StephenM Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hey gents, I'm looking to throw around some ideas for subwoofer upgrades and see what you all happen to think. Right now, I've got an SVS PB10-NSD, and I figure in a couple of months, I could put down somewhere between 1k-$1250 on a new subwoofer (or two). So in the meantime, in typical obsessive compulsive fashion, I'm going to have a grand old time agonizing out the details. Here's what I'd like (ideally): a pair of good tight subwoofers that don't necessarily have to plumb the depths, but at least credibly hit around the 20Hz mark. I want them to cleanly put out reference level sound in my 2500 cubic foot room, even though I'll never actually drive them that hard. And since I'm on a personal crusade to buy as little from China as possible, things with minimal Chinese parts content as possible is appreciated. Some of the items I've taken note of are: SVS PC12-NSD - Not sure if I could pass a couple of water heaters by the wife... eD A3-300: Don't know much about these, but I'd assume the A3-300 is on par with the PC12. Hsu VTF 2.3/Outlaw LFM Plus: Made in China? What else should I be looking at/thinking of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I was just in your shoes. I went with two Epik Empires. They dig deep, down to 10-12hz and sound amazing with music. The each have dual 15s in them in a sealed enclosure. They did a subwoofer shootout over at AVS and the Epik Empires were the only ones to not bottom out on serious bass content. My friend and I bought the quad package so I saved a little, I think I paid $1600 shipped for the duals. It's all the bass I'll ever need and it's seamless with music which was important to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 +1 on the Epics, though I haven't actually heard them, they get rave reviews and have great models in the $800-1500.00 range. A single Empire (which possesses dual 15s) is $800.00, or if you want two subs, the dual legeng (2 subs with 2 12 inch drivers, total of 4) would be an excellent choice! HSU Research also has a couple of 15" subs in your price range, and they are a little more WAF friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 I'm not going to lie, I'm interested but leery of the Epiks at the same time. They have double the woofers of competing designs, but they look much less robust than say an SVS or eD driver. They do appear to be USA (Illinois) built at least which is a plus. Out of curiosity, if anyone knows, how would the Legend stack up against my current PB10? Is it more on par with the PC12? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I was in your shoes about 4-5 months ago. I went with 2 eD A5-350's. $1390 shipped. Awesome subs. You might also look at the eD a2-300. eD claims those are their best bang for the buck and you can get 2 for like $750 shipped. A member here just went with 2 emotiva 12's and wrote a review on them very recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robc1976 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I was in your shoes about 4-5 months ago. I went with 2 eD A5-350's. $1390 shipped. Awesome subs. You might also look at the eD a2-300. eD claims those are their best bang for the buck and you can get 2 for like $750 shipped. A member here just went with 2 emotiva 12's and wrote a review on them very recently.I second this...The E5-350 is just breath taking....honestly is.....I would listen to Jason, he has great advice and has helped me out a GREAT deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I have had great luck with both svs, and epik. The empire is an amazing value, and the svs I have is on sale right now for 1200(norm 1350 before shipping). You can’t really go wrong with internet direct subs as long as size isn’t an issue (I can’t put into words how big these subs are when you get them in your room). If you don’t want a huge box in your room I would look at sunfire or even def tech supercubs. http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-pb12plus.cfm http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/empire.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robc1976 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 as long as size isn’t an issue (I can’t put into words how big these subs are when you get them in your room). That is a understaement..they are massive LOL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) ...I figure in a couple of months, I could put down somewhere between 1k-$1250 on a new subwoofer (or two)...Here's what I'd like (ideally): ...but at least credibly hit around the 20Hz mark. I want them to cleanly put out reference level sound in my 2500 cubic foot room, even though I'll never actually drive them that hard. And since I'm on a personal crusade to buy as little from China as possible, things with minimal Chinese parts content as possible is appreciated. http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/pdf/DTS%2010%20spec%20sheet.pdf There is a kit available (look about halfway down the page here for the kit) -- $1075(US). No Chinese content that I can see - just U.S. drivers, Baltic birch ply, and typical fasteners. All the IP (intellectual property) and value-added materials are U.S. Tom Danley is a great guy, by the way. There is a huge thread on this product over at the avsforum. The form factor of this such that you can place it in a corner upright- taking up very little floorspace. BTW, corners are the best place to put subwoofers unless you are thinking about a "double bass array" (see page 7 of the enclosed pdf file for a picture of how that would work to smooth out lf room modes). However, you'll only need one DTS-10 for a 2500 ft^3 room...trust me. Chris Edited April 15, 2014 by Chris A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks for all the suggestions so far; keep em coming! A few notes: I think the SVS PC12-NSDs are out; the wife isn't thrilled by the idea of a pair of hot water heaters in our room...shocking. Not a big loss, as there seem to be plenty of other options out there. I am a little disappointed that SVS really has some gaping holes in their product line at the moment though. Also, I have no carpentry skills, so I'm afraid DIY projects are out... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitedemo Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 svs is great but the other id companies seem to be outpreforming them for price (their customer service is top tier and their products do preform like champs), ed seems to have some amp issues and just read another person on this forum with back to back amp issues, they do seem to step up and get new amps to their customers though, havent read a bad thing about epik but their product line is very small, with your pricepoint id suggest dual epik empires or dual ed a5-350s, or even 1 if you like that pricepoint, dual emotiva 12s might be another option although they arent going to put out like the other 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Yeah, I love my Emotiva, but I am pretty sure the Dual Epik Empires will be significantly better then 2 Emotiva Ultra 12s. (For about double the price). As mentioned; eD's recent amplifier issues would concern me. (Even if they are doing everything they can to provide great customer service). I am not sure about Epik's warranty, but I do love that I have 5 years on the Emotiva. Enjoy the hunt...... I did (a year ago). [] Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 svs is great but the other id companies seem to be outpreforming them for price (their customer service is top tier and their products do preform like champs) You know, it's funny you say that. I e-mailed Epik, eD, and Hsu last night to make a few inquries on their products. Today Hsu was the only one to respond at this time. I wrote to SVS this afternoon asking about where they were with the PB12-NSD and inquiring about their SB line as well. They got back to me in about an hour. That speaks volumes on its own about customer service IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 svs is great but the other id companies seem to be outpreforming them for price (their customer service is top tier and their products do preform like champs), ed seems to have some amp issues and just read another person on this forum with back to back amp issues, they do seem to step up and get new amps to their customers though, havent read a bad thing about epik but their product line is very small, with your pricepoint id suggest dual epik empires or dual ed a5-350s, or even 1 if you like that pricepoint, dual emotiva 12s might be another option although they arent going to put out like the other 2 Agreed even though my svs is my best sub the empire is easily the best value. After shipping it cost me 550 less than I paid for the svs, and it’s very close in performance. I would stay away from the epik legends though (the smaller model) they have been having major issues with the amps in them. All I have heard about the empire is good things though and love mine. If I could go back in time I might have bought 2 empires and saved about 650 (you save 100 if you buy 2). You’re paying for the name a little bit more with svs than the other internet direct brands. But svs is probably the best of the bunch in build and performance. The svs I have looks like it’s built to last 100 years. The pic below is the back view of the driver in my svs sub. The pic doesn’t do it justice the driver itself weighs like 80lb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Comparison. Epik empire kind of simple looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 And the svs that I think is a great looking speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Well, in the first of what will assuredly be many twists and turns in this saga, I'm starting to eye a single SVS SB13-Plus versus a Hsu ULS-15. They probably won't reach reference levels with my current configuration, at least not down low; however, they should still meet the goal of providing appreciably better audio at the levels I do listen to. They are also not massive eye sores, which is a nice plus. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I'd reconsider the Danley DTS-10 kit while it's available (less than a month to go?). I missed it the first time it was available and really went DIY with a THT horn-loaded sub, whereas this kit takes all the guesswork and cut errors out of DIY. All you'd have to do if apply some sort of finish to it and I am quite sure that it would blow a SVS SB-13 out of the water in SPL, low-end extension and clean output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 I would if I could Peter. However, between the size of the thing (WAF does play some role), and my lack of DIY skills (I despise Ikea projects, let alone this thing), I'm thinking it's a no go. I understand that it would wipe the floor with just about anything commercially available, but I'm just not that committed (nor do I wish to give my wife more evidence that I need committing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Yeah, my sub is in my cave and not in the living room. It's the only room I really have complete control over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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