Perhaps all that needs to be said has been said, but I’m still typing
There has been no absolute standard by which subwoofers are judged that could result in a universally recognized performance/value ‘points system’ where one could say, “I compared two subs (1.3 rated) with one sub (2.6 rated) and found that I prefer such-and-such.” So when one can’t answer the question of which sub is twice as good as another, one can’t really even arrive at the question, “Which is better, one ‘twice-as-good’ sub or two ‘good’ subs?” I guess the question comes to, “Which do I prefer, two, three or four of the best $1X dollar subs I can find, or one of the best $2X, $3X or $4X dollar subs I can find?” Because the particular listening environment you have plays such a large part in finding that answer, the only real way to find out is find the time to give each a proper setup and listening test in your environment.
I recently had the chance to compare the use of two Sony WX-700’s (about $250 each) with two Sunfire Signature’s (about $1150 each). These subs were built with similar design goals – two moving surfaces, small footprint. The WX-700’s have a slightly larger footprint while the Sunfire Signatures have slightly larger drivers. Because the Sunfire’s drivers are more exposed, each Sunfire needed slightly more clearance than the Sony’s, so each type needed just much floor space as the other. I would have liked to have included two LFM-1’s in the comparison, as their performance at their price point is very, very good, but the LFM-1’s were not as easily obtained and returned.
Quick Q&A’s:
1: What were the notable differences? The Sunfires offered more output and lower frequency extension, but two WX-700’s still offered plenty of ‘authority.’
2: Was the Sunfire “four times” better than the Sony? Nope.
3: If a budget had room for them, would I spend the extra $$ for the Sunfires? Yes. As is usually the case, as one approaches diminishing returns, a ‘50%’ improvement may cost four times as much.
4: On a tight budget, how would I spend? I’d buy two of the WX-700’s for now. One to four years from now, I would expect I could upgrade – I would have time to save and I expect that the price performance of subs will continue to improve, so perhaps a sub with better performance than the WX-700 will be available later on for less than the Sunfire Signature costs now. And the WX-700’s would still sound great in a second system.
Again, I wish I could have had the LFM-1 in the comparison. Perhaps it is that value, sought in the last paragraph, available now, between the WX-700 and the Sunfire model compared. The LFM-1 is about twice the cost of the WX-700 but about half the cost of the Sunfire Signature.
bossobass: In the setup mentioned in the post of August 28, how would you control the playback volume? If you are using the 950, then the LFE subwoofer level would remain unchanged while everything else, going through the 950, would be variable.
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