Subwoofer Selection and speaker cables and interconnects selection
Howard Ferstler
>
> I will be purchasing a set of front l-c-r speakers in the near future
> and I am interested in kindly receiving any tips, advice, and
> recommendations that might be offered regarding the single best
> matching & performing subwoofer amongst three I am considering. My
> equipment consists of a Denon DVM-3700 DVD player for playing source
> material, integrated amp/receiver is Sony STRD-A777ES and rear
> speakers are Infinity Reference Series RS-2s. The bookshelf speakers
> I intend on acquiring are the Paradigm Reference Studio 40s (mains)
> and Studio CC (center) speakers. I'd like to match these with the
> best subwoofer in terms of timber and tonal qualities as well as
> performance. The three I am considering are the Paradigm Reference
> Servo-15, Velodyne HGS-15, and Sunfire Signature subwoofers.
>
> Between the Velodyne HGS-15 and the Paradigm Servo-15 do you believe
> that either will seamlessly blend with the Studio Series speakers
> better than the other? If the HGS-15, just as well as or better than
> the Servo-15?
>
> In terms of listening room-size, total square footage is 428; total
> cubic feet is 3608. Would I be "ok" with either of these subs? We
> will be using this system 70% for audio and 30% for home theater.
I will deal just with your subwoofer and wire comments,
although
from what I gather your choice of satellites is quite solid.
Either of the subs you mentioned in your last sentence will
both
blend equally well, particularly if you use the built-in
crossover in your processor. The Servo 15, which I reviewed
for The Sensible Sound some months back, and which I coupled
with the outboard X-30 crossover during my testing, is an
outstanding sub and has a bit more maximum-output ability
than the HGS-15, which will be having a review by me show up
in The Audiophile Voice pretty soon. The X-30 crossover, by
the way, is designed to work with preamp-out and main-amp-in
connections. If you hook the Servo 15 up to your
subwoofer-out connection on your processor, you would use
one of the other, optional, Paradigm control boxes.
The HGS-15 has less measurable distortion than the Servo 15,
which was just slightly audible with test tones. However, I
am not sure that will show up with musical or movie program
material. Probably not. The HGS-15's big advantage over the
Servo 15 is its smaller size, because the Servo 15 is rather
large. The Paradigm's advantage is its lower price. In your
particular, 3600 cubic foot room, both would work fine,
although if you like really high levels the Paradigm would
have the edge.
> Are the Paradigm Reference series of speakers I am considering very
> sensitive to the type of cabling one would use? Your thoughts &
> recommendations?
As best I can judge, good-old 14 AWG or 12 AWG, stranded,
hardware-store wire would work just fine for speaker
hookups. At
moderate run lengths, even 16 AWG would be fine. In a big
room like yours, going the rational, generic-wire route will
save you some real money, and you will not give up any sound
quality.
> Also, seeking advice & recommendations on a particular brand of
> speaker cables & interconnects ... considering Acoustic
> Research, Audio Quest, MIT, Monster, Nordost and XLO.
I suggest hardware-store generic for the speaker wire and
Radio Shack for the interconnects. Radio Shack also has some
nice premium double-banana plugs for speaker hookups.
Howard Ferstler