Answered Advice - New subwoofer, what to buy?

samat

Standard Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2016
Messages
16
Reaction score
7
Points
3
Age
44
Location
Finland
Bought a new amp (Denon AVR-X3300) a few weeks back and upgraded my speaker setup to 4 Dali Zensor 3s at front and back and Dali Zensor Vocal at middle. Just installed them yesterday and they sound great, especially compared to the old Eltax moviemaxx 5.0 set. So now I'm looking at alternatives to replace my old sub (OR GSW10) for mainly movies but also a bit of music.

There are some space constraints since it's a living room (about 3,6m x 4,5m), placement is also restricted due to other furniture, and a furnace taking one of the corners. It's a house so annoying the neighbors is not an issue that much (if you count out people walking their dogs on the road!).

Budget is from around 400 to 850 euros (must be able to deliver to Finland). Here are some options I've been looking at:

Klipsch R-112SW, around 460€ delivered from Amazon.de. (R-115SW is a bit too large physically)
BK Electronics XLS200-DF MK2, 540€ from Mareks.fi which seems to be official reseller for them in here since they link to them from BK website.
BK Electronics XXLS400, 750€
Elac Debut S12EQ, 798,90€ + 10€ delivery
Dali E-12F, 725€ at local store where I bought my Zensor 3s, but could get it at 650€
Arendal Sound 1723 sub 1, 850€ delivered from lsound.eu. Still debating if I should spend this much on a sub! (although I'm tempted)

Here's the floorplan:
lC8kXyi.png

Panels in the living room are some type of soft panel. On outer wall there is thermal insulation behind the panel (glass wool most) and outside a wooden panel. TV is wallmounted and AV equipment will be moved to a shelf on top of it. So I'm mostly limited placing the sub in the corner, or somewhere under the TV.

Thanks in advance and merry christmas!
 
Buy the best one you can afford. So if you can afford the Arendal - get it. It very well could be the biggest cabinet though so check the dimensions if space is a constraint.
 
As much as I am a big Dali fan I would probably avoid the Dali E12-F. I've owned a couple of them and whilst they are no means bad compared to a lot of other store bought models they are totally outclassed by something from the likes of BK Electronics or Arendal.

I don't have any experience of the Klipsh or the Elac models but I would personally go for the Arendal Sub 1 or the BK XXLS 400.

In a room your size I wouldn't have thought a couple of the BK XXLS 400's out the question.
 
Don't forget to check out XTZ subs. Very good reviews, build, sound, value etc. :)
I run a pair of the 12.17 in conjunction with a full B&W 7.1 system. My main comparison is with the pair of B&W ASW610s that I had previously.
The 12.17 offer a lot of tuning flexibility (via EQ and twin ported design). As such, I have one tuned for maximum low end (Ref setting) and the other tuned for a little more punch (eq2).
The sound quality is superb with movies and music. They can reach very low, especially with movie soundtracks, but always maintain control.
Build quality is excellent.
One would be enough for most rooms - I just like symmetry. ;-)
 
Don't forget to check out XTZ subs. Very good reviews, build, sound, value etc. :)
I run a pair of the 12.17 in conjunction with a full B&W 7.1 system. My main comparison is with the pair of B&W ASW610s that I had previously.
The 12.17 offer a lot of tuning flexibility (via EQ and twin ported design). As such, I have one tuned for maximum low end (Ref setting) and the other tuned for a little more punch (eq2).
The sound quality is superb with movies and music. They can reach very low, especially with movie soundtracks, but always maintain control.
Build quality is excellent.
One would be enough for most rooms - I just like symmetry. ;-)

Thanks for the alternative, prices seem reasonable aswell :) Anyone who can compare XTZ 12.17 to Arendal sub 1?
 
The XTZ 12.17 with 12" is ported while the Arendal is sealed with 13.8" driver. Had I had room for a larger box i think I would have the Arendal.

Neither have room Eq which might be important in your room. Anti-mode would be an option if notable ringing.

I had ant XTZ 12x1 for a while and would it to be a large box which worked well, but I needed room eq to get best results. Hence decided to use a smaller sub with EQ.
 
Either Arendal sub 1 or XTZ 12.17 would fit my room. Arendal is 850€ and XTZ is 685€ delivered (plus it has some options to play with port plugs, Arendal has 5 years warranty on electronics though) so XTZ is looking a nice option at the moment. Would I gain any noticeable difference going with Arendal or would I gain more by possibly putting the money "saved" from going XTZ towards a antimode for example. Although it seems from what I read that xt32/audussey on Denon is decent for subs aswell.
 
Arendal have now released the Sub 1.5 - a ported version of the Sub 1. You should check that out too. It is more expensive but should meet your needs very well. You can always save and buy an Antimode later ;)
 
Arendal have now released the Sub 1.5 - a ported version of the Sub 1. You should check that out too. It is more expensive but should meet your needs very well. You can always save and buy an Antimode later ;)

Hah! That would definitely be a massive addition both in sound and size :D Would completely rip my planned budget though, I might just get away putting a cabinet that size in the room (it would propably have to double up as a stand for a flower pot or something!).
 
Hah! That would definitely be a massive addition both in sound and size :D Would completely rip my planned budget though, I might just get away putting a cabinet that size in the room (it would propably have to double up as a stand for a flower pot or something!).

Whatever gets it past the wife ;)

FWIW, I bought a new sub before Christmas and the only reason I never bought an Arendal was the cabinet size. It was just too big for our living room my wife and as my sub has to sit in front of my front right floorstanding speaker it would have blocked one of the drivers.
 
Whatever gets it past the wife ;)

FWIW, I bought a new sub before Christmas and the only reason I never bought an Arendal was the cabinet size. It was just too big for our living room my wife and as my sub has to sit in front of my front right floorstanding speaker it would have blocked one of the drivers.

That's why I went with Zensor 3's on my speaker upgrade (was looking at Zensor 5's initially), with wall mounts I now have a bit more freedom on placement on other items (like the sub!).
 
Finally moving on this thing, ordered a Arendal sub 1 demo unit for a bit cheaper from lsound.eu. Should get it next week! While waiting for the delivery got a UMIK 1, here's some graph from the current OR-GSW10.
 

Attachments

  • OR GSW-10 Distortion.jpg
    OR GSW-10 Distortion.jpg
    164 KB · Views: 124
Got my new sub delivered by UPS this morning and got it setup now, only problem is that audussey had to set it at -12db due to getting 85db at minimum volume setting. Although it doesn't look too bad with REW. Is -10 db attuenator enough to get it down a notch?
 

Attachments

  • Arendal Sub 1 -12db from AMP.jpg
    Arendal Sub 1 -12db from AMP.jpg
    169.3 KB · Views: 106
Got a -15db attuenator from Rothwell for it (as tipped in the Arendal owners thread, thanks guys!) and the volume is spot on at REF setting now.
 

Attachments

  • Arendal SUB 1 REF with -15db attuenator.jpg
    Arendal SUB 1 REF with -15db attuenator.jpg
    165.1 KB · Views: 79

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom