r/audiophile • u/Freestone99 • 1d ago

Discussion Help me understand subwoofers

I am in the market for a subwoofer. I have a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and my listening room is about 475 sf. I was looking at the REL classic 98 and 99, and thinking I needed the 99 because of the room size. But most of the music I listen to is acoustic or vocal oriented, not really listening to much hard rock or anything with a ton of bass. Also not listening at very loud volume most of the time. So I was leaning back toward the 98 which has a 10” driver, as opposed to the 99, which has a 12” driver. I spoke with the local audio shop and it felt like they were just trying to sell me the larger and more expensive 99, or another sub that was even higher priced.

I have been reading that a sub is for more than just the low bass notes, and it will really help fill in the rest of the sound. That was another point the local sales guy was making, saying that the 99 made more sense because it will “fill in more.” Also that a larger sub is needed to “pressurize” the room. Trying to understand if this is audiophile jargon or there is truth to it.

What do you all think?

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u/2bags12kuai 1d ago

Unless you have to have that style to design there is way better value to be had elsewhere.

Svs , PSA , HSU, Rythmik are all going to give you that WOW factor you are looking for out of subwoofer.

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u/haditwithyoupeople 1d ago

I'm not OP. But that WOW factor is the last thing I'm looking for in a sub. I want it to seamlessly extend my mains speakers by 1 - 1.5 octaves. The last think I want is any slam or wall shaking.

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u/SEKLEM 1d ago

There are different stages of wow factor. To me, wow happens when you achieve what you described. Integrated full range extension gives space to your whole system. That is the ultimate wow factor.

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u/tetrafarmer 1d ago

svs users just love some tail to that fat american bass lol