My 12” GR Research sub w/ Rythmik enclosure & amp arrived Tuesday after I had just ordered it on Thursday afternoon! The GR Research subwoofer quality is impressive. I ogled it for some time before attaching to cabinet. Amp was substantial w/ lots of tweaking options. Enclosure seemed well braced, solid. Oak vinyl finish average, but sub is going behind my recliner anyways, so who cares (better veneer/ finish would put it out of my price range). The install took no time & I was up & running within 30 minutes.
After listening for 30 min. & making adjustments, I ran Audyssey calibration from my Denon avr-1909. When the 75 dB signal was fed to the 12” sub, I couldn’t believe how high up the range this sub went! Hell, I thought something was rattling within the sub at first, but realized I was just hearing some of the signals mid range sound. Audyssey set crossover @ 80 Hz for sub & 100 Hz for my modest l/r/c Paradigm Cinema 110 speakers (only (2) 4-1/2” drivers per spkr.). My room is 11' x 18' x 8' w/ lots of door openings. Sub level was not even set to halfway, maybe 10 o'clock & Audyssey still set sub level @ -10.5 dB! I bumped it up to -6 dB to enjoy bottom end more (Hey, I've been @ 40 Hz w/ 10" sub for awhile now, so I was craving me some bass).
Of course I need to break-in the amp & exercise the sub cone more as well as maneuver cabinet in room to fully realize best results, but here are my initial impressions…
First off, this sub is super quick, detailed & clean, no muddy/sloppy bass whatsoever. I’ve previously owned a pair of 15” subs, a 12” w/ 10” passive & a 10”; & auditioned many a friends & salon sub. Comparisons are not even close. Danny did not exaggerate when he said how great this sub is. This thing is remarkable. Very musical. I played several reference CD’s w/ some deep bass & my jaw dropped. I didn’t put a meter to it, but deep extension & well balanced to my Paradigm mains/ center/ surround speakers.
I turned down the volume several times when my wife passed by, & to my surprise lower frequencies were still heard! How do they do that!
My biggest surprise was the improvement in dialogue from a couple HD-broadcast shows last night. Often dialogue on NCIS was difficult to pick up from my small center & 10” Paradigm sub. With the 12” servo sub added, it was far more detailed, fuller & discernible. My wife even commented on it. Several times I hopped over to hear how much vocals, particularly male voices, emanated from the sub.
So I just wanted to thank Danny & Brian for offering some of us more frugal audiophiles the opportunity to acquire such a great performing sub for a deep discount. I can’t wait to listen more tonight after work!
