pretty gorgeous too (black piano finish)!

Hi Brian,

Can you provide more detail on the values and types of capacitors and resistors used on this filter

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/faq.html#filter

Make sure you turn on the limiter (shared with the power switch). Also put the extension filter to 14hz LOW damping. This helps controls driver excursion below 13hz.

The best practice is set the front speakers to small. Make sure the subwoofer/front speaker difference is about correct. If you use LINE-IN, set the subwoofer 2-3 ft further than what it really is (it helps to compensate the phase difference). One thing is to make sure midbass phase alignment between front speakers and subs is correct (but it sounds like you already have that from the paragraph below).

You have a pretty good system, Subwoofer improves quality on every type of music (it does not have to be "bass I love you").

BTW, in the world of classic music, I used to think Mozart was boring (very good for elevator music). But ever since I have my own subs, I found they are very enjoyable because now I can clearly hear the contrast and dynamics that the performers put in. It is like the music has refreshing new spirit.

-
Edited by Rythmik - 2/18/13 at 6:12am

Is the limiter on? Also have you tried turn on the rumble filter to see if you can hear the dfference rumble filter makes? Keep the rumble filter off when you do Adyssey and turn it on afterwards.

Brian---For Rythmik customers who use their subs in Home Theater's and desire a lot of mid-bass slam, would you recommend they order their sub(s) with the 1505 driver, which has slightly more output in the 50-100 hz frequencies than the flatter 1501 and 1510 drivers?

This would be corrected once you run Audissey, Right ?

I thought I read about the clipping being intentionally part of the digital noise 'character' of some of the sound effects in Tron (especially when Sam first enters the Grid and the Recognizer ship flies by). I'm not sure if that is what you are hearing or not.

+1. That scene has one of the most awesome uses of "creative distortion", and is a real treat listening at reference volumes. The TRON exhibit in DisneyLand (L.A.) has/had a 15 minute montage from the movie, and this scene in particular rocks the house. I wish I could come 50% close to that quality in my home theater and that'd be a mammoth ask at a 4-figure budget.

@habbequidam
Have you seen the movie in a theater and do you remember how the scene you are referencing sounded in the theater? Do you think you are hearing anything different from what you might have heard in the theater?

Ready for some unboxing action on my LV12R in black matte finish.


Accessories included: Power cord and "feet" for the sub.


Nice thick styrofoam on top and bottom protect the sub well during shipping.


There is even an "amp protector" - two pieces of styrofoam pasted to a piece of cardboard, to protect the controls and the amp on the back of the sub.


Upside down to take out the sub.


Out of the box finally.


With the sub "feet" screwed in. Ready to be flipped right side up.


Finally... ready for action!


Lot of black boxen here! WAF goes down a notch or two The monitors don't show the drivers like they do in this photo taken with a flash. They are just as monolithic black as the sub.


Audyssey MultiEQ XT32 calibration forced me to turn down the volume knob on the sub way down - probably between 9 and 10 o'clock. Looks like there is some serious room gain at lower frequencies.


More feedback on the setup to come soon.

^^always exciting time opening up new toy. Please give us your thought about it. I notice your front L/R are not equal distance from TV?

Awesome pictures. What type of speakers do you have?

Yes. The speakers are set up to accommodate a weird-ass angled mantle the landlord put up in this room, so I did my best to place the speakers so that they don't block the fireplace ( ) for WAF reasons. Some people would have mounted the TV on top of the fireplace in a heartbeat, and called it a day, but it'd be too high for my comfort, considering the rest of my furniture is fairly low-profile. It'd be a pain in the neck, but that would have allowed an equi-distant placement of speakers wrt the TV. I only have a stereo setup, so I am living with the setup possibilities I've been dealt with.

The monitors are a Selah Audio SA-1 DIY kit, and they have a Fountek ribbon tweeter and a Vifa XT 7" midwoofer, and they sound so good for their price, especially since the monitors are 87dB sensitivity and can play low close to 40Hz in my nearfield listening environment.

That is exactly the extra distance amount in the AVR setting, using the Line-IN, I found by ear to sound better when I initially set the LV12R up (when adj. the distance setting to alter phase in the AVR).

One thing which I have found surprising is that I have noticed what seems like a dramatic improvement after using the sub now for almost two weeks. I did not realize the "break in" would make that much difference (perhaps some of it is just psychological as well as getting used to hearing a sub as this is my first one).

You can try it both ways to see what you prefer, but there are a number of potential issues using double bass. I find it unlikely the speakers will reproduce bass under 80hz as well as the dedicated rythmik sub. They will also have very little output below 40hz, so you may create an unbalanced FR when comparing the 40-80hz range to below 40hz. You also may create a phase issue between the speakers and sub because of the phase change in the speaker output around its port tune. By setting them to small with a crossover above tune, you will not encounter this phase change.

My opinion is that unless you can take measurements and don't mind taking time to try different positions, EQ, delays, etc., you are better off setting the speakers to small and using a 60hz or 80hz crossover.



The scene when Sam first enters the grid is a very punishing scene. It has high level content at around 10hz and 12hz. This is well below the tune of the FV15HP. Without the limiter engaged, listening at high levels will easily push it past its limits. No movie theater will be able to reproduce all of the content in that scene. I don't think there is clipping when he enters the grid, but there is definitely clipping when the ships fly by and during the light cycle race.

-Mike

On the LV12R while using LFE does LPF Slope still function?

I'm guessing you are asking about the LFE in and adjustable crossover. From the product page:

When the LFE input is used, the phase and cross-over knobs have no function.
The LPF slope is fixed at 12db/octave. (which is not relevant if using the LFE in)

-Mike

Those of you with the LV12, what size is the room?

My room is roughly 13' x 13' with a 8' ceiling.

My room is 17'x30' with 10' ceilings with a main listening area of 17'x17' separated from an open kitchen area by a half-wall/breakfast nook. I have tried placing the sub nearfield, next to the MLP on the couch, and there were issues with too much aggressive bass at MLP due to boundary gain. I moved it to the middle of the front wall, with some corner loading due to a fireplace wall, as you can see from the pics I've posted earlier in this thread.

15 x 12 with 8' ceilings.

My room is open and roughly 22'x23' with 8' ceilings and the wall opposite the speakers being floor to ceiling windows and a sliding glass door. Fairly large area broken up by a small dinning area to one side (included in the above measurement) and entrances to kitchen and foyer. I don't listen to extremely high sound levels but for movie watching, you can feel the bass/ pressure from the sub.

Thanks for the info guys, trying to decide if the LV12 will fill my ~2300ft^3 space.

A question for Brian. Is it possible to convert the 370PEQ3 amps from a pair of F12s to be suitable for open baffle use with the GR drivers?

Thanks

^^^
Steve, do you already have F12? Or are you thinking the possibility of getting A370PEQ3 to go with OB (before A370PEQ become available again in Apr) . If you don't care about limiter function and you don't use LFE inputs (as it will mess up the FR), then you can just replace the servo board and it will work with GR OB drivers.

I have an FV15HP in a 2000 ft3 room and I love it, I'd go that route if you can swing it. It does some amazing things down low and sounds fantastic.