Looking for the "better sub"

>> "JL Fathom 113....I would have ordered one, but no high level inputs turns a great sub into a home theater product in my eyes. They blew it." <<

Really?....I don't understand how you have come to that conclusion about subwoofers?>>>

I tried high level inputs vs. low level on three subs and there is no doubt at all that high level is superior for two channel audio. This is not possible with the Fathom, no matter how good of a sub it is.

R.

One thing you might consider in a two-channel context is that a subwoofer that's "flat" anechoic will have a rising response due to room gain. Typical room gain is +3dB per octave from 100 Hz down to about 20 Hz. In my experience, a subwoofer whose anechoic output falls by 3 dB per octave over that range is less likely to sound boomy.

http://www.speakerbuilding.com/content/1020/rge.gif

Also, there's a correlation between in-room bass smoothness and the number of low frequency sources spead around the room. A dipole can be thought of as two monopoles, one with reversed polarity. So two dipoles would be expected to have in-room bass smoothness comparable to that of four monopoles. People who have compared one sub vs two subs pretty much invariably prefer two subs because it sounds more natural. Imho to blend well with dipoles, four subs are called for. I spent years experimenting with different types of subwoofers (sealed, isobarik, transmission line, dipole, aperiodic, etc) to find what would match the "speed" of a dipole. Then in a conversation, a physicist friend of mine described to me the advantages of multiple low frequency sources, and so I tried that and it worked better than all the esoteric designs I'd been trying. So if the goal is quality rather than quantity, my suggestion would be multiple smaller subs rather than a single ubersub.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

Another guy Mvoulu or something like that...asked this quesiton in another thread...got these same players (REL, MJ, Vandy,) and ultimately went with a pair of the ACI Force XL.

I have an ACI and I think it represents pretty good value for the money. Takes some pretty careful setup though, but the folks at ACI are helpful. It is a fast, musical sub and relatively inexpensive. Plenty deep.

That's a large room. I'd recommend either the REL Stadium or Aerial SW-12.

I would go with REL, but I have been very impressed with all the REL products I have owned, all the way down to the Q108 (which I ran dual with a pair of Wilson Duettes).

Based on your room size though, I would suggest getting two REL Storm III used subs for a combined delivery cost of under your budget.

The RELs will never overpower your room, unless of course you don't have them set-up well. They are quite easy to set up, very easy to blend with different speakers, have a musical and fast response/output and are easy to own.