New sub or new dvd player

[PSUfan]

I have about $1500 to spend for my ht and was wondering what your thoughts are.....I have a Pioneer 563a dvd player and a paradigm 2200 subwoofer. The rest of my setup is as follows:

Rotel 1068
Rotel 1075
Rotel 1080
Energy Veritas 2.4's, 2.0 Center, 2.0i rears

I use my setup for about 95% ht. I've been looking at a Arcam DV79 or the following subs: Mk 10, Revel B15a(would be a little out of my budget) or a SVS cylinder. What do you think would be more enjoyable, your thoughts of course.

Thanks,
Shane

[DL86]

subwoofer ofcourse. If its one thing that makes or breaks a quality home theatre is a decent subwoofer. Electronics come second. Considering you already have a fairly decent subwoofer i'm not so sure how much improvement the subwoofers you meantioned will improve your experience since I haven't heard them in person. But yeah if there is major improvements with the subwoofers you mentioned I would go for that.

[John Holmes]

Well, I think it comes dowm to are you satisfied with the video performance from your current DVD player??? You state that the majority of your concern is HT. With that in mind, you need a sub! As nice as your main speakers are, they well never get you the low end impact that makes viewing action/adventure films an experience.

If your DVD player works fine, I'd say go for the subwoofer. Since the industry seems confused on the DVD front now (HD-DVD/BR-DVD), waiting a tad maybe best. If you just want to get into HI-Def DVD, then getting the player is the obvious choice.

Sorry, I missed that you already have a sub. :Z But, my post still holds true. :T


Are you unhappy with the 2200's output? Myabe you just need to tweak it's setup a bit.

[PSUfan]

After listening to some other subs I have determined that mine seems to not be as "tight" per say as the others. It seems to hold on to the sound a little bit too long. I'm not sure if I can tweek the settings much more as a have the rotel handling the crossover. It just seems a little sloppy to me if I have described it correctly, but if there is something that anyone knows that I can do to fix that I'd be happy to try it out!

As for the dvd player I'm quite satisfied with its performance. Of course there is always room for improvment, but I'd like to add something "new" to the system. Guess i have that illness........lol.

Thanks,
Shane

[John Holmes]

Yes, alot of us have that same weakness! :P

As far as tweaking all you can get out of it, I was speaking of proper calibration. This would include trying various loctions for the sub. In many rooms just moving the sub a foot or two, can yield signifcant results. Not to mention proper phase adjustments.

I just hate for you (or anyone) to spend money before they are sure they have gotten the max out of what they currently own.

[PSUfan]

I have played around with placement and also some different test discs, SPL meter etc and I think I have it in a pretty good position. But you did mention the phase adjustments. I'm not very familiar with that. The sub does have a dial on the back to adjust the phase from 0 to 180. Would you be able to tell me a little more about that?

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it!

Shane

[John Holmes]

I have played around with placement and also some different test discs, SPL meter etc and I think I have it in a pretty good position. But you did mention the phase adjustments. I'm not very familiar with that. The sub does have a dial on the back to adjust the phase from 0 to 180. Would you be able to tell me a little more about that?

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it!

Shane

Sounds like you've got it pretty well calibrated then. The easiest way to adjust phase is with a partner. Have them adjust the the phase knob in small increments until you hear the best sound. If you sub has a toggle switch, then you could simply switch it to see which position yields the best results.

However, when all is said and done, you may still be unsatisfied with the results. And a new sub would be in order. I know when I bought a new sub, the difference was amazing. No more one note bass. It was tight with good harmonics and that in your chest thump (when required) that makes you just sit with your jaw open. Not because it was loud but, because it was clear and clean. With that proper decay and no boom. Onething about good bass, once you experience it, you'll never understand how you lived without it.

[DL86]

If you really want tight sounding bass that is very good for both music and movies in your given price range I would say a velodyne SPL-1200R would be the best option. I heard this sub and was amazed at how tight it sounded yet was able to produce the lowest frequency with awesome accuracy. I plan on getting one sooner or later. Give it an audition I think you will be very pleased, also give the SPL-1500R a try if you feel you want more bass and you have a larger room.

[bigburner]

Hi Shane,

If you spend $229 on a new Oppo 981 DVD player you'll still have plenty of money left for a good sub.

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html

You won't believe how good the Oppo's picture is for that small price (assuming that you've got an HDMI or DVI input to your screen). It also plays CD, DVD-Audio, and Super Audio CD (SACD) too.

Nigel.

[PSUfan]

Thanks for all the information everyone! They have one of the velodyne SPL-1200R at the ht store that I will picking up my synergy stand. I will check it out in about a week.

Thanks again,
Shane

[PSUfan]

Has anyone owned or listened to the M&K subwoofers? I would be able to get a pretty good price on one of the subs. I understand that they went out of business, but the ht store said they would be able to fix most any problem if it happened.

[John Holmes]

M&K are great subs! But unless it is a real good price, I would probably get the Vel or another brand. The store "may" be able to fix it if it goes down but, M&K serviced their own products. I'm just not sure there are parts just lying around to repair them.

I own M&K's and love their sound however, even I would hesitate buying any speakers from them that are powered (has an amp) with them out of business.
With that said, I haven't heard of many people having issues with their M&K subs either.

[PSUfan]

They have a MX-125 Mk II Subwoofer that is available for $960....do you have any thoughts on that product and pricing?

[John Holmes]

Shane,

That isn't what I would consider a deal on that sub. The MSRP is $1095.00. And that was with M&K's 5 yr warranty.

I've never heard the MX-125 however, from what I've read from others, most are very satisfied with it. If it's something you must have then, you could tell the dealer what I stated above about the price. He may choose to give you a better deal. But, I wouldn't pay anywhere near the $960 price!

There are "way" too many options out there, that will yield the reults that you are looking for for the same area of money and less.

Of the subs in your original post, I've only heard the SVS...which I also happen to own. I have the CS 20-39. It's a passive model. I went passive because I already owned an amp to power it.

How does it sound you ask? Well, I'll put it this way, it is the only piece that I will never have the desire to upgrade!!! :B It would need to malfunction or I would have to get a an urge to have my equipment not be seen to change it.

Like I said, many mfg's make good/great subs. Of course some better than others. Go out and listen to what you can.

[KRC]

Differing opinions, but I would get the new DVD player. Surprising the differences you will hear and see from a better quality player. Like the analogy goes "From the source and it all goes down stream from there". I just purchased an Audioquest Sub-1 interconnect from E Bay and boy what a change that made to the sound of my sub (B&W ASW 600). Music was tighter, helped out the lower mid bass and cleared up any "Wooliness". For $68.00 USD, it was a cheap upgrade.

Kevin