Is There A Big Difference Between Subwoofers From Different Manufacturers

I have a small system near field listening with Canton 9k 2 way stand mounted so I purchased an SVS sb 1000 pro before the price increase. I emailed Canton in Germany and asked the best frequency range to set the cross over and they got back to me the next day (impressive between 50 and 60 hz 24 dB roll-off  ) I do not have the luxury to do the craw to optimize the placement of the sub they sit next to the cantons. Why, my family considerations hold sway on placement and size and I suspect in most homes this is true the tail does not wag the dog.

the SVS app has quite a bit of flexibility and control ( read about it) and you make changes at your listening position (sweet). The sub can be easily and seamlessly integrated with the Cantons.

Having said all this what I experience is dictated by what's playing upstream that is to say some CDs have great bass other CDs not so much. Consequently, my sub can sound boomy and muddy as well as crisp and tight based on the CD being played.  Be that as it may, in all cases the SVS sb1000 pro  is a bit underpowered currently set at 9+ out of 10 on its power output. I should have gotten the next size up but again I was told no big ugly boxes and you spent how much on those things. Ah, the price of domestic tranquility.

@ieales - Maybe I do not understand.

The Vandersteen M7-HP is in fact "an inline filter between pre- and power amps". It has an XLR input and output and is intended to be situated between the preamp and the power amp. The purpose would be to roll off the bass frequencies before they are sent to be amplified by the main amplifier and sent to the main speakers. A separate full-frequency line-level feed would then be sent from the preamp to the line level inputs on the subwoofers where their internal low-pass filter would determine the HF cut-off. In essence, this type of set-up is multi-amping because you have one amplifier powering the main speakers and the internal subwoofer amplifiers powering the subs.

After having read most of the posts regarding subs and despite what mijostyn wrote about REL subs, I can state unequivocally that the one thing almost everybody seems to agree on in this forum is that REL subs are very good. A negative comment about REL subs is very, very rare. And this comes from someone who does not own an REL sub myself, I own the Bower and Wilkens PV1D, which is a two bass driver design that delivers quite a bit of punch.

I have an old Richard Lord REL , Stentor III, 55kg horn loaded , beautiful cabinet. it’s-6db at 13hz. just a 10inch long throw driver. wish I had room for 2 but in my 14ft by 22ft by 10ft room it does a fantastic job

A lot of people advocate a minimum of 2 subs but some rooms (including mine) can’t accommodate more than 1 either due to the size or arrangement. Nevertheless, there are reports that one sub can work very well, and there are few who use a single high end sub in their systems to great effect.

Instead of creating a new thread on experiences with a single subwoofer, I’ll just post this here. Have a look at the photo below which is taken from another forum. This is the top of the the line REL No. 25. The sub looks small as the speakers are huge in real life, weighing in at more than 200 pounds each.

My take on this question is that the answer depends on what you are expecting the sub to do. In my case I am running a pair of Thiel CS6 speakers full range and using a late 90's 15" Velodyne (servo design) sub to fill in the bottom octave. It is forgiving in placement and integrates perfectly. I've got the sub crossed over at 40 hz (it's lowest setting) and most of the time it just sits there and does nothing. But play Thanks To You by Boz Scaggs and and my tummy turns into a bowl of jello. When I play this for people their jaw drops. Playing the Thiels full range means that the mid-low bass on up is tight and natural.

I have thought about getting a new sub but my current setup is so good that I'm not sure how it would be improved. If I were trying to integrate a sub with a pair of bookshelf speakers it would be a whole different story.