What subwoofers are suited 4 audiophiles


I am looking for an accurate sounding subwoofer that will blend gently into my system and not be so noticed. Just a little boost in the lower registers that will add to my already accurate system. I am looking for an approaching lifelike sound from my set up while listening to jazz and classical and other acoustical vinyl recordings. What brands should I look at?
pedrillo

Showing 2 responses by shadorne

I am looking for an accurate sounding subwoofer that will blend gently into my system and not be so noticed

Bear in mind that your ears are far more sensitive at 80Hz than at 20 Hz. 100 Decibels at 10 Hz is barely audible....a mere 30 decibels is audible at 80 Hz!!!

Ideally this requires a subwoofer with EXTREMELY low distortion figures or else you will hear added harmonics or noise in the 80Hz to 120Hz range! (although some will be very satisfied with their purchase when hearing all this overwhelming bass distortion, which confirms the presence of a new subwoofer)

Here is a guideline; distortion will not be audible if the second-order distortion is below 3%, the third-order around 1% and the higher harmonics are around 0.2%. These specs are gruelling and rarely, if ever, achieved in subwoofers! Your should be looking for THD+N of less than 1% at rated output!

With help from Telarc Corporation, Dolby labs tested 12 commercial subwoofers and published their results (no names were given). They concluded that none of the subwoofers tested was able to meet the distortion and noise criteria required over the frequency range from 12 to 100 Hz. (Psychoacoustic data was used to define audible distortion and noise levels) Here is the reference for the paper; JAES Volume 36 Number 6 pp. 443-456; June 1988 "Subwoofer Performance for Accurate Reproduction of Music".

If you seriouly expect similar audiophile quality as your main speakers than I would plan to spend at least as much as your main speakers on a subwoofer, spending a lot more won't hurt either!
Was wondering, can I get away with a small cabinet sized subwoofer and still get that accurate smooth blending low frequency boost that I am looking for that disappears in the main speakers output?

IMHO, No! If you want accuracy at realistic SPL levels then plan on something with at least a 12" woofer, large Xmax, a beefy sealed cabinet and high power amplification (500 watts)....remember the sub has to keep up with your Merlins and it has to do this over the most challenging frequency range for a loudspeaker. ( A tweeter is easy, mid range is tough, bass is harder again, but extreme LF is the hardest of all)