"Musical" subwoofers? Advice please on comparing JL subs


I'm ready to be taught and I'm ready to be schooled. I've never owned a subwoofer and I'm not so hot with the physics of acoustics. I've had my eye on two 10" JL Audio subwoofers, the e110 ($1600) and the f110v2 ($3500). I hope this is a simple question: will the f110v2 be more "musical" than the e110?

Perhaps unnecessary details: I'm leaning into small bookshelf speakers, mini monitors with limited bass, for near-field listening in a small room. I don't want to rock the casbah and rattle the windows; I want to enhance the frequency range from roughly 28hZ to perhaps 90 or 100hZ: the lower notes of the piano, cello, bassoon, double bass, etc. I think I'm asking: will one of those subwoofers produce a more "musical" timbre in that range? Is spending the extra $2000 worth it in terms of acoustic warmth and pleasure? More generally, are some subs more musical than others? Or is that range just too low for the human ear to discern critically? 

I know there are a lot of variables and perhaps my question can't be answered in isolation. If it helps, let's put to the side topics such as room treatments, DSP and DARO, debates about multiple subs, debates about using subwoofers at all, and the difficulties of integration. Let's assume a fast main speaker with limited bass. I'm not going to put a 12" sub in the room. While I'm not going to put four subs in the small room, I would strongly consider putting in two, and it would of course be much more economical to put in two e110s. This, though, would only lead to the same question now doubled: would two f110v2 subs sound more musical than two e110s? Also, I'm sure there are other fine subs out there but I'm not looking for recommendations; if it helps to extrapolate, consider the REL S/510 and T/5i. 

I realize that I may be wildly off with all this, and I know that the best way to find out is to try them out. I'm not at that point yet. I'm simply curious about the "musicality" of different subwoofers. 
northman

Showing 7 responses by erik_squires

EQ alone is better than no EQ if it's removing big peaks. This lets the overall sub volume come up.

EQ + optimal placement + bass traps = Glory

I may have mentioned this before, but if your room is rectangular, basic, consider the Room EQ Wizard room simulator as a less back-breaking alternative to locating ideal subwoofer location.
If you are adding a powered subwoofer, you have just added a big messy tone control. Like it or not.  The idea of signal purity has gone right out the window. 

:-)

Merry Christmas

The F110 does a fantastic job of EQing the room from the listening space.



<< sigh >> yeah. I sigh because I love the results of the JL auto-calibration/correction system, but the price premium is a big step up. Still, much cheaper than switching to floor-standing speakers which won’t integrate with the room as well.

I recommend JL Audio subs a lot, but with fear about the cost, but there’s a reason for it.

If you are either very experienced with room measurements or have another way to achieve room calibration like through an ARC equipped miniDSP or Anthem pre/integrated you can achieve very similar results with far less expensive subs from Hsu or SVS.
You are welcome, @diamonddupree

Yeah, you probably cut the power the amps make, and speakers try to play, by 70%.  It is going to be very very hard for you to switch to a floor standing speaker now. :)

Best,

E
Hey @diamonddupree

How do you feel about the dynamic range of your system now that the high pass filter is in?  Have your worries been addressed?

Erik
You know it is blasphemy to say, but I have a couple of SVS subs, one next to each speaker, and I have once before written that for some reason I have not had the problems others have making them sound right to my ears.

Not blasphemy to me, but not the path I’d recommend everyone try first.


The problems that you run into getting very deep bass is that too much is up to chance and circumstance. Open floor plans, good speaker/listener position, and otherwise naturally good acoustics contribute.

I will say though that I’ve heard many subs be configured so they are inoffensive, without being fantastic. I fell into this trap myself for a while I was satisfied with what I had and thought it was the best I could do without brand shuffling.


Which one are you? I don’t know. You could have gotten super lucky, you might have settled. Lets be grateful for these lucky situations when they happen.

Hi!

I published a blog with a lot of background information on how to get subs to sound right. If you don’t have a lot of experience, go with the JL Audio, the automatic calibration is priceless.
https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-not-buy-subwoofer.html

Best,Erik