Need sub advice (duals for ~ $2.5K) -- Rythmik vs. Hsu vs. Power Sound; one specific constraint

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some sub advice for an upcoming theater room.

Dedicated theater room, 22 x 15 x 9 (2,970 cu ft); perfect rectangle, flat ceiling
On the 2nd floor; standard construction drywall over wood frame
One window on right side (will be sealed off), double doors at back left corner, no other openings
Will have room treatments
Two rows of seating; main listening position ~12 ft. from front of room

90% movies
10% music, TV, other

Speakers: most likely JBL Cinema -- 3677 fronts, 8350 side and rear surrounds
Receiver: Denon 4311 or similar (something with XT32)
Image: Epson projector onto AT screen
Sources: media PC, Blu-ray


I'm looking for a pair of subs for ~ $2,500 shipped.

Goals:
Listen at reference level with no dynamic compression (keep up with the speakers)
Bass slam you feel in your chest like at live music concerts
No port chuffing or other bad noises
Solid output to 16Hz (lower is great)
Good accuracy for music (somewhat less important)


One major constraint -- size (one dimension only -- I'll explain)

I plan on putting one sub on the front wall, center, and the other sub at the back wall, center, for smoother response across the seats. Since the screen will be very large, the front sub will need to go behind it, but I don't want to bring the screen too far into the room. Also, at the back of the room, I plan on a platform for the 2nd row of seating. I don't want to bring the platform too far into the room either.

Because of this, I need a sub that is relatively slim (<20") in either width or depth (or both). Height is not an issue (within reason). For a front firing sub, where the driver face is slimmer than the depth, I would turn it sideways and have it firing toward the side wall. Same thing at the back of the room. Hopefully that makes sense. It needs to be a "box" style sub, no cylinders. Looks don't matter, but it needs to at least have a grille or hidden driver (because the rear sub is accessible).

Here are some subs I'm considering:

Rythmik E15 - 17" width
Rythmik F15HP - 19" width
Rythmik FV15HP - 18" width
Hsu ULS-15 - 18" cube
Hsu VTF-15H - 18" width
Power Sound Audio XS15 - 18.5" width
Power Sound Audio XV15 - 18.5" width

Please let me know what you think of these or suggest others I should consider. I'm not opposed to 12" drivers, but I feel like they might have trouble achieving my goals. Not opposed to 18" drivers either, but I don't know of one that fits the "slim" criteria. Also, I'm okay with passive boxes and outboard amp.

Thank you!
Edited by richard11 - 11/11/12 at 6:42pm

Thanks for the reply.

Anything Danley is way too big. And I really want to go duals for smoother response.

Epik Empire is 18" width, but there's a driver on each side. So, placed sideways it would need at least 3-4" of clearance for the "back" driver and no longer passes the slim criteria. If I placed it with drivers firing left and right the normal way, it's 24" deep and still needs a bit of clearance for plugs. Before I thought of all that, I did consider the Empire.

I may end up putting both subs in front, behind the screen. Doesn't change the size requirements though.

One thing I wonder about is sealed vs. vented and how much room gain I'll have. Any easy way to estimate room gain with given dimensions?

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'm sure the FV15HP will check all boxes. I'm wondering if the XV15 will also check the boxes for less money. Where's that pro review?? =)

I have some time before the room will be done so I'll definitely look for the XV15 review and see others impressions.

I definitely hate those "what if" questions too but $1K could be used towards better fronts. And if the XV15 are just as capable in my room then I would certainly rather have better fronts with the XV15. But then you get to thinking "why not get the FV15HP *and* better fronts?" But then it never ends....

Looks like I'm going to go with a pair of Power Sound Audio XS30. (They weren't out when I first started this thread!) They checked all the boxes I was looking for, and no question about output capability! It won't happen for a few months, but I'll reply in the official thread when I get them.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Wow, great deal for someone there. Won't fit behind my screen. Or rather, they would make me push the screen too far into the room. Plus, I'm really intrigued with getting into the super low frequencies with sealed subs. Thanks for the heads up though.