Question Time for a new sub...?

Dom36

Established Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
299
Reaction score
15
Points
61
Age
37
Location
Good ol' UK
Hi, it’s time to replace my trust Yamaha YST315. It’s been a great sub, and has done me proud for the last few years, but it’s the oldest part of my AV setup so feel I need to upgrade.

The two subs that jump out at me at the minute are the XTZ 12.17 (£599) and the Elac S12EQ (£540). When I was in the market for my sub last time, REL Quake was the one to go for so I’ve a soft spot for an REL branded sub also!

So I’ve compared a few specs of these subs against my Yamaha, and to me, on Paper, the lower the frequency response the better? So my current Yamaha has a low frequency response of 20hz, I appreciate this will be +/- a nominated number though.

So looking at the two subs listed above the Elac has a low frequency response of 25hz and the XTZ 19hz when ported.

With this in mind, in my head, the noise produced by all three of these subs low end (deep bass) will be of a similar nature? Is it going to be worth upgrading? Are the benefits felt elsehwere? I fail to see how sub technology has not moved on in the last 15 years enough that it wouldn’t be a noticeable difference, but what other specs should I be looking at here?

Any advice, direction or suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is up to £700, however, it is purely a frivolous purchase, so it would need to be special to warrant the full budget.
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Hi, it’s time to replace my trust Yamaha YST315. It’s been a great sub, and has done me proud for the last few years, but it’s the oldest part of my AV setup so feel I need to upgrade.

The two subs that jump out at me at the minute are the XTZ 12.17 (£599) and the Elac S12EQ (£540). When I was in the market for my sub last time, REL Quake was the one to go for so I’ve a soft spot for an REL branded sub also!

So I’ve compared a few specs of these subs against my Yamaha, and to me, on Paper, the lower the frequency response the better? So my current Yamaha has a low frequency response of 20hz, I appreciate this will be +/- a nominated number though.

So looking at the two subs listed above the Elac has a low frequency response of 25hz and the XTZ 19hz when ported.

With this in mind, in my head, the noise produced by all three of these subs low end (deep bass) will be of a similar nature? Is it going to be worth upgrading? Are the benefits felt elsehwere? I fail to see how sub technology has not moved on in the last 15 years enough that it wouldn’t be a noticeable difference, but what other specs should I be looking at here?

Any advice, direction or suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is up to £700, however, it is purely a frivolous purchase, so it would need to be special to warrant the full budget.

The XTZ 12.17 will demolish your Yamaha sub. It will have real authority in the low end and very good mid upper bass. Can’t really comment on the Elac as never heard it but looking at the specs and reviews it lacks the low end stuff for movies.

The BKs are good value for money but my advice would be to spend 150 more and go for the xtz 12.17. Fantastic sub for the money and I don’t see anything beating it at its price point
Sanjay
 
Hi, it’s time to replace my trust Yamaha YST315. It’s been a great sub, and has done me proud for the last few years, but it’s the oldest part of my AV setup so feel I need to upgrade.

The two subs that jump out at me at the minute are the XTZ 12.17 (£599) and the Elac S12EQ (£540). When I was in the market for my sub last time, REL Quake was the one to go for so I’ve a soft spot for an REL branded sub also!

So I’ve compared a few specs of these subs against my Yamaha, and to me, on Paper, the lower the frequency response the better? So my current Yamaha has a low frequency response of 20hz, I appreciate this will be +/- a nominated number though.

So looking at the two subs listed above the Elac has a low frequency response of 25hz and the XTZ 19hz when ported.

With this in mind, in my head, the noise produced by all three of these subs low end (deep bass) will be of a similar nature? Is it going to be worth upgrading? Are the benefits felt elsehwere? I fail to see how sub technology has not moved on in the last 15 years enough that it wouldn’t be a noticeable difference, but what other specs should I be looking at here?

Any advice, direction or suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is up to £700, however, it is purely a frivolous purchase, so it would need to be special to warrant the full budget.

See the Yamaha specs more carefully! 20 - 160 Hz (-10 dB). Also the wattage is dynamic power, not RMS which might be ~100w as XTZ`s class-d amp has 500w RMS figure. Add larger cabinet and larger driver to this and it will be quite different experience!

I tried to google little bit of the Yamaha and found good writing. I think nobody could said it better than this guy. It should be quite clear that XTZ is miles better than your Yammy;

Typically manufactures list a -3db point for the subwoofers frequency response. This simply means the output is within 3db of a designated sound pressure level. Listing a response of -10 allows them to show a much lower response and confuses some to think it will dig deeper than it actually does. At 20hz it would maybe play as loud as your farts as it would be 10db lower than the rest of the range. The usable frequency range you could hear would most likely start at 40hz and up. This means your missing a lot of material from movies and a little from music as well. It would be in your best interest to find a sub with a -3 db point of 20hz.

Actually the Elac sub is quite fine what i remember from many reviews and measurements. But the XTZ is just better for movies especially! Much more tweakable and proven performance! Elac has phone app subwoofer eq, but your avr might have sub eq too!

From BK you would look Monolith Plus (490£ + delivery grade b) for similar performance. It`s not small cabinet!
BK Electronics Monolith Plus -FF in Black | eBay

Monolith Plus -FF
Monolith-DF Plus
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Jobs done, 12.17 ordered

congrats on your purchase, you won't be disappointed. Do update us your thoughts once you have received it and set it up
 
Wow! Yea the 12.17 has made a massive difference! Such a controlled sound. Makes me aware of how I had my previous Yamaha sub set up wrong. The 12.17 can really hold the deep bass!
Totally worth every penny
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom