subwoofer for Christmas

[slofuse]

I have been upgrading my home theater and I'm down to the subwoofer. My speaker setup is unlike what I generally read on this forum and although it sounds great to me, I welcome comments and am also eager to hear from anybody with a similar setup. My front speakers are Cornwall Is, my center channel is an RC-3II, and my surrounds are Forte IIs. I'm using a Denon AVR1803 receiver. I know I will be investing in an RSW-10, 12, or 15. Which is the best match for the rest of the system? The room is about 20' X 25' with an 8' ceiling. Also if anyone is upgrading this season and thinks they may have an RSW-XX for sale in January, I would be glad to wait. I live in the SF bay area.--SLO

[Danartdis]

It probably boils down to stuff you already know in your heart. IOW, how much can I spend and how much bass is enough? The room is pretty big and I would say (based only on what I have read here) that the 10 is probably not going to cut it. Good luck in your efforts and let us know what you decide.

Dan

[synthfreek]

I think most people's suggestions are going to be "Forget Klipsch on the sub, look into SVS subs." but I could be wrong.

[Vladi]

My living room is wide open to the dining area and the corridor - altogether including it is 14' x 20' and the RSW-10 provides more than enough base. My front stage is arranged on the long wall. I am very very satisfied with the sub for music, it has the punchy tight base that I want. However it does not go under 30Hz, so if you need sub 30Hz you better look elsewhere, i.e. SVS.

[Doc Holiday]

Those SVS subs are supposedly really really nice.... unfortunatly I have not heard them..... but this is one person I would definatly talk to.... he makes coustom subs to fit your needs and he uses M&K Drivers and Amps.... and they are gorgous and sound great "ryanlthomas2000@yahoo.com" he can send you pics specs and more.... He knows what he is doing and the price is very very very reasonable for the quality that you get.... I don't know if that would help you but maybe.........

[Audible Nectar]

"I think most people's suggestions are going to be 'Forget Klipsch on the sub, look into SVS subs.' but I could be wrong."

Maybe. I think this depends....if the poster is into multichannel music more (as opposed to home theater/movie soundtracks), the Klipsch RSW line is very good. Very tight and musical. Heck, it's good anyway you look at it. If the poster wants deeper, higher output bass (which means that the poster wants to be a sub-human, as ears puts it), then SVS certainly offers a wonderful package at unbelievable prices. In an HT environment, the SVS simply rock (and they aren't bad on music, either, but the RSW has an edge here, IMO).

Given the speakers in the system, I would consider no less than a Klipsch RSW15, or possibly a pair of RSW12's. This would be a very nice addition to the system. You should definitely consider the SVS also. Trust me when I, as a fellow Cornwall owner, say: DO NOT UNDERBUY ON THE SUB. I made that very mistake - it takes good, tight, high output subbage to hang with Cornwalls. I use 4 15" JBL professional theatre woofers to do the job in my system.

One more point: consider changing your center channel - it is not timbre matched to your mains. The most important speaker in a home theater is the center channel - everything in the audio soundstage is anchored to the center. It ideally should be as robust as your two mains. I am willing to bet that sounds which sweep across the left, center and right allow you to hear the differences in sound as the audio hits the center. This should be seamless, as if there aren't three speakers. The transition from one speaker to the other should not be specifically noticeable. I find that "Pearl Harbor" is a good test for this. The similar sized alternative to the RC3 is the Academy (it is no longer made, but is certainly worth looking for - I currently use one). The ideal center is a third Cornwall I (and yes, sometimes singles do show up on ebay, on this forum, and other places). If you have room for a Cornwall I as center, DO IT. If not, get an Academy. It will be worth the effort.

[jhawk92]

SLO-

You have an excellent system there, so don't count yourself short. It is very similar to mine except for our mains. As DND mentioned, if you can lay your hands on an Academy, that would be a great match for the CWs. I have used a KV-3, KV-4, and now the Academy, and it is, by far, the best "compact" center channel for the Chorus/Forte/Quartet line. Now if you have the room, sure jump on a single CW for the center.

As far as your sub upgrade, I can highly recommend the Paradigm PW2200. It is a great sub that does very well with both movies and music. I recently upgraded to the SVS 20-39 PC+ and I must admit, I was surprised how much better the SVS is over the Paradigm. I have not done much music listening with the new sub yet, but the little bit I have, I think it keeps up very well. And it does incredible with movies. Recent ones were U-571, Star Wars-AOTC, LOTR. OHHH MYYY! For the money, you can't go wrong with the SVS; I paid about $50 less for my SVS than I did for my PW2200 (yeah, full retail on the Paradigm ) Good luck.

[Deang]

I bought SVS because I couldn't afford the RSW-15.

What you need to be concerned with is that the overall output of the sub can match the output of your Klipsch. Given the efficiency of your Cornwalls and the size of your room -- I would say the RSW-15 is in order.