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Biggest sub?


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Had a question for the audiophiles on here. I was curious what is the biggest size sub that would make sense for my audio setup?

 

Right now im running a SL1300 table and I recently purchased 2 Klipsch R-15PM speakers from best buy stupid cheap.  Being a bit of a basshead, everything about these are great except the low end. So I was looking to grab a Klipsch Sub to match. Anyone that is subscribed to klipsch's Email newsletter knows that they pobably run a huge sale like once a month. They constantly have 30 to 50% off. So that being said I have been eyeballing the R-115SW 15" sub for a while. The lowest it goes is usually $719 each from $899. Then I realized that the R-12SW sometimes goes on sale for $224 from $449.  So I could get 3 12s for the price of one of their 15s.

 

This made me start thinking a few things.

 

Is 1 15 too big for the little R-15PM bookshelf speakers I have?

Would 2 12s be too big for the little R-15PM bookshelf speakers I have?

Would 1 12 suffice for a basshead?

 

Im not necessarily married to Klipsch for a sub but they do get great reviews and are CONSTANTLY on sale.  So since I have the bookshelfs, having it all match makes it easier for the misses to not want to kill me for adding more gear.

 

Thoughts?

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Subs are generally frowned upon when using in the two channel application for music, so it is always better to pick out left and right speakers that can supply the amount of bass that you desire.

 

That being said, a 15" sub would definitely be overkill in my opinion for a music set up and I would only recommend that if it was being used primarily for home theater (movies and tv). If you have to get a sub and run a 2.1 set up for music stick to one efficient 12" or even a smaller 10".

 

Unless you like obnoxiously loud bass (see: car stereo subwoofers), then go for it and add as many and as big subs as you would like.

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Fine tuning a bass to a 2 channel system is not an easy task. I took about two weeks with making minor adjustments every other day, to find my preferred setting. It needs to enhance the music, without being bass overkill. Find the frequency ranges of your speakers, figure out how low your sub needs to go. Buy a sub that meets those requirements.

 

15" sub is stupidly overkill for a living room. I use a 10" sub and its more than enough.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2017-12-02 at 3:39 AM, MikeSantor said:

Thanks for the input guys.

 

I do not watch any tv or movies so the home theater comments dont apply. This will strictly be for music.

 

I think I will try  one 12 out. Thanks so much for the replies.

If it is a strict 2ch system then buy 2. I presume you listen to other things also than vinyl. (Vinyl mastering has mono base..)

You can not get to much base! My friend has a dedicated 2ch listening room. And have built a long time ago two base towers with each having 4 12" drivers that are infinity servo controlled.

 

Why should anybody doing such a thing?! 

The benefits is that they most of the time do not need to move so much. With that amount of cone area they produce a lot of air movement together with just a minimal movement. That makes the eight 12" to never distort and easier to make a controlled base tone. He will go lower and with total control even sub Sonic. You will experience the music not only with your ears but also feel it. 

 

With that said. If you do not have the constraint of wife acceptance criteria. You can never have too big speakers..:)

 

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