Chase Home Theater sub SS 18.1 first impression

[derrickdj1]

Well, the new subs arrived today on a frieght truck. The guy rolled them out on a pallet. I am use to seeing a UPS or FedEx truck for delivery. After getting them unpacked, a quick inspection was done. The 18 in driver is hugh and for 75lbs the subs are large, 21 in cube. They come in a matte black The light weight is due to the subs being passive. Next the Dayton SA 1000 amp was hooked up and the subs were calibrated followed by running MCACC.

Initial impression. Definetly a lot more output than I am use to. This is the cleanest sub that I have ever heard. It is fast and articulate with detail and warmth. I have not used the 20 Hz bass boost or subsonic filters on the amp yet. Tomorrow I will play with the parametric EQ. I will post some pic's tomorrow since the initial ones did not turn out well, lol. I did a limited frequency sweep 0-19 Hz. Things started rattling in the room around 10 Hz.

Pics and a better review to follow.

[K5SS]

Congrats! They sound like monsters. I love buying speakers but I REALLY love buying subwoofers. In for the pics..

[Scrappydue]

Just so you know amps don't really weigh much in subs these days Derrick. I think the 1000 watt amp in my ultra weighs 5.5 lbs when I took it out to send one in to be fixed.

[Scrappydue]

And also let me say congrats. I have heard those babies do have spl for days!

[derrickdj1]

Thank guys. here are a couple of pic's.

[derrickdj1]

The SS 18.1:

the DYI sub riseres came in handy for pushing these things around and sliding them in from the garage.

[Heritage_Head]

Congrats []. Those look really nice.

[derrickdj1]

Thanks reference_head. I am just starting to break them in. After putting some hours on them, it is amazing to see the improvement in SQ and extension improves. First I notice the bass was better on one side of the room compared to the other side. I can't level match these subs since they are passive and share the same amp. Moving the subs around did not help much either. But, over the past couple of days the bass in the room has evened out and the extension is awesome. This might have something to do with cutting on the bass boost at 20 Hz.

There is an MQ 600 amp that will net 7-10 db increase in spl across the band for thes subs. The Dayton amp can run 2 sub and the MQ 600 can run 4 subs. The MQ 600 is a great option for a dedicated HT. I got the Dayton amp due to it having an EQ feature. So far I have not used the EQ and am letting MCACC manage the bass with it 3 subwoofer filters.

[Heritage_Head]

Are you thinking of getting a 2nd sub amp to level match?

[Heritage_Head]

And did you get a new tv stand? last time i saw a pic you had the center off to the side. looks nice

[derrickdj1]

Yes, I got a new TV stand and sold the Yamaha M 70 to make room in the stand for the Dayton amp. I don't think I will need a 2nd amp since the room response is pretty even now. Next week I want to do a frequency response graph to see if I even need to use the EQ. MCACC has those 3 filters for the sub, so it should be interesting to see what is going on in the room.

I watched Total Recall, the new one and the bass/LFE was off the charts. These two sub pressurized the room which is an open concept around 6800 cft. I have one sub corner loaded and the other one around 2 ft. from a corner. Craig, the owner of CHT said I shoud get 9-15 db of room gain and be pretty flat down to around 20 Hz for a sealed sub. He also said there will be a chang in the frequency response after I get around 200 hours on the subs.

[Mongo171]

Once those beasts get broken in, you'll need ear plugs and a defibrillator in the room with you.

[derrickdj1]

Thanks Mongo 171. I quoted things worng in my last post. The subs with room gain should be flat to about 15 Hz. I can't wait to the wife is out of the house so I can do a crude frequency response graph and try the EQ to see what it may or may not add to the Pioneer's bass management, standing wave correction and subwoofer filters. These subs deserve consideration for anyone looking at purchasing a powerhouse sub for HT and music. They have great below 20 Hz performance, great midbass slam and SQ. I listen to a lot of music and with all speakers set to small, so I depend on the sub for clean, deep bass. To sum up my opinion in a few words, IMAX is in the house, lol.

[Knorbu]

Congratulations Derrick!

[derrickdj1]

Thanks Knorbu. I am amazed at how well the subs blend with the mains. I use to have the subs very close to the mains and it was never an issue. Now with the swithching around the system by 90 degrees, the subs are far apart and not near the mains. How are things in your part of the country? I know Oaklahoma has been going thru tough times with all the severe weather.

[Knorbu]

Thanks Knorbu. I am amazed at how well the subs blend with the mains. I use to have the subs very close to the mains and it was never an issue. Now with the swithching around the system by 90 degrees, the subs are far apart and not near the mains. How are things in your part of the country? I know Oaklahoma has been going thru tough times with all the severe weather.

I gotta admit ..I had my mind made up on which sub I was gonna upgrade to,,but I started straying from that decision when I read about yours. My wife talked me down though.

Oklahoma is getting hit hard, I hope it subsides and they get a chance to recover.

I am in Nebraska, ( you made me edit my profile )[:|]

Mark

[derrickdj1]

Due to CHT being another small internet sub company some people have reservation buying their subs after Elemental Design and Epike went out of business. That was not a major problem for me since the subs are passive and there is no plate amp that can go out. My amp is from Parts Express with a warranty. The SS 18.1 is the smallest of the Chase subs. There are vented and double driver version subwoofers. Passive subs have an advantage in that adding additional subs is cheaper. The amps can be purchased separate from the sub with differing power options and multiple subs can be added to the same amp.

[nola]

Scrappydue,

Just as an aside, we should find out how many of us are running the now old Onkyo 805s. Sonically, it seems to provide a nice inexpensive all in one solution. They do run hot, being the only downside, so good ventilation is important. I run one in my bedroom. I also bought another one when working on the west coast about 2 yrs ago. (Quite cheap now on the used equipt market) I have seen where some other members list them as part of their "rig". Is there a way for to easily find this out, or maybe Amy Unger or somebody else at Klipsch knows how to datamine this information.

Cheers, NOLA

[neo33]

Very nice derrick, however, The SS 18.1 (2012 version) from the Chase Home Theatre page looks nothing like the one shown in the photo.

I am considering getting eight (8) SS 18.1s to build a new home theatre.

The SS 18.1:

the DYI sub riseres came in handy for pushing these things around and sliding them in from the garage.

[derrickdj1]

The SS 18.1 in my pic is the new one. They are bigger than they look in the pic. I was at a custom audio shop today and listen to some of their subs. They were not 18 in sub but 2-5k subs. I had him them play a movie that I own and some music that I know very well and I just smiled. I told them the subs sound good but, knew that the Chase subs sounded much better, cleaner, less distortion and handel the deep bass in the music much better. These where 10 and 12 in. subs so. not a fair comparison by size but an a&% kicking by price comparisons and SQ. The Chase subs loss the beauty contess, lol.

They also had some $22,000 Sonus Faber towers on a 100 lb Boulder amp. The looked awesome but, I like the sound of my 7's better on my system. I am biased.[]

Eight SS 18.1 will be awesome, Go For It!!![Y]