One of the best subwoofers under $2k
Written: Aug 21 '01 (Updated Aug 21 '01)
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Pros: extraordinary bass quality; seamless system integration; attractive design; well-built; affordable
Cons: slightly "polite" sound, not the last word in high output and dynamics
The Bottom Line: A downright excellent subwoofer, regardless of price, and a steal at $1100; there is no better subwoofer in the price range for music.
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| dorkus's Full Review: Audio Concepts 12" Powered Subwoofer ACI Titan |
Note: this is a review of the latest 2001 Titan LE model, which is functionally similar to the model pictured here, but with a different cabinet; see http://www.audioc.com for more information.
Audio Concepts Inc (ACI) is not a name you'll see at your local Circuit City; they're a relatively small direct-marketing speaker shop that's gained a very loyal following over the last couple decades. They sell an assortment of moderately-priced loudspeakers in both fully-finished and kit forms, all of which sport excellent components and first-rate cabinetry. The Tital II LE, introduced just this past June, is the latest subwoofer from ACI and designer Mike Dzurko. It is essentially the same bass driver and electronics of the older Titan II model in a new cabinet to match their new, high-performance "LE" line of speakers. I had been in the market for a good subwoofer around $1000 for months and was eyeing the Titan II, which seemed to receive unanimously rave reviews for its extremely musical, well-controlled bass output and ease of integration with difficult speakers. These descriptions of the Titan seemed to be exactly what I was looking for in a subwoofer, so when the new LE model was announced I took a gamble and placed an order for one in maple finish. This was not the first I was buying an audio product time without ever hearing it - I bought my Merlin TSM speakers based on reviews and hearsay alone - but ACI has a 30-day money back gurarantee on all their products so I was willing to give it a shot.
Description
The Titan II LE is a sealed-box design, which means it does not have the extra-bass-output-for-free of a ported system; thus, there are probably subwoofers out there around the same price that can boom a little louder than the Titan. That said, this is a "quality over quantity design," with none of the boominess usually associated with inexpensive models. It includes a 250W internal amp and a very flexible low-pass crossover with two independent, continuously-variable frequency controls, each with a 12dB/octave slope. Line-level inputs are provided and external speaker-level adapters are provided with the unit; a "theater-direct" input allows you to bypass the level and crossover controls for use with surround sound processors that have dedicated subwoofer outputs. Optional cones are available for carpeted floors. The subwoofer is very hefty and solidly-build, with a very attractive real hardwood finish. It is available in a number of different finishes and should blend in with most decors nicely.
Minor quibble - the crossover/level adjustment knobs are tiny and hard to adjust finely. It's also very difficult to see the position of the black knobs since the marking on them is a small detent; a little white indicator line and larger knobs would be very helpful here. Otherwise, everything seems well-built, well-designed, and easy to use. The manual is concise but goes over the basic setup points in good detail, so new users should have no trouble getting started.
Associated Equipment and Setup
Here is some of the associated equipment used in my system:
-Sony DVP-S7700 DVD player
-MSB Link DAC (modified)
-Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital processor
-home-made integrated amplifier (based on a Rega Brio)
-Merlin TSM-M monitors on Osiris Plus
-Analysis Plus Oval-12 speaker cables, home-made Cardas wire and Canare GS-6 interconnects
My apartment living room is connected to the dining room for an overall size of about 13' x 24'; my speakers are about 3' from the side and back walls, with the Titan positioned just behind and to the left of the right speaker. ACI sells line-level high-pass filters you can use on your main speaker amplifier if you feed the Titan a separate signal from your preamp, but since I didn't build preamp outputs into my integrated amp I hooked the Titan up to my right speaker's speaker terminal using the supplied speaker-level adapters, and let the Merlin mains run full-range; I also have my surround sound processor wired to the "Theater Direct" input of the Titan for watching DVDs (very handy). This setup actually works quite well because the Merlin is a sealed-box design with a very well-controlled rolloff below around 60Hz, though ACI still recommends using high-pass filters on your mains to improve integration and save amplifier power. Most people will end using high-pass filters between 60Hz and 85Hz or so, with a corresponding cut-off frequency dialed into the Titan; when I switch to a separate amp and preamp, this is the route I'll probably take. For now, the crossover controls on my Titan are set to around 55Hz and 80Hz, which seems to give a good blend the Merlins in my room. Regardless of how you set up the filters, I recommend trying hooking up only ONE channel up to a single Titan (left or right) instead of wiring both left and right up and letting the Titan sum the signal; oftentimes you will actually get better response with just one side hooked up, since summing sometimes causes uneven cancellations and nulls in the bass on certain recordings. With classical music, I find the right channel works well since that is where most of the bass-heavy instruments are placed on the stage (e.g. cello, bass, trombone, tuba). Incidentally, having a test CD and SPL meter will aid setup greatly - I used a Radio Shack SPL meter and a laptop computer to calibrate mine. I was originally going to tweak by ear but using test signals and a meter got my settings spot-on in a matter of minutes and saved me hours of fiddling around by ear.
Sound Quality
Out of the box, the sound is not bad, but nowhere near the potential of the unit - give it a good 50+ hours of solid break-in time before evaluating critically. After the first 10 - 20 hours you will start to hear pitch definition really come into its own and dynamics begin to open up. After a full break-in, bass sounds deep, well-defined, and quick - there is no overhang or slowness of response. It will not break your windows and flap your pants legs at 20Hz like the 2500-watt, 450-pound Krell Reference Sub, but it will play deeply and loudly enough to adequatly fill a moderately large room. With music, I think it has few equals up to even twice its price. With movies the bass is similarly outstanding, though its output stresses low distortion over room-shaking ability, and movie explosions at times can sound just a tad reserved. However it's difficult for me to tell if the subwoofer or upstream components (e.g. surround sound processor) are at fault - I've never had this kind of low-frequency resolution in my system before so evaluating the overal sound has become a whole new ball game. Still, to some ears there may be better home theater subs out there that provide a little more bang and output (maybe the Hsu units?), but I have not heard better overall definition of bass from a sub anywhere near this price. Whether listening to orchestra music, organ, jazz, or pop, the Titan's accuracy and control is outstanding; it is so well-controlled and free of distortion artifacts that it will not interfere with the purity of the lower midrange of your main speakers. In fact, if anything the midrange of my system seems even cleaner and more open, even without a high-pass filter for my mains. It may seem as if it is a tad "polite" and lacks a bit of "slam" sometimes, but it is never strained or compressed unless pushed to its limits. Speaking of which, the 250W amp provides plenty of clean output, though disco freaks need not apply - at very high levels the protection circuitry kicks in and keeps output reasonable. For those who need more output and slam w/o sacrificing quality, a stereo pair of Titans should provide plenty of bass and may be just the ticket.
Regardless of what you are listening to, a great benefit of the Titan's bass quality is that it is extremely natural and creates very little if any listener fatigue. Oftentimes certain types of distortions in a system or component can irritate listeners, either at a obvious or subliminal level, to the point where listening for extended periods becomes tiresome. I've experienced such fatigue with inferior subwoofers, which do not have truly deep, clean bass but instead need to be turned up loudly to be heard at all, at which point they just boom and distort, giving me a headache. The Titan is so natural, so clean, so seamless, oftentimes you will need to remind yourself it is playing, yet it provides a wonderfully organic, flowing foundation to the sound that makes music and soundtracks so much more satisfying to listen to. Adjust it to the point where it just disappears, listen for a while, then turn it off - you will be shocked at what you were missing. Everything from orchestra and organ in Holst The Planets, to songs from Police Every Breath You Take album, to the lush soundtrack and explosive action of The World Is Not Enough on DVD sounded terrific. Other subwoofers may sound more impressive with booming and banging on first listen, but the Titan delivers long-term listening satisfaction.
Compared to the highly-regarded REL Strata, the Titan strikes me as having better definition and being tighter-sounding overall. The REL was not bad when I tried it, but I simply could not get it to blend better with my Merlin TSM mains, which have an extremely tight, critically-damped bass due to the sealed-box design. Bass notes from the REL always seemed to lag behind, and even with the fairly good crossover on the REL I could hear lumps in the integration between the two. When watching the infamous lobby shooting scene in The Matrix, the bass beat of the music lagged behind the higher frequencies and seemed to unduly weigh-down the sense of speed and action in the scene. With less critically-damped mains, I can see the REL working well, but in my system the Titan was far easier to integrate and seemed to go deeper as well. ACI advertises the Titan as being fast and clean enough to integrate with even fussy planar speakers, and my experience with it leaves me with nothing to doubt their claims. Oh, and don't even bother comparing the Titan to the mass-market stuff out there, it will absolutely blow them away in bass quality: Velodyne, Paradigm, Polk, you name it - none of them come close.
Summary
This is an amazing sub for the money! For music I know of nothing that comes close for the price, and don't get me wrong, it still works great for home theater. It has plenty of power, goes very deep in all but the largest of rooms, and thoroughly out-performed with both movies and music the highly-regarded Rel Strata III, which in turn out-performs the vast majority of subwoofers around or under its price ($1200). It's just that some people associate home theater with loud, boomy, thumpy, distorted bass, and if that is what you are expecting from the Titan than you will be disappointed. Its shortcomings are those of omission, not commission, which I feel is DEFINITELY the way to go with a subwoofer if cost is an object. ACI's customer service is excellent, and the generous 30-day home trial policy should give you enough time to feel it out in your system - if you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund. You don't have to take my word for it though, just check out all the 5-star recommendations in the subwoofer section of www.audioreview.com and you will see I am not the only one who thinks highly of this sub. Fast, clean, powerful, accurate, well-built, good-looking, affordable - you can't really ask for much more. I like it so much, I'm planning to get a second one and set them up as a stereo pair; I think two of these will be absolutely killer and hard to beat at the combined price of around $2k. Highly recommended!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1050
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Epinions.com ID:
dorkus
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Member: tasty donuts
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 4 members
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