[Community of A/V Enthusiasts]
Subwoofers: Point of Deminishing Return
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Heinonen on -
I think the issue is more that people only worry about what has come out in the past 6-12 months and forget about what came out before. With speakers and subwoofers, they don't become out-dated nearly as quickly as something like a receiver might be (where HDMI and TrueHD have made models from 2 years ago outdated already), but people will forget about what was new and fantastic a couple of years ago.
Magnepan has seemingly made the same models as long as I can remember, but they still sound fantastic like they did when they were introduced. The Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers that everyone was amazed by just 2-3 years ago can now be found for a great price used, but they don't sound any worse than they did back then. I think this is probably the case with your subwoofer here. There are many recent models that are great, but that doesn't mean that your subwoofer has gotten worse since it was introduced, just that you won't see as many reviews of it anymore since it's not brand new.
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Permalink Reply by Kieran Coghlan on -
Chris makes a great point. I felt the same thing about my SVS 20-39pci sub, which granted is getting a little old, but SVS has made improvements, and I feel like you just don't hear people talking about the big tube subs much any more. I guess box subs will always be prefered for asthetic reasons...
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Permalink Reply by Paul D'Amboise on -
I think, at some point, it comes down to establishing a balance. And it's not limited to subs, or A/V gear in general, but this hobby can, at times, motivate a never-ending search for "perfection".
When compared to anyone I know "in real life", I have the best home cinema setup of all. Some people I know have individual pieces that are better than the best of my gear, but, taken as a whole, mine is the best. Of course, when I go online to places like here and elsewhere, suddenly I'm not even close to "the best" anymore. For financial reasons alone, that will always remain true. But even within my own "reachable range", I've lately had less and less of an urge to upgrade gear. I find that my setup is, despite its lack of the latest bells and whistles, very satisfying. Also, I've become less focused on even using my setup for every single A/V experience. Sometimes, I like to watch a movie with my wife in the living room (on an "obsolete" standard def CRT, of all things). Why? Well, it's a good CRT (with a 16x9 "cheat" function that makes SD DVDs look quite nice, if not large), for one thing. Also, my wife prefers the seating arrangement (we can cozy up on the couch--in the HT room, since I use it alone a lot and it doubles as my "critical listening" music room, I have seating set up for optimal MCH hi-res audio listening/playback, which forces others to less than optimal listening positions--few people care, in terms of sound, but it's not as "cozy"). Another reason is we are one floor closer to the children (one of whom is quite young) so we are more likely to hear it if they need us. Lastly, my wife is not a night owl, so if we need to watch the movie over two sittings, the TV doesn't mind running for only an hour at a time (unlike the projector--not good for the bulb).
Until a little while ago, I used to scan the ads for deals so I could upgrade the TV in the living room, maybe add a modest HT package and so on. But lately, I see the living room setup as "good enough"--when I want the full blown experience, it's available--so I focus more now on what to watch rather than how I watch it. Same goes with music. The living room audio setup is very modest, but I find myself listening to music far more often there than in the "man-cave" (as my wife has dubbed it).
Does this mean I will never upgrade? Of course not--the quality of the A/V experience in my HT room is enough to keep me hooked on the hobby. But I have adopted a more relaxed attitude in terms of worrying about having "the best I can afford". Things will be upgraded when they don't work anymore a lot more often than because I want a new toy (even though I can afford upgrades a lot more now than before).
So, to bring it back to subwoofers, my Boston Acoustics PV900 is not going anywhere soon. But I'll still keep informed about the latest stuff--someday I'll be upgrading.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Melito on -
I think Marketers, out of necessity, make us quickly forget the adequacy of our current equipment. I have had two subs (similar but not identical models) in my setup for several years and they match most of my friends latest and greatest setups.
Component matching is more important, in my opinion, than the latest and greatest technologies.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Larrabee on -
Subwoofer technology doesn't change fast but there is equalization/room correction technology that makes existing subwoofers sound fantastic. I have heard the Velodyne SMS-1 make huge improvements in a home theater with DIY subwoofers. It is much more effective use of money to get that incremental performance gain.
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Permalink Reply by John E. Johnson, Jr. on -
Subwoofer technology will be taking a big leap forward this year (2010) when several companies introduce the next generation of products that are designed to compete with JL Audio subs who had surprised everyone with their massive drivers that have 4" of excursion. The fundamental idea though is not to play bass louder with these new subs, but to play them at the same loudness that you had before, and there will be much, much less distortion because the new subs are more linear in that loudness range.
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Permalink Reply by Jim on -
I just upgraded my sub from an SVS 16-46PCi to an SVS box sub. I thought I was getting something that worked better in my room but after getting it realized the tube sub worked better even though it was in the back corner. I have the new box sub working OK in my HT room right now. I had looked at Definitive Super Cubes before going with SVS. It was a combination of cost vs performance. In my current room I kind of wish I had a Super Cube now as smaller would be better. It may not play as flat as my SVS but since most of my use if movies (or video games) I doubt I'd notice the difference.
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