Sub Suggetions for a fairly large/open family room - Page 3

Thanks, will do!


I was fully planning on ordering a pair of the vtf's until the cht Set popped up on the cheap. Worst case I will pick up something else to replace should they not work out. I'll also still have the amp for a cap or other passive setup.

Update: I set up the CHT SS 18.1 Duo and EP4000 last night. I only had an hour or so to listen and tweak so far, but overall I'm very impressed considering the amount that was spent. I've not played with placement at all yet - they're simply placed on either side of my entertainment center for now. One sub is about 4 feet from the left corner and the right sub is about 4 feet from the edge of an open wall (i know, not ideal).

Pros:
-Very symmetrical sound with current placement, can't place the subs at all.
-They seem to blend very well with my BP30 mains. X-over at~90hz, phase at 180.
-Tight punch for music, with a deep solid rumble in HT.
-Overall the 'impact' factor is HUGE when compared with my RW12.
-Overall looks of the cabinets look fantastic and match very well with my other furniture. These are the 2011 models and the finish appears to be much nicer than the previous models I have seen photos of online.
-This amp has some serious POWER. I'd be surprised if I'm able to use much more than half of it's power. I've not seen the clip lights flash once yet, even at reference. The subs are wired at 4ohms bridged.

Cons/Improvement areas:
-As it was stated in my first post, this is a VERY large open room. Unfortunately room placement options are very limited in this area. I know overall SPL could be increased if the subs were relocated. I'm considering corner loading them both to see how it sounds over the next few days. Another option is one sub in front left corner and the other in the opposite corner near field. However, I'm fairly happy with the symmetrical look and sound as of now and they will probably stay in this location long term.
-As typical for mixing pro audio with HT equipment, I seem to have inherited a low volume hum when no sound is present. I'll be experimenting with group loop isolation fixes next. I'm currently using a 1/4" to RCA adapter. I've tried using an XLR to RCA from monoprice, but I got no signal at all with that combo.
-Also typical for a Pro/HT mix is a very weak signal going into the amp. I currently have my gain on the EP4000 at around 80% and the AVR is set to +2.5db to get it where I wanted. Both sub outputs from the Yami are summed using a RCA ycable. The sub is running about 12db hot according to my RS meter. I'm hoping when I add my EQ (looking at the BFD) I can increase the signal going in to gain some more control.
-Users weren't kidding when they said the EP4000 fan is LOUD! It's easily audible from 15feet away, so I'll be addressing that as well.
-I think overall I prefer the sound of a ported sub over sealed for HT, especially in my room where there seems to be little room gain.

OK - update again.

1) Hum/ground loop issue has been resolved.
2) New fan on order, should be here on Tuesday!

Woot! Subs are sounding better as I get to tweak them more. Haven't had tons of time to demo loud material, but the wife is gone all next week.

What size is your room? As you may have read from my first post, my room is over 9000 cubic feet and is open to many other parts of the house.

As stated above I simply decided to try the CHT duo since they were available locally for a very good price. I'm definitely happy with the pair of them, even in a huge room. The wife is out of town this week so maybe I can grab some rough SPL measurements. Now that the annoying hum was solved I can enjoy them even more. My digifan should be here tomorrow so that should take care of the noisy fan as well.

If you're local to Hsu you'd be CRAZY not to give them a shot. I don't think I've ready of anyone here who was disappointed with their 15H. With your size room the bigger option is probably going to be better. Yes, it's huge but like you said if the "approval" isn't there you can always return it - although it's probably doubtful that you will.

Damn, that is a good size room! Are you using the dayton amp with yours? Is it corner loaded? I'm thinking of co locating/corner loading mine to compare the difference. Maybe something to do for tonight.

P.S. - Go for the second sub!! 4 18's for the win!

Understand your perspective completely, and I seriously DOUBT you will be unhappy with the SVS. Yep, the VTF may be overkill, but isn't that what this forum is all about? Good luck with the SVS, keep us posted with your impressions!

P.S. - Boo to 10% CA sales tax. I'm lucky enough to live very close to a state with no sales tax.

So I decided to play around with placement of the CHT duo last night. Both are now corner loaded and stacked, with the drivers front firing now. OMG, the difference in output is tremendous. Yes, the bass is a bit more 'directional' than it was when they were split apart, but hello consistent, clean, floor/couch shaking bass. I did a bit of tweaking with the settings - lowered the crossover to 80hz from 90hz and played with phasing which made a huge difference. With just one test/song before the wife complained, I was hitting easy 120db+ at the LP at about -5 from reference (about 13 feet from the subs) in my 9000+ cu foot room with my RS SPL meter, uncorrected of course. I was just using one of the hip hop stations on my Verizon fios for the test. Can't wait to hear it with a good Blu Ray. The bass appears deeper and cleaner, likely due to a good bit of room gain. I think I'll keep them in this arrangement and order up some grills. I'll grab a pic or two tonight.

Next up - Replacing the fan in my EP4000 since that has been delivered. I'll also be upgrading the speaker wire to the sub as I ran out of 12ga and had to settle for 14 at the moment.

I'm not sure I'll be needing the captivator right away. I can only imagine what a pair of the ported set will sound like. Maybe add a 18.2 in the back opposite corner?

Another update - fan is now installed. What a huge difference, it's now pretty much inaudible. I also picked up a sb USB card on eBay so I can do some rew sweeps shortly. Should be interesting.

Awesome, can't wait to hear your impressions. I'm looking forward to reading about the pair at the Omaha GTG as well.

Nearly two months later - update:

The more I listen to these CHT subs the more I love them. I had a party this past Saturday and we really got to cranking some music. Everyone there was blown away at their 'presence' in the room. I feel like they are finally starting to break in and dig even deeper than when I first picked them up. I was even scolded by the wife a few times for items nearly falling off the shelves.

I had the opportunity to pick up a DefTech Trinity locally, used for a very very good price so I did. My thoughts on comparing this to the CHT set? The Single DefTech seems to have a little (slight) more impact in the very low frequency ranges, but everywhere else the CHT set simply kills it. My preference 100% would be toward the CHT 18.T duo for music, games, and movies - regardless of price. In the midbass area there is simply no comparison, the CHT set blows it away both in terms of output and sound quality. I'm beginning to believe (and this will be validated at our upcoming GTG in February) that the CHT pair is the absolute best value in this price range. Although, I'd be interested in hearing a pair of Epik Empires in comparison as they are the only pair of subs in this category (IMO of course) that would fall in the ~1500 range new.

Jeff at JTR had recently advertised that there were some closeout 2011 captivators available. After some email traffic back and forth with Jeff, I was left no choice but to order a pair of them. With this decision, the Trinity was sold on the 'gon to make way for the new subs. Somehow, I don't think I'll regret this decision, heh. I'll be moving the CHT pair to the basement setup and will continue to enjoy them. While I don't expect the CHT pair will fairly compete with a pair of captivators, they are also much more expensive. I'm going to try my EP4000 with the Caps at first, but will be shopping around for a bit more 'adequate' power supply for them. Besides, I still need an amp for the CHTs.

Just thought some of you may like to hear my impressions. I will have the Caps here setup and running by next week hopefully. More to come.

With your Cap in that size room and I honestly think it will be more than enough by itself. You can probably use the Dragon in another room or sell it to recoop some of the cost of the cap. Of course, you can't sell it until after our GTG.

I'm sure he will get them to sound good together - but in a 1600-ish cu foot room I doubt there will be a significant increase in quality/output by adding the Dragon. The cap is going to rock the hell out of that room. Move the Dragon to the bedroom or sell it to me so I can use it in mine, LOL!

My money is on the cap flexing the limits of that room. Can't wait for the GTG!