Which BK Electronics Sub to go for?

[gingerone]

If you listen loud then possible port noise would be annoying. There is comparison between these two at AVSForum (US) somewhere, the Monoprice didn`t make noise where as SVS did when "torture tested". Also many reporting the Monoliths sound unique, different than most brands which is one reason why they so popular.

SVS does have better support/service. Number one reason why people swap the PB1000 seems to be most cases the lack of mid-bass if you look around real world reports. So i think both models are quite similar in that way, however they really excell with the deep stuff.

Given that the op has a similar room to mine and I can’t really listen beyond -10 I can’t imagine it being tortured to the point where port noise is audible in normal usage.
I’ve listened to war of the worlds on blu ray at -10 which was absolutely insane volume levels and there was no audible port noise.
That film goes real low with loads of bass as well.
In a bigger room it may be more obvious though.

 

[BoutTime]

Given that the op has a similar room to mine and I can’t really listen beyond -10 I can’t imagine it being tortured to the point where port noise is audible in normal usage.
I’ve listened to war of the worlds on blu ray at -10 which was absolutely insane volume levels and there was no audible port noise.
That film goes real low with loads of bass as well.
In a bigger room it may be more obvious though.

Just on this, will the sofa being in front of the sub port make any difference? My current SW150 is ported to the floor.

 

[Gasp3621]

Given that the op has a similar room to mine and I can’t really listen beyond -10 I can’t imagine it being tortured to the point where port noise is audible in normal usage.
I’ve listened to war of the worlds on blu ray at -10 which was absolutely insane volume levels and there was no audible port noise.
That film goes real low with loads of bass as well.
In a bigger room it may be more obvious though.

You should be able to get audible port noise if pushing loud enough.


Anyway here is one long time member at AVSF who owns 9 different subs. Few comments:

I have a pair of both the Monolith THX Select 10 and PB-1000. Both are good subs in small/medium sized rooms, but the Monolith is the better overall sub in both build quality and performance. The Monolith 10 is most comparable to the PB12-NSD from my experience.

I have both the Monolith 10 and SVS PB-1000 and they are terrific subs. Neither is going to fill a large room, nor will they really have the impact of larger subs. I got the PB-1000 for around $360 open-box/like new and for that price it's a great little sub. I do think the Monolith 10 is better, with what I call the "signature" Monolith sound. The Monolith subs just play incredibly clean and have a little different sound than most other ported subs.

Then there is other member who did comparison of these two:

Monolith seemed to have a smoother sound and definitely had less cabinet resonance. During the scenes with the flying cars there are lots of great low sweeps and rumbles that really give the subs a workout. With things cranked up the SVS got a little bit of port chuffing, which I got none of from the Monolith. Also, the PB-1000 had definite cabinet resonance that stood out, where the Monolith was nicely damped and uncolored. When Wallace's forces attack the hotel, and later when K chases down the cars carrying Deckard, both of the subs shook the room nicely and pressurized just a tiny bit, but the Monolith seemed tighter, less boxy sounding, and more composed.

Neither kick you in the chest during gunshots or other loud fast transients but they both have a satisfying thump to them that bumps the walls.

Longer story here with pictures (typo in the headline)

Monolith 10 THX vs SB-1000 Subjective Comparison

Monoprice Monolith 10 THX vs SVS PB-1000 Subjective Comparison I have been building a new theater room and trying to pick a sub. I can only afford one sub in the $500 realm right and it's been a challenge to decide. My room is ~2600 ft^3, carpet and drywall, square-ish. I have been using an SVS...

www.avsforum.com

@BoutTime keep in mind the Mono 10 price should be ~425£ - SVS 450£. Week ago i said one member to ask it via email and he got the -15% discount code so it should be possible.

 

[NewAcousticDimension]

The other thing to be mindful of with some of the BK sub models is that they drop off in the upper range at a lower frequency than many other manufacturer's models.

E.g. some of the BK's will achieve up to not much more than 120Hz in the upper range. Most SVS and Monolith that I'm aware of will see FR for quite a way above this.

This offers the advantage when setting crossovers (for example a lot of height speakers that may only see decent FR down to 150Hz), giving more flexibility in the longer term.

As you probably know, setting crossovers isn't just about what a speaker can do according to the manufacturer's figures, it's about what it does in the room. If you have a speaker the comfortably goes down to 55Hz, it's seem an 80Hz crossover is great, but not if that speaker measures a big null at MLP around 90Hz which the subwoofer or subwoofers don't.

I'm not sure how open BK are about which models do and don't do this. I know from scouting around AVF that I've seem BK Mono models don't do it, so they achieve quite high frequencies.

 

[gingerone]

You should be able to get audible port noise if pushing loud enough.


Anyway here is one long time member at AVSF who owns 9 different subs. Few comments:

I have a pair of both the Monolith THX Select 10 and PB-1000. Both are good subs in small/medium sized rooms, but the Monolith is the better overall sub in both build quality and performance. The Monolith 10 is most comparable to the PB12-NSD from my experience.

I have both the Monolith 10 and SVS PB-1000 and they are terrific subs. Neither is going to fill a large room, nor will they really have the impact of larger subs. I got the PB-1000 for around $360 open-box/like new and for that price it's a great little sub. I do think the Monolith 10 is better, with what I call the "signature" Monolith sound. The Monolith subs just play incredibly clean and have a little different sound than most other ported subs.

Then there is other member who did comparison of these two:

Monolith seemed to have a smoother sound and definitely had less cabinet resonance. During the scenes with the flying cars there are lots of great low sweeps and rumbles that really give the subs a workout. With things cranked up the SVS got a little bit of port chuffing, which I got none of from the Monolith. Also, the PB-1000 had definite cabinet resonance that stood out, where the Monolith was nicely damped and uncolored. When Wallace's forces attack the hotel, and later when K chases down the cars carrying Deckard, both of the subs shook the room nicely and pressurized just a tiny bit, but the Monolith seemed tighter, less boxy sounding, and more composed.

Neither kick you in the chest during gunshots or other loud fast transients but they both have a satisfying thump to them that bumps the walls.

Longer story here with pictures (typo in the headline)

Monolith 10 THX vs SB-1000 Subjective Comparison

Monoprice Monolith 10 THX vs SVS PB-1000 Subjective Comparison I have been building a new theater room and trying to pick a sub. I can only afford one sub in the $500 realm right and it's been a challenge to decide. My room is ~2600 ft^3, carpet and drywall, square-ish. I have been using an SVS...

www.avsforum.com

@BoutTime keep in mind the Mono 10 price should be ~425£ - SVS 450£. Week ago i said one member to ask it via email and he got the -15% discount code so it should be possible.

I’m sure you are right and it’s probably easy enough to do but I’m just pointing out that in a room that size you will probably need to be pushing it over the top on purpose to notice the port noise.

 

[gingerone]

You should be able to get audible port noise if pushing loud enough.


Anyway here is one long time member at AVSF who owns 9 different subs. Few comments:

I have a pair of both the Monolith THX Select 10 and PB-1000. Both are good subs in small/medium sized rooms, but the Monolith is the better overall sub in both build quality and performance. The Monolith 10 is most comparable to the PB12-NSD from my experience.

I have both the Monolith 10 and SVS PB-1000 and they are terrific subs. Neither is going to fill a large room, nor will they really have the impact of larger subs. I got the PB-1000 for around $360 open-box/like new and for that price it's a great little sub. I do think the Monolith 10 is better, with what I call the "signature" Monolith sound. The Monolith subs just play incredibly clean and have a little different sound than most other ported subs.

Then there is other member who did comparison of these two:

Monolith seemed to have a smoother sound and definitely had less cabinet resonance. During the scenes with the flying cars there are lots of great low sweeps and rumbles that really give the subs a workout. With things cranked up the SVS got a little bit of port chuffing, which I got none of from the Monolith. Also, the PB-1000 had definite cabinet resonance that stood out, where the Monolith was nicely damped and uncolored. When Wallace's forces attack the hotel, and later when K chases down the cars carrying Deckard, both of the subs shook the room nicely and pressurized just a tiny bit, but the Monolith seemed tighter, less boxy sounding, and more composed.

Neither kick you in the chest during gunshots or other loud fast transients but they both have a satisfying thump to them that bumps the walls.

Longer story here with pictures (typo in the headline)

Monolith 10 THX vs SB-1000 Subjective Comparison

Monoprice Monolith 10 THX vs SVS PB-1000 Subjective Comparison I have been building a new theater room and trying to pick a sub. I can only afford one sub in the $500 realm right and it's been a challenge to decide. My room is ~2600 ft^3, carpet and drywall, square-ish. I have been using an SVS...

www.avsforum.com

@BoutTime keep in mind the Mono 10 price should be ~425£ - SVS 450£. Week ago i said one member to ask it via email and he got the -15% discount code so it should be possible.

The mono with the 15% discount code seems like a no brainer

 

[BoutTime]

Still no reply from Monoprice after emailing them yesterday morning. I think price will be the deciding factor as from everything I've read and watched suggests I'd be happy with either. Topcashback gives 5.46% cashback on Monoprice but it's not enough to get below the PB-1000 and nowhere near £425.
I appreciate all the advice received on here. A very helpful forum. Thanks.

 

[BoutTime]

All done. Just ordered a PB-1000 for delivery this week.

 

[Mr Wolf]

Great, I'm sure you'll love it - that's a huge upgrade over a SW150, possibly even more than you're expecting.

Let us know what you think of it when it's all set up and running.

 

[BoutTime]

Great, I'm sure you'll love it - that's a huge upgrade over a SW150, possibly even more than you're expecting.

Let us know what you think of it when it's all set up and running.

I'm hoping so and I'll be sure to feedback my thoughts during the week. Thanks again for your help.

 

[BoutTime]

For anyone contemplating the Monolith, Monoprice did get back to me this morning with a 15% discount that can be used on THX V1/V2 subs.

 

[Gasp3621]

For anyone contemplating the Monolith, Monoprice did get back to me this morning with a 15% discount that can be used on THX V1/V2 subs.

Too late to cancel SVS order?

 

[BoutTime]

Too late to cancel SVS order?

Trust me there was some further deliberations this morning. I was going to call Av.com and cancel but I haven't bothered. I think (read: hope) it would be easier dealing with AV.com and SVS if there are any issues.
I may or may not have made the correct decision but I can't know for sure as I've heard neither of them myself. There might have been a bit of buyer's remorse whichever one I chose.
I'm overseas next Monday too with work so the Mono probably wouldn't have arrived before then.

 

[BoutTime]

OK so cancelled the SVS and ordered the Monolith 10. That's it now. Final decision made.

I have to say that AV.com were great when I called them.

 

[b1g1an]

I'm hoping so and I'll be sure to feedback my thoughts during the week. Thanks again for your help.

If you thought the SW150 was OK you are in for a far more pleasant surprise than you're expecting as it is a truly awful sub. Best description of it would be a very large version of one of those tiny subs you get with computer speakers.

I had one for a few weeks to replace an on paper very similar spec Paradigm PDR-10 that died and couldn't believe how poor it was in comparison. Replaced that with a BK P12-300SB and was blown away, literally.

Bear in mind it will probably need to run in so don't be put off if it isn't what you expect out of the box.

 

[bizzlebazzle]

For anyone contemplating the Monolith, Monoprice did get back to me this morning with a 15% discount that can be used on THX V1/V2 subs.

Not to derail this thread but out of interest, what did you email them that resulted in them sending you the discount code? I am contemplating a Monolith 12" but wasn't planning on ordering for a month or so! Welcome to PM me if you'd rather. Cheers

 

[BoutTime]

Not to derail this thread but out of interest, what did you email them that resulted in them sending you the discount code? I am contemplating a Monolith 12" but wasn't planning on ordering for a month or so! Welcome to PM me if you'd rather. Cheers

I basically explained that I'd reached out to avforums.com for advice on a BK Electronics Subwoofer but was now making decision between an SVS and Monolith 10. I went on to ask if they are able to provide a discount to forum members on the Monolith 10 (V1)? Or if there are any deals coming up in the near future?

They kindly responded (after a nudge from me) with a 15% discount code that can be used on V1/V2 Monolith Subwoofers only and was valid for two weeks.

 

[rccarguy2]

I basically explained that I'd reached out to avforums.com for advice on a BK Electronics Subwoofer but was now making decision between an SVS and Monolith 10. I went on to ask if they are able to provide a discount to forum members on the Monolith 10 (V1)? Or if there are any deals coming up in the near future?

They kindly responded (after a nudge from me) with a 15% discount code that can be used on V1/V2 Monolith Subwoofers only and was valid for two weeks.

Bk certainly nicer looking do furniture grade finish rather than vinyl and spray painted, also quite a few models, and FF and DF varients. Plus made in the UK.

 

[BoutTime]

Just to close this off my Monolith 10 arrived earlier. Just wanted to say thanks again for everyone's contributions. After unwrapping the Monolith I decided there and then that even if it didn't work I'd keep it and use it as a coffee table. And should the conflict in Europe escalate I'll use it as a bomb shelter. Cheers all. I'll post any further thoughts I have over on the Monolith thread.

 

[gingerone]

I'm hoping so and I'll be sure to feedback my thoughts during the week. Thanks again for your help.

It’s going to blow your mind

 

[rccarguy2]

I've asked for Double Gem with the higher quality driver, do they reply?

 

[rccarguy2]

Bk can't make double gem xls10.


Choice of xls200 or double gem. Guess better driver on xls200 is wiser choice as don't need output of two (lower quality)