Subwoofers

What's New

Setting Subwoofer Phase the Easy Way

More thoughts on optimizing your subwoofer’s performance
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted November 9, 2011
- 1
The “Bass Management Boot Camp” article about subwoofer setup that I wrote for the November S+V inspired an in-turn inspiring e-mail from reader Bruce Erwin. Bruce recalled his days setting up sound systems when he’d use a 1.5-volt battery to test subwoofer phase. If the sub and main speakers were in phase, he’d hear a single thump when he connected the battery to the wires leading to the sub's terminals. If they were out of phase, he’d hear a double thump.
That’s with passive subwoofers, though. Almost all of today’s subs have built-in amps, so this method wouldn’t quite work with them. Still, it got me wondering if I could come up with a simpler phase check than the ones I suggested in the article, which required either measurement or careful listening. My e-mail convo with Bruce gave me some ideas and, ultimately, a method that’s simpler than my original. And all you need to do it is a piece of free software and a meter you’ve either already got or can get for nothing.

» Read More
Basic Measurement for Better Bass

Enlisting computer-based tools to fight bad bass
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted November 7, 2011
- 4
In order to get the transition between your subwoofer and your main speakers close to perfect, you need measurement gear. Measurement makes your sub setup faster and more accurate. Instead of listening to bass lines to gauge the evenness of your bass response, you just run a quick measurement and get a precise result.

» Read More
Review: SVS PB12-NSD Subwoofer

A true reference-grade sub at a super-affordable price.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted November 7, 2011
- 8
One could argue that it’s silly to make a subwoofer look nice. Most subs get shoved into out-of-the-way places where even the most exotic wenge veneer, doused in seven coats of hand-rubbed lacquer and applied to gracefully arcing side panels, won’t really look any better than the cheapest black vinyl wrap glued over a plain rectangular box.
Those who find ugliness a virtue in subwoofers will love SVS’ new $769 PB12-NSD, which is about as plain as subwoofers get.

» Read More
Bass Management Boot Camp

Easier than doing a push-up: getting a perfect blend between your subwoofer and your main speakers.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted November 7, 2011
- 3
Like marching and making your bunk, bass management looks easy. But sometimes there’s a huge difference between doing seemingly straightforward tasks, and doing them right.

» Read More
Review: Wisdom Audio SCS Subwoofer

Can a suitcase-shaped subwoofer pack a punch? Most definitely. But at a price.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted November 3, 2011
Most subwoofers are large, roughly cube-shaped black boxes that look about as elegant as a Vietnamese potbellied pig.

» Read More
Test Report: Sonus Faber Liuto Speakers and REL R-528 Subwoofer

A speaker system that lends itself just as well to audiophile listening as it does to high-impact home theater.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted October 17, 2011
- 2
Romantics see Italy as a place of rich history and sophisticated culture. Not me. As a non-romantic, I can think of Italy only as the birthplace of the Fiat 128 that often left me walking instead of driving, and the location of a honeymoon in which I fought frenzied traffic and struggled to find a decent meal.

» Read More
Review: BG Radia's Supersized Surround System

Some of the finest movie sound you'll hear outside a movie theater
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted September 20, 2011
The speaker world is anything but conservative. Think of the different types you can buy: good ol’ cones ’n’ domes, electrostatics, planar magnetics, ribbons, horns, pulsating spheres, and more, mounted in all sorts of enclosures or in no enclosures at all.
The world of custom home theater is less daring. Installers want speaker systems that sound great, play loud as hell for hours on end, place reasonable demands on amplifiers, and install easily. This is why you rarely see anything but cone ’n’ dome speakers used in custom home theaters.
Of the companies catering to the custom market, BG Radia is one of the few that does things differently.

» Read More
CEDIA Expo 2011: Speakers and Minisystems

A roundup of the coolest new audio toys from the custom installation show.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted September 12, 2011
From an audio standpoint, the CEDIA Expo used to be little more than a showcase for in-wall speakers and other products built mainly for multiroom systems and custom home theaters. But with the decline in home sales over the last few years, the custom market isn’t so hot anymore.

» Read More
CEA-2010: A Good Baseline for Bass?

The latest standard for judging subwoofers is creating both clarity and controversy.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted September 5, 2011
- 2
The way the audio industry has been measuring subwoofers for decades has turned out to be inadequate. But the new method they’ve come up with may be causing as much confusion as the old one.

» Read More
Steinway Lyngdorf’s $22,000 S-Series

This miniature system sounds like a pair of 6-foot towers.
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted July 11, 2011
I have a confession to make: Often when I see a new über-expensive high-end audio product, I think, “It’s cool, but who would actually buy this?” I sure didn’t feel that way when I got a demo of the new Steinway Lyngdorf S-series at the company’s showroom in Los A

» Read More
Deepest Bass Ever?

The track that tortures the supersubs
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted July 11, 2011
- 5
We’ve received a few inquiries from readers about a music track I’ve mentioned in recent subwoofer reviews. Considering that I’ve described the piece in question as having “the most intense low bass I’ve ever heard,” this interest isn’t surprising.

» Read More
Review: SVS SB13-Plus Subwoofer

Massive wattage and slick control in a compact package
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted June 16, 2011
- 1
I would never do what SVS did with its new subwoofer, the SB13-Plus. The company originally sent me a review sample last fall, but despite the fact that it sounded (and measured) great, SVS asked me to hold the review while its engineers tweaked the sub’s Sledge STA-1000D amplifier. It took months for the new amplifier to arrive.

» Read More