Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Subwoofers

Paradigm or Axiom SUbs? Paradigms subs are rated to go a lot lower then Axioms and the seem bigger and more powerful but mroe of a home sub then musical. Who makes better sub for the money Paradigm or axiom which subs would yall recommmend.

check out www.adireaudio.com

There are a few great subs out there and I had done alot of research on them in the past month or so.Paradigm I heard and they are nice,but in the value department considering price I came up with the with the NHT Subone(i).For $400US bucks(list $800) it was hard to overlook.I have a few set's of speakers which I switchout when doing serious listening and the Subone gives alot of versatility for playing Music and movies.
The music playback is great since adding the sub and the more I listen ,the more the Bass is openning up.I have a pair of Magnepan 1.4's and anyone that has Maggie speakers and try adding a Sub find it can be a real pain.The Controller allows to customise more easily. adding a Lexicon CP-3 Pre-Amp processor which will be the main controller in the system will also give me more flexibility.

Velodyne--Servo-controlled models
M&K
B&W
Pardigm

All make great subs also,but the price was an issue for me when selecting a model.Plus how flexible the unit is.I could have bought the Paradigm PDR-12 I believe the model was,but it was smaller 10" vs. 12" and did not have the flexibility which I sought after!

The Axiom which is rated at 35hz. is probably a fine sub and I think trying to get the magical 20hz or less plateau is not criticle.Most people can not hear that low and most all music does not go to these depths.If you love that Organ pedal and need it that you want to pay $600US+ for then I guess you will have to fork it over to the man!But as for myself,If I can be happy listening to the Octaves of bass rolling up and down.If they blend well with the overall system sound without getting in the way at the crossover meshing point then I am as happy as a clam!

Subs Heard and Owned
Paradigm Pdr-12(Wanted Flexibility)
Velodyne's--Got one for a friend nice unit!Sound is great!
Jamo's--(I liked it,but it got damaged in a storm)Similar specs to the Axiom EP-125.
M&K---THX designation means zero to me!
B&W--To pricey
HSU Research--Does not dissapear from the room!Hate that!
Subone(i)--Can't beat it for the price and it competes with the Pardigm.Pw-2200 at half the price!I can live without the 5Hz. loss at -3db.Rated to go to 20Hz as opposed to 25Hz. with the Subonei.

I have a Hsu VTF-2 and absolutely love it. StereoHead is right, though -- it's not an easy component to hide.

I recently set up my new ACI Titan II sub. I spent a lot of time debating between the Axiom subs and the Hsu VTF 2. Finally decided that the 20Hz extension was important to me, but I needed something other than a black box sitting in the corner. The Titan II has gotten great reviews for its musicality, and besides, it has a beautiful cabinet. So I finally talked myself into the higher price tag!

So far, I'm very happy with it. I had no idea that the M60s alone would be missing much bass, but the sub definitely takes it up a notch! I have the sub's flexible crossover set to 35Hz, so only 20 to 35 Hz is coming through the sub, and everything else through the M60s. Without the sub, everything sounds great. With it, everything sounds awesome! (Keep in mind that I've only had it 2 weeks!)

ChrisR

I've also been in the market for a sub. In addition to the Axiom EP 175, there are several other subs I've found to be very musical: Def Tech ProSub200, Paradigm PW2200, ACI Titan II, Velodyne HGS II 10 and 12. A friend owns the Titan; I feel it is the most musical of this group, but the cabinet, while by far the best looking, is a bit large for our room or I'd probably be out of the market. I listened to a number of others I was less impressed with musically but may be great for home theater.

To pass on a suggestion someone gave to me, regardless of how little or how much you're going to spend on a sub, spend time in a good local audio shop listening to very expensive subs - $3000, $4000, $5000, etc. Listen to CD's you're very familar with and featuring a lot of bass - not just rock bass guitar but also organ music, classical bass fiddle, bass drum or kettle drums). See if you can get the dealer to turn off all speakers but the sub. Get to know what a good sub sounds like. When I went back to listen to subs in the mere-mortal price range, I felt I was a bit better at listening and better able to decide what I like about a sub and what I didn't. Hope it helps in your comparisons.

Another sub to consider - The PSB SubSonic 5. (or 6).

I have M22s / VP150 and Q4s, and a Denon 2802. The PSB Subsonic 5 works very well with those.
My HT room is 19.5 by 15.5 with 8 foot ceiling; carpeted; more or less " hard furniture" and floor to ceiling
vertical cloth covered metal vertical blinds on the back wall. I have a "crawl space" below the room that slopes in height from 2 feet to 15 feet (on a hillside) and acts like a sounding board. To solve the boominess I have the sub sitting on a 1/2 inch 15 x 15 inch slate. This really tightened things up and although the woofer is only 10 inches, the bass drops to 27 Hz with all the volume I would ever need.

Check it out at http://www.psbspeakers.com/s/Subwoofers2.html

I own the Paradigm Servo-15, and think it is a great sub.

A couple of months ago, in response to someone else's post, Ian said they had a few designs in house, and may look into making a larger more powerful sub themselves.

Perhaps he can add further information on whether or not they are indeed pursuing this.

Sunfire True Subwoofer Junior Nuf said
http://www.sunfire.com/reviews/index.html

check out the Adire Rava.It's a twelve inch driver front fireing sealed sub that plays quick and tight for music and will blow my hair back from fifteen feet away on movies all at four hundred bucks U.S..I have this sub mated up with a pair of M80's and the sound is nothing less than amazing.www.adireaudio.com/home_audio/Loudspeakers/exact_series/rava.htm