What should I get: KSW-15 or other?

[kenratboy]

I want to get a new subwoofer. I currently have a Sony receiver and a pair of small, but high-quality bookshelf speakers (JBL HLS-610, soon, some Klipsch Reference bookshelves), which I will drive as satellites. Anyway, I listen to 90% music and <10% movies, so I would say I need a music subwoofer As of now, the two subs I am looking at are the Klipsch KSW-15 and the Velodyne CHT-15, which have a list price below $800, and I need to keep it there. What subs in this price range should I consider? I want something that will be able to loosen my lower GI, but also something that will go clean and low. I have no space or brand preference, so anything will go, even something like a SVS or something large and unconventional. As I said, budget is my number one priority, after that, anything will go. There are a lot of big, black boxes out there, and I just need some help sorting through them, as I will probably need to drive 250 miles to hear any of them. After than, my ears get to pick.

Thanks for the help!

[Seb]

how big is your room, and what type of music do you listen to?

fwiw, I would drop the KSW15 from your choices. although it has a lot of impact at 30Hz and above, which is good for movies, it might not give you the desired performance level for critical material like music.

SVS are said to be very musical, which I cannot confirm, but I know my PW-2200 does the job very well, however, it's quite a bit below your price range, so maybe you could eke out some more performance for your dollars.

hope it helps.

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'cuz not a lot of people have ever said

"Pump up the treble!"

[tgourlie]

I use the KSW 15 with my heresy II's and I found it works quit well. Good for movies, but for music I just set the crossover down lower (can't remember off hand what). That way I keep the punchy clean bass from the Heresy's yet extend the lower end with the 15. This was hard to achieve without a drop in db around 50hz, but I think I got it pretty well tweaked.

I'd agree the 15 is a little (A LITTLE) slow for music. Probably do to the downward firing design and the large 15 inch cone. The larger the surface area of the cone the harder it is to get a clean sound out of it.

My very good friend owns the KSW 12 and it sounds very nice. Not as loud or as low as the 15 but possibly an option for you.

Hope I helped a little

[Audible Nectar]

I own a Velodyne CT150 sub that I purchased new two months ago. It is essentially the same as the CHT150, but still floating around at closeout prices - I paid $535 shipped to me (and this beast weighs 80 pounds).

It is an excellent HT sub for that money. It is quiet when it is supposed to be, hits like a ton of bricks on movie soundtracks. Good set of controls. I have a set of Cornwall IIs as mains, so I adjust the crossover for 2 channel to around 45-50hz or so, to blend with the Cornwalls. Review in a nutshell for 2 channel music: fair. It doesn't go real low, drops off below 30 hz, some output from 20-25 hz, but not really enough low oomph for me. Still good for $535 though. I'll keep it for now, then upgrade to an HGS or an SVS kit of some kind. The good subs cost $$$, and true high performance bass also needs lots of power. I did not get enough sub with this purchase, but I only spent $535. The subs I am looking at cost $1500-2000, reduced by what I can get for my velo when the time to sell comes.

This is not really a "musical" subwoofer, unless you do rock/dance pop stuff or lots of HT.

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