My recommendation for a budget but fast subwoofer: Pinnacle Baby Boomer

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Ultralight

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I've been sitting on a pair of Pinnacle Baby Boomer that I've coupled with a pair of Omega Super 3i for a few months.   Though the pairing has given me the best sound i've yet gotten after about a dozen speaker setups, I did not have confidence to recommend the Baby Boomers until now.  This is the first setup that I told my wife, 'OK, I've arrived.  I'm done - except one final system on the radar which I've committed to testing way back since May."

I currently have a pair of Devialet Phantoms that is famed for its bass reproduction.  It's now between the Phantoms and the Omega/Pinnacle pairing. I can actually sell off my rig for more than the Phantoms will cost me.  It is down to one of these two system.

Now that I have a baseline for comparison using the Phantoms, I can heartily recommend the Pinnacle Baby Boomers.

I jumped on them a couple of years ago because on paper, they looked like they should be very fast:

1. Sealed.
2. Dual opposing drivers to cancel out vibration.
3. 8" drivers so they are small and lighweight. (i.e. fast)
4. 600 watts - though that's probably peak-peak.
5. Small - and thus easy to place around the room.

I raise the Pinnacles almost 20" off the ground using concrete blocks and run them full range straight out of my Line Magnetic 502ca DAC.  Raising them off the ground, I believe, makes them sound very clean.

I listen primarily to acoustically driven music so speed, timbre, resolution etc all matters to me.   

In short, the pair of Baby Boomers gives me more weight in the bass, and seem to give me more resolution and weight than the Phantom's bass. The Phantoms do have fatter/fuller mids than the Omega Super 3i - but both systems give some and gain some. Both are excellent.  My guess is that Alnico monitors coupled with the Baby Boomers would be ideal to have a bit more midrange weight but the Super 3i are already quite incredible.  I sold my KEF LS50 when the Super 3i arrived.  And that's just based on audio quality - not price.

A couple of years ago, you can pick up the Pinnacle Baby Boomers through one of Amazon's affiliates for a less but I see that they have since gone up in price to about $400 for a new unit.  I believe at that price they are still a bargain.   A pair at $800 (less if you purchase used) and you have superb bass reinforcement.

I note that I've read some who thought that the 3i sounds 'small'.  To me, they project a large soundstage - but I feel that bass reinforcement is what makes them sound large.  I have no complaint about soundstage size - and this is one criteria that is important to me which is why I moved away from headphones though they have high resolution. 

Caveats:
1. Caution - of course, your mileage may vary. I may not have golden ears though I am well attuned to acoustic music.
2. The Phantoms are not optimized yet so I'll update this post if I find the Phantom bass to be better.
3. Caution - Phantoms are not for the fainthearted. Be prepared to spend many hours trying to make it to work - their software is required for stereo AND is extremely buggy.   If you already have high blood pressure, I recommend you just steer clear of Devialet Phantoms.... :duh: This is widely acknowledged by Phantom owners.
4. Baby Boomers are probably not for huge rooms - but then the Omega Super 3i are not either though if you crossover the 3i at 100hz and up, I think you can probably drive them to deafening levels.  I don't.  My music is more sane in volume but I do want the quality.

UL

ps: In the past, when I read online that some consider Omegas to be a bargain, I chalked that up to hyperbole.  But after having heard a couple of Omega systems, I will say that's true.  (Though it doesn't prevent me from still seeking great deals on Omegas so that I don't take a bath on resale.   :icon_lol:)  They are just wonderful - there's something very right/correct about the music through the Omegas.  It is unfortunate that Louis probably does not get more looks because many shy away from single driver speakers. Thank you Louis for bringing so much joy to my listening room.

Canada Rob

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The Baby Boomers look like they would work well with Omega speakers and if had one or two kicking around my place I would surely give them a whirl.  They look like a good design with their small surround fiber cone driver - no doubt a light and quick driver.

If I was starting from scratch I would go with the deepOmega 8.  With it's foam surround and HempCone driver it would likely be lighter and faster than the Baby Boomer's driver, not to mention the deepOmega 8 sub is made in the U.S.A.  The Baby Boomer is designed in the U.S.A. so we know what that likely means, not to mention the deepOmega 8 is $100 less (in level 1 finish) and available in a variety of finishes at two levels.
« Last Edit: 2 Nov 2015, 05:33 pm by Canada Rob »

S Clark

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I'm a bit confused about "...and run them full range".  You are running a full signal into these, beaming mids and highs wherever they are pointed in random phase interactions with your full range, creating hot and deadspots around the room.  Why wouldn't you use a subwoofer crossover to get less superposition addition and cancellation??
What am I missing?

JLM

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I like the concept of opposing woofers in a sealed cabinet (just like your Devialet Phantoms).  The Baby Boomers are small and retail for $1000 each, but they've been out for years now (facing discontinuation?) and as you mentioned are available for much less.  In general I also agree that small extended range drivers lack mid/bass body. 

That's an interesting choice between Phantoms and Omega 3's/Baby Boomers.  How'd you end up between those two?   :scratch:

Ultralight

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Canada Rob, probably.  I do note that I specified a 'pair' because two sub distributes bass much better than a single one.  So with two 8" deeOmega, one is looking at $1790 rather than $800 so they are in a different price cateogry.  I was recommending a 'budget' solution.... :icon_lol:  Used, on ebay, they have sold for as low as $150 each recently.  Finding a pair for $300 would be a tremendous budget solution.

S Clark, when I say full range, I mean without using their built in internal lowpass filter.   They have a filter bypass switch so you just run the signal in.   But given that these are subwoofers, according to the Pinnacle Tech, the Baby Boomers extends to about 130Hz and then tapers off pretty quickly.  I read somewhere that the RS5 drivers, especially in a monitor, has a dip around 110-120hz.  True or not I don't know. I do know that to my ear, they play together well.  This happens to be one of those happy serendipitous events where to components from different manufacturers play together well. 

JLM, yes Baby Boomers has been around 15-20 years I thnk.  Amp has changed but the basic design is the same.  I think that is because this unit stood the test of time.  But Pinnacle is not in the large box dealers so they are less popular. 

As to my two final rigs, it was a matter of slowly figuring out what I am looking for.  Along the way, I have received much help including having Fritz 'da man' coming to my home and letting me hear five of his wonderful speakers design.  (If I were to purchase two way monitors, it would be a Fritz.)  Von Schweikert's office and manufacturing plant is 1/4 mile from my church.  So it goes.  Had lots of exposure. 

Phantoms is because:
a. Bass production.
b. Two elongated basketball sized orbs - easy to travel with for the day when I move overseas in my line of work. 
c. My current rig can't be move from room to room and I can't afford to have a nice system for each room.  To move, I'll have to move: 78 lbs tube amp, 15 lbs dac, pair of speakers weighing about 25 lbs, pair of sub weighing about 60 lbs, plus the stands.  The Phantom solution is basically two orbs weighing 25 lbs each.  (I weighed them)  But this is going off topic.

But they have been an absolute pain to get going and Devialet's response to many has been abysmal. Very different from Louis of Omega or even Pinnacle whose tech responds in 24 hours to my various questions.

UL

« Last Edit: 1 Nov 2015, 06:22 am by Ultralight »

Canada Rob

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Hi Ultralight,

Regarding price, I was going by the Pinnacle website.  http://www.pinnaclespeakers.com/babyboomer.html

Doublej

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I think they were $199 in April 2015 one day on Woot. Perhaps they will repeat the deal sometime soon. I need a subwoofer for my Hsu monitors.

ACHiPo

Google Pinnacle Baby Boomer--$180 for a used one and $400 for new.  Thanks for the tip--this could be a nice addition to my swarm set up!

Ultralight

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Welcome.

Google Pinnacle Baby Boomer--$180 for a used one and $400 for new.  Thanks for the tip--this could be a nice addition to my swarm set up!

Doublej, $199???  Wow!  I paid quite a bit more than that.  That's just a killer price!

Canada Rob

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I didn't realize the Baby Boomers were going for so little.  That's a steal.  :thumb:

Ultralight

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Want to complete the circle.

After relatively extensive A/B testing, I confirm that the Pinnacles are as good for me as I originally stated.  I feel that they are slightly more resolved than the Phantom bass which is highly touted - an appropriately so.  These pinnacles are one reason I'm not keeping the Phantoms and staying with the Omega/Sub.   (The other reason is that Phantoms are just terribly buggy.)

It's a relief to be done with my speaker search.  Perhaps the only thing left to think about in terms of speakers is whether to pick up an Alnico monitor or dual RS5 with 2nd low passed to fatten up the lower mids.... :icon_lol:

UL

Canada Rob

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I realize not everyone can spring for an Omega sub, but personally one of my favorite pastimes in audio is to mate inexpensive electronics with the lower end Omegas.  I've had a B.A.S.H. powered Klipsch RPW10 "subwoofer" for about 8 years and had it in and out of various inexpensive systems with good to great results.  The most outstanding combos I've tried with this sub have been the Audio Engine N22 amp, D1 DAC, Omega Super 3i, and now my red board TPA3116 amp, Pure i20 dock/iPod Nano gen 6, and Super 3U.  This sub has no trouble keeping up the the lightning fast RS5, and yet it's a ported sub.
What makes it different?  It only goes down to 35Hz, has a light paper/fiber cone, relatively thin surround made of what appears to be a cross between foam and rubber, hence a very light and fast driver. 

The RPW10 was on the market for years attesting to their popularity, but strangely no professional reviews that I now of.  Research on the web will show that "non professional" reviewers love this sub for it's musicality.  It's not a one note thumper.  I'm sure they can be found in the used market for a very reasonable price.  With a pair of Super 3i or 3U and this sub, one could have a very formidable system for very low cost.  :thumb:




Ultralight

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Rob, good post.

FYI,  for those who care, the Baby sub sem to have usable range up to about 125hz relatively flat. But drops to about 250 still usable when summed with the Super 3i.  The Super 3i seem to have a treble tilt starting at about 500hz.  It now makes sense to me why Louis does his 1.5 with the second one low passed at 500hz.  Anyways, that's one reason why I think the Baby Boomer running full range works for me - it sums up relatively nicely with more bass emphasis than normal.  But just enough so that there is weight as I don't listen very loudly. 

UL

audiocirclerocks

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I just got a Baby Boomer to pair with my SAMs and it is integrating really nicely.  Very musical.  I settled on disabling the crossover and the spikes tighten up the sound a lot.  I'm using the same type of cables for the sub as for the SAMs which may be helping with integration.

Louis O

Hi Ultralight,

Many thanks for your great post regarding your Omega/Pinnacle system.

I too have heard great comments on the sub and have recommended them myself as a great value sub to pair with Omega.

Great to hear the Omega /Sub worked out and very soon the dual RS5 monitor will be posted.

Thanks again,
Louis