Best MUSICAL subwoofer for Maxx 2's quality sound?

The Wilson Watch Dog or any Wilson sub of course matches perfectly. The speed of my Watch Dog II and the impressive crossover allows for seamless matching. If you are using a sub on the Maxx's I would try running the crossover in the 40hz for music. The Wilson sub can have to different inputs and setting for Music and one for Hometheater so you can get your LFE on.

I've owned the Velodyne DD15 and it was too slow and my JLaudio F113 puts out a lot of boom but is not as articulate with notes as the Wilson Sub is. Both work fine for LFE.

If you like to play it loud buy some www.realtrap.com Mondo traps and stick those in your room corners and you will be amazed at how your bass attack cleans up and tightens. If found when listening loud that the room needs to be able to absorb that kind of bass or it just echos and smears.

I agree with Cytocycle - it is best to stick to the same manufacturer for sub and main speakers - that is what I have done and no regrets.

read robert harley's review of the JL audio f113 used in stereo pair with the wilson maxx --jl web site should have this review --always a difficult dec on which way is best --good luck--rich

Ican't find EITHER of the two above mentioned references by Bob and Ras. Any help?

Excuse me, but I have to ask. You have $50k ($28k used) speakers AND THEY NEED A SUB?

I do not understand some things, and people, for sure.

Rnm4: It doesn't matter how full range a speaker is when placed ideally for imaging (away from walls) you can lose bass reinforcement. You can also end up with the main speakers in a bass null related to the seating position. So using actively crossed over subwoofers in the best location (to prevent nulls or peaks) for subwoofers you can achieve an ideal balance.

For what its worth I wonder that the issue with base may not be a function of your amplifier. The Mac 1201, while a great amp, has if I recall an autotransformer. A chap I know has the exact same set up and complained to me about not having enough base. Though i am not terribly knowledgable about this, I spoke with a friend of mine who is very familiar with the area and he was concerned that the amp would not work well with the type of load a maxx 2 presents. This is not said to stir up angst or anger but just an observation. The maxx 2 are great by the way. Good luck

Cytocycle,

Yes, of course that can happen. But I'd have to say that that's just poor room/speaker match. In that price range, one can afford the right speaker for the room, or even to build the right room for the speaker. He's already paid for bass -- of extraordinarily high quality and for huge $. To add a sub to an already full range speaker, diddling with crossovers, "reinforcing" what's not working right, is throwing money and compromise at a problem that should be addressed at its root.

Anyway, just saying "away from walls" won't explain why he lacks bass. Of course imaging is best away from walls, and $50k Wilsons are built to have great bass where they image best (I have to assume). So either his speakers are set up not just away from walls but in a particularly poor spot for bass -- in which case either move 'em to somewhere else away from walls, or they really are irremediably mismatched with the room -- or the problem is the amp/speaker combo, as Gajgmusic suggests (that's my bet).

Rmm4--read robert harleys article on the jl113 with the maxx in absolute sound--it may help clarify a few things

Ras422: Quote from March 2007 Review in Absolute Sound
http://www.avguide.com/products/product-3851/ if you have an account to download the PDF article or see below for the quote.

"So I added the Fathom to the mighty
Wilson MAXX 2 loudspeakers, crossing
the system over at 50Hz. In effect, the
Fathom replaced the Wilson’s bass below
50 cycles. This was a different kind of
torture test for a subwoofer; the MAXX 2
has an extraordinary bottom end in every
respect: dynamic coherence, transient
fidelity, extension, ability to play loudly
without strain, and resolution of bass
detail. Nonetheless, adding the Fathom
didn’t degrade the MAXX 2’s bottom end
and even extended the system’s response
in the very lowest registers (kick drum and
pipe organ territory). I was also able to
achieve a continuous transition between
the MAXX 2 and the Fathom; the bottomend
sounded “of a piece,” rather than as
if a weight were dragging down the rest
of the spectrum. I also ran the MAXX 2s
full-range, with the Fathom coming in at
30Hz with the steepest possible low-pass
roll-off (24dB/octave)."

It should be remembered that bass, especially low bass, is felt as a pressure wave. While the Maxx 2 certainly has state-of-the-art bass, the use of a subwoofer with a low pass point of 30-40 Hz will reinforce the Maxx 2 bass by pressurizing and de-pressurizing the room. I have a small room and used a JL Audio F113 sub with great effect even with my previous Watt Puppy 7's running full range.

My Maxx 2's aren't deficient in bass. I actually run them full-spectrum without any crossovers. The MX-5000 subwoofer also receives a full spectrum signal from my preamplifier (both channels) and I then use the cutoff on the sub to provide only 45 Hz and below, and also control the level by using the subwoofer amplifier gain.

I want another sub (matching) to place in the null along the front wall of the listening room, and will run the subs as a stereo pair, just to even out the bass throughout the room and to provide more energy to that lowest spectrum so it does has physical impact.

Yes, this is mostly needed for organ music, kick drums...etc. With this setup there is no wishing for any more of anything sonically, and the power hungry low frequency notes are well-represented with over 800 watts of power JUST to the lower 45 Hz frequencies, keeping them truly musical, taught-feeling and physically felt.

The gentleman with the complaints about the Maxx 2's with the 1201's needs to take a look at his front-end components and interconnects for the culprit. This system's faults (if it is a fault) is that it represents anything you put into it accurately....garbage in= garbage out, including poor recordings. Try a Lyra Titan i cartridge into a Manley Steelhead preamp into the 1201'a through some Jenna Dreamdancer cables....then tell us about the "lack of synergy" and no bass.

oh..i want to do the same too