Velodyne DD10+ or JL Fathom 12?

[Face]

Originally Posted by kfr01

I like the design philosophy of a sealed midrange that is coaxial and coincident with the tweeter. Further, I like that I could not build the KEF Reference speakers due to this feature.

Speaker Exchange | KEF 8″ Q900 Coaxial Driver

[djwhog]

Well bass distortion is is important to a point but the speed and accuracy of the bass is more so. Most deep bass is going to have more distortion, again to a point, it is a result of the drive movement, vibration cabinet etc.

[asindc]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Hrm... I've heard lower measured distortion on the Velodynes due to the servo control, but better speed on the JLs. Which is more important? I suppose speed is more important for integration purposes.

For 2-channel, I would go with the faster sub, all else being equal besides the measured distortion. If the bass is lagging on 2-channel, you will constantly notice it.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by Face

Speaker Exchange | KEF 8″ Q900 Coaxial Driver

Face: I love that you've got a DIY answer for everything!

As much as I would love to DIY again, I just can't do it due to the time and space involved.

[bart]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Douglax:

Thanks for checking in. The selection process is going slowly as I'm contemplating where I want to take my system in the long term.

I know that eventually I want to replace my DIY towers with something better. They use very capable 7" XBL^2 long throw woofers, a nice 4.5" XBL^2 paper cone midrange, and a pretty good soft done tweeter. In room, I've got real response down to 30hz, but I have some "port bloat" that goes along with using 7" woofers, a port, and no high pass crossover. I also have no bass correction, so there are necessarily a few room-related nodes (suck-outs and peaks) that are impossible to fully treat with passive treatment. While the soft dome tweeter (still used by Usher Audio in some of its commercial speakers) and the paper midrange measure well and are fairly low in distortion relative to many midranges and tweeters in commercial speakers, I know that more performance in the mids and highs are available. Particularly, I know that I could gain faster decay, lower harmonic distortion, and higher resolution up and down the frequency spectrum.

I'm very happy with my Wyred4Sound DAC-2 and MA6600.

Long story short, er, long, I'm looking at some level of speaker/sub change within the next year or so. It probably makes sense to start with the subwoofer, as it will work with my current speakers and new speakers.

Subwoofers are between the JL and the Velodyne, and I'm currently leaning toward a 15" Velodyne.

Speakers being considered include:
KEF Reference (considering the 201/2 monitors through 205/2 speakers)
BW 802D
PMC EB2i, IB2i
Wilson Sophia 3

The KEF Reference 201/2 or 203/2 speakers plus the Velodyne subwoofer is where I am leaning currently. As a guy that has read his share of DIY speaker building literature and measured a few speakers, I have great respect for John Atkinson's reviews and measurements in Stereophile. The latest KEF Reference line seems to be one of the best measuring lines that Stereophile reviews for the price. I like the design philosophy of a sealed midrange that is coaxial and coincident with the tweeter. Further, I like that I could not build the KEF Reference speakers due to this feature.

Ik think the KEF Ref is a very fine choice.
But do give the PMC's a listen!

[dirtbag]

My personal experience has been that I had a JL F112 and sold it to get
2 DD10+. Both setups were with my LaScala II's. The Velodyne were a definite improvement, but that is most likely due to going to 2 subs versus 1.
Go with 2 subs no matter what.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by dirtbag

My personal experience has been that I had a JL F112 and sold it to get
2 DD10+. Both setups were with my LaScala II's. The Velodyne were a definite improvement, but that is most likely due to going to 2 subs versus 1.
Go with 2 subs no matter what.

Great feedback, thanks! No noticeable speed decrease? Very musical?

[dirtbag]

I know everyone says the JL are faster but I feel the 10" Velodynes are faster than my F112. They blend amazingly well and because they are positioned right behind the main speakers, for music I almost feel like there are no subs at all.
If I turn them up a bit I can get that bass pounding in the chest that I have only experienced with live music.
I'm no expert, I just love listening to music.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by dirtbag

I know everyone says the JL are faster but I feel the 10" Velodynes are faster than my F112. They blend amazingly well and because they are positioned right behind the main speakers, for music I almost feel like there are no subs at all.
If I turn them up a bit I can get that bass pounding in the chest that I have only experienced with live music.
I'm no expert, I just love listening to music.

Fantastic feedback! Thank you. For some reason, the Velodyne is calling me.

Originally Posted by dirtbag

My personal experience has been that I had a JL F112 and sold it to get
2 DD10+. Both setups were with my LaScala II's. The Velodyne were a definite improvement, but that is most likely due to going to 2 subs versus 1.
Go with 2 subs no matter what.

Smart setup. I love my Velodyne dd+15 (is fast enough to keep up with my magnepans) but wish I had gone with two dd10s instead for stereo, phase, and smaller footprint.