Subwoofer Recommendations

[SA000584]

Am keen to buy a subwoofer with a budget of around $500. So far I have looked at these subwoofers:
- Richter K R A K A T O A Sub ,$500, 100W, Response (Hz):
22-180 http://www.richter.com.au/framed.htm?http://www.richter.com.au/rp02.htm
- Accusound ES60 Sub, $540, 150W, Response (Hz) 30 - 150 http://www.accusound.com.au/eclipse.html

The accusound has a little more power but a 30hz low end doesn't seem that low.

Anyone have recommendations ??

[Ext User(atec77)]

SA000584 wrote:
> Am keen to buy a subwoofer with a budget of around $500. So far I have
> looked at these subwoofers:
> - Richter K R A K A T O A Sub ,$500, 100W, Response (Hz):
> 22-180
> http://www.richter.com.au/framed.htm?http://www.richter.com.au/rp02.htm
> - Accusound ES60 Sub, $540, 150W, Response (Hz) 30 - 150
> http://www.accusound.com.au/eclipse.html
>
> The accusound has a little more power but a 30hz low end doesn't seem
> that low.
>
> Anyone have recommendations ??
>
>
>
Sony have two very good units at $450.00 and $500.00 rrp

[dlite]

Sony don't have any good subwoofers that I have heard. Gees next time you will be telling me Windows 95 was a great software package.

Both the Accusound and Richter will blow the sony's away. Have a listen to both of these and see what you like. I agree 30hz is a bit high for a sub, but most of these measurements are a minefield and measured using different methods and different distortion rates etc.

Also from $599 Aslan Acoustics will hand build you a good sub.

Honestly at this price any sub that goes very low will most likely have tonnes of distortion and not have high SPL's (ie. not sound very loud). Depending on your main speakers you should notice a difference.

[Ext User(atec77)]

dlite wrote:
> Sony don't have any good subwoofers that I have heard. Gees next time
> you will be telling me Windows 95 was a great software package.
>
wrong on both accounts , perhaps you might reserve shooting your self
in the foot until they are heard in person , I had not heard them until
release a week ago and was pleasantly surprised , I use some home built
units based on a 15" driver with great success and suggest building is a
great way to go with proper design advice and incidently unix is best
> Both the Accusound and Richter will blow the sony's away.
I expect its possible but its pure supposition on your part
> Have a listen
> to both of these and see what you like. I agree 30hz is a bit high for a
> sub, but most of these measurements are a minefield and measured using
> different methods and different distortion rates etc.
>
> Also from $599 Aslan Acoustics will hand build you a good sub.
>
> Honestly at this price any sub that goes very low will most likely have
> tonnes of distortion and not have high SPL's (ie. not sound very loud).
> Depending on your main speakers you should notice a difference.
>
price is not a good guideline in most cases .
>
>

[SA000584]

The RRP Of the Accusound and Richter subs are $799.

[dlite]

Agree I don't think I have never heard the Sony's unless they are 2 years old, but have yet to be impressed with any Sony system I have heard, tinny bright sounding systems with low resolution and generally little bass.
Sony has zero reputation in speaker systems for a reason. Richter and accusound have a good reputation for a reason.

[Ext User(atec77)]

dlite wrote:
> Agree I don't think I have never heard the Sony's unless they are 2
> years old, but have yet to be impressed with any Sony system I have
> heard, tinny bright sounding systems with low resolution and
> generally little bass.
> Sony has zero reputation in speaker systems for a reason. Richter and
> accusound have a good reputation for a reason.
>
>
>
as I said they are less than a few weeks old , and imho fair value for $
with discounts under $500.00
you were wrong about several other things as well.
I know of many better units but of course the rrp is somewhat more .

[SA000584]

dlite wrote:
> Agree I don't think I have never heard the Sony's unless they are 2
> years old, but have yet to be impressed with any Sony system I have
> heard, tinny bright sounding systems with low resolution and
> generally little bass.
> Sony has zero reputation in speaker systems for a reason. Richter and
> accusound have a good reputation for a reason.
>
>
>
as I said they are less than a few weeks old , and imho fair value for $
with discounts under $500.00
you were wrong about several other things as well.
I know of many better units but of course the rrp is somewhat more .


I was in Harvey Norman yesterday looking at the RIchter Sub, he said he has some sony subs for a little less, but they dont compare to the richter sub. Not to say the rep at HN, knows everything but he did seem to know what he was talking about.

[dlite]

Yes there are many other subs out there, and I would say price and sound quality wise the Krakatoa/Accusound is about as low as I would recommend going for a commercial sub price range wise, anything lower and the sub is more likely to lower the overall sound quality of the system.

I know plenty of other subs... I actually sell these for example, http://www.zucable.com/method/specifications.html

[SA000584]

Yes there are many other subs out there, and I would say price and sound quality wise the Krakatoa/Accusound is about as low as I would recommend going for a commercial sub price range wise, anything lower and the sub is more likely to lower the overall sound quality of the system.

I know plenty of other subs... I actually sell these for example, http://www.zucable.com/method/specifications.html


A little bit above my budget.

[dlite]

A little bit above my budget.
Yep thats why I did not mention them..

[SA000584]

My main speakers go down to 30hz, do you think it is even buying one of these subs, given that the accusound sub only goes to 30hz ??

[Ext User(El Bastardo)]

G'day,

dlite wrote:
> I know plenty of other subs... I actually sell these for example,
> http://www.zucable.com/method/specifications.html

Interesting sub, with 2x15" drivers. And the Definitions [1], with their
4 x 10" drivers at rear, and 2 x 10" drivers at the front, seem
interesting. What's the A$ price of these?

These speakers are kinda similar to what Equinox Audio is designing at
the moment - a new speaker called the Galaxy [2] with 4 x 12" drivers at
the rear, and ballpark price is around A$20,000.

I see these guys are in Utah. I might be in Salt Lake City next month --
if I am, I may pop in for a listen.

-- Geoff

[1] http://www.zucable.com/definition/index.html
[2] http://www.equinoxaudio.com.au/products/speakers/galaxy.php

[dlite]

Hi Geoff

I agree when I saw Rick's original post on his galaxy speakers I thought that they were very similar.... but I know Rick is an excellent designer in his own right and I can highly recommend his products. Although I also had a smirk on my face when I saw he had chosen to use metal cones in some of his designs following the path of some other speaker designers I know he respects.

The Zu Definitions to be honest I have never heard personally :-( , although I do hope to get a pair of them sometime in the future as a demo model. Currently I have the Zu Druids and Tones available for audition in Sydney. The full range of the Zu speakers is available for audition in Melbourne. The Zu speakers are excellent and to my mind leave many much more expensive speakers far behind in sound quality.

The Zu speakers range from A$2950 for the Tone speakers through to A$14950 for the Definitions. Very well priced compared to many other US imports and the similarly rated Gallos speakers.

SA000584,
If your speakers truely go down to 30hz (very few do), for music I would suggest you need to spend a little more to get a quality sub that goes down to about 20hz. For movies you would see a difference as the lower frequencies are used much more , but still if it is to be a long term buy I would save up and buy a Richter THor or something in that range.

[Ext User(atec77)]

SA000584 wrote:
> atec77 Wrote:
>
>> dlite wrote:
>>
>>> Agree I don't think I have never heard the Sony's unless they are 2
>>> years old, but have yet to be impressed with any Sony system I have
>>> heard, tinny bright sounding systems with low resolution and
>>> generally little bass.
>>> Sony has zero reputation in speaker systems for a reason. Richter
>>>
>> and
>>
>>> accusound have a good reputation for a reason.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> as I said they are less than a few weeks old , and imho fair value for
>> $
>> with discounts under $500.00
>> you were wrong about several other things as well.
>> I know of many better units but of course the rrp is somewhat more .
>>
>
>
> I was in Harvey Norman yesterday looking at the RIchter Sub, he said he
> has some sony subs for a little less, but they dont compare to the
> richter sub. Not to say the rep at HN, knows everything but he did
> seem to know what he was talking about.
>
>
>
I expect he knew which sub produced more spiv , thats what he was
talking about and certainly nothing for your benifit .

[SA000584]

Hi Geoff

I agree when I saw Rick's original post on his galaxy speakers I thought that they were very similar.... but I know Rick is an excellent designer in his own right and I can highly recommend his products. Although I also had a smirk on my face when I saw he had chosen to use metal cones in some of his designs following the path of some other speaker designers I know he respects.

The Zu Definitions to be honest I have never heard personally :-( , although I do hope to get a pair of them sometime in the future as a demo model. Currently I have the Zu Druids and Tones available for audition in Sydney. The full range of the Zu speakers is available for audition in Melbourne. The Zu speakers are excellent and to my mind leave many much more expensive speakers far behind in sound quality.

The Zu speakers range from A$2950 for the Tone speakers through to A$14950 for the Definitions. Very well priced compared to many other US imports and the similarly rated Gallos speakers.

SA000584,
If your speakers truely go down to 30hz (very few do), for music I would suggest you need to spend a little more to get a quality sub that goes down to about 20hz. For movies you would see a difference as the lower frequencies are used much more , but still if it is to be a long term buy I would save up and buy a Richter THor or something in that range.


I have the Accusound ES55 speakers, it says on the back of the speaker 30hz, but wouldn't know how about testing that that is correct. Similar to the speakers ES60 that I linked to above.

[dlite]

I expect the Accusounds wont be far off the advertised mark of 30hz, but as they fail to specify the measurement was taken at the industry standard +/- 3dB I would guess they are in real life closer to 35hz or above.

There is little reason to match a sub to the same brand so have a listen around to a few subs in your own price range. For movies in particular there should be an improvement , especially if you are using a receiver and can channel all the bass to the sub, allowing the Mains to focus on the remaining frequency range.

[Ext User(thecommentator)]

The accusound has a little more power but a 30hz low end doesn't seem
that low.

Unless you sit with a dBmeasurer, are you going to be able to tell the
difference noticeably?

[SA000584]

Thanks for comments/views
I have gone for the Richter sub.

Do these things use a standard copper Coax ohms75 cable???

Tandys are offering Titanium Coax cables...what do they do ???

[dlite]

Nothing special for a sub, standard coax is fine.