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What do you guys think of this sub? - Page 2

post #31 of 43
3/21/12 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowTech1 View Post

I'm wondering about the sound difference... Ported vs non ported

Not much of an issue really. Here's an interesting shootout/GTG done by Archaea (a member here). Most people were unable to tell the difference between ported/vented when testing was done blind. Since you have the space to accommodate a larger sub, get the larger sub.
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post #32 of 43
3/21/12 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowTech1 View Post

I'm wondering about the sound difference... Ported vs non ported

Now THERE's a can of worms. Responses to this issue are all over the map hereabouts.

Folks who ought to know (e.g. Brian at Rythnmik) feel the ported designs are a bit less tignt. But if you look over the thread titled (I think) Archaea's KC blind subwoofer audition, you'll see that a fair number of folks who had reasonable experience with different subs were completely unable to reliably say which sub was ported and which sealed.

Which lends credence to the idea that well executed examples of the two will not vary significantly in sound quality. This from a person whose bias is towards sealed designs, FWIW).

The ported will get louder, cleaner. Whether you need the louder is impossible for me to tell. THe SB12NSD will not likely exhibit the one semireliable positive for sealed subs - - slower rolloff at the bottom and the possibility for significant output below a ported speaker's tuning frequency. The SB12NSD just doesn't have the kind of raw horsepower that would be needed to get big time output below 25 Hz or so. That takes big amps, heavy drivers, lots of EQ (often built right into the sub) and more money.
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post #33 of 43
3/21/12 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHAz View Post

Now THERE's a can of worms. Responses to this issue are all over the map hereabouts.

Folks who ought to know (e.g. Brian at Rythnmik) feel the ported designs are a bit less tignt. But if you look over the thread titled (I think) Archaea's KC blind subwoofer audition, you'll see that a fair number of folks who had reasonable experience with different subs were completely unable to reliably say which sub was ported and which sealed.

Which lends credence to the idea that well executed examples of the two will not vary significantly in sound quality. This from a person whose bias is towards sealed designs, FWIW).

The ported will get louder, cleaner. Whether you need the louder is impossible for me to tell. THe SB12NSD will not likely exhibit the one semireliable positive for sealed subs - - slower rolloff at the bottom and the possibility for significant output below a ported speaker's tuning frequency. The SB12NSD just doesn't have the kind of raw horsepower that would be needed to get big time output below 25 Hz or so. That takes big amps, heavy drivers, lots of EQ (often built right into the sub) and more money.

the kansas city subwoofer shootout also illustrated what i already knew...

...that even audiophiles can't hear as much as they think they can. well... that and that what sounded awesome to one person was just pretty good to another and vice-versa.

translation for OP: you'll probably be happy regardless of which sub you get as they are both highly regarded. Hsu and SVS are both at or near the top of the bang for the buck market at these price points and that KC shootout tells me that a lot of people who are backing one sub or the other might actually struggle to even tell the difference.
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post #34 of 43
3/21/12 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by steveklein View Post

the kansas city subwoofer shootout also illustrated what i already knew...

...that even audiophiles can't hear as much as they think they can. well... that and that what sounded awesome to one person was just pretty good to another and vice-versa.

translation for OP: you'll probably be happy regardless of which sub you get as they are both highly regarded. Hsu and SVS are both at or near the top of the bang for the buck market at these price points and that KC shootout tells me that a lot of people who are backing one sub or the other might actually struggle to even tell the difference.

+1. FWIW, I'd be willing to bet all the change in my pocket (!) that Mark Seaton could hear differences (even blinded) that others could not because he's been trained to do so. I also suspect that the performance differences between well designed subs operating comfortably within their linear ranges are more vanishingly small than I currently still imagine them to be (hard to beat down those long held beliefs).

I'm guessing that a guy like me who maxes out at around -15dB from reference (plus Audyssey DynEQ added gain in the lower freqs) would find it nearly impossible to differentiate the performance of most of those subs, even with a Sherpa like Mark to try to guide me through . . . even with highly revealing test material.
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post #35 of 43
3/21/12 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leninGHOLA View Post

Completely different tier of performance for the dollar. The SVS would destroy the Klipsch. (and sunfire)

How do you know that? Have you done any controlled listening test?
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post #36 of 43
3/21/12 at 2:09pm
And now for something completely different. For really deep bass at moderate levels the Outlaw LFM-1EX can deliver the goods.

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

If you can wait a while you can score the EX for $549 delivered.
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post #37 of 43
3/21/12 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys,I really appreciate it..
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post #38 of 43
3/21/12 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 
One thing I noticed about the outlaw is its a down firing sub..In my opinion those are better. Side firing subs end up sounding boomy. Down firing is more controlled and tight. Probably because they fire at a hard surface.. The side firing ones just fire into the air. Nothing to break up the sound.
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post #39 of 43
3/21/12 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowTech1 View Post

One thing I noticed about the outlaw is its a down firing sub..In my opinion those are better. Side firing subs end up sounding boomy. Down firing is more controlled and tight. Probably because they fire at a hard surface.. The side firing ones just fire into the air. Nothing to break up the sound.

When it comes to low frequencies they disperse out like a ripple in a pond not a semi focused beam like high frequencies so it really does not matter if its front,side or bottom.
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post #40 of 43
3/21/12 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowTech1 View Post

One thing I noticed about the outlaw is its a down firing sub..In my opinion those are better. Side firing subs end up sounding boomy. Down firing is more controlled and tight. Probably because they fire at a hard surface.. The side firing ones just fire into the air. Nothing to break up the sound.

That's not really the case. There is nothing wrong with either design when done correctly. You very well may have heard front/side firing subs that were boomy, but it's not the rule.
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post #41 of 43
3/21/12 at 6:47pm
Thread Starter 
I have a 12" down firing klipsch and a side firing 15" Jamo and the Klipsch sound way better..
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post #42 of 43
3/21/12 at 7:02pm
Definitely not apples to apples. Essentially, a well designed cabinet with a properly tuned-to-the-driver port (or sealed) and a good amp will sound the same in any configuration.

Full disclosure, my current HT/music sub is downfiring.
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post #43 of 43
3/21/12 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
I'm really interested in hearing some of those subs you guys mentioned..
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