Sunfire and RSW together?

[cdsang]

OK, So far I am getting the RSW 15, I was talking to a salesman about the sunfire subs. The Signature one runs about 1500, is that even a good price for it? Also, would this be a bad mix? The guy I talked to said its not a good idea to mix subs. Thank you in advance for any answers.

[Fordman]

First off the 1500 price is accurate.I think its one of those products that is price protected by the manuf.

Second I have a friend with the RSW 12 and it will rattle your teeth.But,I went to my local electronics store yesterday and for the hell of it started playing with the Sunfire True Sub,all I can say is Wow.This liitle thing blew me away.If I could afford either of them I would be all over that Sunfire.The Klipsch might play louder but the Sunfire is deeper.

Good Luck and have fun shopping(thats half the fun of getting stuff).

[TheEAR]

Ah ha and again TheEAR shows up!

Just today...yes today I did we did a few torture high SPL tests on the Klipsch RSW15 that just arrived.The RSW15 is a very good looking sub in the cherry finish.The beast was placed in a corner and it was matched with RF7 fronts,RC7 center and RS7 sourrounds.

The RSW15 has a punch and chest thump you only get with the large mega subs.While it will not dig with authority below 30Hz,it will pound like a 400lbs gorilla armed with a 25lbs sledge hammer.

Even in a mid sized room the sub can really pound.For HT and electronic music this sub has few peers.

Compared to a Paradigm PW2200 it whips the PW2200,not even close.The PW2200 plays deep but does not come close to delivering the massive PUNCH of a RSW15.The Polk 650 gives a good show but still not near the RSW15,the Monitor Audio high end dual 12" sub sounds simply weak and lacking.

The only small sub that competes with the RSW15 is the Sunfire SIgnature.The Sig can compete with no problems against the RSW15!Impressive considering the minute size of the Signature.In fact the internal volume of four...even six Signature subs is lower then the volume inside the RSW15 cabinet!Per cubic inch the Signature is a killer.It takes very large SVS subs to clearly start to best the Signature,down low.AT 30Hz you will be scratching your cranium and wonder where is the beef,the SIgnature has so much power.Two SIgnature subs are almost invisible and will best 120dB in most rooms at 30Hz.

Well lets say I am still impressed with teh Klipsch RSW15 and am ordering mine!To join my subsonic army of doom.

The only subs that outpounds the RSW15 clearly is the Revel B15,it outpounds the HGS18 as well!I think of it as the Super Sunfire Sig.

Ah now I reached a level where anything less then awesome abyss sub bass is a severe compromise.Any movie,any music I throw at my subs has a full scale impact and depth.Simply awesome,cannot be described by mere words

[prodj101]

ahhhh, the joy of an RSW-15 in the living room. gotta love them. I like to turn off the main speakers just to hear the house rattling. good times, lol.

[cdsang]

Hey Ear, its nice seeing you. I am kind of a fan of yours. Your someone I look up to when it comes to what sub is better. Thanks for your review on the RSW 15. Makes me feel better about buying it. Would you think a sunfire sub would play well with it, or do you think they shouldn't be mixed?

[Btrigg]

"Hey Ear, its nice seeing you. I am kind of a fan of yours. Your someone I look up to when it comes to what sub is better."

Heh, that's why you need pictures, cement the trust of people on this forum, make their purchase feel better. So was that a good review? Only the sunfire sig tops the rsw15? That's pretty good, considering all the stuff on here I've read about the sub not being that great. Is the rsw tighter than the siggy? In the 30-40 range that is.

[cdsang]

Ok, don't take it to personally. I look up to ears when it comes to subs. He has tried out so many subs in his own house and owns at least 8 subs. His standards are high, so if he says its a good sub, you know it is for sure. Now, I wasn't 100% sure how good the RSW 15 was going to be, but ears made me feel better about buying it. I bet there are other great subs out there to. I bet the SVS subs do go louder and lower. I heard it a million times on here. I am actually either conisdering buying an SVS or a Sunfire as a 2nd sub. But sense I haven't had the chance to hear the 15, I dunno yet. Belive it or not I got the RF-3 series set because of the people on here. I would of gone with the SF-2s, but people said the RFs were better. Alittle better, but still any better is better. So I do take other peoples opions into account.

[Colin]

If anybody other than ToddV knows subs, it must be theEar. (Think somebody out there collects wide-screen TVs the way he collects subs?)

While it can be a very good idea to have two low cost subs stacked on top of each other, to get even more output, it MAY not be a good idea to mix two similar subs together. For example, my KSW200 gives me plenty of 60-Hz bass (that is the peak of its frequency response, regardless of its EQ settings, while my LF10 gives me plenty of 40-Hz bass (which is the peak of its frequency response curve, regardless of its EQ settings). So while they may appear to be dissimilar styles, their outputs are still fairly close together. With full range loudspeakers, the KSW200 has to be dialed back to very low power at the lowest EQ setting, otherwise its midbass performance intrudes on the upper bass sound and it muddies the upper bass and the midrange. Same with the LF10. It does not take much volume before its midbass output starts to muddy the upper bass of full range loudspeakers (below 50-Hz). What this means of course, is that dialing back the power, to get a clean even mid and upper bass response, reduces the deep bass output too. Unless I use an EQ to dial up more 30-Hz bass, I cant get the deep rumbling bass, down at 25 and 20-Hz.

The two subs are too close in peak frequency response to truly compliment each other, even though in my loudspeaker crowded abode, they sit one on top of the other. Two of the LF10s would be nice: that would give me tremendous output at 40-Hz.

Even better would be a SVS deep bass tube to reach the lowest depths. Secrets of Home Theater had an excellent article last year comparing the RSW and the SVS subs. We had a long discussion about them here. If you search either site, you find that the RSW subs are quite musical, with plenty of midbass punch, while the SVS are the bargain-basement champs at the really deep stuff. They are two very different kinds of subs, both in style and in construction and sound. If I had my way, I would want both: one for depth and one for punch. In fact, that is what the Secrets writer did. He kept one of each.

[TheEAR]

Cdsang,

Thanks,really I do not deserve anyone to look up to me.I post here because I love audio and high performance gear(and subs).

The RSW15 is quite a potent subwoofer,for music and high impact HT use it does the job againt any subwoofer on the market.Just dont think it has any real output below 30Hz,it drops like a stone.For pipe organ music the tiny HSU VTF2 does better!A Paradigm PW2200 does way better

But for rock concerts,electronic music and 99% of movies its a real deal.I was very impressed by how tight and just how much punch this beast has.It hits you and keeps up with the RF7's untill your ears say STOP.

The cherry finish is very nice too,just the cheapo plastic grill is very fragile and the driver metallic cones are prone to damage if care is not taken to protect them.All else is good,and when you get a good deal on the RSW15 its a great buy too!

Next for me a RSW12 to complete the RSW10 and 15. LOL I must be insane

Btrigg,

Ok lets see,you first asked me to show some pics on 3DSS and a few baboons claimed I dont have what I claim.Well in the ProMedia 5.1 section TheEAR MP3 PC clearly shows on of my PC's and the Dynaudio/Celeste/Klipsch RSW PC setup.Aint it right Btrigg?

Now I will post CLEAR 3.3megapixel pics of my Klipsch setup..very very soon.Right here and then my second PC and finally my master system.I like to keep the suspense high.And I live the faces of those who accused me of lies faces change color.

Now this said to the actual comparison...

The RSW15 is as "musical" as the HGS18 and on music is in the same quality class.Both are CLEAN as clean can be and will satisfy the most demaning bass freaks.The HGS18 will aslo do a superb job with very dmanding pipe organ music,the RSW15 will not.

The SUnfire SIgnature is more capable on very bass heavy HT and pipe organ music then the RSW15,but does not have the RSW15 punch or impact.Overall the RSW15 is in the same league as the Signature.I said overall

The Revel B15 has all the qualities of the HGS18 and RSW15,goes low,hits hard and has the very best crossover in any sub(besides the RABOS system in the Infinity and JBL Ti-K subs).

The best choice however would be twin SVS Ultras/Samson(or better)amp.This combo delivers devastating subsonic energy,pipe organs really come to life.The Ultras only start to spit when pushed hard on 16Hz test tones...and your ears start to hurt. .

The SVS dont have the same dry slam the RSW15 or Revel has.Yet if you have large Klipsch mains this becomes a non issue,my twin RF7's will knock any pretender flat out with punch from 40Hz up.A scary show

Well there are plenty of choices in the subwoofer market,I dont plan to write a book.I just enjoy what is out there