Equired to BK about XXLS-400, they advised front firing..

alienmuppet

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Hi all,
I know this has been asked a lot, and I have already asked this on a more American based forum, so thought I'd ask here where people may be more familiar with the XXLS-400.

I'm trying to decide whether to get a front firing or down firing XXLS-400 sub woofer. I emailed BK and the response was (I hope Tom doesn't mind me quoting) "If your wooden floors are on concrete the the downward firing and if they are on joists then the forward firing".

I have joists, floorboards, carpet. Room is about 13 to 15 ft long, 9 or 10 ft wide, ceiling about 8ft.

I was surprised because when I search the forums, the general consensus seems to be that it doesn't make any difference.

Part of the decision is based around placement and aesthetics (though sound is the ultimate decider). If I get a forward firing, it feels like I should put it facing people on the opposite side of the room. I have a computer desk in the corner it could go under too, so it perhaps doesn't matter what colour I get in that case, and one side will be black anyway with the speaker grill.

If on the other hand I get a down firing, I keep thinking about putting it next to the sofa where a small table currently is, in which case I'd likely get a light oak finish. The annoying thing about that is I'd have to wait about 2 weeks for it ;-) Whereas there's a few plain black ones available from BK right now and I've got a film night coming up on Saturday with some friends round.. but that's a bad excuse to rush I guess!

Truth be told though, I'd probably prefer a light oak one anyway, decisions decisions..

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I guess DF works better on concrete-based floors because it probably absorbs less energy than a wood-based floor, meaning more energy is reflected out as actual sound rather than turning into movement in the floor.

Would a granite riser give a solid base on which to base a DF if you really want one?


Don't forget that a sub near-field may give a more easily located sound-source than a sub that is corner loaded on the other side of the room :)

And if it's going under a desk, you would have to be careful not to kick a FF driver by accident! I know my usual luck!! lol
 
Can i ask why you went for the 400 as opposed to the monolith ? im in a similar situation and decided on DF as it looks better and I will either put it on a plinth or the Gramma.
 
The Monolith just looked a little bit big for me, plus I listen to music too and from what I've read the XXLS-400 is a little better for music. Plus my room isn't particularly big (I imagine). In fact originally I was looking at the XLS-200 but decided to step up a notch. Also although I like things fairly loud, I don't go too crazy.

Do you think I should reconsider for some reason? I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

I might try and post some pics of my room later or at least a schematic of sizes. The room is embarrassingly messy right now ;-)
 
your correct the 400 is known to be better for music and monolith for movies, so its really based on your requirements.

mine will be for movies mainly very limited music and i know i can control the volume so it doesn't need to go to crazy although i know it can if i want it to :D

if it helps my room is smaller then yours.
 
It will come down to i few things what its for how loud you listen. If you listen up loud then i expect you might feel the mono i little more but the 400 being sealed will sound more controled and go lower.
 
Agree, but then that would take away all the fun of decisions :)
i demoed a B&W PV1 which sounded superb but expensive, now reading on the forum the BK 400 is way better then the PVI and half the price so at least the decisions got slightly easier but then came the monolith .....
 
It will come down to i few things what its for how loud you listen. If you listen up loud then i expect you might feel the mono i little more but the 400 being sealed will sound more controled and go lower.

Do you mean the mono would go lower ?
 
Do you mean the mono would go lower ?

No the 400 will go lower i doubt the mono will even do 10Hz.
The 400 will, maybe not at massive volumes but it will.
 
so in theory the 400 should do a great job with movies as well ? as good as the B&W and Rel subs
 
if more than confident it will be fine(by that it will do a great job with films), where about are you aiming to place it, if you can try it in a corner it will help with spl.
 
So regarding front or down firing... any further thoughts anyone? :) Especially considering what Tom at BK said. In a lot of ways I'd prefer down firing (aesthetics, possibly easier placement, less chance of damage) but he seemed pretty concise. Perhaps the difference is only marginal?

Is the grill on the FF version fairly flimsy?
 
ff is easier to intergrate into a systema and easier to place and control the bass, unless your gonna have a really solid plinth under it then go for a ff, personalle i have always prefered the sound from a ff.
 
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It's really odd; some posts say DF is easier to place, some say FF is easier to place.
I did think I'd probably stick something under it if it was a DF.
Anyway thanks for your reply Scott. Any more takers? A few more replies and I can probably form some sort of conclusion and make a decision. It'd be good to hear from anyone who has had both too..
Thanks :)
 
Most defiantly a ff is easier. As df fires the bass down and out and can cause a boomy bass.
 
TBH my Monolith is DF and the one issue I haven't had is with boomy bass, so it very much depends on the room, set up etc. I'm on a solid floor though (Oak floor laid over solid concrete).

I don't have much choice personally, since a big FF subwoofer looks too much like a big speaker for my taste. At least a DF kind of passes as a side table (though a FF facing the wall might be acceptable, they usually have the amp plate on the rear, which looks even worse than a big speaker grill.
 
not really sure what there on, The only thing i can think of is they have massive rooms and haveing a df close to a wall will add more room gain, which can be boomy, theres alot to factor in, as for setting cross overs if your speakers ar little then start at 80 and work up to 150 or even 200 and see what you think,
my 15" is sitting bang smack in front of me center room and with a cross over of 1509and my speakers will go down to 25hz) but my sub just has lots more punch.

So in my findings I have had df,ff and ported df and ported bottom with ff and to me the easiest to intergrate has always been the ff sealed subs i have had, thats with concrete floor and where i live now hollow wooden floor when i moved in a had 2x 12" wharfdale down ported ff subs (which sounded great in muy old house) but in my new place they just sounded awfull and 1 15" sealed ff sound much better cleaner and my bass was back...
 
TBH my Monolith is DF and the one issue I haven't had is with boomy bass, so it very much depends on the room, set up etc. I'm on a solid floor though (Oak floor laid over solid concrete).

I don't have much choice personally, since a big FF subwoofer looks too much like a big speaker for my taste. At least a DF kind of passes as a side table (though a FF facing the wall might be acceptable, they usually have the amp plate on the rear, which looks even worse than a big speaker grill.
have you seen these.:D
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/6775/grillson.jpg
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/5022/halfoiled.jpg
 
They look almost like the nest of tables we have at the back of our living room. Not sure I'd get away with swapping them though. :D

Backofroom_zps08305f50.jpg


I came across some really neat DIY double ended subs with a mixture of black textured paint, Oak corners and a granite top. Certainly gave me food for thought. However, I'm basically a bit lazy after 12 years of DIY so ready made islikely to be my choice (or tweaking what I have already). There is an SVS DF in the classifieds but it's dark wood otherwise I'd have been tempted if it had been Oak.

Sorry for the off topic post. :blush:
 
sounds like my next build(double sub table)each end loaded.
 
not really sure what there on, The only thing i can think of is they have massive rooms and haveing a df close to a wall will add more room gain, which can be boomy
Hmmm... maybe that's why my Plus/2 sounds boomy in the alcove that it's in?? :confused:

Does seem to give good room gain and pretty non-peaky response across the room, though :D lol
 

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