Rythmik has a good reputation and is probably the best bang for the buck. Based on the measurement I would argue they are better than a lot of the completion regardless of price.
Rythmik Audio F12/F12-400 vs JL Audio E-Sub e112
Hello everyone! I am choosing a subwoofer mainly for listening to music in stereo. There are two candidates, as the title suggests. Now there is an opportunity to buy a JL at a discount, and the price of the Rythmik will be much more expensive than the official one due to shipping to Serbia from the USA + taxes. So it comes out to about the same. The listening room is about 25 sq.m with two wide passages to the kitchen and dining room of the same area. The musical genre is mainly metal, but also light music with my wife. Speakers - Buchardt S400 MKII. Listening at a medium volume level, shaking the floor is not necessary, but scale, depth, weighty lows and musicality are needed. Please help me make a choice.
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@damusicguy okay, looks like JL is not a best option. I would like to have Perlisten but they are too expensive for me now. Maybe if I could find 10" used, but no one sells them. |
I have a pair of JL E112 that I use in my 2 channel / home theater setup. I went with Jl because they have excellent aurthority for theater effects while maintaining the ability to be musical for 2 channel. If I was only going to use them for 2 channel, then I would have gone with a more musical subwoofer such as REL or Perlisten. I did have a "fuzzy noise"issue with one of my JL E112 which I had to send back to the factory two times for diagnosis and repair. They actually couldn't find the problem and eventually sent me a brand new replacement. That wouldn't be possibly out of the country. Although I'm very ahppy with my setup now, I'd pass on the JLs for your situation. |
Yeah @harpo75, the "regular" Rythmik (and GR Research) subs---like most (all?) others---will play up to little more than 100Hz. The woofers in the OB/dipole Sub are designed to work in "free air", and the Rythnik Audio plate amp included with the kit is modified specifically for dipole use, with a dipole cancellation compensation circuit. Since the woofer in the ET LFT-8 plays up to 170Hz, a "normal" sub (whether Rythmik, GR Research, or any other brand) cannot take the place of the LFT's dynamic driver, which is a woofer not a subwoofer. However, the Rythmik F8 (a pair of 8" drivers in a sealed enclosure)---which will play up to 250Hz---CAN be used in place of the stock LFT-8's woofer. But the F8 is priced higher than the OB kit, and appears to be nearing discontinuation anyway.
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Yes bdp24, I’ve looked at switching to OB several times but finances have always stopped me from moving forward on this. A pair of triple 12” (which is what I’d want) OB which a wood kit, etc is about twice as much as I paid for the Rythmik’s. At the time I purchased them I was still “in the business” and got a bit a discount. I have heard full OB systems and they are incredible! The most impressive system I’ve ever heard (and I was going to CES, in the business since the early 80’s) was a full OB system with dual subs consisting of four 12” drivers and the NX Ottica speakers. Driven by a custom made 50 wpc Nelson Pass style amp. It was just so clean and full sounding. Takes a lot to amaze me but I loved it! I know what I eventually want to build for a system but will be a long while. Will probably start with the triple OB subs first, sell my Rythmik’s and be happy for a while (until my wife forgets) then eventually get some OB full range sets. |
@harpo75: Excellent! Now consider using a pair of the Rythmik Audio/GR Research OB/Dipole Subs in place of the woofers in the ET LFT-8b! The OB Sub can play up to 300Hz (the ET's dynamic woofers are used up to 170Hz), and will turn the LFT-8b into a completely dipole loudspeaker. It's easy: just leave the stock woofers unconnected at the binding post terminals, and use the controls on the Rythmik A370 plate amp as your low-pass crossover filter..The OB sub contains either two or three (your choice) 12" woofers, and is a remarkable woofer system. You can use your F12's as well, for a DIY "swarm" low frequency system.
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@deep_333 for the price that DS1200/1000 sells for, there is also Martin Logan Dynamo 1100X, which I find very interesting because of Anthem room correction system it has. But they all are over budjet unfortunately. |
@iad They are both very refined subs (high quality drivers, etc), but the KC92 wouldn’t keep up with the DS1200’s output, of course. If your room’s not too big and listening levels are not that high, you can get away with the KEF. Personally, I would recommend the Varro DS1000 with the dual 10inch force balanced drivers for your Buchardt speakers and room size. Don’t be fooled that they are 10 inch drivers. It hits below 20 hz like a champion/gets you in the infrasonic zone, if needed. The Varro subs come with a very useful auto PEQ tool developed during Andrew Jones’ tenure that will try to match the sub’s nearfield response (i.e., before the room got in the picture) to your listening position. You still need to not put the sub in a decent location. But, it can help out guys with purist rigs or others who may not know how to integrate subs too well. |
About 5 years ago I bought a pair of F12 subs with the A370XLR2 amps. I use them with a pair of Eminent Technology LFT-8b speakers and am very happy with them. Hard to beat for the money for sure. If I had the money I’d of bought a pair of Rel’s bought would have cost me almost twice as much for what I wanted that would be comparable. Also, the nice thing on the Rythmik subs is all of the control you have. For instance, I have a dip in my room that I like to boost around the 20 to 25 Hz area. There is a, essentially single parametric equalizer that boost a frequency with. I don’t use the electronic crossover that’s in the rhythmics for my main speakers. I run the eminent technology speakers full range as I prefer that, and just bring the subwoofers in at a very low frequency and cross them over. Sounds phenomenal and really don’t even know they’re there until those low bass notes hit. |
@sounds_real_audio Hello! I have just bought a 300W amp (for 4 Ohms) but haven’t tried it yet, I have to change 110v to 230v first. I’m sure the sound will become better! @james633 Thank you for warning! I’ve never seen any reviews like that, everybody considers them to be elite subs. And of course I don’t want any problems and it will be difficult to me to send it back to manufacturer... @soix thanks for advice! @deep_333 DS1200 maybe is ok, I will read about it again, thank you. I’m not sure why, but I never considered Elac as a part of my system. Are you sure KC92 will work like 12"? |
If you were in Europe, you didn’t have good sub options 5 or 10 years ago. Now you do, you have some good options in the 1k to 3k range... Elac Varro DS1200 (dual opposed 12 inch) Elac Varro DS1000 (dual opposed 10 inch) Elac Varro RS700 Elac Varro RS500 KEF KC92 (dual opposed 9in) KEF KC62 (dual opposed 6.5) etc that are all good subs for music with extension under 20hz. Since Rythmik is US manufacturer direct, it works out better (price/logistics) in the US. James633 is not alone on the report of JL reliability issues. |
That’s just silly advice from someone who’s never heard what good, well-integrated subs can do. Good subs properly set up disappear completely and do not draw attention to themselves, period. They also offer substantial benefits in imaging and expanding the soundstage in addition to filling in the missing lower octaves and improving dynamic capabilities. Personally I’d go with the Rythmik F12G for music, and you should absolutely consider adding a second sub down the road if at all possible as the benefits are very meaningful over using just one sub. Hope this helps, and best of luck. |
I would pass on the JL E112 due to quality issues. I had 5 of them fail. JL wants you to go through the dealer for repairs. I can’t imagine messing with it outside of the USA. In the US they are good about fixing them but will only fix them for the original owner. sound wise the JL is fine and very good for being so small. The amp however added a lot of hum to my system when ever it was plugged in. I have not had the hum issue with other subs in my system. The internal highpass added a good bit of hiss too. |
Those look like really good speakers...Even though they recommend 40 watts min...I would consider going with a 300B amps...They usually like to cover their ass. The midrange is what is important...your wife will be happy..forget the subs they will screw up the sound...too slow and they will draw attention to themselves....not disappear. |