Subwoofer recommendation to replace PC12-Plus

[monkeyblues]

Hi all,

I'm looking to replace an aging (and large) SVS PC12-Plus sub. My system is used for an even mix of movies/music (all genres)/and gaming. I have Sierra RAAL Towers up front and some old Aperion bipole surrounds. Can anyone recommend a sub (or pair) that could get me close to the PC12 performance but in a smaller package? The space is fairly large: main area is 23'x15' that opens up to another area 14'x20' in a sort of L-shape.

I love to crank my movies up to 11, but with a toddler and an infant, those days are severely restricted lately... I'm looking for something with clean, deep bass that doesn't look like a column from the Parthenon. I was originally thinking something along the SVS SB-13 Ultra, but it would be pricey for two of those...

What subs are you all running with your RAAL Towers? Thanks!!

[sludgeogre]

I just got my dual Rythmik F12 subs in with my towers and I can't recommend them enough. Extremely tight and musical, but they'll punch you right in the chest when called for. Having two of them really evens out the response and makes localization impossible, but I think one of them is enough to give you the SPL that you want. If I turn the two I have over 2/3 volume, it shakes the entire house during high LFE scenes.

[eyecatcher]

The PC 12-Plus is a great subwoofer and you have a small footprint already. I used to own a PB13 Ultra and now have an F15HP. I think 2 SB13 ultra would be great. The only way you would be able to compete in SPL would be to to with dual or more smaller subs, but if they are sealed, which they would be to be that small you'd give up a little output at 20hz and lower. You would have to decide to go with aesthetics or quality over quantity. I would say 2- F12's should get you pretty close output wise to what you have now and sound a little cleaner, be smaller and slightly cheaper. If you run your plus in sealed mode you could see what the effect of that may be like. If you could go larger then 2 E15HP's should be able to meet or exceed your current performance. Good Luck.

[monkeyblues]

I just got my dual Rythmik F12 subs in with my towers and I can't recommend them enough. Extremely tight and musical, but they'll punch you right in the chest when called for. Having two of them really evens out the response and makes localization impossible, but I think one of them is enough to give you the SPL that you want. If I turn the two I have over 2/3 volume, it shakes the entire house during high LFE scenes.

Thanks for the info. What pre/pro are you using? Your photo in another thread looks like a Marantz. Also, what is your crossover set to?

[monkeyblues]

I used to own a PB13 Ultra and now have an F15HP.
Thanks! How does your F15HP compare to the PB13?

[eyecatcher]

I knew that was coming, I almost didn't want to reveal that bit of detail. So here goes. Well I think it was more of a lateral move. The only way to compare it would be in sealed mode. In my opinion i like the rythmik better it is a little more articulate, better transient response due to the additional damping mode and i get a flatter response in my room and it is smaller. I find the rythmik slightly better for music mated my raal towers. If I could sum it up one word would be precision. However the only thing I miss in the PB which don't get me wrong is very accurate is with movies. The shear output of it the pb in 15hz mode is awesome but it was a lot larger. It competes with the FV15HP not the F15HP, but I wanted to go smaller. If I had more room I would just get another F15HP. In hind sight 2 E15HP's would be my choice. Personally I prefer the sound of the sealed, I find better definition and I don't miss out on any port noise below the tuning. Not sure how old your PC Plus is but you should be able to put it in sealed mode and get an idea of what it would sound like if you were to go with multiple sealed subs. I think it would be impossible to get the output your getting from 15-20hz in a smaller footprint with one sub. If you can find something please let me know. I've always wanted a rhythmic servo but if I originally purchased a cylinder I'm not sure I would have gotten rid of it. SVS makes a great product. I could probably say the same if I bought the FV15HP over the pb. Both are pretty flexible with the tuning options. You might not like my advise but you should probably keep what you have, its a great sub unless you want to give up something to gain something else. Hope that helps, good luck.

[sludgeogre]

Thanks for the info. What pre/pro are you using? Your photo in another thread looks like a Marantz. Also, what is your crossover set to?

It's a Marantz AV7701. Sounds and works great except networking has been a pain. Crossover is set to 60 hz and LPF for LFE is set to 100 hz.

[billy p]

Hi all,

I'm looking to replace an aging (and large) SVS PC12-Plus sub. My system is used for an even mix of movies/music (all genres)/and gaming. I have Sierra RAAL Towers up front and some old Aperion bipole surrounds. Can anyone recommend a sub (or pair) that could get me close to the PC12 performance but in a smaller package? The space is fairly large: main area is 23'x15' that opens up to another area 14'x20' in a sort of L-shape.

I love to crank my movies up to 11, but with a toddler and an infant, those days are severely restricted lately... I'm looking for something with clean, deep bass that doesn't look like a column from the Parthenon. I was originally thinking something along the SVS SB-13 Ultra, but it would be pricey for two of those...

What subs are you all running with your RAAL Towers? Thanks!!

SB13u is a nice compact sub but you have a fairly large area to fill. I know Rythmik is the preferred sub around here but I would like to also recommend something from PSA. The s1500 or s1800 apply...you could go duals with the s1500 for ~2k. I know there is a few Ascend owners having come from Svs...happily using PSA subs but you can't go wrong with the Rythmik. I know of one instance which a fellow member has the e15
& xs15se but has a difficult time distinguishing the nuances for music but the Rythmik apparently digs deeper movies. Personally I had the sb13u and XS30se...overall I preferred the xs30se...yymv though...

Good luck and happy hunting...:)

[cynan]

I can recommend the PSA S1500 myself, having just picked up a second to run with my Sierra-1 NrTs. As you may have heard, the founder of PSA (Tom V) is apparently the "V" in SVS. However, I've never owned a Rythmik, so I can't offer any comparisons. 2X s1500 would be enough for that largish space, assuming you don't often listen >100 db. 2x s1800x would probably be a bit safer, but the output difference is all that much greater. If you wanted to save a bit and go with a single sub, they have the dual sealed versions (ie, s3000i and s3600i). While these are getting rather large, you can get 1 for around $1500 that would provide adequate output for your space, and still leave the option open for adding a second (though this will probably be getting too Parthenon-esque).

If you want good performance with smaller-ish subs, the 2x s1500s is a good option. And you may even be able to get away with a single S1500, at least to start, if you want it primarily for music and don't listen at very high levels.