Decent cheap subwoofer for MMGs?

[Mike Anderson]

I recently took shipment of a pair of MMGs; they sound immaculate and I love 'em, but I would like to supplement the bass end of things.

Anyone have any recommendations for a subwoofer? Obviously I went with the MMGs because I don't have thousands to spend, so I'm looking for something pretty cheap (e.g. a few hundred dollars).

Is this reasonable, or am I just going to muck up the pristine sound of the MMGs?

I see Kilpsch makes some home theatre-oriented subwoofers for <$400, will these work OK for a two-channel musical setup?

(My amp is a Musical Fidelity A3.2 if that makes any difference.)

Thanks for any advice,
Mike

[GMichael]

I recently took shipment of a pair of MMGs; they sound immaculate and I love 'em, but I would like to supplement the bass end of things.

Anyone have any recommendations for a subwoofer? Obviously I went with the MMGs because I don't have thousands to spend, so I'm looking for something pretty cheap (e.g. a few hundred dollars).

Is this reasonable, or am I just going to muck up the pristine sound of the MMGs?

I see Kilpsch makes some home theatre-oriented subwoofers for <$400, will these work OK for a two-channel musical setup?

(My amp is a Musical Fidelity A3.2 if that makes any difference.)

Thanks for any advice,
Mike

There are many to choose from on this site. http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....WebPage_ID=259

[Mike Anderson]

After looking around, I see I probably want something like one of the Dayton Titanic kits? Anybody used these with MMGs?

I should add that my room is about 20' by 15'.

Thanks again,
Mike

[GMichael]

After looking around, I see I probably want something like one of the Dayton Titanic kits? Anybody used these with MMGs?

I should add that my room is about 20' by 15'.

Thanks again,
Mike

These are very popular. The 12 is good for that size. But the 10 may be enough if you are more into music than HT.

[Woochifer]

With the MMGs, I might lean more towards a sealed subwoofer because of their inherently quicker transients and because the MMGs probably won't take advantage of the higher output that a ported sub will give you. In your price category, you should look at sealed options such as the Acoustic Visions MRS-10 (it has about the same measured output as the 12" Adire Audio Rava), Martin Logan Dynamo, B&W ASW600, Atlantic Technology 212 SB, and the Rocket ULW-10.

I have an Adire Rava, which is a $400 12" sealed sub. I would recommend it for your consideration, but at the moment the Rava is unavailable. The new Rava II promises to be much improved, but it will have a new list price of $800, which is out of you range. The Titanic kits are available I believe in both sealed and ported configurations.

The ported Klipsch home theater subs are generally a good value, but sealed subs are often considered more "musical" sounding in general and work better with smaller rooms. Your room is just about at the size at which ported subs start to work well with the room, anything smaller and a sealed sub would almost certainly blend in better.

[GMichael]

Have you looked at the Drake from Parts Express? I believe it's a sealed box.

http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...ake/index.html

[Woochifer]

Have you looked at the Drake from Parts Express? I believe it's a sealed box.

http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...ake/index.html

Lookswise, it seems to take aim at the B&W ASW650, which is also a 12" sealed sub that lists for $700. I priced out the Drake, and it comes out to $570 for just the parts, but it seems that the parts used in that DIY sub are higher spec than what B&W's using.

A more interesting comparison would be with the Adire Audio Rava II, if and when it finally comes out. That sub will have a list price of $800 (which might mean street prices somewhere around $600-$700), and on paper, it's supposed to extend down to 20 Hz, which would be lower than every other sealed sub in that price class, including the Dayton kits. Until that model comes out, we won't know for sure. Adire's track record is pretty good, but they've taken a LONG time to retool their product lineup so I've been reluctant to recommend the Rava until the new model is actually available (the Rava's been out of production for over a year, and they haven't had any new DIY drivers in their inventory since the beginning of the year).

[GMichael]

Lookswise, it seems to take aim at the B&W ASW650, which is also a 12" sealed sub that lists for $700. I priced out the Drake, and it comes out to $570 for just the parts, but it seems that the parts used in that DIY sub are higher spec than what B&W's using.

A more interesting comparison would be with the Adire Audio Rava II, if and when it finally comes out. That sub will have a list price of $800 (which might mean street prices somewhere around $600-$700), and on paper, it's supposed to extend down to 20 Hz, which would be lower than every other sealed sub in that price class, including the Dayton kits. Until that model comes out, we won't know for sure. Adire's track record is pretty good, but they've taken a LONG time to retool their product lineup so I've been reluctant to recommend the Rava until the new model is actually available (the Rava's been out of production for over a year, and they haven't had any new DIY drivers in their inventory since the beginning of the year).

Cool, any idea when it will be out?

[Woochifer]

Cool, any idea when it will be out?

They first posted the specs on the Rava II and their revamped DIY driver lineup back in May, and thus far, none of the announced items have begun shipping yet. I wouldn't even begin to guess when they'll actually become available. The only products that Adire has actually shipped since they revamped their entire product lineup last year are the Exodus LCR speaker kits (which are purported to sound incredible for the price).

The NEW Adire Rava MKII subwoofer ...

[Mike Anderson]

Excellent, thanks for the help.

Also, if anyone sees any good used deals, I'd be much obliged if you can post a link.

[Mike Anderson]

After further research, I think I'll go with the Dayton Titanic 10" kit (sealed), unless someone can point me to a used Adire Rava. These seem hard to come by.

Thanks,
Mike

[DcnBlu]

Before you pick, try out the Velodyne CHT series. Both the 10" and the 12" are excellent subs that pay great attention to detail in their design. I use the CHT-12 set at ~50hz. The base is full-bodied and does not linger. Go ahead, give them a test run before you decide.