Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners SUBS...........Which would you choose

No I still have not made a decision, wife is tired of looking ay the boxes. I need to "adopt" a subwoofer.
I was going to go with the Stryke Mini-Thunder, but John is tough to get a hold of. Maybe a "custom" is not the way to go for me. The lack of "support" when you need it amy not be there. Although I did nlike the design, and specs.
Here is what i am looking at:
Cylinder: SVS 25-31 PCi
Boxes: SVS PB1-ISD
HSU VTF-2
Equipment: Yamaha RXV2400
Axiom VP150/M22/QS8's

I love my PCi!

All great subs, but there are differences in how they sound...and I do not mean just SPL's. It is a shame it is more difficult to demo internet direct subs than it is speakers.

I am in the Hsu camp.

John is in the middle of redoing his web site which may explain the delay, I think I'd still try to go with the Stryke. Failing that SVS gives Axiom like support.

If you can I'd consider diy as the best solution.
There is one popular brand here which I will never ever consider as too much cheerleading always turns me off

HSU VTF-2 or maybe the Adire Rava.......

Dave,

Frankly, you're not going to get an objective answer in response to your question. Essentially, you're asking the age-old question, SVS vs. HSU, for which there is no right or wrong answer. The HSU owners will veer you towards HSU, and the SVS owners will veer you towards SVS.

I was in the same position you were a few weeks ago, and I was looking for the consensus one way or the other, and there just is none. SVS and HSU both have wonderful reputations, and having purchased the SVS PB1-ISD a few weeks ago, I now see the benefits of having a "real" sub like an SVS or HSU.

Out of your choices the PCi and PB1 should sound very similar per the guys at SVS, especially if you tune the 25-31 to 22hz as many people do. The PB1 is tuned to 22Hz as well. I have never heard the HSU so I can't compare it. Standing alone, the PB1 has added so much to my music and movie enjoyment that it is hard to describe. Good luck.

Gem is absolutely right. You'll never get an objective answer. Having said that - get a Hsu.

Well, I've learned at least one "objective" reason why the Hsu subs reproduce so highly accurate bass. They are mechanically aligned with a very low Q value (something like 0.35), meaning it is over-dumped for superb transients. The amp is correspondingly tuned so that the overall Q is exactly 0.5, which gives a flat response down to the bottom-end shoulder frequency.

I would really appreciate members input on this sub kit: http://northcreekmusic.com/Drivers/Poseidon1.htm from http://northcreekmusic.com. In particular I believe Sushi recently commented that were he to replace his sub it would be with a sealed box design. Were the project to have excelent prospects I would be interested in a do it yourself sub kit where I could save some money and custom finish the sub to match other furniture I am planning. I would also appreciate comments on the relative virtues of downfiring vs. side firing subs.

Well... Remember I said: if I were to buy a sub that is substantially pricier than the flagship Hsu or SVS, then I would primarily consider a sealed design. So I was talking about well over $1-2K range then. I believe that, although sealed designs have some inherent advantages (e.g., no possibility of port chuffs to start with), everything else being equal it will cost significantly more and require a larger box in order to obtain the same bass extension and max SPL as compared to ported boxes.

That said, sealed degins are definitely less tricky as an initial DIY project -- no port tuning involved, with the only relevant cabinet parameter being its volume.

With regard to the side vs. down firing configurations, I don't think they will make no significant sonic difference. It is strictly a matter of preference.

I wonder if anyone has ever made a sealed subwoofer in the shape of a tetrahedron. I'd think the inherent properties of triangles would make it very rigid without the need for excessive internal bracing.

The obvious downside would be the inefficient use of space. A tetrahedral subwoofer would have at most 1/3 the volume of a cube occupying the same space.

AFAIK, there are no real sonic differences between a good downward-firing sub and a good front-firing sub. I have read that one rationale behind downward-firing subs is protection of the woofer from children, pets, etc. as the woofer is out of the way. I don't know of any other benefits off hand.

A downward firing subwoofer can sound different depending on what the woofer is firing at. For example, if placed over shag carpet it will sound different than if placed over tile or hardwood floors.

Primary reflections don't matter as much with subs as they do with other speakers, but at the distance we're talking (ususally inches), it's bound to make some difference.

That's why I like my SVS with its integrated base. No matter where I put it, the first reflection will always be constant.

well, pulled the trigger today, ordered th Stryke Mini-Thunder in White ash finish.
John said barring any unforeseen problems, the sub should be shipped next Monday.
I will keep advised as to workmanship, quality, sound, support.
Thanks to all.

Dave, you may well have made the right decision; at least neither I nor probably anyone else here would have good reasons to disagree with it. Stryke sub drivers have an excellent reputation and so does John personally( the only thing I've actually bought from him is his test-tone CD). The one thing I wonder is if you looked at all the finishes shown on the site. The spanish cedar and african mahogany seemed especially attractive to me, although this is obviously a matter of taste.

In reply to:

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A downward firing subwoofer can sound different depending on what the woofer is firing at. For example, if placed over shag carpet it will sound different than if placed over tile or hardwood floors.

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This is debated a lot...many say it makes no difference because the waves from a sub are long.

Something in the Los Angeles class would be sweet.. Of course there's always the boomers.. (But then you can't hear them so what's the point, right ?)