Anyone else have this subwoofer? Got it as part of a very cheap audio haul, with a Denon DRA-75VR and a set of Polk Audio Monitor 7 speakers.
Is this sub any good? I have yet to play with it. I also have a Yamaha YST-SW216 and I'm kind of wondering whether or not this one is better.
Anyone else have this subwoofer? Got it as part of a very cheap audio haul, with a Denon DRA-75VR and a set of Polk Audio Monitor 7 speakers.
Is this sub any good? I have yet to play with it. I also have a Yamaha YST-SW216 and I'm kind of wondering whether or not this one is better.
Just acquired a Klipsch KSW10 from local thrift shop, then read the comments here and on Audio Review. I found the good and bad comments are surprisingly both correct in my listening context. For comparison, I have two other subs that work pretty well in a particular room placement. In this fully carpeted room, subs only work well in a couple of places and best when two subs are running. For additional context, I was listening to jazz with good base, for example Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock.
At first the Klipsch volume level was quite low and the base indistinct and muddy. I opened it up and took out the foam damping material. The foam in there was folded up taking up substantial space. Volume level and clarity improved but with a mid base emphasis and little deep bottom. I chatted Klipsch, for suggestions. They don’t recommend taking out or changing any damping material.
On my own, I took a minimalist approach. I cut a 1-foot square out of the wad of foam and put it on the wall behind the woofer. From what I have read, this minimizes reflection of sound waves back to the woofer which can cause interference. I also glued down the cardboard port which was a little loose.
Results: Base is reasonably clear, distinct, and plenty deep. Volume level is up even more than it was without damping material. Sounds pretty good. I don’t think the KSW10 is inherently bad. Original assembly could have been the problem. The sound is good enough that I am using the KSW10 in place of one of the other subs.
To a lesser degree, I had a similar problem with a down-firing Mission sub in the same room. It sounded great on my hardwood floors upstairs but not as good in the carpeted basement. Maybe the unmodified KSW10 would have sounded fine upstairs, but I didn’t try it there.
On a related note, I don’t think this sub lacked power but gain, if that is the correct term. Even when the KSW10 wasn’t producing good sound, I could increase level substantially through my receiver’s level menu by suppressing the front speakers to minimum and upping the sub to max. Doing so allowed me to vary the volume level on the sub as needed. After the acoustic fix, such shenanigans weren’t needed.
