Am I making the right choice of subwoofer - MA GXW15 ! !

[umbucker]

I have posted something similar to this before, but it was when the following models were new to the market. I was wondering now that they have been around for a while someone could offer me some advice. In the nex couple of months I will be parting with a large sum of cash for a new subwoofer to replace my Tannoy TS12. Dont get me wrong there is nothing the matter with the TS12 I just feel the rest of my system has outgrown it some what. If I list my kit...

Pioneer SC-LX85 (And LX55 Blu Ray)
Tannoy Signature Revolution DC6T
" " " DC6LCR Centre
" " " DC4 Rear

The ballance on of the speakers through the Pioneer is amazing! however the sub not having been treated by the AVR is boomy and not good enough! Due to this I need a sub with DSP. THe only place for it is near the corner of my room which is 3.5M x 5.5M

With around 1700 to spend my first look was at the Velodyne SPL1200 Ultra but what worries me about this sub is the massive import charge compared the US cost (nearl a third cheaper - so it is really a £1000 sub for £1700 !! and the second i that I really want something with a 15" Driver to push the ultra ultra low tones!

THis brings me to the Monitor Audio GXW15 - On paper this looks the perfect sub, but being in a position where I cant demo the gig for miles and miles I wanted some advice please ??

 

[Coll]

I would have a look at the subs by BK Electric they are very good value for money.

Just having a large driver is only part of the story some subs have smaller drivers but with big excursions.

If it were me I would make my own using one or two drivers and an amplifier from BK Electric.

You could look here

 

[v1c]

The inventor of the Subwoofer is back with 2 new models

Ken Kreisel MX5000 mk 3 @ £2499

Ken Kreisel MX700 mk 3 @ £1699

The 5000 is 12" + 700 is 8" ....... both have dual drivers in a Push-Pull design and have a 750+watt amplifier

Upgrade path is to stack in a 2 or 4 formation should you need/want to.

If you are looking for a new subwoofer they have to be a major consideration IMO.

Avaliable here

Ken's timeline + Ken talking

I'm sure the MA GXW15 is a great sub as well but when it comes to Subs IMO Ken's THE MAN.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

The Paradigm Sub 12 would be my choice - the room eq it employs means you will get the best response in your room. It will eat the Tannoy for breakfast and become the strongest point in your system. With your room size you will be fine with the 12 - our demo room is bigger and the 12 easily fills that space.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The GXW15 is a good place to start. It's on budget, has room EQ, and it's 15" driver will certainly shift enough air in that size room. It's available wood veneers and finish are second to none.

As you're not buying for a couple of months, SVS will be worth considering as they'll have a new model out around then, which is another ideal candidate. Price is unknown as yet, but it'll certainly be within your budget.

My personal pick would be the KK Sound MX700 MkIII as v1c has already mentioned. Unfortunately this doesn't have onboard EQ, so you'd need to factor in something like an Antimode, if you feel it wasn't performing at its best. An ex-owner of an MK Sound MX350 has said that the KK Sound MX700 MkIII outperforms the MX350 in all areas except sheer output - but then, it is using 2x 8" rather than 2x 12" - high praise.

All of the above subs are sealed, so will behave better than ported ones in your room, so a huge amount of EQ'ing shouldn't be necessary. Any of them will be a huge step up from your Tannoy.

 

[pioneer7]

Save your money check these out if you look for another forum have a read at all the good feed back, I have seen and heard these subs and I can say that they are very good indeed, the more expensive subs stated are IMO not worth the extra hundreds of pounds, the finish is excellent to with a wide choice of finishes.. just my pennys worth :shifty:

 

[pioneer7]

Sorry umbucker here is the link

http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/Sub_Woofers/Monolith-DF+&FF+.htm

 

[ellisdj]

Sorry umbucker here is the link

http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/Sub_Woofers/Monolith-DF+&FF+.htm

The monlolith is a beast of a sub - and will be a challenge to tame in any room but will give insane levels of bass.

For the average person a XXLS400 will be more than enough - you need an antimode with both - sold by BK as well a must buy.

If you can tame the monolith then it will give a flat curve response all the way down to below 30 htz, but thats rated outdoors, indoors is a whole other ball game

The XXLS400 is better for music confirmed by BK and goes close to the monolith for films, it will shudder you, rumble you but not overkill - its needs good corner placement like all sealed box subs. Its fast (sealed box), dynamic and cheap!! - dont be put off by the price amazing for the money it really is.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Hello umbucker, I don't know why people are dissing our Tannoy TS12 subwoofer! My first-ever subwoofer was the Tannoy TS10 in 2008, sold to me by a well-known dealer. I thought it was pretty good, indeed it was rated 5* by this magazine. Later I had the chance to replace it with its bigger brother the TS12, which I noticed at once was more powerful and deeper.

I've been having trouble changing my signature, I now have an SVS PC-12 Plus subwoofer in the parlour and two Tannoy TS12s in the kitchen! When, three months ago, I replaced the Tannoy TS12 which was then in my parlour (18'2" x 14'3" x 10'6") with the SVS, I once more noticed at once that the SVS was significantly deeper and more powerful again. For instance, in the Blu-Ray of The Dark Knight (make sure that you've manually selected Dolby TrueHD, because otherwise this disc defaults to Dolby Digital, I think) after 8 minutes and 45 seconds the Batmobile crashes through the wall. With the SVS subwoofer, there was immediately more depth to the sound than there had been with the Tannoy TS12. (That said, the two TS12s in the kitchen have decent definition and lots of impact, but without the sheer depth of the SVS.)

So obviously I like the SVS PC-12 Plus subwoofer, cost in Britain now about £1200, but there are others, as more informed heads than mine have said earlier in this thread. If you look at page 62 of the May 2012 issue of What HiFi, six subs are discussed. To save repeating myself I'll point you to what others and I have said in the discussion thread "£2.5k for sub, but what?". The other subs on that page that you might consider are the £550 Tannoy TS12.2, the £800 Velodyne EQ-Max 12 and the Monitor Audio Apex AW-12. I get the impresssion that the Tannoy TS12.2 is a deeper subwoofer than our Tannoy TS12. You could easily afford to buy two! The Tannoy TS12.2 was also warmly reviewed on pages 68 and 69 of the June 2012 issue of Home Cinema Choice magazine, as indeed was the Velodyne EQ-Max 12 on page 72 of the March 2012 issue of HCC.

Just one last observation. You say that you want something with a 15" driver to get the very low notes. Perhaps a 15" driver is not necessary in your room, which is a bit smaller than mine? I say this because when I was considering which subwoofer to buy, in two separate instances I was advised AGAINST getting a bigger subwoofer. My local shop that sells Velodyne recommended the EQ-Max 12, and they thought that the bigger Velodyne EQ-Max 15, with the 15" driver, might be too much in my room. And SVS in Norway (though they now have a dealer in Britain) said the the SVS PC-12 Plus (which has a 12.5" driver) would have ample power for my size of room, and it wasn't necessary to get the bigger PC-13 Ultra, which has a 13.5" driver. But if a 15" driver it must be for you, then the £1300 Jamo D600 certainly sounds the business - What HiFi said "For exciting, cinema-quality bass ....."

Good luck!

Signature changed as per request - mods

 

[bigboss]

I must say that I've never ever heard of anyone having a subwoofer in the kitchen, leave alone 2! :O

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I must say that I've never ever heard of anyone having a subwoofer in the kitchen, leave alone 2! :O

I'm not sure why the shocked face rather than the smiley face emoticon, big boss! I'm lucky in that I live in a block of old tenement flats (built in around 1880 I think) and my kitchen measures 17' by 14' by 7'6", so I'm aware that it's hardly smaller in area than my parlour. The two Tannoy TS12 subwoofers are also acting as speaker stands for the calvados finish Eltax Shine 8s, details here http://www.son-video.com/Rayons/Hifi/Enceintes/Eltax-Shine-8.html . Importantly, I also have no wife to tell me "You can't have any more speakers!" Someday I'll take a few pictures!

 

[Lee H]

The two Tannoy TS12 subwoofers are also acting as speaker stands for the calvados finish Eltax Shine 8s

Which earns you another shocked face :O

Any-hoo, I'd also recommend BK.

 

[Anonymous]

The OP has £1700 to spend so recommending BK is derogatory. They are good value for money and I picked up a 2nd hand one for my Son but they do not compete with good subs of around £1000 or more. There are of course bad subwoofers over £1000 that BK will compete with and even better but it is not difficult to put the bad ones aside and take your pick from what is left. Also high excursion is used to increase output not depth.

 

[bigboss]

I must say that I've never ever heard of anyone having a subwoofer in the kitchen, leave alone 2! :O

I'm not sure why the shocked face rather than the smiley face emoticon, big boss!

It's the shock from imagining how it would sound in your kitchen, earth shaking & utensil rattling

I'm sure it sounds awesome......what happens when you find a girl friend? :?

 

[Lee H]

The OP has £1700 to spend so recommending BK is derogatory. They are good value for money and I picked up a 2nd hand one for my Son but they do not compete with good subs of around £1000 or more. There are of course bad subwoofers over £1000 that BK will compete with and even better but it is not difficult to put the bad ones aside and take your pick from what is left. Also high excursion is used to increase output not depth.

It's not really derogatory. The OP asked for advice, he got some. Just because you have £x to spend, it doesn't mean you have to spend every penny of it.

 

[Anonymous]

It's not really derogatory. The OP asked for advice, he got some. Just because you have £x to spend, it doesn't mean you have to spend every penny of it.

Not going to argue about it but having compared the Monolith I bought for my Son to a few subs within the OPs price range I would not recommend it as a worthwhile option. Up to £1000 yes but the OP is clearly looking for a sub that is beyond the capabilities of the Monolith.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

earth shaking & utensil rattling

I'll get back to you this evening after I check the earth-shaking and utensil-rattling, which, to be serious, may be of some use to the OP!

 

[Anonymous]

I just bought my first real power house, going from a RSW12

I got the SVS PC13 Ultra from Frank Harvey and all I can say is ..... :dance:

This think moves my house, it pushes so much air, and with a 13.5" driver that weighs 50lb + and a sledge 1000w eq amp, its stunning,.

I cant belive the sound this thing makes, and if had to do it again I would buy it again, simply breathtaking and the warranty from SVS, no quibble 5 year warranty and the build quality is amazing.

I think it was 1700 and I think can get below 15hz, but I could be wrong.

 

[bass-boy68]

8) hi there , there are many a excellent subwoofer's to be had for similar needs...music and theatre...i have found that a sub that sounds great in the musical sense usually sounds good in the theatrical realm. I've used the B&W PV-1 and a few REL's and Velodynes and Polk's and N.Z. Image subwoofers, REL are great for musical needs and sounded very clean in my theatre but an ounce of brute force was missing as it was with the PV-1 . I've heard the new PV-1d is an entirely new beast so would recommend taking a listen. I have 1 Velodyne SPL-R 1200 and im happy , until i ****** it all up by listening to a better solution , say 2 subs!!!. I say take time and search and research my freind as its all part of the fun . Velodyne DD+ , SVS PB13 Ultra , Paradigm Sub 12 & 15 , JL Audio Fathom , B&W PV-1D , MA GXW15 ...finding that state of sonic equalibruim is a pathway of many roads leading to audio nirvana . I'm not sure where you are but i'm sure audio outlets in you vicinity will be helpful to your situation. I love Velodynes as they are one of few companies that concentrate on just making good subwoofers like REL also . I have a modest setup but 2 DD+ 12's would be sweet as bro! :dance:

good luck :dance:

 

[Anonymous]

I have a modest setup but 2 DD+ 12's would be sweet as bro!

You would hope so for £7400. They are an improvement over the DD12 but I do not think that the 60% price increase is worth it. That is why I am looking at other options to replace my DD12 subs. I notice you have not mentioned MK or KK above. I no longer consider Rel a decent sub maker. They did a few decent models years ago but not anymore.

 

[bass-boy68]

hey howdy ,good to hear the feedback , im not sure of the price of many a sub in her majesty'e land but 60%!! thats a bit of a hike you think ,we live in the land of deminishing returns for a 5 or 20% return in sonic performance , but lets get sensible .As i said 2dd+ would be sweet but did not say id spend your 60% above your DD set. MK are awesomely well respected around the world so sure , but as with most manufacturers not all their ranges are equal , alot of audiophiles very much regard the studio lll , krell master reference and karhma ecquisite and wilson thor elite territory among others but i am a humble enthusiast as many here are , worrship to the mighty money gods!! amen...search and research i say again ,may we chase our tails in ever lasting contemplation of that which is audio nirvana...Go the Mighty All Blacks :cheers: