# Which sub?



## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

Lately, I've started loosing access to my main system in the basement as this space is shared with my wife's sewing area and she likes to watch certain shows that I dislike and visa versa. We agree on what to watch most of the time but sometimes it doesnt work. Thats just life. My secondary system is being used by my daughter and her b/f. On to plan C.

I have a pair of PSB Alpha Mites and a Yamaha RX-V1500 that were doing nothing. Since I already have a display, a bluray player and a cable box in that room, I decided to bring up the mites and the AVR and connect into what is currently there. The Mites are good and articulate, far better than the Visio TV speakers so I'm now on the hunt for a used sub. I'm not buying new and I have to keep the purchases local. Luckily for me, there is a guy that Ive puchased speakers from him before, the Mites and C100 center channel. 

I'm buying a used sub locally here in Ottawa and I've narrowed it down to the following 4 subs due to size constraints in where I plan to put it. a) PSB Alpha (8" front ported) , b) Nuance S-100 ( 10" dual ported down firing), c) Athena (8" down firing) sub, and d) Energy XL-S8 (8" ported in the back).

I;ve narrowed my choices down to the following two, Nuance and Energy.

Nuance which was a Canadian company that doesn't exist as a company anymore. There was a lot of controversey as people thought it was a white van company. It wasn't. It had a half backwards sales structure, a next to useless web site and its products were overpriced. This sub I can get get for $150 ball park. Its very difficult to find information about this unit as well.

The Energy I can pick up for $85. Its claimed advertised frequency response is down to 29 to 100 Hz but I think I will run into problems integrating this sub with the Alpha mites as their -3db point is a relatively high 72Hz. Energy subs like their Mirage counterparts were underated in their capabilities and IHO built better subs than PSB.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

3dbinCanada said:


> Nuance which _*was*_ a Canadian company that doesn't exist as a company anymore. There was a lot of controversey as people thought it was a white van company. It wasn't. It had a half backwards sales structure, a next to useless web site and its products were overpriced. This sub I can get get for $150 ball park. Its very difficult to find information about this unit as well.
> 
> The Energy I can pick up for $85. Its claimed advertised frequency response is down to 29 to 100 Hz but I think I will run into problems integrating this sub with the Alpha mites as their -3db point is a relatively high 72Hz. Energy subs like their Mirage counterparts were underated in their capabilities and IHO built better subs than PSB.


The word in bold above would sway me to the Energy sub. If the manufacturer is gone it's like buying a dead-end product, something I'm not comfortable doing. You may feel otherwise though.

The Mites are unlikely to have much output below 80Hz, so unless you listen at low volumes you may want to cross them at 90Hz instead. If so, your subwoofer becomes more critical as it will start to get into the male voice range. Things tend to sound 'chesty' once the crossover starts to climb, at least to my ears anyway. If the XL-S8 truly can get to 100Hz then an 80-90Hz crossover point should be fine.


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

I've dropped the idea of the Nuance sub. How would you rate the Energy against a Klipsch KSW-10?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

At one point in time Energy made some pretty nice subwoofers and the XL-S8 was around during that era, so it may be one of them. You aren't going to get much thump out of it but might still be worth considering. One thing you should also consider is moving those speakers forward a bit. Having speakers backed up against a wall like that is bad for SQ, and so too is having them positioned that far from the front edge of the cabinet. The latter will cause some harsh boundary reflections, making the combination a really compromised placement.


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

theJman said:


> At one point in time Energy made some pretty nice subwoofers and the XL-S8 was around during that era, so it may be one of them. You aren't g
> *Measured Specifications*
> 
> 
> ...


The speakers were put in that position to break in my wife's acceptance of having another stereo configuration in the first place. When using them, I will move them forward to the front of the dresser and moving them back when not in use.

From your not mentioning the Klipsch, I take it your not impressed with it. :rofl2:. I'm also scoping out a Paradigm PDR10 as well. I do agree that Energy did nake some nice subs before Klipsvh gutted the company.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

The PDR10 could be another good option, but be careful as it may be a dozen years (or more) old. You might be buying something with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel... :scratchchin:


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

I'm making arrangements tonight to see the Energy. If I like it, I will pick it up. I'm thinking a PDR10 is in the same age class as Energy.


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

I picked up an Energy XL-S8 last night and neatly fits into the place. I will post pics later. 
I didn't have time to dial it in properly. I went through the AVR menu and set the speakers to small, bass through sub only, set the crossover to 80Hz and turned the crossover on the sub to its highest level. Unfortunately that's as far as I got before I got called away.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Congrats. I hope it works out.


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

I got it dialed in this weekend and it sounds good. Its not a Rythmik but it sounds pretty good.


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