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Should I get a second R-12SW or get one SVS SB-1000?


91RS

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I haven't gone out of my way to do a lot of research on subwoofers but when this week's Fry's promo came out with the R-12SWi for $218 and my local store had one, I was planning on picking one up since it's the same as the R-12SW just with the wireless but they must have only had one and someone got there before me (and I only got there maybe 20 minutes after they opened!).  So I was thinking that if I were willing to spend $220, would I be better off still getting another R-12SW (if I even could find one elsewhere for that price) or would I be better off selling the R-12SW I have and getting one SVS SB-1000?  I've read on here that two subs (or more) are great but I've also read that the SVS subs are far superior to the Klipsch offerings.  The SB-1000 is 100 watts more powerful RMS than the R-12SW but it's also sealed vs. ported.

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I think a more fair comparison would be the SB2000 to the R-112SW (I’ve got the SB2000). While I love the SB2000 it is more expensive than the R-112SW (and of course more expensive than the SB1000). If you can find the R112SW for a couple hundred buy it and try it. If you don’t like it you should be able to sell it rather easy. 

 

Did you check other Fry’s around you?  If another store has the sub it might be worth an hour drive or so. If not, these do go on sale periodically so you might find this same sale in a month or so. Or better yet, you might find the R-115SW for $499, which I have seen too. That would be a great score. 

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I am glad I made this thread because I didn't realize the SB1000 was sealed until I was typing the original post and looked at the pictures of the SB1000 again.  I had searched on eBay for "SVS 12" subwoofer" and I was looking at the PB1000 on there and then found the SB1000 locally and didn't realize it wasn't the same thing. 

 

I'm not unhappy with the Klipsch.  It's a lot better than the Polk PSW111 it replaced.  I was just wondering if I'd be better off going for more sound quality with the same money than adding a second of the same subwoofer.  That was really the main point of this thread, I suppose.  Another thought I had was to try and get a R-112SW and resell the R-12SW because that would probably cost the least amount of money and still be a 100 watt upgrade and a better woofer.

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14 hours ago, RX8 said:

Or better yet, you might find the R-115SW for $499, which I have seen too. That would be a great score. 

@91RS I agree with Mr. @RX8 on the 15" sub.  It pushes a LOT more air than a 12".

 

We are now into the philosophy area where the question becomes "is it better to have two average subs, or one good one?"  There is no right or wrong answer as there are legitimate arguments on both sides.  My philosophy is to get one good one, and I like 15's a lot.

 

Black Friday is coming.  B)

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much as i love klipsch ive never liked the value of the r10sw or r12sw even at half price.  they just dont play low and many klipsch floorstanders can cover their range making them not useless but only helpful to smooth response.

 

watts are not the key here its frequency response and sensitivity.  if you are mostly music low end response of the svs is less useful but if you watch movies and tv theres a lot going on from 20 to 35hz that the low end klipsch subs miss.

 

valuewise i think a r12sw is not worth half a pb1000 so my vote is upgrade now to svs or the klipsch r115sw.

 

one good sub is better than 2 mediocre subs

upgrade and hear for yourself!

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Alright, that's kinda what I was thinking anyway and I didn't even realize the R-12SW and R-112SW only get down to 40Hz.  The SB1000 I found appears to be a great deal at $300 I was just worried it wouldn't have as much output as the Klipsch being sealed vs. ported.  Maybe I'll pick it up considering the price and I could probably resell it easily if it doesn't work out or get a second one down the road for more volume.  The room is, I believe, about 10'x15' with probably 11' high ceiling since it's treyed and the Klipsch seems like it fills the room pretty well from the front right corner.

 

I saw the R-115SW on sale a Fry's recently and wondered if I should try and get one but I was more looking into the center channel at the time.

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How is HSU Research?  I found a VTF-3 MK3 locally for $350.  Looks like it might be a bit older but looks like it can get down to 18Hz.

 

There's also a VTF-15H on eBay that the guy is willing to ship but at 120 lbs, that wouldn't be cheap.

 

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The VTF-15H doesn't look like it will work due to the size and weight, shipping will be $175.  The local VTF-3 also comes with the turbocharger.  I don't know if it possibly being 10 years old should bother me or not, if it was used regularly during that time then it should be just fine I would think.  I feel like $350 might be a little high because of the age but I don't know because I can't find any listings of this same speaker but it might be an ok price because of the turbocharger.

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Or maybe not.  I shouldn't have counter-offered a second time over $10, the $300 they had it listed at was a great price already for it being brand new and including shipping.  I'm quite irritated with myself, I can't believe I let that slip through my fingers.  Probably shouldn't have posted about it before I bought it, I'm sure it wasn't hard to find.

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Brand new?  If you were haggling that means a private party so used and no warranty. I don’t think these are even manufactured any more. 

 

I still say say you are better off waiting for the sale at Fry’s for the R115 SW.  This sub was the replacement for the SW115. You’d get a brand new sub with full warranty at a great price. 

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Go to the SVS website and look at their bargin deals, you will not find a better sub at that price point anywhere!!! I started with one SVS SB1000 then two of them and finally I now have two SB2000's and I more than happy with them!!! Shipping is free and returns also are free, SVS has the best customer service I have ever run into!!!

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It was an audio store or something but it was brand new in the box still.  I'm ok with no warranty for the price it was.  I buy most of my stuff used or on eBay so I'm used to not having a warranty and generally the warranty is never needed anyway when buying good quality stuff to begin with. 

 

Either way, unless another deal like that pops up or Fry's put the 115SW on sale again I'll just be keeping what I have, I suppose.  Seeing that SW-115 for $300 confirmed that the potentially 10 year old used VTF-3 MK3 is way over priced at $350, which I was already suspecting anyway.  I'll just keep my money and 12SW for now.

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Hsu is ok imo.  the specs are good but i have seen and heard them bottom too easily

 

svs is foolproof with their warranties

klipsch 115sw is excellent

 

ported provides a significant boost at the low end

one pb1000 will likely match the ouput of 2 or more sb1000s down low

but its a bigger box

 

 

 

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I love my SVS Sb1000 (in a small space for 2.1 music).  I really love my SVS SB13 Ultra.  It's sealed, in a huge room (in the corner) and it still sounds really good for music and movies.  For that room I would really need 2 or more large, ported subs to get the full on experience, but the SB13 is quite satisfying.  Maybe will add 1 more.  I like the sealed, I think it blends better with music, especially with the Klipsch RF-7II, which are quite fast and dynamic.  But less bass energy to the room vs a good ported sub.  What I really want are 2 PB16 Ultras in here, but they are huge, and they cost a lot.   I might add second SB13 to match my existing one to help out the room a bit.

 

The one SB13 is far better at all things bass than the 2 RF-7II, so most of the time I keep them crossed at 80Hz.  Sometimes I'll run them full in 2.0 for music.

 

SVS will sell you a new sub, or an outlet sub (to save a little)- then let you upgrade within a year (first you buy the new one, then get the RMA from SVS, and pay for shipping at that point).  So it's a nice way to upgrade for less, because you get the full value of the sub you bought first, minus shipping cost.

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SVS is what I originally wanted but it looks like I'd need at least the PB-2000 to be an upgrade from the R-12SW and that's a good bit more than the max $500 I said I wanted to spend.  That's why I'm irritated about the SW-115 because it would be a large improvement for a lot less than I wanted to spend even though it is an older model.  Size isn't really an issue because even the 12SW isn't exactly small.  Maybe Fry's will run the sale on the R-115SW again soon or I can find a deal on a used SVS.

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I think I'll be going with an SVS PC-2000.  My wife and I stopped by Fry's yesterday since we were going near there anyway and the 115SW is HUGE! It's a lot larger than I even thought it was just comparing the physical dimensions to the 12W I have. She was NOT happy that I wanted to put this in the living room. She said it looked like a bench someone would sit on, haha. I think the chair would still hide it pretty decently but hard to tell without it actually being here. I'm borderline thinking it might be too big, the wall is only about 17' long. The room is 17'x14' with ~10' high ceilings so about 2300 cubic feet so it looks like these are the right choices for me as far as the room size goes. She did make a good point though, the corner of the room where I have the subwoofer currently is where the Christmas tree goes so a box subwoofer will likely need to be moved when that goes up and the cylinder might be able to stay (and maybe rattle off some ornaments).  So that leaves the PC-2000, it's pretty tall but the footprint is small. I am a bit worried that the cat might think it's a sweet new scratching post though (the cat hasn't messed with any of the grilles on the RF-82's or the current 12SW but I'm not sure if those are a different type of material).  I found a killer deal on a used PB12-Plus but since it's larger than the 115SW, I guess that'll be a no.

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On 11/13/2017 at 8:23 AM, 91RS said:

 My wife and I stopped by Fry's yesterday since we were going near there anyway and the 115SW is HUGE! It's a lot larger than I even thought it was just comparing the physical dimensions to the 12W I have. She was NOT happy that I wanted to put this in the living room. 

So your wife was not happy with the size of the 115SW but your other thread you just started says you now want to buy TWO of them?  :blink:

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