[tonov12]

I read the review in this month's S&V that mentioned the Seismic sub. Sounded pretty interesting. I did a search in the forum and found nothing and there isn't anything on Paradigms site. Just wondering if anyone has one or has had the chance to hear one. Looking for the possible upgrade from the pw2200 any help is appreciated.

 

[Warren_G]

I have had a chance to see this new beast from Paradigm, and even had a brief listen to it.

My first thoughts were that it reminded me of the sunfire series small cubes. Very deep, very powerful, just not as fast and tight as my Servo 15's. I really like the power, but have become more of a fan of the fast transient capabilities of a lighter cone. The two large passive radiators on the sides are very stiff, and this probably leads to the low extension that this sub reaches, but again, its that same kind of sound, I also found the Martin Logan Descent to exhibit this very deep and powerful sound, they just become boomy very easily.

I did not spend a lot of time listening to it, and it was only one DVD, Alison Kraus at Union Station, so dont put a lot of weight into this as a review. It is a very sharp looking sub, beautiful finish in a glass piano black. And the power is amazing in this small box.

 

[GreatBop]

if you want to know more about the sub, you have to download their new catalog .pdf file... not sure if it's the reference series catalog or the regular catalog..

 

[fabulousfrankie]

I recently added it to a constantly updated list of subs that Tom Nousaine has tested, you can objectively see how it compares to many other subs including the PW2200.

http://members.cox.net/frankcarter/T...Sub%20Data.htm

 

[bitzerj]

Hi,


I picked up my sub (Seismic 12) last week and have listened to it w/music and movies. The sub sounds great and really goes deep. I listened to the Martin Logans (Depth and Descent) before choosing the Paradigm and thought the Descent was the best out of the bunch (but it was double the price) and the Paradigm was a close second.


So far, so good!!!


John

 

[jhferry]

Is that chart real world tests? If so can you help me understand the chart?


Lets take the Paradigm PW-2200.


Under 20hz at 84db, but under freq response it says 28-117Hz +/-2.4dB


Did it go down to 20? Why is the freq response starting at 28.


Im not being critical, Im just trying to understand.

 

[fabulousfrankie]

Quote:

Originally posted by jhferry Is that chart real world tests? If so can you help me understand the chart? Lets take the Paradigm PW-2200. Under 20hz at 84db, but under freq response it says 28-117Hz +/-2.4dB Did it go down to 20? Why is the freq response starting at 28. Im not being critical, Im just trying to understand.

These are real world tests done by Tom Nousaine taken under the same conditions(mostly). I say mostly because he used to test the subs in the different room but he's done some testing come up with a numbers to convert from his old room to his new room, those subs are denoted by an asterik. It should be fairly accurate.


What he does is use special tones that simulate a music signal at 25-30-40-50-62Hz steps(considered the bass intensive film range) to find the 10% distortion limit with the sub corner loaded(measuring from 2 meters away). He then averages the SPL with 10% distortion from each of the 5 frequencies to get the 25-62Hz average and that is how the subs are ranked on the list.


The other SPL numbers on the list are just the SPL he recorded with 10% distortion at what ever frequency is stated. So for the Paradigm PW2200, it hit 84dB with 10% distortion(from 2M away) while corner loaded in Tom Nousaine's 7500 cubic foot room.


As for the frequency response, I'm not sure how TN comes up with the frequency response. What's given in the list is simply what's printed in the review. It is there to help weed out subs that don't live up to their rated extension. Now the room has a lot to do with how much extension you get, TN's room is very large and he doesn't experience room gain until 16Hz in his room. He states that in smaller rooms you can expect up to 2-3dB more SPL and 2-3Hz lower extension. My guess is the low end limit on the FR measurement is probably where the sub starts to fall off, this is only my guess.


Hope this helps.

 

[unrulyjulie]

Just had it for two weeks, and it's the first sub I have ever had, so not much to compare with. Didn't spend a lot of time auditioning, either. It goes with my Paradigm Signature Surround system with S8s. The Signature sub is enormous, expensive, and I just didn't feel the need.


The Seismic 12 has been integrating seamlessly with the S8s for music,....it sounds pretty good! It's much tighter compared to several other subs I heard in passing.


As an aside, I have an Anthem AVM-20 that allows you to "bass-tune" the room to notch out your room resonances. It was a little boomy before I did this.


Pretty happy so far.


Julie

 

[tantalus]

I demoed one of the seismic 12s at home for a weekend.


I was quite impressed with the large amounts of clean bass it delivered. It kept up quite well in a number of demanding movies and movie scenes, producing a very convincing lower end without calling attention to itself. It also sounded very good to me when listening to music: it was quite subtle on most stuff but blended in a nice extension for those bass-heavy songs.


The cabinet is also amazing. If you are quite constrained by space, you should definitely run to take a look/listen to this sub. It is about as small a cube as is possible while still containing a 12" driver with the beautiful piano-black top. My wife liked the look quite a lot as well.


I would have kept the sub and would likely have had no regrets, but I also want to take a listen to what SVS has to offer. After some consultation with Tom, I've ordered a pb2+, which should hopefully come in mid february. I am planning on demoing the seismic 12 again once I have the pb2+ at home so I will be able to do a direct comparison.


I will report on what I find when that happens