Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Need advice on subwoofer

Thanks for all the help guys. I really appreciate your thoughts. This is one of the reasons why I went with axiom for the other pieces.

After looking some more I am leaning toward an SVS sub. Probably on their lower end so it fits my budget. But who knows, maybe Santa will bring something to help out there.

You would be correct - sorry typo.

>>After looking some more I am leaning toward an SVS sub. Probably on their lower end so it fits my budget. But who knows, maybe Santa will bring something to help out there.

Just remember that "lower end" subs (ie like the ones most of us own) have to make more compromises than the higher end subs, and that's where your intended use starts to make even more difference. The lower end SVS subs seem to be optimized more towards movies, so their bass output is fantastic but not as "tight"**. For a primarily-music system you might want to look at the HSU and Axiom subs over SVSes.

** "tight" in this context means the ability to deal with bass signals which start and stop rapidly, eg. drums. The SVS subs seem to get relatively more bass output from the cabinet and port, which gives them a performance edge on movies, but since the port doesn't *stop* resonating instantly you can get some "hangover" on musical content. This isn't a black and white thing, just that at the low end SVS tends to lean a bit more towards big resonant cabinets while HSU and Axiom tend to lean a bit more towards less resonant cabinets and hence tighter musical performance.

I own an SVS by the way.

Very diplomatic, John. Your last sentence surprised me!

As I get further along in this hobby sound quality becomes more and more important. When I first started I was happy with my Sony bass module because it moved air in my room. At that point I didn't care how it moved air, just that it did. Then I moved up to a Klipsch sub, and it moved a lot of air, but in hindsight, didn't do so cleanly. Finally I ended up with a Hsu VTF3 mkII and finally understood the balance between power and finesse. Yes, the Hsu pressurized the room like nobody's business, but it also was able to resolve detail--like a rampaging bull elephant versed in ballet.

I think I'm done with my bad analogies for today!

Not bad. Elephant bull elephant is cool!

Also, it's funny to think that "lower end" subs can be bad, when the whole point of a subwoofer is to take care of the lower end.

Ironic, yes?

I now realize how much there is to learn about subs. Thanks for the advice -- now I don't know what to do.

Maybe go for Hsu VTf-2?. My budget is $500-600 (shipping/tax incl)

Any ideas on how the STF-2 and VTF-2 compare sonically? The STF is $349 (both are 10" - I believe)

I am mostly interested in the performance for music-things like a double bass or drums. The M60s just lack the low end presence. Of course, we'll watch movies and like to hear the explosions and rumbling effects.

Back to shopping/comparing/indecision.

Rampaging bull elephant? What about dancing hyppos like in Fantasia?

Hippos work, too.

I just like elephants better.

Don't ask me why.

Trunk.