Lava subs - Page 37

So, i have 3 Lava subs, 2 tens and a 12. Like to run my subs a little hot usually about plus 4db. Well, love the sound but my house would really rattle. I dont really mind it but everyone else in the house does lol. this weekend i took the foam packaging that came with the subs and put a piece under all 4 feet on every sub. The subs are on carpet with just normal flooring. This cut down the rattling to the point i could go plus 10dbs on the subs and still have less rattle thruout the house while still getting the same bass. Everyone is much happier now and i can run my subs even hotter

I will be interested in your review! I was curious about this very question recently. Because if you look at the specs, design and price, the BIC PL-200 and Lava LSP12 are strikingly similar.

Here is a review of the LSP12
http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...er-review.html

And in the discussion of the review the reviewer said: "It was a very solid sub and I think it easily bests the BIC/Acoustech subs. My friend has the PL-200 and he really preferred what he heard out of the Lava over the his." (link)

Hmmm, one of these 12 Inch Powered Subwoofer - LSP12
or
2 of these 10 Inch Powered Subwoofer - LSP10

Same price, and I am piecing together a 7.2 HT system.... decisions decisions...

If you can swing it go for two 12's. What size is your room?

16 x 14, the 2 12's may not meet wife approval, and the 2 10's for 400.00 sounds like a steal, but like I said I am peicing this together so one 12 right now may be all I need.

Get 4 10s and just stack them in pairs don't forget to email them about getting your AVS discount

Hi Guys,

I live in a Manhattan apartment. I don't need (or want) anything too big or loud. Would an 8 inch be sufficient to fill in some low end while listening to music, without annoying the neighbors?

Thanks,

Derek

Absolutely...at nearfield listening position. Get a 10" and you can adjust from there.

I would at least go with the 10" and you can always turn it down

OK, ten it is,

Thanks!

As I said earlier, I have purchased the Lava LSP12 and the Bic PL-200. I thought a few pictures might help people see the difference. I realize that these things are not for looking at, but for listening to. I just thought that a few pictures might help people visualize the differences.

Both Subs arrived safely. The Lava Subwoofer was double boxed and well packaged. The Bic came in a single box. I was a little nervous as the box was ripped, but the packaging held up and it arrived safely (at least it did for me).

The most obvious difference out of the box is cosmetic. The Lava is taller, but thinner, and not as deep. The Bic has a glossy finish while the Lava has a matte finish. The lava has rounded corners while the Bic has sharp corners. These issues are just a matter of personal preference as far as I am concerned.





One interesting point is that I had assumed from the pictures that the Bic had a metallic diaphragm (if the subwoofer terminology from ehow.com is correct). It looked like aluminum in the photographs. This assumption probably shows my ignorance as much as anything else in this post. The diaphragm is actually paper painted to have a metallic look.

My next surprise was the difference in weight. The Lava LSP12 is somewhat heavier than the Bic PL-200. When I pulled them out of the box and weighed them, the Lava came in at 42.25 pounds while the Bic weighed 36.6 pounds.





It will be interesting to see how much of the weight difference is in the cabinet, and how much is in the driver. I'll provide an update on this topic later.

Great post so far. This will be very helpful to those looking at these subs in the future

Thats enough for me - I will take the plunge with these in my new basement man-cave!

I've been a long time lurker (since 2005) - this has drawn me out to post. I will certainly reply back with my impressions. Thanks all!

-- Marent

Marent, That sounds great. Customer Service just replied to your email with your coupon request.

Do you have an SPL meter? Or REW? I would love to know the performance difference of the Lava versus the Bic

I mentioned before that I was wondering what accounted for the weight difference between the Lava LSP12 Subwoofer and the Bic PL-200. It turns out that the weight difference might be fairly significant.

The driver (I would call it the speaker) in the Lava LSP12 weighs in at 14.5 pounds while the Bic PL-200 only weighs 7.25 pounds. From a weight perspective, the Lava is twice the Bic.









Is bigger better?

It seems to me that this is an important difference. Does anyone else have an opinion?

They are both very cheap drivers. Yikes, though, the Bic driver is very unimpressive.

I have on the Bic thread (before I was banned from the thread for telling it like it is) repeatedly said how cheap the Bic driver is and that in all reality it is nothing more than a 10" driver in a 12" frame. That huge surround accounts for my claims and now (because I had no interest in a side by side comparison myself) it is substantiated here. Hands down, without even hearing it, the LAVA would be MY choice (even without your pics) as dollar for dollar I already know what the Bic is. The Lava I can tell would perform and look better with ease in comparison.

This should REALLY BOOST LAVA'S sales, or at least common sense dictates it should.

I wouldn't go to the extreme that BOTH are "very cheap drivers", however the Bic IS a "very cheap driver". And while the Lava driver isn't a TC Sounds driver, is still a very good driver for the price point at which it sells.

It opens the question "does looks of the driver affect what you hear?"
If you get the same response but one is in a stamped basket and the other cast, would you expect a difference other than looks?
Does fancy make a better driver than a plain jane, or would it be just a cost difference?

Looks is only part of the equation. Stamped or cast (to me & alot of others I know) really is neither here nor there as it is only the rigidity (& looks) that is affected and today that isn't really an issue when it comes to paper cones. But I can assure you that the Bic and Lava subs DO NOT measure the same, they can't. The Lava will outperform the Bic driver every time.

I am anxious to see a direct comparaison. I was never unsure of wheather to go with the BIC or Lava for my brothers setup as the Lava was known to have great music SQ and the BIC better overall extension (for the money). I Chose the Lava as he listens to more music than movies and in room, the Lava digs more than deep enough with movies after all.

I suspect the oversized surround of the BIC may have something to do with the relativeley poor SQ with music despite digging deep with such a small magnet? The Driver of the Lava does not "look" cheap IMO. Even Audioholics felt that the driver was perhaps the stronget component of the sub.

I should have said they are both inexpensive drivers. However, considering the price point of the Lava, it is much better then it's competitors.

Bic has better extension?! Where'd you ever get that idea from?

Based on what I've read. In the end I choice the Lava over the BIC and so far I'm glad I did. The dual Lava setup at my brothers house sounds great with music and movies considering the price paid for 2 subs. The lava will dig deeper than 35hz in room for sure. Someone claimed to get useable output down to 22hz in room using REW with the PL-200 but SQ with music is OK.

That seems to be the general consensus between the two.

Yes, I am glad you are so pleased with the Lava. In my opinion you made a wise choice. I am not a fan of Bic as they use false advertising to sell their products, (150w amp peaking at 500w?! Pure distortion and measured gets no where close to that, but you can't tell Bic owners anything, They don't want to admit they got taken.) and the product really isn't that good. They're 12" is no more than a 10" with a huge surround and...well you get the idea, I am NOT a fan. LOL

Regardless, If your choices are the Bic or the Lava, you won't go wrong choosing the Lava brand.

Hi,

How long does Lava take to ship? I ordered on Monday and received an order confirmation right away, probably automated. At this point still no tracking number. I sent a request for the status yesterday, but no response. Any one else have the "Peggy" issue?

Derek

AH recently reviewed the Lava, they said nice things about it but the measurements did not show that it is a very good sub.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/s...2-measurements

Yeah but they didn't review the PL-200 so unless the same guy reviews the pl200 in the same room we will not see any difference