3.1 Starter system - Music & HT - what sub to start with?

[pr@j]

Hi All - Happy New Year!

I have been pondering a 3.1 system to start, and can't decide whether to pair a set of 3 CCB-8s with the ULS-15 or the Hybrid 15.

Eventually I would like to include the Hybrid 15 as part of my setup - but wanted to start with the ULS 15 as I listen to music of varying types and would want a sub that does well in both HT and music.

Cost difference is negligible between the 2 packages.

Here are some rough specs of the family room which is open concept, and also includes a stairwell to the 2nd floor:

1. Main viewing area: 1500 cu.ft
2. Kitchen/dining/breakfast area: 4400 cu.ft
3. Open stairwell/landing and upper floor hallway: 900 cu. ft +/- 100 cu.ft

Current System Components:

1. Panasonic TC-60 inch LED TV in controlled lighting environment
2. JVC RX-817V receiver amp
3. 3 bookshelf speakers serving as 3.1 set


Any advice, suggestions, questions are welcome!

[Kevin_Hsu]

Hi there!

Happy New Year to you as well! Are those pretty large openings to the kitchen/dining/etc? So basically it's an open floor concept? If your plan is to go with the Hybrid 15 eventually, I think it would be better and more cost effective just start there instead of working your way to it. The VTF-15H MK2 is a very musical subwoofer and is designed to be accurate and quick. The main thing that affects the musicality of the sub would be the room acoustics. That's why we included the option to run different port config, Q, EQ, to allow you to better integrate the sub and give you fantastic performance for both movies and music.

[pr@j]

Hi Kevin,

Great to hear from you again. The openings to the secondary area (kitchen, breakfast, and dining) is a large rectangular arch (8ft H x 5ft W) - and is on the same wall that the TV is mounted, at the left most side.

The other 2 openings - 1 to the stairwell and the 2nd to a landing and bathroom are along the adjacent wall - perpendicular to the main opening noted above.

As far as sub placement, I am aiming to put it in a corner - assuming it ends up being a favourable spot after the woofer crawl test .

One of they key reasons in asking this seemingly basic/elementary question is that I am in Canada, so I want to avoid having to process a return etc in case the sound is not what I expected etc.

A while back, I did purchase a Klipsch R-10SW to get a sense of what adding a subwoofer would do for the sound - I placed it along that wall (no time for a subwoofer crawl) with the TV and I was pretty happy with the result - however the sub could not handle higher volumes or very low end bass - so this did teach me that:

1) I need a more powerful sub that can easily pressurize the space
2) A 10 inch sub is NOT sufficient
3) My receiver is sufficient for my needs
4) Having the right "HSU" will make a huge improvement in comparison.

[Kevin_Hsu]

Do you happen to have the dimensions of the room and where you are seated in there? Both subs will likely be a pretty nice upgrade over the 10".

[pr@j]

Hi Kevin

The main room “area” (I say area because of the open concept) is about 18Ft long by 14ft. The main seating position is at about the 4ft mark from the back wall placing the tv and subs about 14ft in front of it.

[Kevin_Hsu]

Standard ceiling (8ft) height?

[pr@j]

The cowlings are 9ft in main area and in the adjacent space it slopes from 11ft to 9ft.

[pr@j]

The ceilngs are 9ft in main area and in the adjacent space it slopes from 11ft to 9ft.

[Kevin_Hsu]

Thanks! Yea I would say that if you want a sub that would perform better in the low bass, the VTF-15H Mk2 is the better bet. Certainly the ULS-15 Mk2 would play a bit louder and cleaner in the ultra low bass, but if you want more of a night and day difference, the VTF-15H MK2 or the VTF-3 Mk5 HP would probably be more suitable. As they are ported, they will be able to play significantly louder and cleaner over the ULS-15 Mk2 in the deeper bass. That means you will get better dynamic range, less compression and distortion at higher output levels. In terms of placement, given that you have a fairly large opening in the front and some openings on the side walls, I would actually recommend placing the sub closer to your seating position instead of up front. For example you can place the sub in the back corner or place the sub next to (use it as an end table) or behind your seating position. Having the sub closer to your seating position will keep your mid-bass smooth and impactful and given the opening on the front wall, that may help keep your deeper bass fairly smooth as well. You still may end up getting a dip around 20 Hz or so, but it may not be that big of a dip in the response. Also generally speaking, for music especially, you want to make sure you get a good mid-bass as that's where a lot of the detail sits and that's also where you get a lot of the impact/punch.