Let’s talk subwoofers...

[Fantom]

• Sound Quality - I'd expect it to blend flawlessly with a flat speaker crossed at least up to 80 hz (i.e. flat to a reasonable headroom above 80hz).

• Deep bass - For certain music and movies this is quite important. I'd say +-2 dB down to 18Hz is great, but 20Hz would be good. For many, 25Hz would suffice, but many others, including myself, have to be swayed to upgrade from another (likely decent) woofer.

• Output capabilities - This is tied to deep bass for me. I often have no limiting factor on volume in my system. However, with my current HSU3.3 for deep bass heavy music or movies, my sub is my limiting factor. For movies this is more of a raw output issue. For music (e.g. 16.5 hz organ pedal), port noise limits my output. This is still rarely an issue (and often not an issue at all), which is why I rank it #3.

• Size - A smaller size can make placement easier, which helps sound quality. But since a bigger size tends to have better quality and extension, I put this low on the list.

• Finish quality - I might consider paying more for a piano finish option.

[Gov]

For most people, seeing their time, expertise and patience, auto-eq will do a much better job than they ever will.

I agree. I would like to see some type of auto EQ on an Ascend sub

[andyw]

1. Sound quality - obviously...

2. Deep bass - Apart from helping somewhat in some movies and music, it also will help me on the WAF front. If I can argue that a new subwoofer goes deeper, that's a concrete item for selling the wife on the purchase.

3a. Output - My HT room is pretty small with wood floors, so I'm not terribly concerned about any SW's ability to fill it with sound.

3b. Size - Needs to be reasonably sized, as my room is relatively small with only a couple of spots that would really work as it is.

5. Finish - I have a 3-year old. She *will* climb on the subwoofer. A glossy finish would actually be a knock against a new SW, in some respects. On that note, sturdy construction and strong legs and feet are more important to me than the finish.

[ebh]

I had a weird dream last night that the ascend subwoofer was released. It had 8 drivers, two ports (at 90 degree angle to each other, and you could change the color on one of them with different inserts) and was so tall it stretched up to the ceiling. It cost $4,200 (the store retail price would have been $10,000).

Somehow I do not think this will be what Dave actually releases. In fact, this subwoofer is probably not physically possible. In my dream I was still trying to decide whether to get it or not, though.

[dallas]

I had a weird dream last night that the ascend subwoofer was released. It had 8 drivers, two ports (at 90 degree angle to each other, and you could change the color on one of them with different inserts) and was so tall it stretched up to the ceiling. It cost $4,200 (the store retail price would have been $10,000).

Somehow I do not think this will be what Dave actually releases. In fact, this subwoofer is probably not physically possible. In my dream I was still trying to decide whether to get it or not, though.

maybe it's time to put down the mouse.

[muzz]

I had a weird dream last night that the ascend subwoofer was released. It had 8 drivers, two ports (at 90 degree angle to each other, and you could change the color on one of them with different inserts) and was so tall it stretched up to the ceiling. It cost $4,200 (the store retail price would have been $10,000).

Somehow I do not think this will be what Dave actually releases. In fact, this subwoofer is probably not physically possible. In my dream I was still trying to decide whether to get it or not, though.

Maybe stop drinking a lil earlier in the night?

[davef]

I had a weird dream last night that the ascend subwoofer was released. It had 8 drivers, two ports (at 90 degree angle to each other, and you could change the color on one of them with different inserts) and was so tall it stretched up to the ceiling. It cost $4,200 (the store retail price would have been $10,000).

Somehow I do not think this will be what Dave actually releases. In fact, this subwoofer is probably not physically possible. In my dream I was still trying to decide whether to get it or not, though.

I suppose the cat is out of the bag now

[azanon]

Well, I just had to buy a replacement sub because I killed my VTF-2 legacy (electricity got it, I was dumb.......).

Anyway, my personal feelings on the typical sub is this; they're just too damn big overall. If you're a bachelor then fine, get a biga$$ box, place it in your living room, and pretend it actually looks good.

If your married? Save marital strife and just get something like I did; I went with a SVS SB12-Plus. It comes in next Monday; hope I like it. It's supposed to be real musical, so I hope it blends nicely with my front 340SEs.

So if i were going to get into designing subs, I'd make sure I had at least one that is physically smaller. The market seems flooded with huge, ugly ones regardless of how great they sound.

[ccotenj]

• Sound Quality (characterized by low distortion, accurate transient response and linear frequency response): yes. #1 on the list.

• Output capabilities (able to maintain extremely loud volume levels): never a bad thing. #2.

• Deep bass (you know, the 20Hz-and-under club): i'm not sure how much it actually gets used. down the list somewhere, as it really caters to a small subset of users. as long as it comfortably gets down to 20Hz, not really a factor for me.

• Size (how important is a compact size vs. a larger size): BIG! seriously though, if #1 and #2 aren't compromised, don't really care too much. smaller DOES expand the positioning options in your room. but there's just something about a big ol' honkin sub that moves me.

• Finish quality (do we care about a furniture quality finish for a subwoofer?) : well... yes "we" do here... if someone has a dedicated ht, they are unlikely to care. but since i don't, i really don't want a black vinyl sub sitting in my living room. ideally, it would be natural bamboo to match my sierras, and yes, i'd be MORE than willing to pay extra for this, even if it's just a veneer. my current sub (servo-15 v2) not only sounds good, it looks good as well. probably #3 on my list. a natural bamboo finish would definintely increase my "i want one of these" factor.

looking back, i see i only really have 3 preferences listed. oh well.

[astropuppy]

Can we at least get a ballpark release announcement date? Say first quarter 2009 or sooner.