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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    6

    Default 10" or 12" sub

    My room is 14x22x9, my listening distance is about 11' from the 14' wall, our family room opens into a kitchen. The room has a mix of hardwood floor and tiles, I have carpet on the floor, windows have drapes. I'm trying to decide if a 10" sub would work for my room or if I need a bigger sub. The sub would pair with Sierra towers. My listening is about 70/30 HT and music.

    I really like the Rythmik LVR12 subs, the only problem with these is the size. Its going to look huge on the 14' wall (3' of which is lost to a hall way). I need to fit a 60" tv stand and 2 towers on this wall besides the sub. So space is a premium.

    The other subs in my list are SVS-PB1000 and the Hsu STF-2. My budget is $500. Would either of these work? Any other smallish 12" subs you guys can recommend?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    NW Pennsylvania
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    696

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    The Rythmik is only 16" wide. I'd try to make it work if possible. Your larger room could use the extra output that a ported sub offers. The sub doesn't necessarily have to go on the front wall either.
    Nate

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    6

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    I can certainly fit the LVR12 on the front wall, its only 16" wide. The problem is my listening area is only 13x14. Its going to look big in the small space, the sub is quite tall. Just worried about aesthetics and WAF

    The left side wall has a couch, the right side wall has a window, fireplace and a backyard entrance. Front wall is the only place open to me.

    Any thoughts on the SVS or Hsu subs? They are slightly smaller.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    NW Pennsylvania
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    696

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    If it was me, I'd have the towers about a foot from the back wall. In that case, the Rythmik wouldn't be sticking out any further than the towers and would look fine, imo. If you're going to have the towers closer to the wall, than maybe the VTF-1 MK2 Subwoofer from Hsu would work well.
    Nate

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    St George UT & Glenwood Springs CO
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    432

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Martin Logan and others make wireless subs. Place near any power outlet.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    455

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Quote Originally Posted by senkrish View Post
    My room is 14x22x9, my listening distance is about 11' from the 14' wall, our family room opens into a kitchen.
    It sounds like you have a large 14x22x9 room that opens up to at least a kitchen and maybe more than just that. I don't know if any of the subs you are comparing are large enough as far as being able to pressurize the room that they are placed in (unless you plan to use 2 or 4 of them, which is a nice idea to get more even bass in every seat anyways). Just because your sub is in the 14x22x9 foot room doesn't mean that you can ignore the much larger space that the sub is trying to pressurize, including the kitchen and any other room that the living room opens up to. SVS, Rythmik and Hsu should all be great at telling you how large of a sub you need for that open floorplan, if you give them dimensions. More specifically, if you can roughly calculate the volume of the entire space that the living room is open to. I suggest trying to give them a call. I bet they will be pointing you toward larger subs, if you want your bass when listening to home theater to have impact and be something you can feel.
    Last edited by N Boros; 01-27-2015 at 01:08 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Pocatello, ID
    Posts
    112

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Your list of choices indicate you have really done your homework on subwoofers. Any that you listed will be great.
    Your room may have work fine with a powerful 10" sub except that you say it is open to the kitchen. Because of that, as far as the subwoofer is concerned, your living room is larger than 14x22x9.

    Because space is a concern and because the primary use is HT, I would not even consider a non-ported sub. I would personally not even consider less than a 12" or two-driver 10" ported design.
    The LV12R is about as good as one can possibly fit into a ~$500 budget (based on my experience with other Rythmik subs, Rythmik's stellar reputation, and word of mouth. I have no personal experience with the LV12R model itself).
    If you are feeling ambitious and have the time and resources, you might also consider a do-it-yourself design. You can get more subwoofer per dollar at the expense of time and product refinement.
    Last edited by Sivar; 01-28-2015 at 11:46 AM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Excellent suggestion about using a wireless sub. I see that SVS makes a wireless adaptor for subs that runs for $80. This will vastly improve the placement options for me. Anyone here used this adaptor? I'm worried if this will degrade the performance of the sub.

    The room size 14x22x9 does include the kitchen, this indeed is the overall open space the sub needs to serve. I spoke to a SVS sales rep and he feels the PB1000 is powerful enough for my setup. Please note that I dont intend to run the subs at high volume. I'm looking for something that goes deep with good clarity than something which plays loud. I have toddlers at home

    Given this, can I go with just one sub? PB1000 or LVR12. Thanks everyone for the excellent advise here.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    203

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Quote Originally Posted by senkrish View Post
    Excellent suggestion about using a wireless sub. I see that SVS makes a wireless adaptor for subs that runs for $80. This will vastly improve the placement options for me. Anyone here used this adaptor? I'm worried if this will degrade the performance of the sub.
    The main concern is that the wireless kit adds a delay, so your receiver will need to compensate by increasing the effective subwoofer distance during auto-calibration. Usually there is an upper limit on the sub distance setting, so you need to make sure that you're not hitting that limit; otherwise the sub will be out of phase.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    203

    Default Re: 10" or 12" sub

    Quote Originally Posted by senkrish View Post
    I'm worried if this will degrade the performance of the sub.
    Here's what Brian from Rythmik has to say on the topic:

    "I do not recommend wireless unless it is a very high quality one. You need to look closer at two specs of wireless solution: 1) resolution of digitization and 2) latency. The first spec deals with the resolution of signal digitization when the analog signal is converted into digital codes before they can be transmitted. 16-bits is equivalent to CD standard. But the problem is when the input signal exceed a assumed signal range, it can create all sorts of overload noise that sound exactly just like clipping. But there should be an indicator on the transmitter about this. But most don't. If it uses 24db, then it has quite a few bits more. So the system can set the full scale voltage to some insane value that we will never exceed. The second spec is the latency. That is the delay time between the analog signal entering the transmitter and the same (hopefully is the same, but you can bet there is additional noise and distortion) appearing at the output of the wireless receiver. If the latency is 20ms, it is equivalent of having the subwoofer placed 20ft further away from their physical location. You may need to use subwoofer distance in AVR to compensate for it (by entering the subwoofer distance 20ft further away). If not, then you will see a lot more uneven room response because the full wavelength of 80hz is only 12ft. 20ft is like having a 720 degrees shift and it passes phase inversion at least twice (180 degrees and 540 degrees). Not a good situation either as each inversion can lead to a null."

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