[MartinBaird]

I will be purchasing two subwoofers (my budget is $500 to $700 for each sub, not for both) for my home theater den which is approximately 19' x 16' x 8' (about 2500 cu ft). I want to use two subs to help smooth the in-room frequency response. I want to use balanced XLR inputs because my equipment rack will be on a side wall and the cable runs to the subwoofers will be up to 40 ft.

Size-wise I could go into the moderate area, say up to about 18" x 18" x 18" for the entire cabinet but a bit smaller than that would be better.

About 70 percent of my listening will be movies, sports, and general HDTV. About 30 percent will be surround sound music (DVD-A, SACD, BluRay).

I like the bottom end to be all there and have plenty of impact but I don't want it to run me out of the room or be boomy and unbalanced. Lower extension is more important to me than being able to play at 125db.

Appearance-wise I'm not overly picky. It doesn't need to be shiny, piano black but it can't look like a junior high school shop project either. Plain, flat black is fine.

I will probably be ready to purchase these subs sometime in June.

The other thought I had was to purchase subwoofers with RCA inputs and use a Whirlwind LM2U just before the subs to unbalance the signal.

Any suggestions for what I should check out is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Much,

Martin

 

[myoda]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinBaird  /t/1468873/subs-with-xlr-inputs-for-500-700-each-suggestions-please#post_23219247


I will be purchasing two subwoofers (my budget is $500 to $700 for each sub, not for both) for my home theater den which is approximately 19' x 16' x 8' (about 2500 cu ft). I want to use two subs to help smooth the in-room frequency response. I want to use balanced XLR inputs because my equipment rack will be on a side wall and the cable runs to the subwoofers will be up to 40 ft.

Size-wise I could go into the moderate area, say up to about 18" x 18" x 18" for the entire cabinet but a bit smaller than that would be better.

About 70 percent of my listening will be movies, sports, and general HDTV. About 30 percent will be surround sound music (DVD-A, SACD, BluRay).

I like the bottom end to be all there and have plenty of impact but I don't want it to run me out of the room or be boomy and unbalanced. Lower extension is more important to me than being able to play at 125db.

Appearance-wise I'm not overly picky. It doesn't need to be shiny, piano black but it can't look like a junior high school shop project either. Plain, flat black is fine.

I will probably be ready to purchase these subs sometime in June.

The other thought I had was to purchase subwoofers with RCA inputs and use a Whirlwind LM2U just before the subs to unbalance the signal.

Any suggestions for what I should check out is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Much,

Martin

Hi Martin:


What is your source? It sounds like you have a DJ rig in your den.

If I were shopping for a couple of subs again, I'd prefer something that looks like nice furniture, instead of sound reinforcement gear. Have you thought about buying just one really good sub? Most of the powered subs with xlr are pro equipment used in clubs, and they are engineered for a larger space.

http://www.kraftmusic.com/mackie-srm1801-18-powered-subwoofer.html

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/behringer-eurolive-b1500d-pro-active-15-subwoofer?src=3WWRWXGP


If you have a receiver with rca sub connections, why convert from rca to xlr? I can see using xlr in a pro situation, where I'm constantly moving and reconnecting, but for a home theater application, consider a pair of these cables:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2684&seq=1&format=2


and these consumer grade subs:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk4.html

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/pb12-nsd#.UXCccEq2WHs


Here is a good comparison chart::
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/subwoofers/paradigm-sig-sub-2-1/Audioholics%20Excel%20compilation-041212.pdf


Last, but not least, a great review of an SVS sub. It gives new meaning to a team lift item...

 

[MartinBaird]

Thanks for your reply Myoda.

I will probably be using a Maratnz AV7701 which has balanced XLR outputs so I won't be converting from RCA outs.

My reasoning for the balanced XLR cable runs is to protect against noise and interference over the fairly long run.

And my reasoning for two subwoofers is for smoother response in the room since standing waves can be lessened with two vs one sub.

Thanks again for your help.

Martin

 

[shadyJ]

If you buy subs from Outlaw, you can get their wireless adapter for a big discount. Check out the LFM-1 Plus and EX . They are some pretty beefy subs too, being a Hsu design, and with a wireless connection, you won't have to worry about the length of the run at all. Two LFM-1 Pluses would be just a hair over your budget. The Only other subs that I can think of off the top of my head that have XLR inputs are the Rythmik subs and the Hsu ULS-15, but either would be significantly over your budget. I don't think any home audio subs with XLRs will come under your budget, as that is a feature found on higher end subs, however, you may find some affordable pro-audio subs with XLR ins. Pro-audio subs tend to be tuned pretty high though, so you can forget about deep bass with those.


edit: oh yeah, just saw your 18" cube stipulation. You will never find a sub that meets your criteria. Small subs can't really play deep, and the few that can are waaay out of your price range. You definitely won't find any small subs with XLR inputs in your price range either.

 

[myoda]



Quote:
Originally Posted by shadyJ  /t/1468873/subs-with-xlr-inputs-for-500-700-each-suggestions-please#post_23220883


If you buy subs from Outlaw, you can get their wireless adapter for a big discount. Check out the LFM-1 Plus and EX . They are some pretty beefy subs too, being a Hsu design, and with a wireless connection, you won't have to worry about the length of the run at all. Two LFM-1 Pluses would be just a hair over your budget. The Only other subs that I can think of off the top of my head that have XLR inputs are the Rythmik subs and the Hsu ULS-15, but either would be significantly over your budget. I don't think any home audio subs with XLRs will come under your budget, as that is a feature found on higher end subs, however, you may find some affordable pro-audio subs with XLR ins. Pro-audio subs tend to be tuned pretty high though, so you can forget about deep bass with those.


edit: oh yeah, just saw your 18" cube stipulation. You will never find a sub that meets your criteria. Small subs can't really play deep, and the few that can are waaay out of your price range. You definitely won't find any small subs with XLR inputs in your price range either.

I'd save up for two of the SVS SB13 subs - they meet your size and connection spec, but you would be over budget.

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/sealed-box/sb13-ultra#.UXEPfEq2WHt


Or, you could buy one now, and add another later. That's a lot of space to pressurize.