High-end subwoofers

[NicolasB]

Let's have a specific thread about subs....

Suppose one were shopping for a subwoofer round the £2500-£3000 mark (for someone as poor as me that's high-end, okay?), what would be a good choice, and just how much of a difference is there between something in that price bracket and something at ~£1600?

Obvious possibilities: Velodyne HGS-15 and HGS-18 (Uncle Eric's favourite, I believe), REL Stentor, M&K MX5000.

Cheaper possibilities: REL Stadium, M&K MX350, B&W ASW4000.

Any more?

 

[James45]

£3,000 for a speaker in a box is high end for anyone!!

 

[chips]

Are ALL of these that much better than a £500 Servo 15.

 

[Couch Potato]

Originally posted by NicolasB
Let's have a specific thread about subs....

Suppose one were shopping for a subwoofer round the £2500-£3000 mark (for someone as poor as me that's high-end, okay?), what would be a good choice, and just how much of a difference is there between something in that price bracket and something at ~£1600?

Obvious possibilities: Velodyne HGS-15 and HGS-18 (Uncle Eric's favourite, I believe), REL Stentor, M&K MX5000.

Cheaper possibilities: REL Stadium, M&K MX350, B&W ASW4000.

Any more?

A pair of SVS Ultra's

Steve

 

NicolasB

Let's have a specific thread about subs....

In the Speakers & subs section

Hurray!....it's the old M&K/Paradigm/REL/SVS/Velodyne debate again


They are all units to use if you hate your neighbours, hate your wife, hate your girlfriend, hate life itself....

Goodbye cruel world
Do a search on the above names & have a look at the previous threads on peoples experiences with these toys.

Adzman

 

[dts_boy]

when i got a sub earlier this year i was looking at the m&k mx350 but settled for the monitor audio fb212 as to me, it sounded better - tighter and more controlled. the plus side was it saved me £800 over the m&k, this was before the power buys on Velodyne though

 

[uncle eric]

Originally posted by NicolasB
Let's have a specific thread about subs....

Suppose one were shopping for a subwoofer round the £2500-£3000 mark (for someone as poor as me that's high-end, okay?), what would be a good choice, and just how much of a difference is there between something in that price bracket and something at ~£1600?
Obvious possibilities: Velodyne HGS-15 and HGS-18 (Uncle Eric's favourite, I believe), REL Stentor, M&K MX5000.
Cheaper possibilities: REL Stadium, M&K MX350, B&W ASW4000.
Any more?

From the list above, here is an order of merit for you,
1) HGS-18
2) HGS-15
3) REL Stentor
4) M&K 5000
5) REL Stadium
6) M&K 350
7) B&W ASW4000

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Originally posted by uncle eric
From the list above, here is an order of merit for you,
1) HGS-18
2) HGS-15
3) REL Stentor
4) M&K 5000
5) REL Stadium
6) M&K 350
7) B&W ASW4000

I have heard all bar the HGS 18 but would agree with Eric assesment. I put the Servo15 at 2=. I would love to hear SVS Ultra and some other mega USA DIY stuff here though. There is a big gap between 2 and 3 though. I like the Martin Logan Decent, might stick that in 3, it looked great as well.

 

[dts_boy]

what about my FB212?
or is it soo good that the others listed are not worthy of its presence

 

[Lowrider]

Consider a pair of REL Strata III, easier to integrate...

 

[uncle eric]

Not as easy as a pair of HGS-18's

 

[NicolasB]

The only reason a pair of HGS-18s would be easy to integrate is that as soon as you switched them on the house would fall down and you'd no longer have anything to integrate them with.

 

[uncle eric]

Nicolas,
You did say you had curly hair didn't you.
So did I before the HGS-18 arrived

 

[dunkyboy]

How about the ATC Concept 6 sub? It may be a bit out of this range at £4.5 grand but I suspect it would be worth it... Althernatively the C4 sub is a mere £1900 - and is an absolute beast!

Dunc

 

[NicolasB]

Beekeeper, would you seriously rate a Paradigm Servo 15 as being in the same class sonically as a REL Stentor? Given that the REL costs more than three times as much that would seem to make the Paradigm rather startlingly good value.

What does everyone think about the FB212, then?

Out of idle curiosity, has anyone ever heard a REL Studio?

 

[Lowrider]

Just at audio shows, but I read a few posts from guys who traded their Studios by a pair of Strata III, that helped me decide to get them...

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Originally posted by NicolasB
Beekeeper, would you seriously rate a Paradigm Servo 15 as being in the same class sonically as a REL Stentor? Given that the REL costs more than three times as much that would seem to make the Paradigm rather startlingly good value.

Yes, I own two Servos and one Stentor It is no contest. I am a fan of REL ST series subs, I have owned several over the years but they struggle to compete with Servo designs like Paradigm and Velodyne (even the cheapo velodynes). REL is overpriced but good (like M and K). No problems with the quality it is just the price.

QUOTE]Originally posted by NicolasB
Out of idle curiosity, has anyone ever heard a REL Studio? [/QUOTE]

Yes I have, it is good but I am not sure I don't prefer the single drive united Stentor. It is one big piece of furniture though. serious dosh, 2 x HGS 18!

 

[NicolasB]

If the Servo 15 is really that good I will have to very seriously consider getting one. It actually hadn't even occurred to me to consider a subwoofer at that price level given the level that the rest of the system is likely to be at; but that sounds like a major bargain.

Can anyone else confirm or deny Beekeeper's opinion?

And do you really need a pair of them or will one do? (That could be made into a more general question, actually - are there any cases where using a pair of cheaper subs costing £x each would sound better a single sub that costs £2x?)

 

[chips]

If you want a servo 15, don't hang about, as they are only available from Richer Sounds who have stopped importing them.

RS placed an order for a further 50 a month or so back, due to interest on this forum. When these are gone I think that's the lot.

These things cost $1,500 across the pond.

I have one and I love it, if I had the space I would buy another.....................hell I may anyway.

 

[Orbital]

Lo All,

Must agree with The Beekeeper and Chips. I've had my Servo 15 for about 2 weeks and the thing just keeps getting better. I've listened to an awful lot of subs over the years and consider the 15 one of the best I've heard. You'd have to go for a Velodyne HGS-15/18 to get anything "noticeably" better I think.

I think a lot of people over look them because of the price Richer Sounds sell them for. People think "£500? Can’t be any good" and don't even bother auditioning it, which is a shame because it really is astonishing for the price.

If you want to see what one looks like with it's grill off I've posted a picture of mine in the "underneath the grill" thread.

Cheers

Dave