Suggestions for sub-woofer

[agupta20]

Hi All,

Last year I purchased denon 1612 + paradigm CT100
I really like the output of speakers (clarity, etc), but I am slightly disappointed with sub-woofer. It does not provide the thump at all

I have kept subwoofer along with the wall. In front of it, my sofa is placed
I have tried several placements, but the effect remains the same
Kindly give suggestions where should i place it

I am thinking, would it be a good idea if I replace it with any other good sub-woofer of any good brand, which make dedicated subwoofer
Any comments please

Regards,
Ashish Gupta

 

[agupta20]

Experts kindly advise

 

[jbgude]

Asish, I certainly am not a expert- but let me try. You have not mentioned what you have been listening to : movies or CDs / music where you are not happy with the Bass. I am not very familair with your Paradigm set, so cannot make a judgement on them.

Have you tried movies / CDs which have an widely acknowledged " Thump" factor ? Check some out at your friends/ showrooms and then try them at your home.

Have you adjusted the phase / volume and other settings on your Sub ? In theory, it should not matter much, on where you have placed the sub- most human ears cannot pick out the direction from which the low tones eminate.

 

[sash]

Have you set the crossover correctly in both your receiver and the subwoofer?
I have set the crossover in my receiver to 80Hz and turned the crossover knob on my sub to full. What this means is - receiver sends signals lower than 80Hz to subwoofer and the subwoofer plays everything that is sent to it. Also in my receiver i have set my front speakers to "small" and set "use" for subwoofer. My sub woofer gain has never been turned more than the 40% mark - i shudder to think what might happen if i turned it more than 60%

 

[hifisandy]

which part of India are you from?

 

[agupta20]

I mainly use this setup for English movies. I did try many movies with good Thump factor, but i am not satisfied with sub

I have done all the recommended settings. Set crossover to 80Hz and turned crossover knob to full. Phase is set at 0. Never found any difference while phase set to 0 or 180

Sometimes I feel my friend's sony HT sub is performing better than my sub

That's why thought ran across my mind if its a good idea to go for a dedicated subwoofer for my setup. Heard of various brands - velodyne, SVS, HSU. But unable to understand how to go about deciding which subwoofer to take because obviously i wont be able to listen to any sub with my setup and at my location. So wont be able to make a decision which one will really go with my setup

So need forum member's advice to take it further. In case anyone feels that going for a new sub with this paradigm and denon setup will not work, would appreciate their advice as well. As i clearly do not know whether is it worth it or not to buy a new sub and spend a hefty amount just for sub

Thanks in advance

 

[agupta20]

which part of India are you from?

I stay in Mumbai

 

[prosenjit]

are you sure about your sources/materiaal

svs is best..but its price will be equal to your present set up i think..

 

[sash]

Forgive me for saying this again but i find it hard to think that the paradigm sub could be lacking. I have demoed the Paradigm PDR-100 and it hit pretty hard.
Couple of things i'd do before spending on another sub -
1. How big is the room? If the room is a big living room (interconnected to other areas of the house) then probably the 8 incher might find it harder to fill it.
2. Have you tried it with a good blu ray? Say transformers - dark of the moon or some explosion scenes in other movies ( ex: Skyfall - train ploughing into the subway scene). I usually use Dolby - Sound of HD3 demo blu ray disc to test. Downloaded rips usually have inferior sound.
3. I'd go back to the place where i bought it and play the same material on a different specimen of the same model. The sub that you got may be defective and you might be able to claim warranty.
4. I might just bring home someone from the dealer where i bought it and ask him to take a look.
But if you have tried everything here then the brands of subs that i have had a good experience with are from Velodyne, Definitive Technology, Klipsch. I have heard people talk very highly of SVS but i haven't personally heard them.

 

[prosenjit]

nicely said..
follow the steps and if unsatsified at last..then think of investing on a new sub..
i also think something is being missed

 

[sandeepmohan]

SVS is by far the best sub woofer I have heard for the price. A colleague is picking up their SB13Ultra. It is expensive but it is probably going to be the last sub he will ever have to buy.

You may consider their $500 range of sub woofers. Ported if you want more bass impact. Sealed if musical applications are more important.

I suggest checking the internal av receiver settings for the sub woofer. There could be a problem here more than the sub woofer itself.

 

[agupta20]

Thanks everyone. As suggestes i will visit the shop once before taking any decision.
My living room is L shaped room connected to rest of the flat
Normally i download 720p DTS 5 gb movies from net. I will check with blu ray as well.

One more question - technically what specs should i be looking at incase i plan to buy new sub

 

[prosenjit]

no specs needed...feel it..

 

[pushkarDighe]

Hi Friends, Prosenjit is correct specs later feel/hear first. I am hunting for a sub myself and this is what I noticed. Generally the helpers in the demo room change speakers while system is on. When a sub which is on and is connected it gives a "thump". The power of that thump I feel is a good indication of its capabilities.
I have recently checked out velodyne impact 12, equi-max 15 and B&W ASW610. Equimax 15 has the most powerful thump. Like a powerful beast. Hear them, feel them and when you find it hard to make your mind between 2 then compare the specifications.

 

[pushkarDighe]

I use trailer of "Transformers the dark of the moon", start of the previous Star Trek move where USS Kelvin faces Nero's ship and the "Chinese Drums" (Big thanks to Ampnut for sharing it with us) for audition

 

[sandip_d]

A colleague is picking up their SB13Ultra.

From where he is getting it.... and damage?? I was told by SVS dealer that SB series is not available in India.

 

[sandeepmohan]

From where he is getting it.... and damage?? I was told by SVS dealer that SB series is not available in India.

If the dealer won't sell you an SB series, you can buy direct from SVS. The landed cost works out to 1.33lac. The cost includes the SB13Ultra, Shipping and Customs. This includes the 5 year warranty direct from SVS. To and Fro shipping cost for whatever replacement part (mostly the amplifier), is at the customers expense which is acceptable.

The distributor based in Coimbatore, Audire, offered the SB13Ultra for 1.64lac with a one year warranty. Shipping cost is additional. It is not feasible for them to offer the 5 year warranty in India and I completely understand them. What I will not is the huge mark up in cost. 34K over the SVS quoted price is too much. Add another 4k for shipping, considering the weight of the SB13Ultra makes it 38K.

I don't see the point in buying products like SVS, Emotiva, etc through a local distributor when the companies are willing to do business directly with you.