2. speakers
  3. 162495-139027

"Musical" subwoofers? Advice please on comparing JL subs

I'm ready to be taught and I'm ready to be schooled. I've never owned a subwoofer and I'm not so hot with the physics of acoustics. I've had my eye on two 10" JL Audio subwoofers, the e110 ($1600) and the f110v2 ($3500). I hope this is a simple question: will the f110v2 be more "musical" than the e110?

Perhaps unnecessary details: I'm leaning into small bookshelf speakers, mini monitors with limited bass, for near-field listening in a small room. I don't want to rock the casbah and rattle the windows; I want to enhance the frequency range from roughly 28hZ to perhaps 90 or 100hZ: the lower notes of the piano, cello, bassoon, double bass, etc. I think I'm asking: will one of those subwoofers produce a more "musical" timbre in that range? Is spending the extra $2000 worth it in terms of acoustic warmth and pleasure? More generally, are some subs more musical than others? Or is that range just too low for the human ear to discern critically? 

I know there are a lot of variables and perhaps my question can't be answered in isolation. If it helps, let's put to the side topics such as room treatments, DSP and DARO, debates about multiple subs, debates about using subwoofers at all, and the difficulties of integration. Let's assume a fast main speaker with limited bass. I'm not going to put a 12" sub in the room. While I'm not going to put four subs in the small room, I would strongly consider putting in two, and it would of course be much more economical to put in two e110s. This, though, would only lead to the same question now doubled: would two f110v2 subs sound more musical than two e110s? Also, I'm sure there are other fine subs out there but I'm not looking for recommendations; if it helps to extrapolate, consider the REL S/510 and T/5i. 

I realize that I may be wildly off with all this, and I know that the best way to find out is to try them out. I'm not at that point yet. I'm simply curious about the "musicality" of different subwoofers. 
northman
audiokinesis
2,713 posts
 
Northman, given your situation, I’d suggest the sub that has the most powerful EQ. That would be the F110.

I apologize for volunteering subwoofer-related information that you did not ask for. I misunderstood what you were open to:

"I’m ready to be taught and I’m ready to be schooled. I’ve never owned a subwoofer and I’m not so hot with the physics of acoustics."

Duke
mikelavigne
2,143 posts
 
in phase and in time matters at all frequencies, if we are talking optimization. how perfect do you want it? mostly this matters as a result of how dynamic we expect to run our systems. at low SPL’s no doubt time is less an issue since the negative effects are minimal. but at warp 11 when the music is borderline falling apart; time and phase issues makes it all a mess.

i have twin tower speakers; one tower is a 86" tall, 750 pound stack of 4 15" active subwoofers, high passed at 40hz. the other tower is an 82" inch tall 750 pound passive tower. exactly aligning these 2 towers equa-distant to the listening position makes a musical difference.

the idea is you want a perfectly timed wave launch from all the drivers if you can do it.

btw; the sound is really fine when the 2 towers are not perfectly aligned, but better when they are aligned. this is an analog approach to subwoofer set-up and time alignment. so i would not argue with anyone who said that time alignment of subs was not important. these type things don’t matter the same to everyone, nor should they.

how perfect do you want things to sound?

i have a separate room with a Home Theater. with an LFE channel. the idea is the same, but the approach and solution is different. in this case i will be using a minidsp with 3 Funk Audio 18.0 subs (i don't have room for '4') arrayed around the room then this total result will be one channel into a Trinnov Altitude 16 processor. part of my set-up will be using a mic to adjust the delay to get all the subs exactly time aligned to my MLP (main listening position). then tune the 3 subs for best room response.

so when all hell is breaking loose, it will be more satisfyingly breaking loose and the truth of the recorded event will be fully enjoyed. many people don’t really care about that. i’m not ’many people’.
northman OP
236 posts
 
Thanks, all. Duke, you are a true gentleman and a source of terrific information out here. 
audiorusty
265 posts
 
In my opinion the e110 has the potential to be more musical because of its true 2 way crossover capabilities, but would probably be more difficult to set-up which may negate that potential.

Are you using separates or an integrated amp?
northman OP
236 posts
 
@audiorusty, thanks. I have separates. I plan on using a CR1 outboard crossover, primarily for the high-pass crossover; it should help with integration (and, I hope, free up the mains) but I doubt it's going to take the place of DARO or other integration methods. 
More to discover