Best subwoofer under $1,500 for Magnepan 3.6R

I have a James EMB 1500 that I have had in storage for some time. Barely used. Did you end up getting the EMB 1000?

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question with so much detail and information, I really appreciate it.

My thanks to "Jallen" for recommending the James Loudspeaker EMB 1000. This looks like the way I will be going.

Has anyone else here ever used the James EMB series subs with Maggies?

Get the best JL audio you can afford. An F110 can be had easily for 1,500 used. If you are patient you could pick up a F112 for around $1,500 - you will not get more sub for the money than that.

The 3.6 will be even better with a James EMB 1000 in a small room, the EMB1500 in a mid-sized room, and the EMB 1500 in a large room. They do add to the 3.6 which may go down to 30hz, but it is probably rolled off 10dB. They sub crossed over at 40hz just gives a bit more weight and authority, and the Maggie can handle the midbass. Try it with an external Xover like the Marchand XM44 or 26. I tried the JL audio JL Audio subs too, and for the money, I preferred the James. The Jl are great, but pricey. I also tried the Mirage BPs400, a bit more suited for home theatre, and a little bit slow, tried Velodyne, too fat sounding and slow. They are reasonably priced too. I used it for music exclusively. Jallen

I've heard nothing but good things about Hsu research subs.
Sold factory direct I believe.
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15h.html
Also paradigm are pretty good but may cost a little more for ones that will reach deep down.
I use velodyne F1200r and love it, if you can find one in good shape,pull the trigger.

NONE! Properly setup, the 3.6 reaches down to 30 Hz.

No subwoofer mates coherently with panel speakers.

The flat reproduction of frequencies below 30 Hz is ALWAYS problematic with room interaction and standing waves.

There is very little musical info below 30Hz except for synthetic electronic and some organ music.

After all, the lowest note on a Fender bass is 40 Hz.

Save your money!

Hello Southern - I owned two of the Revel B12 subs and replaced them both with a Rythmik F15 sub and it was one of the best choices that I have made. The F15 made the Revels sound broken by comparison and was easy to dial in and fit perfectly with the 3.6's. YMMV, but you might want to look into them. http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F15.html

My own view in matching subs to my Maggie MMGs is that a sub controller is very helpful in achieving seamless integration (I use the Velodyne SMS-1) and probably more important than the choice of sub itself. Duke's observations re: smooth response and multiple subs comport with my own experience. So, I'd go the multi-sub route and use an RTRA (Velo, Audyssey, SVS, etc) to - at least- optimize the hand-off.

Using this type of device I got great results both with a pair of Velo SPLR 8s and with a pair of Rythmik 12s. Note: The Rythmiks are clearly much better performers, but both subs were satisfying in seamlessly extending the bottom end of the MMgs.

I also use the digital room correction feature in the SMS, which complicates the set-up. Not for everyone, but I get great results.

I'm using a Velodyne Optimum 8 with Aerial 5's. Integrates very well. Nice tight and fast.

Rel, the B2 can be had for your budget.

Buy a REL sub.

I have used an SVS Ultra as my sub for years now with my Maggie 3.6R's. I listen mostly to rock(Hendrix, Petty, Beatles) and find it fills my room with ample bass at a reasonable cost. I also own a JL F113 which I use in my Home theater, so I have experience with other subs. It is plenty 'fast' enough to handle all types of music in addition to rock, like jazz, classical and types I listen to. The only real drawback for me is the size of the cylinder(4 ft tall) which has a 14 inch footprint. I found the price from SVS sound competitive.

Happy Listening.

Rootman

TBI Magellan VI or Magellan VIII TBI Subwoofers

In an AES paper published some years ago, researcher James M. Kates showed that a dipole has smoother in-room bass than a monopole. Two dipole main speakers will have significantly smoother in-room bass than a single monopole sub, which can be frustrating because you can hear the discrepancy.

It seems to me that people who try a single sub with their Maggies eventually go back to using no sub roughly half the time. But people who try two subs are much more likely to keep the subs in their system. It's a matter of quality, not quantity. As a general principle, the in-room smoothness improves roughly in proportion to the number of bass sources spread around the room.

The word "smooth" doesn't sound very exciting as applied to bass, but that's where we get good pitch definition from (dipoles do this very wall, though they lack impact and "slam"). But lack of smoothness can make it hard to get satisfying low-end authority without boom or mud. You see, when the bass has significant peaks, we tend to set the level (loudness of the sub) based on those peaks, because they stick out like a sore thumb. So if we have a +6 dB peak, and we can only tolerate +3 dB, we set the level of the subwoofer -3 dB relative to the mains. However if, because of judicious use of multiple subs, our peaks are only +3 dB, then we can set the level of the subs equal to that of the mains, and have an overall more authoratitive, natural-sounding low end.

Imo, ime, ymmv, etc.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

I've also been considering the Revel Concerta B12 sub. Has anyone tried one of these with the MG 3.6R's?

What about the Velodyne Optimum-8 subwoofer? Has anyone had any success in marrying one of these subs to a pair of Magnepan MG 3.6R's?

I use the Rel 505 for my 3.7 also used it with my 3.6 they have one used on the gon right now in your price range works very wll with maggies.