peterbwreal Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I'm afraid I don't know much about the modern Klipsch lines. I'm using a 1986 pair of Belles and would like more bass - which is the better choice: RSW or KSW? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOZ Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 RSW for sure. Don't sell yourself short though. Look at SVS.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 If you wish to stick with the klipsch line as I have... I am a purest at heart, then you will find the RSW-15 to be the top dog of Klipsch subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 RSW for sure. KSW line sucks kinda in my opinion. the RSW's however kick ***. I'd get the 15, thats what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The rsw are much better than the ksw. What your you going to be using it for? Music or ht? If you are going to be using it for ht or in the future you are I would recomend shopping around alittle. Try paradigm pw2200 or bk etc. I have a SVS and I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The RSW's are great subs. The KSWs aren't worthy of the Klipsch name, IMHO. I demoed(SP?) one at ultimate electronics with some RF3-IIs, and it sounded like a rubber ball flopping around in a cardboard box. The RSWs sound great, but IMO the SVS's sound better, and you get more bang for your buck. I found the RSWs to be a little steep on the $$$... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 For music any of the RSW's will make you happy. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstanton8 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The KSW will only make you want an RSW.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 ---------------- On 3/5/2003 11:38:30 AM jstanton8 wrote: The KSW will only make you want an RSW ---------------- Great. Just great. Anyone want to buy my KSW-150? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 RSW15,love it,I tried the rest,its the best.If you want a sub that reproduces music/concerts its the one.On the other hand if you need a special effects sub,that vibrates,and reproduces bombs and train wrecks to the lowest hz,might look around.You can save some money if thats all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 I kind of agree, the rsw are a little better at music. this is because they are tuned higher. The svs subs are tuned much lower and are much better at the movies the real guy really needs two of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 RSW Corvette KSW Chevette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Well you know what they say opinions are like ***holes everyone's got one. I don't think my KSW-15 sounds bad at all when it is set up correctly (i.e. crossover point, vol level, placement) any sub can sound crappy when not correctly set up. In the subwoofer reviews and testing, the RSW-15 did not significantly beat out the KSW-15 in terms of clarity or overall output in any given frequency enough to justify its substantially higher cost. It's response below 30Hz was poor! Properly set up and placed the KSW-15 does sound good! I know I have one! Most of the people with opinions on them probably don't own one and only heard it briefly in an audio store (hardly the correct environment). However, I will comment that the build quality is not what I would expect from a Klipsch product. I have had to silicone the port back in place (loose) and the trim ring on the woofer. If I were to purchase another subwoofer as much as I would like to keep my system mostly Klipsch I don't think it would be a RSW-15. The SVS subs will beat it hands down in the reviews that I have read. I have pondered the idea fo having one custom made and run with one of my large power amplifiers. There are tons of awesome subwoofer drivers out there to choose from. Good luck with your decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssh Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 If your budget permits,get the RSW15.You have a fine pair of speakers,so why not compliment them?I speak from my ears-not from my a**. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 I am not saying the ksw-15 is a bad sub, it is not. But there is alot better ones out there ie ie rsw. I had the ksw15 sounded ok but let me tell you the rsw plays louder and cleaner. The SVS subs player much deeper, loader and cleaner. If you don't believe me Try on of the rsw or the svs subs and see what we are talking about. It would be hard for you to say if you havn't owned one of these other subs. I find your post kind of ironic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstanton8 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Considering you've got Belles, if they're anything like K-horns (and I think they ARE), the KSW-15 isn't gonna be able to keep up. I have K-horns AND a KSW-15. While the KSW-15 is MUCH MUCH better than no sub at all, I can tell you in all honesty that eventually it is NOT going to be enough... I thought for a while about getting an extra KSW-15, hoping to make up the difference that way. Then I thought, "Hell, let's just cut to the chase and go SVS or DIY. Why waste precious time and money fiddle-farting around?" I finally decided to have someone ELSE build a sub for me... MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't get a pig to marry a princess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 My point was that the KSW-15 is not a terrible subwoofer and their certainly are better subs out there, I do agree that the RSW-15 is better subwoofer but not by leaps and bounds. I do not rely solely on the KSW-15 I have DBX Dispersion Drive Subwoofer being fed by a 250 Watt per channel DBX amplifier which helps the KSW-15 keep up. Since the SVS subs are dominant on the low end and RSW-15 smooth when it comes to musical detail it is apparent that I have to build a custom subwoofer with multiple high quality drivers to reach my sonic goal. I have already started the planning for it, I am working with people that fully understand sub bass so hopefully it will meet my expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 lol, the KSW-15 and RSW-15 are in no way comporable. if you've heard them side by side, you would know this. besides, specs really don't tell you much about any peice of audio gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstanton8 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Frzinvt: That's the EXACT conclusion I finally arrived at, for pretty much the same reasons. After all, even if one does not fully understand all the ins and outs of bass production in the home setting, there are people who do & who will gladly build you a subwoofer for, (dare I say...) even LESS than an SVS, or for a nominal fee. Some day may you never have to say, "More bass, please!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Any glib response will tell you that bigger is better in the realm of subwoofers. But if you examine the shake value ratings versus the price at the excellent article http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_4/subwoofers-12-2001.html (Subwoofers Under the Christmas Tree - December, 2001 by Brian Weatherhead), you will see that sometimes more is a better value. Take the lowly KSW-15 sub, for example, this has a shake value of only 1.7 and retails for $749. It produces 87 dB at 20 Hz. It goes low enough, but at that depth, it is not very loud or powerful. Dividing the 749 price by 1.7 means that each point of shake power costs the buyer about $440. This sub has lots of boomy mid-bass for relatively little money. The SVS CS-Ultra tubes are an incredible 3.9 shake power, but cost $2,295. This means that they play very loud at the lowest depths. Dividing their price by the shake value means that each point of subwoofer performance will cost $588 25% more than for the additional boom. The sub has twice the output, but costs three times more. This sub has lost of deep bass for a lot less than many other retail compettiors. All though in many respects Carver created the small but powerful sub market with his tightly packed subwoofers and their Class D and H amplifiers, the granddaddy of the market today is Velodyne. Here, their HGS-18 has a awesome 3.1 shake value, but a $2,995 price tag. This means each point of 20HZ output will cost $966. This performance costs twice the rate of the economical KSW. Expensive way to go, compared to the KSW and the SVS, if all you need is more movie bass. This sub has lots of fairly deep and mid-bass. The RSW-15 has an impressive 2.4 shake value and costs $1800 retail. This means each point of bass power costs $750. Less than Velodyne (yeah, Klipsch!), more than the big and deep SVS tubes. This sub has lots of mid-bass, which people love for both movies and music listening, even though it is not what you need for a truly flat frequency response. So from a purely price/performance point of view, the KSW are better values than the SVS tubes, the SVS tubes better than the RSW and the RSW subwoofers are better values than the Velodyne ones. This is not the only important consideration though. The output of the Belle Klipsch is truly remarkable; very loud with very low distortion. Belles can output 120dB, so if you are cranking them to the max, you need a powerful sub that can keep up. That means the only one that comes close in this article is the SVS tube. If you do not need them to come close to the loudness of the Belles, then that is another story. The Belles are only flat to 54Hz, though, so many low cost subwoofers, like the KSW that can not keep up in output, will still help in the low end. My Cornwall Is reached down 40hz in the room, so my KSW sub easily intruded on the Cornwall bass. The KSW was constantly dialed back for music listening, though it helped greatly, and for very little money, on movies. Though I started with the KSW, before graduating to a Klipsch LF-10 for a little more money, if I had to do it over again, I would go right to the more powerful sub. By the way, if you look at the output chart of the subwoofers in that article, you will see that there are only two that will really help you. Only two subwoofers on that list have sufficient output below 54Hz to fill in the bottom missing on the Belles. That is the SVS, which may not have enough punch in the mid-bass for you, and the RSW, which if you try to dial a flat frequency response, will give you too much punch in the mid-bass. (Who is complaining about that? Nobody, except that it colors the upper bass and mid-range.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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