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How good is the 10" sub in a RP-3???


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Is the single 10" subwoofer (with a 440W-peak amp) as good or better than the KSW-10? I see the KSW-10 uses a different model 10" woofer, but the amp it uses is also only rated at 325W-peak. I'm thinking of using the subwoofer parts from one RP-3 (in a new box) to be my lone subwoofer in a HT setup. Anyone out there own a RP-3?

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I've been struggling with my RP3's since I got them. I really liked the idea of not having to buy and place an external sub and the fact that there are 2 per pair. In practice I've found there to be an annoying background hiss when they are in standby mode (from the amp/crossover setup?) and they seem to lack the travel of a long-throw sub like a RSW10. As far as the KSW10 goes, I had one for a loaner to use with my old floor standers when I had my RP3's repaired under warranty. The Bass was "different", seemed not as tight, but would play louder without bottoming out on LFE material like the bombing in Pearl Harbor. My RP3's play bass and LFE material sonicly better (tighter, less muddy) than the KS but they crap out sooner. You can actually hear what I think is the woofer hitting the end of it's travel during louder passages.

I wouldn't recommend making a sub using the sub guts of an RP3 for that reason.

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i have a pair of rp3s and have also heard the higher end external subs in home theater set ups (local shop has the rsw-15 in a listening room with the rest of the rf-7 series) and can tell you that the subs in the rp3s are better for music, but the independant sub is better for home theater.

i had heard that bass sound is nondirectional/omnidirectional, but my ears tell me a different story. as far as music is concerned having two 10' subs in a 2 channel setup sounds far better and more balanced than a single rsw-15. 2 channels, 2 ears, 2 subs. just makes sense.

i would also agree that the bass sounds "tighter" on the rp3s, but that this tightness seems to come as a compromise in home theater applications when compared with the rsw-15 which has a longer throw.

so if you're primarily interested in music, go with powered towers like the rp3s that have subs included. believe it or not for music i preferred the sound of my rp3s over the rf-7s with the rsw-15, and the theater room they had them set up in was sonically better than my mother's garage (where i live. don't worry, i'm in college and trying to save some $$$).

my rp3 subs simply couldn't compare, however, to the rsw-15 as far as home theater is concerned (i tested using 'saving private ryan').

as for the hiss, when i have my subs in standby they are dead silent. so maybe you should look into one of those thousand dollar power conditioners (just kidding).

so if it's music, go for the rp3 sub, if home theater, go for an independant. of course we all know music is better than home theater anyway...

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Arena,

I couldn't agree with you more. I think they sound excellent for music.

I might just buy an RSW12 for movies and hook that into the sub output of my receiver and hook the RP3's up using only the speaker level inputs and the bridge strap installed. Then just run the receiver in 2 channel mode for music. How are you hooking up your RP3's? Do you just use the speaker level inputs and if so, is the bass output to your liking? The other choice is to unhook the straps and then use the line-level for the rp3 subs. I've found you can only do it that way if you do not try to use the LFE input on the RP3's simultaneously (I get a hum when I use both the line level and LFE jacks together).

One more question. When your speakers are in standby mode, do they make a hissing noise? I have to leave mine on all the time or the subs hiss. I don't know if it's my speakers or that they all do it.

David

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i have my speakers bi-wired using monster cable m1.4s biwire cable that I got off ebay for $65. dedicated bi-wire cable is the easiest way to hook up bi-wireable speakers as far as I'm concerned, and the 1.4s seems like the cheapest bi-wire cable out there.

i checked the subs and with the amp (harmon kardon hk3370) off and the rp3s in standby and there is a slight hiss if you put your ear right against the sub, but it is so quiet i never noticed it before. obviously the hiss doesn't bother me if this is the first time i've heard it. if it bothers you, try pretending that it's just one of those 'sounds of mother ocean' cds people buy at the mall.

if i turn the amp on and set it to cd but have the cd player off (ie no signal to the rp3s) there is also a very quiet hiss in the tweeter and mid that you can only hear with your ear resting up against the speaker grill. but again, this doesn't bother me. how often will i want the amp on but the cd player off?

if the hiss on your rp3s is loud enough to irritate you, try bi-wiring them and removing the gold straps instead of hooking up the subs via the lfe input. maybe hooking up the subs through the lfes amplifies the hiss somehow. also try plugging the speakers into different outlets than your cd player/amp/other speaker, although you've probably already tried this.

anyway, even if you can't get rid of the hiss, it's a small price to pay for such great speakers.

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  • 17 years later...
On 2/26/2003 at 7:32 PM, arena said:

i have a pair of rp3s and have also heard the higher end external subs in home theater set ups (local shop has the rsw-15 in a listening room with the rest of the rf-7 series) and can tell you that the subs in the rp3s are better for music, but the independant sub is better for home theater.

i had heard that bass sound is nondirectional/omnidirectional, but my ears tell me a different story. as far as music is concerned having two 10' subs in a 2 channel setup sounds far better and more balanced than a single rsw-15. 2 channels, 2 ears, 2 subs. just makes sense.

i would also agree that the bass sounds "tighter" on the rp3s, but that this tightness seems to come as a compromise in home theater applications when compared with the rsw-15 which has a longer throw.

so if you're primarily interested in music, go with powered towers like the rp3s that have subs included. believe it or not for music i preferred the sound of my rp3s over the rf-7s with the rsw-15, and the theater room they had them set up in was sonically better than my mother's garage (where i live. don't worry, i'm in college and trying to save some $$$).

my rp3 subs simply couldn't compare, however, to the rsw-15 as far as home theater is concerned (i tested using 'saving private ryan').

as for the hiss, when i have my subs in standby they are dead silent. so maybe you should look into one of those thousand dollar power conditioners (just kidding).

so if it's music, go for the rp3 sub, if home theater, go for an independant. of course we all know music is better than home theater anyway...

I totally agree! The RP 3 Woofer is very tight and defined because it is a sealed vs ported box. 

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