The World’s Best Subwoofer

I have a problem.  I need to get the most accurate, realistic sounding base possible. I have a sedan and a discriminating ear.  I am not concerned with SPL at all, only SQ.  Oh yeah, and pretty much an unlimited budget.

What kind of setups would you suggest?  Amp, sub enclosure...

I listen to mellow rock and alternative rock.

Let me know

Get your hands on the Memphis LVS 15 & you have the best SQ sub that is made in my opinion.  I run one in a sealed enclosure in my 93' Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo & I absolutely love it.  Yes, it is pricey, but compare this sub to any other SQ sub & you will hear the difference.  I did not choose the LVS for the good looks (triple orange powder coated basket).  I chose it for the outstanding sound quality.  If you are looking for extremely deep bass, give this sub a listen & hear for yourself.  If you are looking for great high end speakers I suggest the Multi-Sync component set from Memphis as well.  They sound great.  Let me know if you need to locate an authorized dealer.

Mike Brooks

LOL.  The typical post a person gets.  But that's cool.  Shows that everything's not equal in everyone's eyes.  I would still go with JL or Infinity.

You guys do have different opinions.  What about price ranges?

What are the best subs within certain price ranges like $200-$300 and $700-$1000.

Which once have a good sq with a small demand in power. less than 500w rms?

Ravendarat:

i already have Boston z components, they are pretty good for $1000.  I have never heard the utopia sub, is it pretty amazing?  also, can you run it in a sealed enclosure.  I am considering running 4 focal 5ws subs and 1 focal 11" utopia sub.  Crossover the 5" subs at 200 - 55Hz and crossover the 11" at 55hz and down.  I have a three way crossover on my deck for this, but I might upgrade to a passive crossover.

Ideas?

Raven,

Yeah, i guess crossing those 5'2 over at 70hz wont work them quite as hard, though they are rated down to 55hz. While were at it, Question about front soundstage:

I have 5 inch boston z's up front, and I would like to go to a three way system up front, if I use a set of boston pro 4" seperates, and go with a 5, 4, tweet up front, do you think that would sound good? I know a 6,4,tweet is ideal, but i already have the 5's.  Also, could I use the provided crossovers for the fours and the fives, or would i need a new crossover designed specifically for a three way system?

thanks

https://www.bostonacoustics.com/ca_products.asp?CategoryID=14

Try Here for the Boston Zs

This is an example of opinion.. i thought that the mb quart  q line was going to be the best thing ive ever heard, but in truth when i got to the demo room i found out that the hex series of diamond audio sounded better to my ears.... In fact the hex series 6.5's were about 800 dollars less or so (i think). So its all a matter of youre ear! good luck

Matt

Tomos,

Actually Rainbow Reference are $15,000 a pair.  However, my concern is with the bass, not the front soundstage.  Any other creative ideas for bass setups?

What about one eight and one 15? anyone ever done this?

I currently run one 12" in the trunk and two 7's in the front kicks for mid-bass fill. 

I set up a car a long time ago using two 15's low passed at 50Hz and two 10's bandpassed between 50 and 120Hz at a friend's request.  Sounded pretty good, but I have to say if the 15's were simply turned off and the 10's simply low-passed, it sounded a lot better to my ears. 

If you have the time and money, experiment.  It's fun.  But if you simply want great SQ, get the best quality 12" sub you can find to start with and cross it at about 80Hz.  If you find you have a mid-bass hole after you set it up, then you can address that with another woofer.

tomos] wrote:

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uestion..
Wouldn't having 2 subs of different sizes be very hard to create smooth transitions with? Different makes provide different qualities and surely when the frequency rolls over the cutoff point the sound will change.

Also the thought occurs that if as volume increases, distortion increases, to get the ultimate sound quality you could buy a lot of the same subs and have them all turned to a fairly low output. Or is this just silly.

You did say fairly unlimited funding, lets hear some crazy ideas for ultimate quality then.

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1) You are correct.  It is difficult to get a multiple driver system tweaked in perfectly, unless you know what you are doing, you have access to a good RTA and you are using variable electronic crossovers.  Differences in timbre and voicing are often noticable between different manufacturers, and can be very annoying at the croissover point.

2) Yep, for higher SPL it is better to add multiple matched drivers than it is to mix and match if SQ is also a consideration.  For best SQ, however, a single driver usually produces the best results.

3) You are in the UK?  Look for subs from Magnat.