BK XLS 300 vs XLS200FF - is it worth an upgrade?

[OneDesi]

I've had my XLS200FF MK2 for quite some time and I think it is wonderful.

I can't seem to find any threads where peopl have upgraded from the 200 to the 300 and I am now considering this upgrade - do you guys think it is worth it (I wont get a monolith as it is a bit too indiscrete)?

All thoughts appreciated as I dont want to waste money and could put it towards a new DVD player but ....

 

[badbob]

Only worthwhile doing a big upgrade, that's what I've done in the past. Little point upgrading from a 1.1 to a 1.3 NA car for example. However if you get a 1.8i or 1.8T

I'd get the Monolith or better to make it worthwhile

 

[ChrisEdu]

Only worthwhile doing a big upgrade, that's what I've done in the past. Little point upgrading from a 1.1 to a 1.3 NA car for example. However if you get a 1.8i or 1.8T

I'd get the Monolith or better to make it worthwhile

LOL - I went from 1.5 to 3.2 Turbo!

 

[OneDesi]

As I said chaps, the monolith will not be allowed so as much as I can see the benefits I'm stuck in the world of small subs.

I like BK's (having tried numerous Rel's) so this new 300 sounded like a good mid ground, not so sure now ?

 

[ChrisEdu]

Well, I considered the Monolith, but have ordered a SVS PC-13 Ultra!

 

[Deleted member 174041]

I've had my XLS200FF MK2 for quite some time and I think it is wonderful.

I can't seem to find any threads where peopl have upgraded from the 200 to the 300 and I am now considering this upgrade - do you guys think it is worth it (I wont get a monolith as it is a bit too indiscrete)?

All thoughts appreciated as I dont want to waste money and could put it towards a new DVD player but ....

Ive had both the xls200 and xls300. Diddnt do a side by side comparison but I thought it was worth the extra £100 or so.

 

[OneDesi]

but I thought it was worth the extra £100 or so.

Any chance you could try and explain why you think that - it would be very helpful for me.

 

[badbob]

Ive had both the xls200 and xls300. Diddnt do a side by side comparison but I thought it was worth the extra £100 or so.

Yeah but he's already got a sub, so although it might be worth the extra £100- for a XLS200 owner it involves selling the sub for a loss, then paying the extra. Unlike someone without a sub deciding the XLS 300 is worth the extra £100.

I upgraded from a PC Plus 20-39 PC Plus 12.0 driver to PC Ultra 13, fairly safe to say it's a big upgrade. Wouldn't have bothered from PC Plus to 12.2 driver for example.

 

[Deleted member 174041]

Any chance you could try and explain why you think that - it would be very helpful for me.

The only reason I decided to upgrade was because I moved house and the sub moved to a larger room. If you think your sub is struggling in your room then upgrade.
Like you I diddnt want to go for the monolith due to the size so im more than happy with the xls300.

 

[Deleted member 174041]

Yeah but he's already got a sub, so although it might be worth the extra £100- for a XLS200 owner it involves selling the sub for a loss, then paying the extra. Unlike someone without a sub deciding the XLS 300 is worth the extra £100.

I upgraded from a PC Plus 20-39 PC Plus 12.0 driver to PC Ultra 13, fairly safe to say it's a big upgrade. Wouldn't have bothered from PC Plus to 12.2 driver for example.

Thing is he's after a sub in similar size to the one he has and may not have lets say another £250-£300 to spend on a sub to get the monolith's performance.

 

[OneDesi]

Gents - just to clear this up the monies not really the issue - it's more about getting an improved performance than the XLS200FF form a similar sized box in the same room.

When I say improved I don't mean louder but maybe lower in the frequency response and better transient response (i.e. control). If the 300 is not much better for my circumstances then no need to change (I did consider the REL T1 but I know I'm paying for the badge there).

 

[badbob]

Just buy four Servodrive Contrabass, slyly fit them when the wife is out and hope she doesn't notice. And when she does say they've been there for months.

 

[OneDesi]

Just buy four Servodrive Contrabass, slyly fit them when the wife is out and hope she doesn't notice. And when she does say they've been there for months.

I know this is going to sound daft but what is/are that/they

 

[badbob]

I know this is going to sound daft but what is/are that/they

Incredibly small, compact beautiful subwoofers that your wife won't notice. Don't look at dimensions, actual size is about the size of a Bose Jewel.

http://www.servodrive.com/contrabass.html

 

[HiFiRuss71]

IMHO, the XLS-300 is more of an XLS-200 on steroids, rather than a Monolith Lite. Whilst the XLS-300 delivers an extra dollop low down, it doesn't add the extra sense of ease that the bigger box delivers at all volumes and that's the real benefit of the bigger box. You can't get this quality in a small box for £400.

If space and/or neighbours preclude the bigger box then yes, the XLS-300 offers noticeably more deep bass for a given room size and is well worth the extra £100 if considering one against the other. However, in this case the difference is more likely £200+ by the time the XLS-200 is flogged, so it's a bit more of a subjective value judgment.

If the main emphasis is purely on movies then I'd say yes it's worth it, but if the focus is on music, then I'd say no.

However, if you're looking for a quantum leap in performance, then neither the XLS-300, T-1, or SVS SB12/Plus, or any other budget small sub will deliver it over the XLS-200. Only the likes of a second hand Velodyne DD12 will give that real 'Wow!' jump in all respects and that's a likely £1000 outlay.

Big jumps in small sub performance are expensive, I'm afraid.

Russell

 

[OneDesi]

IMHO, the XLS-300 is more of an XLS-200 on steroids, rather than a Monolith Lite. Whilst the XLS-300 delivers an extra dollop low down, it doesn't add the extra sense of ease that the bigger box delivers at all volumes and that's the real benefit of the bigger box. You can't get this quality in a small box for £400.

If space and/or neighbours preclude the bigger box then yes, the XLS-300 offers noticeably more deep bass for a given room size and is well worth the extra £100 if considering one against the other. However, in this case the difference is more likely £200+ by the time the XLS-200 is flogged, so it's a bit more of a subjective value judgment.

If the main emphasis is purely on movies then I'd say yes it's worth it, but if the focus is on music, then I'd say no.

However, if you're looking for a quantum leap in performance, then neither the XLS-300, T-1, or SVS SB12/Plus, or any other budget small sub will deliver it over the XLS-200. Only the likes of a second hand Velodyne DD12 will give that real 'Wow!' jump in all respects and that's a likely £1000 outlay.

Big jumps in small sub performance are expensive, I'm afraid.

Russell

Russell, thank you for an excellent response, much appreciated

It will be used for movies only and TBH I'm not unhappy with the XLS200 but as with all things in this hobby curiosity is making me wonder if I can get an improvement whilst keeping the size small - the "Tardis Syndrome"

I've never tried a Velodyne but I did briefly try a PV1, do you have any experience of this as I found the XLS200 to be better in terms of slam and impact (no doubt the PV1 was good for music but no real impact for AV).

 

[OneDesi]

Any more thoughts/comments before I make a decision?

 

[badbob]

Haven't heard either, but I personally wouldn't bother- go the whole hog and upgrade- for a similar sized box as said probably DD-12/DD-15.

 

[OneDesi]

One last question folks - I'm sure how to read the tech spec but the XLS200 says "-6dB at 17Hz" whilst the XLS300 spec says "-3dB at 20Hz".

I guess the the XLS300 is better but why (i.e. how am I meant to interpret the above specs) ?

 

[Etienne A]

for that comparison to make any sense you have to compare the -3db (or the -6db) on both subs - having said that (i own an xls300), the xls300 (being a passive radiator sub) rolls off faster than the xls200, but is louder at any point above the roll-off freq.

 

[OneDesi]

for that comparison to make any sense you have to compare the -3db (or the -6db) on both subs - having said that (i own an xls300), the xls300 (being a passive radiator sub) rolls off faster than the xls200, but is louder at any point above the roll-off freq.

I'm going to act the numpty here (not hard for me) - the specs are lifted from the BK website and I have to admit I found the lack of comparability odd

When you say the XLS 300 "rolls off" do you mean it stops providing a sound output quicker than the XLS200?

Is being a passive radiator a good/bad thing?

I've looked at the Velodynes and they are nice but expensive and seem to be similar to monolith in performance.

I wonder if sticking with the XLS200 is the right way?

 

[badbob]

One last question folks - I'm sure how to read the tech spec but the XLS200 says "-6dB at 17Hz" whilst the XLS300 spec says "-3dB at 20Hz".

I guess the the XLS300 is better but why (i.e. how am I meant to interpret the above specs) ?

As PP said both need to be -3dB or -6dB spec, but the 3dB difference for the 300 but with higher -6dB spec I think is pretty close to each other. Considering the 300 is the same except for passive rad, it's not like it's a higher quality driver + a rad.

Can't see the point of upgrading from the 200 to 300, it's like upgrading from a Rel Strata to a Rel Storm.

 

[OneDesi]

Can't see the point of upgrading from the 200 to 300, it's like upgrading from a Rel Strata to a Rel Storm.

The more I think/read about it you I'm coming round to your way of thinking Bob.

We don't play stuff loud (the AVr30 gets to 71 on the volume scale at best) so all I was looking for was more bass not louder bass and it looks like I've got to spend a fair bit to achieve this.

Thanks for the advice

 

[badbob]

If you want lower bass then looking at a big ported sub, or a large driver sealed box. I think a good upgrade would be (from my own experience, if the XLS 200 is somewhere between Rel Q100E and SVS SB12+) is a 20hz PCi/PC Plus tube, or a PB12+

 

[Etienne A]

... the specs are lifted from the BK website and I have to admit I found the lack of comparability odd

it's not odd - it's convienient (for BK that is) ... as in it hilites the good specs of each sub design

When you say the XLS 300 "rolls off" do you mean it stops providing a sound output quicker than the XLS200?

yes - that's due to a lower compressibility of the internal air (cos' of the radiator)

Is being a passive radiator a good/bad thing?

heh - i'm afraid to open a can of worms here - but one can't call a design good/bad ... it's the execution that matters ... and the xls300 is a good one (bias onwer ... who knows ) ... no really ... there are ported subs, sealed, ib ( ) .. and PR like this one.

As to your predicament - i'll say - had you no sub, i'de tell you to go for the 300 as it's a cracking bargain - but - since what you're after is an upgrade in frequency range (lower down the spectrum) from an xls200, and not an upgrade in volume for anything above 20hz ... i'de tell you to wait it out till you could afford a JL Fathom (maybe!? ).