RF-82 sub recommendations to replace sw-350

[tdunlap0001]

Hello,

I just upgraded my front speakers to some killer RF-82's but now my sw-350 sub doesn't seem to be able to keep up. The bass goes from being a bit to subtle to shaking everything and never giving me that nice clean rumble.. I also noticed that, as i increase or decrease the volume, the rf-82 and sw-350 don't seem to scale together.

My living room is not very big but i plan to keep the same setup when i buy a new house in a few years. Any thoughts on a sub that would compliment the towers and give a nice clean rumble throughout the room? I was thinking of going with the sw-115 as listed in the RF-82 home theater setup, but am a bit scared of the 800+ price tag. I am open to any brands of the same quality.

How do you hook in the speakers outputs from the sub? Should i?

A side question: Does dual-wiring really help out? From my perspective it doesn't seem to be much different than just getting a bigger gauge wire. Any incite would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Terry

[Scrappydue]

Congrats on the upgrade! It sounds like you may have some sort of loudness on if they aren't turning up together. What kind of gear are you running? I have heard great things about the sw-115 and that msrp price tag of 800, don't pay attention to that. Call mike at acoustic sound design. Call him in the phone and ask what he can do on that sub. If you want to spend that much there are bigger badder subs out there from Internet dealers. Something like the epik empire. I own svs howeve I have not heard their model in that price range so i can't vouch for it. And if you are talking about the four posts on the speakers that is bi-wiring. Keep the bridges in there and just run one set of wires to each speaker. There is no real benefit from bi-wiring unless you are using external crossovers.

[derrickdj1]

I had the SW 450 and found it to be a very nice sub. Can't speaker directly on the SW 350, but I agree with Scrappy, sounds like something is not setup properly. Even with movies, BD, I can't hear the subs since they are matched/blended with the rest of the speakers. All subs sounds should sound like they are coming from the front stage or tower speakers. The SW 350 should give a very decent upper range. It is not rated to give you the infra- sonic vibrations that larger sub can Make sure all your speakers are set to small and xo at 80 in the avr. Turn the sub xo all the way up and let the avr do the bass mangement. Even if you had an SVS, Epik Empire or another sub, it should blend with the mains. The bigger subs will give you more dynamic range and a better low end. Don't use the avr's sub plus, double bass or LFE+ main feature for a cleaner sound.

[tdunlap0001]

Congrats on the upgrade! It sounds like you may have some sort of loudness on if they aren't turning up together. What kind of gear are you running? I have heard great things about the sw-115 and that msrp price tag of 800, don't pay attention to that. Call mike at acoustic sound design. Call him in the phone and ask what he can do on that sub. If you want to spend that much there are bigger badder subs out there from Internet dealers. Something like the epik empire. I own svs howeve I have not heard their model in that price range so i can't vouch for it. And if you are talking about the four posts on the speakers that is bi-wiring. Keep the bridges in there and just run one set of wires to each speaker. There is no real benefit from bi-wiring unless you are using external crossovers.

Thank you for responding, i am pumped to have something better than the satellites i had before. I dont think i have any loudness setting on, but i can check.

I am using a denon avr-1911 (its next to be upgraded after sub) i used the auto setup function using the microphone. Currently the front speakers are set to full range speakers and the rear speakers are set to small speakers as they are still satellites. The left and right speaker outputs on the back of the sub, are they to help sync the audio or are they for running speakers off of the sub's amp?

I had a feeling that running dual-wiring wouldnt be effective just plugging them into the amp. Thank you for letting me know, because i am sure i would have done it within the next week or so.

Thanks you again,

Terry

[tdunlap0001]

I had the SW 450 and found it to be a very nice sub. Can't speaker directly on the SW 350, but I agree with Scrappy, sounds like something is not setup properly. Even with movies, BD, I can't hear the subs since they are matched/blended with the rest of the speakers. All subs sounds should sound like they are coming from the front stage or tower speakers. The SW 350 should give a very decent upper range. It is not rated to give you the infra- sonic vibrations that larger sub can Make sure all your speakers are set to small and xo at 80 in the avr. Turn the sub xo all the way up and let the avr do the bass mangement. Even if you had an SVS, Epik Empire or another sub, it should blend with the mains. The bigger subs will give you more dynamic range and a better low end. Don't use the avr's sub plus, double bass or LFE+ main feature for a cleaner sound.

Hello, thanks for responding. I am confused, arent RF-82 speakers full range?

How does setting the xo on the sub leave the bass management to the avr? I think i used the LFE output for the sub. Where else should i have plugged it into, i am using a denon avr-1911?

Thanks again for responding.

Terry

[Scrappydue]

i dont know alot about that avr. i do know that you need to run your mains as small and cross them around 80. trust me and derrick it will make a difference. when they are on large your sub gets almost no bass when you set them to small the sub will get all the bass from 80 down. so set your mains to like 80 and set the lfe channel to 120 so you get all the bass in that as well.

you say your sub is your next upgrade. your center and sub are your two main speakers. so make sure you research and spend as much as you can on these. the epik empire would probably trump the sw-115. there are lots of guys on here that have it. they will see this eventually and probably recommend it.

you only need to worry about the rca inputs on your subs. those others are for older stuff that does not have sub outputs.

what center channel are you running?

[K5SS]

HSU VTF-3 MK4 is on sale right now for $659. Will will pretty much best any offerings made by Klipsch. Like mentioned, the Epik Empire would else be a very good option under 1K

[tdunlap0001]

i dont know alot about that avr. i do know that you need to run your mains as small and cross them around 80. trust me and derrick it will make a difference. when they are on large your sub gets almost no bass when you set them to small the sub will get all the bass from 80 down. so set your mains to like 80 and set the lfe channel to 120 so you get all the bass in that as well.

you say your sub is your next upgrade. your center and sub are your two main speakers. so make sure you research and spend as much as you can on these. the epik empire would probably trump the sw-115. there are lots of guys on here that have it. they will see this eventually and probably recommend it.

you only need to worry about the rca inputs on your subs. those others are for older stuff that does not have sub outputs.

what center channel are you running?

Hello, thanks for the quick response. when i got home, i went and changed the settings for the speakers and the crossover. I first tried LTE+speaker and set the crossover frequencies for the front to 80 while leaving it on large. It sounded much better. Then i switched the front speakers to small and the sub output to only LTE, it sounded about the same. In both cases the subs crossover was set to 120. Is there a reason why its best not to use LTE+ speaker? I was unable to really test it out since i got home near 10pm and didnt want to make enemies of my neighbors. I will try again tomorrow when people (most) arent sleeping.

right now my center is from the quintets i was using before. I cant tell if it needs to be upgraded. I can hear the voices clear but they dont seem to come through as pronounced as the rest of the front audio does. Do you think i would do better with a center upgrade before the sub?

Thanks again for all the help.

[tdunlap0001]

HSU VTF-3 MK4 is on sale right now for $659. Will will pretty much best any offerings made by Klipsch. Like mentioned, the Epik Empire would else be a very good option under 1K

Hello, thanks for the heads up. Where is the sale at? Since i am just starting to get into higher end audio i am unfamilar with the different brands and makes. what are the benefits for the HSU VTF-3 MK4 over other subs?

Thank you Kindly,

Terry

[Scrappydue]

As I said the sub amd center are where you wanna put your money. Do you have the rf-82 or the rf-82ii? Amd as for which is first. Well it depends on which rf-82's you have. If you have the newer ones it will be much easier to just buy the new rc-62ii. But an older rc-62 will be harder to find. Let me know if you have newer or older ones.

[tdunlap0001]

As I said the sub amd center are where you wanna put your money. Do you have the rf-82 or the rf-82ii?

I can only afford one upgrade at a time sadly enough. So i have to prioritize them one at a time. I looked at the back of the sticker and they are revision IV, RF-82.

Thank you much,

Terry.

[Scrappydue]

Ah ok you have the older ones. So a center will be harder to find. So my reccomendation would be to use search tempest on search all of America for rc-62's every other day at least once until you find one. But I would upgrade center first as it will be harder to find.

[Scrappydue]

Not sure where you are located. But this one is in Indiana.

http://evansville.craigslist.org/ele/3235683276.html

[tdunlap0001]

Ah ok you have the older ones. So a center will be harder to find. So my reccomendation would be to use search tempest on search all of America for rc-62's every other day at least once until you find one. But I would upgrade center first as it will be harder to find.

is there really that much of a difference between rc-62 and rc-62 II?

Thank you for all the help and quick response times. I will start searching for them

Terry.

[tdunlap0001]

Not sure where you are located. But this one is in Indiana.

http://evansville.craigslist.org/ele/3235683276.html

I live in Southern California. I thnk i will just look locally until i find one. I have been burned ordering things used from without seeing it first. I really appreciate you looking into it.

[derrickdj1]

Good bass is the hardest thing to accomplish in a HT setup. RF 82's are full range speakers. When you run them as large there can be sound cancellation issues and also double bass where the sub and main speakers meet at let's say 80 xo. This can make the bass boomy. There are also more standing wave problems when speaker are set to Large. Sub plus main, or main plus LFE get back into the problems I just mention. Also don't use the auto feature, just leave the sub on all the time. The location of the sub in the room is a key factor for getting good bass. Move the sub to several locations and see where it sounds best. A sub in a corner will get you and extra 3 db in volume but, may make the bass boomy. You cannot move your main speakers around like you can the sub. If you have a spl meter check to see if the spl is at 75. Then leave it and if you need more or less bass, adjust it thur the avr. When people use more than one sub, they are evening out the bass respone in the room. Not so much as for more volume. Also never turn the sub greater than 65% of the max volume to avoid over pushing the sub amp.Think of the sub as a presence speaker, you should not directly hear it but, you know it is there do to the bass output and response with movies and music.

[tdunlap0001]

Good bass is the hardest thing to accomplish in a HT setup. RF 82's are full range speakers. When you run them as large there can be sound cancellation issues and also double bass where the sub and main speakers meet at let's say 80 xo. This can make the bass boomy. There are also more standing wave problems when speaker are set to Large. Sub plus main, or main plus LFE get back into the problems I just mention. Also don't use the auto feature, just leave the sub on all the time. The location of the sub in the room is a key factor for getting good bass. Move the sub to several locations and see where it sounds best. A sub in a corner will get you and extra 3 db in volume but, may make the bass boomy. You cannot move your main speakers around like you can the sub. If you have a spl meter check to see if the spl is at 75. Then leave it and if you need more or less bass, adjust it thur the avr. When people use more than one sub, they are evening out the bass respone in the room. Not so much as for more volume. Also never turn the sub greater than 65% of the max volume to avoid over pushing the sub amp.Think of the sub as a presence speaker, you should not directly hear it but, you know it is there do to the bass output and response with movies and music.

Hello,

Sorry for such a late response, I was out with the family all day and my lady gets mad at me if i dont focus on "family time." That being said, thank you for such an informative response. That makes a lot of sense. I guess i will have to mess around with the position of my sub since by itself the audio seem empty and lacking a full sound. I did hear the resonance you were taking about; on some songs it sounds really good but others did have a booming effect..

by setting the speakers to small, i feel like im not using their full potential. I feel like ive hired a PhD to tutor my kid in algebra. Do full speakers offer benefits in this regard as compared to say cheaper and smaller quality satellites?

Thank you in advance,

Terry

[Scrappydue]

Bigger speakers offer fuller output and output levels. Some satellites say they might go down to 80hz but that 80hz will not match your rf-82's at 80 hz even I'd you set the cutoff right at 80. Don't think your not using them to their potential. If anything you are making it a bit easier for your speaker and receiver and makin your sub do its job a little more. Where about southern California do you live?

[JasonJCarney]

Super easy question.... do not wire speakers off your sub. Just use an RCA cable from the sub preout on the AVR to the LFE input on the sub. Some people say to set your front mains to an 80hz crossover point but I prefer 50hz in my space. dual wiring doesnt help in normal situations so don't bother.

Sub recomendations: Price point? Less than $800 I am assuming... How big can the actual cabionet size be? any restraints with that? What do you plan on using it for mostly? HT? music?

So until you answer those questions I will reccomend you check these subs out. I will only reccomend subs I have personal experience with however so there are more out there.

1. A5-350 is a killer sub but you will need to find it used as ED has closed down for now.

2. Epik empire.

3. THT

4. Paradigm dsp 3100 and 3200. The 3400 is bigger but to me it was a little muddy compared to the 3100 and 3200. Paradigm is a little pricey but these are no longer made and can be had used at a decent price. The dsp really alows you to push these hard with very little distortion.

[ivanhurd]

I got my SW-115 for $600 and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I really need to hear some other subs so I have a comparison, but I think it's a great sounding sub.