Sub to match w/Forte's & Academy?

[adkent]

Hi guys:

Any advice or experience on what sub would be a good candidate to match with a pair of Forte's and an Academy center for HT? My room will be 19'x16' with a 9' ceiling. I'm finding a fair number of people suggesting SVS, but I want to be sure I make a wise decision here.

Thanks in advance.

[CECAA850]

The SVS would be a great choice for HT along with the Klipsch Ultra set-up.

[Olorin]

It seems to me you just need something deep, clean, loud, and flat from 60 down. How far down you want to go is personal. I'm a DIY fan myself, but I understand not everyone can (or even wants to) go there. A budget guideline is always helpful.

[chuckears]

With my Forte-Academy-RS3 system, I have a Hsu TN1220, powered by an NHT SA-3 subwoofer amp. It sounds great, but if I had it to do over again, I would either have a Crown K-series amp instead of the NHT, or (more likely) an SVS, probably PC-Ultra. Those Fortes are nice and clean down to the low 30's, so you want a quality sub that will mine the deepest of notes, with the flattest possible frequency response. The Hsu or an SVS seem to provide the most bang for the buck, and both with fervent followers.

Many people (including the folks at THX and Dolby ) suggest cutting off your speakers at 80 Hz, and letting your sub take everything below. If you have advanced bass management available with your receiver or processor (by "advanced", I refer to the ability to set different crossover points for the different speaker groups, and possibly a "notch" filter as well), your Fortes are only too happy to exercise more of their range. It will help de-localize the bass material from the subwoofer (don't listen to what they say: sub-80 Hz is not all omni-directional... I can locate my sub frequently, even with cut-offs lower than the 80-Hz spec).

I was amazed at what I had been missing for years; the Fortes do go deep, but there is a deeper level of "felt" bass to be had, which (properly set up) will reproduce the room cues in quality music recordings, and take you to the performance. With film, a subwoofer is absolutely essential if you want to reproduce the full range of sound in modern soundtracks.

...just be prepared to nail a few things down. Every time I watch the new Star Wars DVDs (original trilogy), I have to move my wall clock back in place.

[adkent]

Thanks for the feedback, guys (especially chuck). I'm leaning more and more toward the SVS subs, although the PC-Ultra is a bit out of my comfort zone. I was thinking more along the lines of their entry-level PB10-ISD box (<$500), although I have no idea if it will fill my 19x16 room adequately.

I have a feeling the Forte's will do quite well on their own, but I really want a good sub to handle the really deep, dedicated stuff. Any opinion on the PB10-ISD in my setup with the Forte's?

[Colin]

what is your frequency response in the room? budget? DIY?

[adkent]

Colin:

I have no clue what the frequency response is (currently rough-framed), and my budget is <$500. Can I DIY and get a better bang/buck than the SVS PB-10?

[muleman]

I have the SVS PB12-ISD to go with my Forte-II front R&R, Academy inthe center, and KG1's in the rear. I like this sub and I am pleased with how it blends with my Klipsch ensamble.