filmguy Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 hi all this is a long post but pls bear with me... am going a bit crazy with the limited choices that i have to choose my sub from. i hope you guys can help me make my decision coz right now i'm completely clueless, not helped by the fact that i am a newbie to the world of "audiophility" (made that up). the problem stems from the fact that i have heard the subs in different dealers in different setups and have no option of returning them(i live in india). the ones that are in my shortlist (due to availability and budget) are the following : 1) polk psw 505 2) klipsch rw 12 3) psb subsonic 5i all cost approx $550. now let me tell you'll about my auditions: i've heard the klipsch in a small 120 sq ft room and while i was impressed with how low it goes i just found the bass a bit too "thick" or overpowering. it was a bit tiring and didnt sound like something i cld hear for a while. but i have a feeling that could just be because of the small room and it being incorrectly setup because all the reviews i've read on this forum are quite positive of this sub. the dealer doesnt have a clue! so i dont know what it was crossed over at and that might be part of the problem. also i am a bit skeptical of him honouring the 1 yr warranty. the polk sounded pretty good but couldnt really judge this time the room was really big and the door was open to the mall so a lot of external noise. while i got the feeling taht this doesnt go as low as the klipsch. it seemed to lack a bit of the "slam" factor. i was a bit more positive abt this sub as the dealer is offering a 3yr warranty and he seems to be comparatively more trust worthy; but this was tempered when i read on the net that quite a few people had blown their polk subs which wld mean that i might reach a point where i wld hv to test the warranty! (after sales service in india is really bad, i'm afraid :-(( ) the psb sounded really nice and musical in quite a large room; its currently out of stock but this dealer is offering a 1 yr warranty. this sub might have tempted me the most but its abt $45 more than the polk, its only a 10-inch and rated to only 30 hz as compared to the polk's 23hz and klipsch's 21 hz.also the extra 2 yr warranty of the polk is also comforting. and its musicality might mean that i miss out on the sheer "slam" of the rw12 that everyone talks abt. so as u can see i am highly confused and will pretty much go with the majority's opinion since the conditions of the auditions mean that i cant really judge on that basis. i wld say my mix wld be 60%movies (all kinds)and 40%music(primarily soundtracks/pop/rock/r&b. i have wharfedale bookshelve fronts are rated at 45hz+/-3db with a sensitivity of 86 db. i run them with a marantz sr4300 a/v reciever with a philips cd changer and pioneer universal player.my room size is 15x14x9 but its my bedroom so 1/2 of its taken up by furniture. PLEASE PLEASE help. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 If I was shopping for a subwoofer, I would look at the size of the cabinet and looks, the depth of its output, the loudness of the output, the rating of its amplifier and the shape of its frequency response. I would try to get two of them to listen to side by side. I would also invest in a Radio Shack SPL meter and a Test CD, so that you can graph the frequency response of your home movie and music reproduction system. When you know the roll-off of your loudspeakers, you will know where your subwoofer has to fit in. 45Hz is pretty deep and it may take a powerful subwoofer to fill in the bottom. The ones you mention are all good, possibly very similar, and none of them may be enough to ideally match your loudspeakers. In your room however, any subwoofer will make a very good impression and be worth while. I am surprised that there are not local ones which would be a better deal. Used ones and kits like the Parts Express Dayton are great deals. You save a lot of money and get a more powerful subwoofer that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmguy Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 hi colin unfortunately the high-end audio market here in india is still developing so u dont have the options that one has in the US. locally developed subs are unfortunately not very good so i have to stick to the few that are available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmguy Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 any other inputs ????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Based on your experiences I would go with the Klipsch sub...not because it's a klipsch forum either. Klipsch has a 3 year? manufacture warranty that your klipsch dealer would have to honor...If not, you simply let klipsch know and they will help you out. Klipsch customer service is very good. Just keep in mind that klipsch likes to work through their vendors so you will end up dealing with the guy that sold you the speaker. The chances of something failing anyway are rather low. But in the chance that your sub does fail and your dealer refuses to honor the warranty, you're still not out of hope because klipsch is still there to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I couldn't find a thread from theEAR but I did find this: The Ear, don't you own both?" Nope,I own the PSW404 and 505 and all the Klipsch RSW's.Plus many other subs remember most of my subs are cut very low(50Hz)only my RSW subs are cut at 80hz(as they add some unnatural punch,so welcome ion so many action packed over the top movies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmguy Posted March 24, 2005 Author Share Posted March 24, 2005 i've written to the klipsch support team abt the additional warranty so lets see what they say. its not the time of the warranty though that scares me its the fact that the local klipsch dealer is totally incompetent and unhelpful its only the lack of choice because of which i am even thinking of dealing with him; onthe other hand the polk dealer has been very helpful. but ultimately i want to go for the better sub. on another forum someone has strongly advised for the RW saying it hits 20hz with ease. infact even on the polk forum there arent many people reccomending it (everyone just talks abt the SVS and HSU which i can understand; but its unhelpful to me) where is the Ear i think he has both and so far he's the only one who's said that the polks are good. hey ear - what makes u prefer the polk 505 to the rw12 and does the polk go as low as the rw ?? pls help so i can finally make a choice.. thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmguy Posted March 26, 2005 Author Share Posted March 26, 2005 well i got a reply frm klipsch and they say that the warranty is given by the local distributor viz. 1 yr. so thats a minus point against the klipsch. so far in all the research only ear has reccomended the polks so strongly but i guess since he's experienced the 2 side by side in same room conditions and he's such a pro with his knowledge that shld count for something. this is what someone on th S&V forums told me : "GET THE RW-12! I can tell I auditioned many subs, and the Klipsch is the one I ended up with and I couldn't be happier with it. I let two of my friends, who are also Hometheaternuts, listen to it...and after they heard what it was capable of in the low freq range they replaced their subs with them. It is really a great sub, and I listened to a few polks, but I can't remember the models, and it blew them away. The lows are just amazing. I also have a brand new JBL E250P and the Klipsch just blows it away. A tremendous difference. If you get the RW-12, I think you will be VERY pleased. trust me. I used my Infinity R.A.B.O.S. kit and the RW-12 hits down to 20hz with ease. (actually it kind of hurts my head when it does) I am sure it will go below 20hz, but I don't have anything that I know plays below 20hz. The RABOS kit plays a 20hz track. Oh, I have a 14x30 room in my basement that mine is in and it feels the whole room....and the rest the rooms in the house for that matter. My chandelier shakes upstairs, and even the walls in my garage. I had to put "earthquake style" railings around my liquor shelve which is in the back of the room the sub is in to keep my bottles from walking off the shelf!! " yet the additional 2 yr warranty on the polks is tempting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjaudio Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Try an SVS sub. The PB12-ISD retails for $599 and unless they changed there policy you have 30 days to audtion the sub in your house. If you don't like it then send it back for a refund minus the shipping cost. The customer service at SVS is by far one of the best I have ever encountered in all the years I have been into audio. Tom and Eric really know the meaning "Cutomer Service". They even have a new $430 10" sub. I do not work for SVS and in fact I like Earthquake just as much but the customer service from SVS is what puts them in another league. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Try an SVS??!! He is in India. The shipping and importing fees would be a killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjaudio Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 ---------------- On 3/27/2005 11:01:21 PM michael hurd wrote: Try an SVS??!! He is in India. The shipping and importing fees would be a killer. ---------------- Woops, didn't catch the "I'm in India" part of his thread....my bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Filmguy, you might consider contacting Paradigm, they do not list India as a country with a dealer or distributor, but they also will sell to individuals internationally on a case-by-case basis. They also offer excellent quality and performance, with price to match. However, you will have to find out about pricing, shippping, taxes, and so forth before making a decision. Check out the link: http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Dealers/DealerFrames.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Also an interesting read, you might want to do some calling around... it looks like there are quite a few brands available in India, as described in this article about a hi-fi show. http://www.hifinews.com/content/india_spec_report.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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