Dead sub!

[martynsh1984]

My MA BRW10 sub has decided to stop working.

The light on the back is no longer coming on and no audio coming from the receiver.

Anyone had a simliar experience with any of their MA subwoofers?

The sub is around 3 1/2 years old so is out of any guarentee but I have contacted the retailer and mentioned Sales of goods act etc so hopefully they will be willing to sort out a repair/replacement.

If nothing can be done I was thinking of an upgrade to the RXW12. I have changed to the matching RX6 and RXC recently so would be a match aesthetically but is there anything else that would be good match audio wise?

 

[moonfly]

Check the fuse on the sub, there is usually one built into the plate amp itself on the rear of the sub. If there isnt one, and the one in the plug is fine, then its likely an amp fault. That sub is a bit pants anyway if I want to be totally brutal, and an upgrade wouldnt go a miss. You wont get a better excuse to upgrade either , just use the old 'its not worth repairing' lol.

 

[martynsh1984]

I was kinda thinking that to be honest. At first Peter Tysons quoted £220 to get it fixed. Basically replacing the insides with the components from the BX range. Although after a little bit of moaning they agreed to send it to MA and they think the repair will be free.

I've never thought of the Sub as a fantastic one to be honets. more as a part of my original BR2 AV set up. So hopefully when its fixed I can sell it on and upgrade.

Any other options other than the RXW12?

 

[moonfly]

A BK XLS 400 will show it a clean pair of heals.

 

[martynsh1984]

I have looked at a few of the BK ones, not sure what the differences are but they do seem to get good reviews.

Tysons got back to me with a repair cost of £220 which is pointless, then a reviewed price of £70. I have contacted consumer direct who seem to think this is unreasonable but i'll wait and see what Tysons say now.

I know its been replaced but would the MA GSW12 be a match for the BK subs. Most places have a clearance or boxed one for about £550 which seems a steal vs its RRP.

 

[moonfly]

Its probably fairly close to the xls400, although even at £550 the BK is £100 cheaper and will be at least as good, not least as it uses the very respectable peerless driver, which on looks alone seems a more substantial driver than whatever is in the MA one. I would still choose the BK over the MA, one thing MA dont do all that well is subs compared to their speaker expertise. The newer subs might be better, but I would bet my right arm they are still mega overpriced.

If its worth anything to you, I have built a few of my own subs, so I do have a fair bit of understanding and experience when it comes to subs.

 

[martynsh1984]

Dont worry moonfly i believe every word you say!

For the extra £100 would the Monolith be a better buy? is it really as big as people say?

 

[hammill]

Dont worry moonfly i believe every word you say!

For the extra £100 would the Monolith be a better buy? is it really as big as people say?

There are 3 monitor audio subs in the What Hifi Reviews, 2 with 4 stars and 1 with 5 (the RSW12). The RXW12 is well reviewed as part of the 5 star RX6 speaker package. I think it is clearly incorrect to suggest the MA do not make good sub woofers. I have an RSW12 and am very happy with it, so if you can get one at a good price I would go for it. Even better, compare with the other suggestions you have had - I appreciate that may be hard with old stock.

 

[martynsh1984]

Sorry Hammill, I didnt say MA didn't make good subs....

My local shops dont have any RSW or GSW subs left in stock. I live in Carlisle which seems to be the middle of nowhere when it comes to choice of retailers.

I have asked my local retailer if they can do a decent deal of the RXW and hopefully if its a half decent price i might go for that. Will keep the missus happy as it will match the front and centre speakers

Thanks for the suggestions guys

 

[martynsh1984]

Sorry Hammill, I didnt say MA didn't make good subs....

My local shops dont have any RSW or GSW subs left in stock. I live in Carlisle which seems to be the middle of nowhere when it comes to choice of retailers.

I have asked my local retailer if they can do a decent deal of the RXW and hopefully if its a half decent price i might go for that. Will keep the missus happy as it will match the front and centre speakers

Thanks for the suggestions guys

 

[moonfly]

MA dont make bad subs (and I am a long time lover of MA on the whole), but as with a lot of high end companies they dont give that great value for money. They have much larger overheads than a company like say BK. I have built a sub on a par with a Paradigm sub2 and put the likes of MK MX350's in their places. I know what it costs to build a sub and knowing the overheads of companies like MA, I can have a pretty good guess at the kind of money that goes into the driver and amps in these subs. I have heard a lot of subs in my time and have a lot of experience in the field that gives me a certain perspective and its on that note I make the comments I do.

BK on the other hand are primarily an OEM company. I know what it would cost me to build a Monolith from scratch and I couldnt do it for much less than it would cost me to buy one direct from BK anyway. I know the driver and know how decent a driver it really is. BK only make subs to buy as a side line from their main work (making amplifiers and OEM manufacturing of subs for other companies), but the subs they make are direct form manufacturer with nothing more than nominal profit margain, you simply cant buy what they offer for any less.

When it comes to subs, 2 things are incredibly important in terms of results out for money in. One is the driver, which is the single most important piece if the system. The second is size, and with subs size really does matter and make a huge difference.

On that note, you will see the Monolith is a large sub, and we know it uses a high quality driver. Those to things lead to an efficient system that can deliver a good quality sound. The Monolith will outperform the RSW12 without even trying, although being ported it will have a different character to sealed subs. The XLS 400 is on paper failry similar to the MA offering, but look at the original rrp of the MA in comparison to the BK model. I'm pretty confident the MA driver isnt as good as that peerless driver, and if nothing else the bigger roll surround on the peerless driver BK use suggests higher xmax, which means that ultimately the driver will be capable of moving more air, and that matters for high spls and low frequency extension.

I cant make any decisions for anyone, but the BK would be my choice.

 

[martynsh1984]

Just received an email from Matthew at Tysons saying they will do the repair for free.

I know it's their legal obligation seeing as it's been proven faulty, but it is also fantastic customer service!

Will probably end up upgrading anyway but it's nice to know the system works.