A sub for my brother for Christmas

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Pinipig523

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
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Alright fellas, I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything that might be obvious to some here but not me. I am looking for a subwoofer for my younger brother and I want it to be good. I know all about the Xsub, the Dayton. Are there other subs that you guys or someone you know (parents, friends) use that is good or superb?

I'm scouring ebay and audiogon for a good deal on a subwoofer. I want this to be a sub that he can grow with.

It's gotta be good with music as well as gaming. If possible, I want it sealed and not ported. I want it to be compact, but not too small. I sure as heck don't want it to be as big as some of those SVS subs (I've owned 2 in the past).

So far, I've come to 2 possible subwoofers:
1. Martin Logan Grotto i
2. Velodyne DD-10 (Digital Drive series)

I don't want to go much larger than those two.

If you have ideas about other good subs, let me know. I just don't want to miss something.

Thanks fellas.
 
Pinipig523 said:
So far, I've come to 2 possible subwoofers:
1. Martin Logan Grotto i
2. Velodyne DD-10 (Digital Drive series)
Click to expand...

Holy cow, can i be your brother?

There was a guy on Head-fi selling a Eosone sub, but its ported which you didnt want... good deal though...MSRP was 450, hes asking for about 220ish shipped
 
If you're looking for a good deal you might want to consider the Infinity 1.2s. 1800 MSRP and you can pick them up used for 500-650. There's been a guy on eBay recently trying to get 700 for one and not getting it. Sealed, small, 12", Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm driver, 850 watt amp.

Here's Sound and Visions review:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/speakers/258
 
The 1.2s will take the SB12 Plus' cookies. =P

It does look a little funky compared to most boring black boxes, to some that's a good thing though.
 
Tangent,

That rec for the SB12+ slipped by me. I forgot about that one and I've owned SVS twice before! Thanks for the rec.

Nicolaski,

The Infinity 1.2 is no doubt a good one, I've read about that before. However, I need something current and with warranty. It's for the bro.. not for me.
 
Cat1yst said:
Holy cow, can i be your brother?

There was a guy on Head-fi selling a Eosone sub, but its ported which you didnt want... good deal though...MSRP was 450, hes asking for about 220ish shipped
Click to expand...

Thanks, Oliver!
 
Sweet.. just got the Velodyne DD-10 subwoofer for my brother. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he's surprised by such a super sub on Christmas! Thanks, fellas!

I'll post a pic or two on the speaker thread when I can.
;)
 
Man... this is gonna be sweeet! I just took delivery of the Velodyne DD-10 sub today and it took me a little while to wrap that bugger. Too big and heavy! I made sure to open it up and check out the item for myself and I must say, the sub is one solid m-fer... servo controlled, digital equalization (the best in the business for the consumer)... piano black gloss! WOWOW!

I almost wish I bought it for myself (if it were for myself, I'd get the DD18 though)!

Anyway, right now, it's next to the tree and all ready to go. My brother just came home from pharm school for the break and I told him that I got him the Logitech Z5500 for Christmas. He was thrilled!

Now, I just have to wait until he opens it in 4 days and his eyes bug out. He's not going to suspect his gift is really a sub that is just about as good as it gets for music, not to mention cost me a pretty penny!! :) :)

Can't wait!! :D
 
Milkweg,

My friend wrote a review for that particular Totem Storm subwoofer for a magazine and he told me over the phone that it was merely "ok". Not close to the last word in terms of infrasonic extension (only down to 26hz), nor was it the quickest. It was musical, according to him, but one could do better with other subs its price range.

My friend writes one of the 4 mags that you see in Totem's review page.
 
Well, I like musical subs. I don't like big booming subs. I live in an apartmenty so 26hz is plenty enough for me, any lower and I would soon be evicted. I use an Energy sub and not Totem, just have read lots of good things about Totem Storm. I compared Velodyne to Energy and Energy is more musical than Velodyne, faster and punchier. Velodyne is what I would call a good sub for movies though. Paradigm has a really good cheapish sub for movies but it is crap for music, IMO. Mind you, I have never heard that specific Velodyne sub.

p.s. What subs does your friend like?
 
milkweg said:
Well, I like musical subs. I don't like big booming subs. I live in an apartmenty so 26hz is plenty enough for me, any lower and I would soon be evicted. I use an Energy sub and not Totem, just have read lots of good things about Totem Storm. I compared Velodyne to Energy and Energy is more musical than Velodyne, faster and punchier. Velodyne is what I would call a good sub for movies though. Paradigm has a really good cheapish sub for movies but it is crap for music, IMO. Mind you, I have never heard that specific Velodyne sub.

p.s. What subs does your friend like?
Click to expand...

Did you compare the totem to the Velodyne Digital Drive series?

The subs he likes are from JL Audio, the Velodyne Digital Drives, the Martin Logans, and the WB Torus.
 
My brother loved it!! Sweetness!

DSC02000.jpg

DSC02085.jpg
 
Pinipig523 said:
Did you compare the totem to the Velodyne Digital Drive series?

The subs he likes are from JL Audio, the Velodyne Digital Drives, the Martin Logans, and the WB Torus.
Click to expand...

I listened to a couple of Velodynes in the DPS series. Is that same as digital series? I didn't compare driectly to Totem though. I compared directly to Energy, as I said previously. Totem Storm has three drivers, two passive and one active. It is a musical sub. Perhaps your friend prefers more of a movie type of sub? Anyway, one should never go by reviews and should only go by their own ears. Lots of BS in the review mags and audio is *very* subjective. If I am ever buying a new sub I will definitely give the Totem Storm another listen but it is still at the top of my list currently for a sub in that price range. For now I am content qwith my Energy sub, which also only goes down to 26hz. Energy do make subs that go all the way down to 16hz though. I had a friend with a JBL sub that went down to 16hz and they are only suitable if you live in a house where you won't be disturbing the neighbors.
 
milkweg said:
I listened to a couple of Velodynes in the DPS series. Is that same as digital series? I didn't compare driectly to Totem though. I compared directly to Energy, as I said previously. Totem Storm has three drivers, two passive and one active. It is a musical sub. Perhaps your friend prefers more of a movie type of sub? Anyway, one should never go by reviews and should only go by their own ears. Lots of BS in the review mags and audio is *very* subjective. If I am ever buying a new sub I will definitely give the Totem Storm another listen but it is still at the top of my list currently for a sub in that price range. For now I am content qwith my Energy sub, which also only goes down to 26hz. Energy do make subs that go all the way down to 16hz though. I had a friend with a JBL sub that went down to 16hz and they are only suitable if you live in a house where you won't be disturbing the neighbors.
Click to expand...

DPS is not even in the same state as the DD series. DD is Velodyne's top of the line subwoofer (with the 1812 on top). The DPS is ported, has a rudimentary driver assembly and is does not have the SMS software. Not in the same ballpark. I've heard the DPS and though I thought it hit hard, it's hard to truly say if it's boomy sub unless you've exhausted all placement options. I will say that the DPS was always made with movies in mind first and foremost... hence the port to increase efficiency and decrease accuracy.

Did you run a frequency sweep to see what peaks/valleys you were dealing with in your room? Did you try to ameliorate with different room placements?

And you can't generalize an entire company by one product, be careful of that mentality. It's like me saying that Nissan can't make fast cars because I test drove the Sentra. When in fact they have the GTR coming out doing lap times in the Nurgburgring faster than even the 911 turbo.

The totem might be a good sub.. but it's their first foray into the subwoofer world and they have a lot to learn. I'd rather give my money to those who've had much more R/D than Totem has. Like I said, reviewers can be subjective - but so are you. If someone more experienced (the reviewer friend) than I says "watch out", I'm going to heed his advice.

My advice to you is keep the Totem storm in your list, but make sure you have several other bonafide subs on it to compare/buy in case the Totem doesn't work out.
 
Just because your one friend didn't like it doesn't mean he is right. Just because he works for a stereo mag doesn't mean his opinion is empirical either. For all we know he could have cloth ears and bad taste in music too. Totem makes another sub called the Thunder that goes down to 20hz if you want to start pulling out the big boys. I was posting a practically priced sub that is musical and tight. If you prefer big and boomy bass then that is your choice.

I'm not buying a Totem anyway. I already have an Energy sub. Was just saying what I probably would buy if I was buying today in my price range.
 
milkweg said:
Just because your one friend didn't like it doesn't mean he is right. Just because he works for a stereo mag doesn't mean his opinion is empirical either. For all we know he could have cloth ears and bad taste in music too. Totem makes another sub called the Thunder that goes down to 20hz if you want to start pulling out the big boys. I was posting a practically priced sub that is musical and tight. If you prefer big and boomy bass then that is your choice.

I'm not buying a Totem anyway. I already have an Energy sub. Was just saying what I probably would buy if I was buying today in my price range.
Click to expand...

chill out youre going all crazy like you are a stockholder of totem and you have a name to uphold or something.
 
milkweg said:
If you prefer big and boomy bass then that is your choice.
Click to expand...
When did I say that?

And besides, I'm not saying that what my friend says is considered end-all, I'm just saying that perhaps there is more to it than you or I know. I'm not saying don't buy Totem, all I'm saying is that for me - I'd be hesitant to buy from Totem considering what my friend has told me.

You can buy Totem for all I care.

And btw, the friend who reviewed the Totem Storm has 2 sets of Totem speakers for 2 sets of 2-channel listening areas. He's as fanboy of Totem as one can get, and he still wouldn't recommend it to me. I respect that he knows more than I do, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

For example, the Totem Storm is $1,000.. for that price there are many that beat it acoustically for much less dough. Take for instance the DefTech Supercube III, similar drivers (1 active and 2 passive), but for only $699... plus the Supercube goes to sub-20hz (16hz at -3db) while the Totem hovers at about 26hz... for $300 more.

You can believe that reviewers are crap, but what I know is this guy is a Totem fanboy and he wouldn't recommend it to me (or anyone, nor would he get one for himself).

What's crap is that you are quick to judge Velodyne based on your one experience with a lower end subwoofer they produce. You can say that I want a boomy sub... but I never said that.

You never answered my question... did you do a frequency response graph of the Velodyne DPS sub you auditioned and did you try to ameliorate the FR findings by various sub placements or working with the volume level?

Before you lose your cool, be a little more objective about your accusations that I want a boomy sub.
 
I can't do all that when stereo stores don't have anyything set up correctly these days. I just noticed the Energy sub was a more musical sub than the Velodyne I was comparing to in the setting I was forced to listen in. My ears are the judge so I bought the Energy. It was someone else in this forum who turned me onto Totem, his other choice was HSU. The Velodybne may well be abetter sub but it is big and obtrusive so wouldn't buy it for that reason alone. Of course the bigger the box and larger the driver the lower frequency you will get but that doesn't mean it has better overall sound quality. I think you will find the Totme Storm is desinged as part of a sattelite/sub system and not meant for really low bass. That's why it's high frequency is 350hz.
 
milkweg said:
I can't do all that when stereo stores don't have anyything set up correctly these days. I just noticed the Energy sub was a more musical sub than the Velodyne I was comparing to in the setting I was forced to listen in. My ears are the judge so I bought the Energy. It was someone else in this forum who turned me onto Totem, his other choice was HSU. The Velodybne may well be abetter sub but it is big and obtrusive so wouldn't buy it for that reason alone. Of course the bigger the box and larger the driver the lower frequency you will get but that doesn't mean it has better overall sound quality. I think you will find the Totme Storm is desinged as part of a sattelite/sub system and not meant for really low bass. That's why it's high frequency is 350hz.
Click to expand...

Ah so it was in store... gotcha. Know this though, sub placement and calibration is key so I can put your Energy sub in a bad spot and make you want to cover yours ears in disgust. That's just a fact of subwoofers... placement can make or break them.

As for the Velodyne, that DPS isn't the best... I'll agree with you. But this DD-10 is one cool sub. You gotta come over and see it for yourself... 13"x13"x13" cube.... small and powerful.

I think my brother's next door playing FEAR again.... I can tell because my pants are beginning to waffle again.

LOL!
 
How much is that DD Velodyne? A friend of mine used to have JBL L212's back in the late '70's and the sub made the plants in his house dance. Like I said though, I live in an apartment and can't have a sub like that blaring away because I would get evicted. I listen to music mostly on my headphones anyway.

http://www.audioheritage.org/images/jbl/extracts/l212.jpg
 
from a dealer they are around 2k but can be found cheaper... without the warranty of course.

for me i cannot find a reason not to get the svs pc-utra. its the same price as my tv(im willing to pay that), fits in my room perfect, i like svs so far and i want action movies to make my eyes water :D he ultra is not small by any means but the foot print is what i am looking for and there are no sub in my budget with the output i am looking for in the prebuilt market.
 
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