Subwoofer SVS SB13Ultra vs JL Fathom F110V2

My room is 23'x13.5' and my speakers are Coincident Total Eclipse II's.  I spent 3 weeks listening to the standard version and loved it, but returned it because of the industrial look of the sub.  Salk is building me a sub as we speak with a dyed maple burl in high gloss.  It looks like gorgeous art, which matches better with my main speakers and my home.  It should be ready in a month, so I haven't heard it yet.  

I did notice that there was lots of vibration on the standard version, when I put my hand on top of it during moderate use.  I believe that is the reason Salk focused his version on bolstering this area.  Jim said that his upgrade reduces this so there is hardly any vibrations.  Now whether this can be discerned from the listening chair, I can't say.

I found both the F110 and Rythmik F12G to be very tuneful and musical subs.  The biggest difference was that the F12G had more output and easily reached depths that the F110 couldn't touch.  I loved the auto EQ the F110 has, which the F12G doesn't.  The F110 looks gorgeous, but also cost a lot more.

 My bias is that I love bass.  When I play the Eagles live cd or powerful classical music, I want it to sound realistic.  I like to tune subs so that they don't draw attention to themselves, like you don't even know they are on, until you switch them off and then you can tell.

I had a single JL F110 for a mid sized room and it did a pretty darn good job, but ultimately it didn't have the really deep bass I was looking for.  It was very articulate and fast.  If you have a large room, I highly recommend going with the F112 or F113, the F110 won't do it justice in my experience.  This also depends on the type of music you play and volume.  

I ended up selling my F110 and bought a Rythmik 12" with GR Research drivers and I'm happy as a clam with the improvement.  With the servo technology, it sounds very linear and tight and goes lots lower than my F110.  I purchased mine through Jim Salk, who improves the internal bracing, a thicker cabinet, and custom veneers.  My plan is to get another one.  My buddy let me borrow his dual subs and after that experience, I gotta have duals.

Great suggestion bdp24. I’ve never heard the OB/Dipole sub, but there is a growing camp on the AudioCircle forum that swear by them. It would be fun to demo these and hear what all the hoopla is about. I understand they sound best in larger rooms.

Also would be fun to demo the new Fathom V2 to hear how it compares to the original.  And I can't leave out the E112 to demo too.  Gosh I need to retire so I can have enough time for my hobby.