Paradigm servo 15

Hello peeps,
Just a little question. I need a new sub and Richer Sounds are selling servo 15s' for £499.95 (was£799.95), Thats some reduction. But £500 is still a lot of money. So should I get one and why.

 

Cheers Dan,
Crikey it is popular . I reckon I've made me mind up . Almost all of the reviews I've read say it's heart stoppin and can even induce vomiting . The price was the only thing stoppin me now all I have to do is find an RS shop that has one of the big buggers in stock . Cheers Dan

 

Unfortunately, £500 is not a lot of money in terms of "proper" subwoofers and in terms of cost, some may consider it to be entry level if you want deep, distortion free bass.

As Mr Gleebles has said, the reason to buy one is that they offer the most sound per pound around bar none

 

I don't think that the shops stock them as they are held in a central warehouse and delivered to each shop against firm order. If your local shop says that there aren't any in stock, try another shop as efficiency isn't their watchword.

 

Don't even think about trying a branch for them, go direct to their mail order line and order over the phone.

If you DO manage to get one......well put it this way, you will never need to upgrade your sub again

 

I don't believe anything comes close for the money, if you need more shaking you can always add another one later which I would love to do

 

2 subs doesn't necessarily = more shakin'.

 

I've had one for a few years now, it has been fantastic, as far as I know RS have about 35 black 15s in their central warehouse, easily ordered from any branch by paying 20% deposit, or mail order, as previously mentioned.
They have always been £499 by the way.
No cherry though .

 

Sorry for any inaccuracies with my broad statement .
If you find you would like higher SPL coupled with even lower distortion then adding another servo 15 is a viable option should you so wish, although a single sub is easier to set up and accomodate (and for most a single servo 15 is enough)
I think a search of twin servo 15 setups will reveal positive opinions from those who have tried it (e.g The Beekeeper) which is why I would like to go this route myself

 

First my question is where to order a servo 15 in Britain, as we cannot get them in Austria. I have a Stentor II right now, will the servo compare to it in musicality and clear undistorted bass?

Thanks

Harald

 

In terms of clear undistorted bass the Servo 15 should be far ahead of the Stentor but the REL may have the edge in musicality if judged by rhythm and pacing.

They are imported into UK by Richer Sounds and only sold to special order through their own stores at a very cheap price so it is unlikely that they will ship to Austria

 

Would mean I have to send a friend to a shop, buy them and send them to Austria. Do you think this would work? Are they paradigm subs to be found in any of the RS shops?

Do you think it is worth the effort, I need them for my home cinema which is actually very much music oriented. My idea wa to place 2 of them in the room and use my Rel Stentor II for my hifi system, which is in another room. Or would the Paradigm be fine in my hifi system too, where I use a V20 Tube at the moment and Pro Ac 2,5s.

Thanks!

 

Your friend would have to order one from Richer Sounds and collect it or have it delivered to his home. They are big subs and would undoubedly cost a lot to ship onwards to Austria but if you are buying two of them it may be worth the effort.

I think that you would be happier keeping the REL for your hifi.

Another alternative would be one or more SVS subs. These have recently become very popular amongst forum members and rightly so as they are powerful, precise and relatively cheap as you deal directly with the manufacturer in USA and cut out all of the middlemen and their profits.

have a look at their website here. I have just bought one and can confirm that it a superb piece of equipment.

 

Hi Ian, I have had a look at the homepage and the reviews of the svs subs were impressive.

My question is:

I would like to put subs into my home cinema, but I would go for a sub musically really good, because I watch and listen to more concerts then movies. Would the Paradigm or the SVS be the right choice for that? Among the svs would it be the cylindric models?

I would love to have 2 new Stentor iii in my room but I cannot afford that. So is there anything cheaper that comes very close?

Or is it worth saving money for the future goal of 2 stentors or maybe 2 Revel S 15?

Thanks

 

I have to be a bit careful how I answer as most of my experience is with films and although I listen to some music it tends not to be classical concerts.

I have one of the cylindrical PC Plus subwoofers and it is absolutely superb for films. I have played a few CDs on it and it is musical enough for my needs but as your listening is more specialised than mine I would prefer to leave it to someone with a greater knowledge of both the REL Stentor and classical concerts.

I have someone in mind but unfortunately he is not a member of this forum but I will ask his advice and post his comments later.

 

Great, thanks Ian!

 

Harald,

It would be really useful to know what the rest of your home cinema and hifi equipment is.

Thanks

 

As a previous owner of 2 Servo 15's I can confirm that two of them do indeed shake more than one!


harald1231

Have you considered using a passive sub driven with a high quality audio amp? I use such an arrangement and much prefer the sound quality to the Servo 15 for music.

 

Hi Ian, for my Av System I use a Classe SSp 30 Processor/Preamp and a Parasound 2205 Power Amp. Right now I use Proacs 2,5 as Front, the ssc1 for Center, adn Tablette Ref. 8s for rear. My DvD is a Micromega. My sub a Rel StentorII, which I actually would like to moce back to my HIFI.

For my Hifi I used the Proacs 2,5 but will now upgrade to the Future one or a speaker from Finland, which I heard is very good I have to try it first.

I used a V20 Tube amp but just upgrade to a Gammut D 200 Power amp and either a Gammut or a Conrad Johnson or a Lamm premp.

My preference is music also in Home theater. I love the shaking, but precise bass is very important for me and it must be fast enough to follow the beat.

Thanks

Harald

 

Hi Gary, please tell me more about your experiences and what system you use.

Thanks

Harald

 

Hi Harold

Here's a link to a thread that gives you a little more information about my experience with subs.

www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84826

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have but am concerned that we may be breaking some rules by moving off the original topic of this thread, Ian can you advise, is a fresh thread required?

 

Harald,

I spoke to a friend of mine who is not a member here but knows much more about these things than I do and I have reproduced below his answer :-

"Having looked at Harald's kit list, my recommendation to him would be to put the Stentor II back in his HiFi system. With the quality of amp and speakers he is using, it would be criminal to hook them up to anything less than the Stentor. The crossovers in the REL are very good, and connected at high level should give the best integration with his Proacs. I am a little surprised that he could use the Proac 2.5's with a V20 amp - the Proacs are very insensitive and would never play very loud with the V20, but maybe that isn't important to Harald. The V20 is a superb sounding amplifier, if limited in power. The Gamut should be a
much better match power-wise.

As for the AV system, the bass management in the Classe SSP 30 is very flexible, and I think that a pair of Paradigm Servo 15's driven off the Classe's single sub output would give superb performance for films, and I see no reason to believe they couldn't keep up pace & timing wise with the Proacs. The cleanliness and lack of overhang typical of servo subs should introduce minimal timing and bass smearing problems.

The only thing it might be worth asking some existing Servo 15 owners is the audibility of any servo noise during quiet/silent music passages. Provided that is no problem, I think a pair of the Servo 15's would be exceptional value for money."

 

I have never heard any servo noise from mine and find it well suited to music as well as movies.

 

ditto on the noise, altho I've seen several posts re: humming from servo subs in general.

 

Thanks for the help and information! Thanks for asking this friend of yours!

I am pondering on the Paradigm sub or the CVS which as a passive solution driven with an extra amp seems to be a good possibility too. Do you have the passive version?

The V20, whcih I love a lot, it is such a beautifully muscial, sweet sound producing amp played very well with my Pro Acs at levels I used to listen. It lacks a bit bass control, this is much better with the Gammut, which is a superb amp too.

regards
Harald

 

Harald, I've spent some time looking around for info about using a SVS passive sub.

If you plan to use it via the bass management from a AV processor (20-80hz) then you only need a amp and possibly a attenutation somehow (either in-line pot or attenuated phono lead) If you're lucky (if the sub amp and poweramps) are close enough on the gain the processor adjustment is good enough.

However if you're gonna send full-range you'll need a crossover (I haven't spent any time looking into this)

Anyway, for the passive subs you could use...

Samson S700 - PA amp, 300W per channel,fans. Gain controls
Samson S1000- PA amp, 500W per channel, fans. Gain controls
Crown K1- PA amp, 500W per channel, silent Gain controls
Parasound HCA-1500Mk II, 200W per channel. Gain controls
Or a amp module, ie, BK 450W into a custom case. Needs work doing to complete it.

 

I have an active sub as I'm a lazy person and buying a passive sub and an extra amplifier with all of the associated set up effort sounded like hard work. I prefer "plug and play" solutions.

 

While I sadly still can't speak from first hand experience as to the quality of the Servo 15 (my SP1.7 will be here soon - it will be - I can wait - I can, I can, I can... ) the whole philosophy behind servo-driven subs is accuracy and low distortion - the speaker cone actually going (as near as possible) exactly where it is supposed to go, and when. It would seem to me that this ought to make servo-driven subs equally well suited to music and movies. The only reason I can think of why a sub might be good for movies but not good for music is if it goes loud and deep but distorts significantly while doing it, and this is precisely what a servo-monitored system is supposed to avoid.

I've always been a bit suspicious of the concept of "slow" bass, anyway - if the cone really isn't responding fast enough, then that's just another form of distortion. And I recall reading recently that "slow" bass actually tends to be an illusion that results from poor integration betwen (sub)woofer and mid-range drivers.

Still, I stand ready to eat my words if necessary!

 

Mine’s been rumbling away merrily for nearly a year now, so fingers crossed I must have a good one. I purchased the RS three year warranty for £20 so I’m still covered .