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Help me Decide!

post #1 of 18
3/22/11 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
I am looking for a sub in the $500-600 range, 60% HT - 40% Music. Living room is about 1587 cu ft but opens up to the dining room and kitchen (4000+ cu ft total space I believe). A sub that can go low, have good tactile energy and be musical to a good degree would sum up to what im looking for. I figured ported would be the way to go and have narrowed it down to these subs below based on what I have read -

Rythmik FV12
Hsu VTF2-MK3
Outlaw LFM1-plus

I have been going back and forth with this decision for the past 2 weeks. I initially purchased an Outlaw LFM-1 plus off Ebay with the hopes that it would complete my HT setup Well unfortunately, the shipper did a horrible job packing the sub and once it got to me the sub had scuffs, finish was badly chipped, and most importantly did not work! Needless to say, I filed a claim with UPS and here i am looking for suggestions
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post #2 of 18
3/23/11 at 9:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmak81 View Post

I am looking for a sub in the $500-600 range, 60% HT - 40% Music. Living room is about 1587 cu ft but opens up to the dining room and kitchen (4000+ cu ft total space I believe). A sub that can go low, have good tactile energy and be musical to a good degree would sum up to what im looking for. I figured ported would be the way to go and have narrowed it down to these subs below based on what I have read -

Rythmik FV12
Hsu VTF2-MK3
Outlaw LFM1-plus

I have been going back and forth with this decision for the past 2 weeks. I initially purchased an Outlaw LFM-1 plus off Ebay with the hopes that it would complete my HT setup Well unfortunately, the shipper did a horrible job packing the sub and once it got to me the sub had scuffs, finish was badly chipped, and most importantly did not work! Needless to say, I filed a claim with UPS and here i am looking for suggestions

I was about to say Rythmik until I saw the 4000 cu ft. part. I've got a 3300 cu ft. room and Rythmik recommended that I go with the 15, which is considerably more money. So staying within your budget I would lean towards the HSU. If you increase your budget to accommodate the Rythmik 15 then that brings the HSU VTF-15H into the mix, which could lead to a "Rythmik FV15 vs. HSU HTF-15H" thread!

You mention "music" twice but also "ported." Many believe sealed subs are better for music. You should look into that.
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post #3 of 18
3/23/11 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153 View Post

I was about to say Rythmik until I saw the 4000 cu ft. part. I've got a 3300 cu ft. room and Rythmik recommended that I go with the 15, which is considerably more money. So staying within your budget I would lean towards the HSU. If you increase your budget to accommodate the Rythmik 15 then that brings the HSU VTF-15H into the mix, which could lead to a "Rythmik FV15 vs. HSU HTF-15H" thread!

You mention "music" twice but also "ported." Many believe sealed subs are better for music. You should look into that.

I was hoping it wouldn't lead to the 15" debate given my room size Just curious, which sub did you ultimately go with in your room? I noticed that Hsu VTF3-MK3 is on sale for $729.00 shipped, which would be about a $100.00 increase on my proposed budget taking shipping charges into account. How much better is it than the other subs I mentioned?

Yes, sealed subs are ultimately better for music but HT takes priority hence my 60/40 preference. Given my price range and size of room, I don't think a sealed sub would give me what im looking for
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post #4 of 18
3/23/11 at 11:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmak81 View Post

I am looking for a sub in the $500-600 range, 60% HT - 40% Music. Living room is about 1587 cu ft but opens up to the dining room and kitchen (4000+ cu ft total space I believe). A sub that can go low, have good tactile energy and be musical to a good degree would sum up to what im looking for. I figured ported would be the way to go and have narrowed it down to these subs below based on what I have read -

Rythmik FV12
Hsu VTF2-MK3
Outlaw LFM1-plus

I have been going back and forth with this decision for the past 2 weeks. I initially purchased an Outlaw LFM-1 plus off Ebay with the hopes that it would complete my HT setup Well unfortunately, the shipper did a horrible job packing the sub and once it got to me the sub had scuffs, finish was badly chipped, and most importantly did not work! Needless to say, I filed a claim with UPS and here i am looking for suggestions

I believe any of those subs you mentioned would work out great for you! I would give Outlaw another chance ( strait through the Outlaw site thou) if you are looking at the 5 to $600 range ( $549 at the website right now for the Plus ). You may want to think about doing 2 subs in a room that size thou. Of corse go with one then deceide, but if you are like me the "bug" may hit in the future to where you want more bass as I added another sub to my set up. I do use it for more HT than music thou ( around 80% HT and 20% music.)
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post #5 of 18
3/23/11 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmak81 View Post

I was hoping it wouldn't lead to the 15" debate given my room size Just curious, which sub did you ultimately go with in your room? I noticed that Hsu VTF3-MK3 is on sale for $729.00 shipped, which would be about a $100.00 increase on my proposed budget taking shipping charges into account. How much better is it than the other subs I mentioned?

Yes, sealed subs are ultimately better for music but HT takes priority hence my 60/40 preference. Given my price range and size of room, I don't think a sealed sub would give me what im looking for

I haven't made my decision just yet-still recovering from other major electronics purchases. Probably either a sealed Rythmik 15 or the VTF-15. As far as how much better ther the VTF3-MK3 I can't say, but looks like there's more output. With subs if you're on the fence always go bigger-nobody has ever said "I got too much sub."
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post #6 of 18
3/23/11 at 1:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153 View Post

You mention "music" twice but also "ported." Many believe sealed subs are better for music. You should look into that.

If you decide to go the "sealed" route, I would look at the Epik Legend For $499 plus shipping. http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html That puts it right in your $500-$600 budget and it will perform well as a double duty - Home Theater/Music - sub.
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post #7 of 18
3/23/11 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by savior sound View Post

If you decide to go the "sealed" route, I would look at the Epik Legend For $499 plus shipping. http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html That puts it right in your $500-$600 budget and it will perform well as a double duty - Home Theater/Music - sub.

I was actually going to mention that, but wasn't sure if the Epik could handle a 4000 cu ft. room.
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post #8 of 18
3/23/11 at 2:23pm
Can you place your sub nearfield? Any sub you choose would benifit from locating it as close to your main listening position as possible and the 4,000 cubic foot total won't matter as much.
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post #9 of 18
3/23/11 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by savior sound View Post

Can you place your sub nearfield? Any sub you choose would benifit from locating it as close to your main listening position as possible and the 4,000 cubic foot total won't matter as much.

I've heard so much about the "sub needing to pressurize the entire room" but I've also heard a few people talk about "nearfield placement" with subs. It seems to me like the two would conflict since a lot of bass is non-directional. Anyone care to expand on nearfield sub placement?
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post #10 of 18
3/23/11 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153 View Post

I've heard so much about the "sub needing to pressurize the entire room" but I've also heard a few people talk about "nearfield placement" with subs. It seems to me like the two would conflict since a lot of bass is non-directional. Anyone care to expand on nearfield sub placement?

I think people mainly recommend near field placement when they know a sub won't be enough to fill a room. Sure, the goal is to fill a room with bass and make it sound the same everywhere(filling the room). The logic being it sounds louder the closer you are. Bass is non-directional, but that doesn't mean that it won't be louder the closer you are to the sub.

This is how I've understood it and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Ben
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post #11 of 18
3/23/11 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by benclement11 View Post

I think people mainly recommend near field placement when they know a sub won't be enough to fill a room. Sure, the goal is to fill a room with bass and make it sound the same everywhere(filling the room). The logic being it sounds louder the closer you are. Bass is non-directional, but that doesn't mean that it won't be louder the closer you are to the sub.

This is how I've understood it and I'm sure will correct me if I'm wrong.

Ben

Exactly. Finding a sub at the $500 price point mentioned that will pressurize a 4,000 cubic foot space and fill the room may be difficult. But finding a sub in that price range that will have good sound quality and have enough SPL if you're close enough to it isn't.
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post #12 of 18
3/23/11 at 4:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by savior sound View Post

Exactly. Finding a sub at the $500 price point mentioned that will pressurize a 4,000 cubic foot space and fill the room may be difficult. But finding a sub in that price range that will have good sound quality and have enough SPL if you're close enough to it isn't.

Interesting. All the "ideal sub placement diagrams" I've seen are presumably with the "pressurize the entire room" theory in mind. I wonder if one exists for nearfield placement, or can you do a sub crawl for that as well? I own two excellent mid-sized subs that don't have enough poop to pressurize the entire room, but maybe I can use one or both nearfield? Maybe we should start a separate thread on this...
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post #13 of 18
3/23/11 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by savior sound View Post
If you decide to go the "sealed" route, I would look at the Epik Legend For $499 plus shipping. http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html That puts it right in your $500-$600 budget and it will perform well as a double duty - Home Theater/Music - sub.
I talked to Chad today and he said my room is screaming for dual legends/empires! My listening room is 14'w x 12'l in the listening area and 20-25 ft open to the back to the kitchen with cathedrial ceilings that go from 9' to 12.5'. He said the Legend would be a huge overall improvement over my
10+ yr old Paradigm PS1200. Even though my room size is big.

Jeff
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post #14 of 18
3/24/11 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for everyone's responses so far. The sub would be placed nearfield - about 4-5 ft away from the main listening area. Would that be close enough for any of the subs to pressurize listening area? Listening area is about 1587 cu ft but stretches out to dining area and kitchen.
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post #15 of 18
4/16/11 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quick update After more countless reading, comparing, and losing sleep - I upp'ed my budget and got a Rythmik FV15! Just told wifey the sub will be a bit bigger than planned (didn't mention price increase). Sub will hopefully be in next week, can't wait
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post #16 of 18
4/16/11 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmak81 View Post

Quick update After more countless reading, comparing, and losing sleep - I upp'ed my budget and got a Rythmik FV15! Just told wifey the sub will be a bit bigger than planned (didn't mention price increase). Sub will hopefully be in next week, can't wait

Rythmik subs are fantastic. Enjoy!
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post #17 of 18
4/16/11 at 11:28pm
When in doubt, up the budget and bull$hit the wife-genius!
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post #18 of 18
4/17/11 at 5:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmak81 View Post

Quick update After more countless reading, comparing, and losing sleep - I upp'ed my budget and got a Rythmik FV15! Just told wifey the sub will be a bit bigger than planned (didn't mention price increase). Sub will hopefully be in next week, can't wait

You did the right thing based on your room size. Enjoy!

I am trying to figure out how to convince my wife that I need a second subwoofer.......
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