# Different subs?



## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

I had a question, how do I know how good a sub is?

I dont have much experience with many subs, in fact I have only used 3 in my own set-up.

I have heard other ones, but cant get the same comparison due to different rooms and speakers.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Frequency response and db output at its lowest rated frequency response is what you need to look for. A sub that only goes down to 30Hz is just starting to get into the frequencies that really hit you during movies.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

First we need to define "What a good sub is" for you, What do you expect from the sub???....

For example, I thought that my two subs (Velodyne VRP 1000 and Infinity TSS 750 150RMS and FR 35Hz-150Hz) were good to me ...until I went DIY and build a Sonosub (850RMS 15Hz-150Hz)with the help of some members from HTS :T; I still think they're good to start the HT experience, but not for me anymore... 

I agree with Tony, most subs that has a FR from 20Hz and at least 300RMS can be considered good subs, specially if is a know brand name :yes:


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## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

Alright, alright.

Well, when i got an email from one of the tech guys from SVS, he was saying that the numbers arent all thats important when picking a sub. 

Here's his response to my email a couple months ago;


> Just a preemptive comment regarding your below questions: It is a difficult to estimate a subwoofer’s performance by studying variables like amp power and woofer size/stroke in isolation. We prefer to simply show you what the subwoofer is capable of as a system, with respect to frequency response, maximum clean output, compression and distortion – because those are the things which really matter to the end user. The performance is a complex interaction of woofer, amp, cabinet volume, port size, and system tuning frequency. Few subwoofers have this kind of performance (as measured outdoors at 2 meters) at any price, much less the very affordable MSRP of the Ultra. The Ultra has more clean output at 20 Hz than the $10,000 Genelec HTS-6 for example.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

the_rookie said:


> Well, when i got an email from one of the tech guys from SVS, he was saying that the numbers arent all thats important when picking a sub.


That's true ..."The numbers are the starting point to make a decision to buy the subwoofer" :yes:

What he said in the email about woofer size, port size, frequency response, maximum clean output, compression and distortion etc. is also true, but the question is: Do all companies publish this information??? ...Will the subwoofer perform the same in your room??? ...Will you be happy with the performance??? ...there's a lot of variables to say that everybody will be happy with the same sub. :yes:

Like I said before, give the Velodyne VRP1000 to somebody who has no sub or has been using an HTIB and I bet you they'll be happy ...but, give the same sub to somebody who uses a bigger sub (either brand name or DIY) and I'm sure they will not like the performance, the subs is like anything else; when you move up the ladder you don't want to go back down :bigsmile:.


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