SUB - Confuse?


Hello Everyone,

I am planning to upgrade my HT sub (Velodyne SPL-10)because of my wife and daughter's increasing CD listening time lately. They enjoy the current sub but I felt like I can give them better integration than what I currently have.
On this rig, I have a Sony CD player doing the work. On my separate dedicated 2 channel system, I have a Jolida JD100 and a Teres 255 as the source. Although my 2 channel set up is very good, my wife and daughter does not want to touch it. They will never subscribe to waiting for the tube cd player and preamp to warm up before they can listen to their CD nor cleaning the cartridge and vinyl before they can set the needle down to listen to records.

With that said, I've been reading a lot of threads and reviews about subs. Here's my confusion about my researcch.

1.) REL very musical, integrates well, easy placement. But why is it that there are so many people selling their REL's (Strata and Storm is what I am considering)? For 5 weeks (I've been making a tally), I've seen 9 Stratas (currently 3 at the moment)and 8 Storms in Audiogon alone.

2.) SVS - more power, "rock" your vowels to the max" approach. Musical integration for 2 CH a question?

3.) ACI Titan - Looks to die for, bulky, some reviewers swear better than the two mentioned above in terms of musicality. Why only few(base on reviews I can find) bought them compared to the above mentioned subs?

4.) HSU VFT-3 - the dark horse in the bunch with respect to price and aesthetics. very good performance and value ratio from reports posted by their owners. Too good to be true?

For simplicity sake, assuming that I will move this to my 2 CH set up of:
ML Ascents, Odyssey Monos, Octal 6A Triplex and ARC LS-12 preamps, Jolida JD 100 cd player, Teres 255 TT, Wright Sound WPP100C preamp, Lundahl step up, OL Silver arm, Benz ACE lo, and Acoustic Zen Hologram and Empirical Audio wirings

Which one will you choose? Please explain your choice if you don't mind.

Thank you very much and pardon the inconvenience.

abe
amandarae

Showing 2 responses by ritteri

Perosnally if your looking for a great sub or subs for your 2 channel audio section I would look at Revel's B15 sub.

I used to sell Rel and though they are a good sub, for the money they are nowhere near the sound quality of the B15.

The B15 sub from Revel( www.revelspeakers.com ) is unique in which its probably the most flexible sub on the planet. It has both single ended and xlr inputs/outputs, along with level,frequency, and selectable 24/48db per octave lowpass, along with selectable high pass for your mains. Now add on top of this the fact that is has an infinitely variable 3 band EQ with boost/Q/freq control contours and a special cd that allows you to dial the sub into ANY room environment. And this is just the control set.

The actual sub is a sealed 15" long throw excursion sub with a 1000 watt amplifier(1400 watt dynamic ability)coupled to a 2.25" mdf braced cabinet that is almost resonant free. You can find these online for under $2000 used or about $2300 new. Its the absolute biggest bargain on the planet. The Rel's are garbage in terms of SQ compared to these at any pricepoint. ANyone who has ever owned a B15 will tell you there is no upgrade in terms of SQ from this sub. ANd thats a fact regardless of money spent.
Just remember, when I say REL is "garbage" Im basically talking in the realm of SQ and ability for a sub to properly contour to your room environment and main speakers. Rel actually has a really good fit and finish. But they are nothing more than very basic subwoofers. Revel's B15 would be a first choice. Vandersteen's 2 series sub would be a distant 2nd choice.