2. speakers
  3. 1204245040

Looking for the "better sub"

I have Magnepan 1.6/QRs and would like a sub sometime soon to fill in the low end.
Subs suggested to me have been as follows...

Vandersteen 2wQ....problem with this sub for me is most agree I need two from the start for my 25X15 room.
JL Fathom 113....I would have ordered one, but no high level inputs turns a great sub into a home theater product in my eyes. They blew it.
Martin Logan Depth....still a frontrunner. Quick and musical. And one works well enough to get started.
REL....Still looking into these.

So I guess I'm looking at a budget of about 2K...a bit more or less. Anything else I should be looking into beyond the above? Please comment if you've heard the models above, which (except for the Fathom) are well known for working nicely with Magnepan panels.

Thanks!

R
robbob

Showing 2 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
I am not sure that something linear is a good thing with panels. You may struggle with different SPL levels ....a match here but then a mis-match there. A small sub might be the optimal fit- something with limited excursion/small woofer and which compresses at modest volumes - like the REL's for example. They would probably be the best fit.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
"I am not sure that something linear is a good thing with panels".....you kidding right?

Dave,
I was just considering that panels don't play extremely loud and at some SPL level (as with all speaker designs) they inevitably begin to compress (the old Quads used to shut down whilst many others have protection circuitry or limiters as part of the design...we are often talking 1000's of volts here) - therefore I am suggesting that a sub that does not overwhelm them might work a bit better over a wider range of SPL that is all...even the JLF113 suffers serious audio compression at 20 Hz (although it is better than most)....smaller subs will compress more quickly and therefore may work better. Anyway - it is just a thought and I defer to your direct experience of what works with your setup.
More to discover