Vandersteen Sub woofers v Rythmik Subs


I really love the idea of the Vandersteen Subs where they are connected with the mains via extra speaker cable off right and left channels off the main amplifier, which is supposed to provide better bass transition from the mains while keeping the signature from the main amplifier. My question is with Vandersteen coming out with the SUB THREE and the price going significantly higher, I was wondering if there are other subs for less that you could integrate in the same way. (Most subs seem to rely on the line level input which is just a sub-woofer RCA going from the pre-amp to the amp on the sub). Can this same Vandersteen set-up be achieved with other subs?
I picked Rythmik since they are known (in the home theater community anyway) for being one of the best bang for the buck subs and the most "musical" of the bunch. (between Hsu, SVS, PSA).
And could I possibly achieve even greater sub-woofer nirvana since I could get an 18" for around $1500? Vandies only have 3 eight inchers.

I am a Vandersteen fanboy and I would like to support RV whenever I can, but don’t know much about my other sub-woofer options so looking for some feedback. Doesn’t even have to be related to Rythmik necessarily. If you know of other subs that can integrate the same way I want to know about it!

Thanks
bstatmeister

Showing 4 responses by enginedr1960

I am the other distributed bass user that Noble mentioned . I use 4 REL Q201e subs in my room . The front subs are under the main speakers a set of Ohm Walsh 2.2000 sat. I use a high pass cap in my tube mono blocks to pass 50 hz and up . I take the sub signal from the amps and send them to a passive volume control to set the gain structure to my DSPeaker antimode 2.0. From the DSP witch functions as a crossover and room correction device  the DSP has 4 outs 2 XLR and 2 single ended . the front subs run passive and use a crown XLS 2502 amp  .The rear subs use the internal plate amps set to LFE witch bypasses the subs crossover network . With this setup I have full control of the bass volume and crossover through the DSPeaker while  using the high level signal .     
bondmanp . The sub signal  from the amps is attenuated by a Axiom audio passive pre amp then the signal is sent to the DSPeaker the DSP is driving the sub amps . I rum my subs in stereo . The only ADA conversion happens below 50 hz the rest of my signal is all analog . if you are in Manhattan and want to hear the system PM me .

Setting up the distributed bass system in my room was one of the best upgrades I have done . I run my subs in stereo .The front subs play louder then the rear ones . The key to not having optimum placement is using the DSPeaker antimode 2.0 to control the crossover and room correction .