Hi all,

I’m keen to try a single or dual W15s.  I use an active crossover were I can control levels to main and subwoofer amps as well as the crossover frequency and slope (12 or 24 Hz/octave). Two questions.

1. What sub amps drive the W15 well?
2. Given my external crossover, would a simple monoblock class d amp work?

Curious to hear what fans f the W15 are doing.

The Crown XLS 1000 and XLS1002 both synergize with the w15 very well. Don’t let the fact that they aren’t class A deter you. They also have built in crossovers, so you wouldn’t need that extra piece of equipment in your chain affecting your mains. I prefer the crossover slope of the XLS1000 but YMMV.

The only other amp I have tried was a Bryston 4B and used a capacitor/inductor crossover on the W15’s.  The Bryston was sluggish compared to the Crowns.

If you did want to use your crossover you could easily pick up an older Carver Class A. I have heard simple plate amps work.

Two votes for Crown amps. I will definitely check them out.
Anyone using Hypex or Purifi? I will call Zu and see what they suggest as well.  Looking at their subwoofers, they seem to use the fill in the lower octave where the mains naturally roll off approach. That would mean no more external crossover and probably high level (speaker cable) connections to a sub.

And I have never heard a W15.  But I did have the F-15 as mains for awhile before I sent them back to a buddy who bought them originally. So I am familiar with the Lii house sound.

Adding things up, a W15 in a Caintuck baffle with a reasonable class D amp (like a Crown XLS1002) is probably around $1500.  The traditional sealed 12" to 15" sub from Zu or Rel would be double that amount new.  So I have some $ motivation here as this is my frequently changing, experimental, fun, awesome, second system. Also, in my room, 2 Subs are definitely easier to integrate than one.

Karl,

Good luck with your subwoofer selection. I have a Caintuck Audio F15 OB in my dedicated two channel system and recently added an inexpensive Vanguard Caldera 10 subwoofer to experiment with the integration. Suffice to say that in my small listening room, with limited space, the combination sounded very good, so much that I decided to upgrade the subwoofer. Because of my space limitations, I focused on 12" powered subwoofers.

I ended up ordering a Rythmik F12G servo subwoofer which is designed to be easily integrated with open baffle speakers. The driver is designed by Danny Ritchie of GR Research with a highly adjustable 370WRMS PEQ built in rear plate amp.

It's being delivered today, so no real world listening to report as of yet. I'm looking forward to putting the new subwoofer through it's paces over the next couple weeks.

HK

This week I sold both of my old subwoofers.  Listening to the system without them reminds me how good the main speakers sound straight up.  

Hockessinkid, how are the Rhythmik subs?  I read all about them but have never listened to them.  

The Liionidas look amazing too. I’m a little confused about the advantages of that wiring scheme.

Very interested to hear how you go about integrating the sub in your system.  Let us know how things are progressing.

Thanks Steve. That's what I'm doing, using speaker cables off the ZMA terminals into the F12G high level inputs. I found a good crossover point, volume level & gain for a pretty flat total frequency response in my room. The servo sub driver is exceptionally fast and blends very well with the Caintuck LiiF15 OB speakers.

HK

The Rythmik F12G is faster, faster, faster then the Caldera. It has much greater flexibility due to several parameters that can be adjusted on the plate amplifier, this results in more placement options. Due to the speed there is a greater sense of space to the sound. I'm hearing greater detail in instruments, vocals, breathing, and spatial clued are more evident. So in a nutshell, greater transparency.

The actual cabinet is only slightly bigger than the Caldera 10, but weighs in at 70 lbs. Danny Ritchie really nailed it with this servo subwoofer driver (w/ a treated paper cone) design IMHO. Hope this helps.

P.S. I got the matte black subwoofer. Nice and an understated appearance.

HK