Klipsch SW-311 Subwoofer First Look
Klipsch SW-311 Sub
Summary
- Product Name: SW-311
- Manufacturer: Klipsch
- Review Date: October 28, 2010 22:00
- MSRP: $1499
- First Impression: Mildly Interesting
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- FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 22Hz-120KHz ± 3dB
- SENSITIVITY: 106dB @ 40Hz
- MAX ACOUSTIC OUTPUT: 118dB @ 30Hz
- AMPLIFIER POWER: FTC Rated Power: 500 watts continuous @ <2% THD / Dynamic Power*: 1200 watts
- DRIVE COMPONENTS: 10" (25.4cm) Active / Dual 10" Passive non-resonant Woven Fiberglass drivers
- AMPLIFIER: BASH Digital Hybrid class-AB
- ENCLOSURE TYPE: Bass-reflex via dual side-firing passive radiators
- INPUTS: L/R Line-level RCA jacks, USB, 12V Trigger, MIC, WA port
- OUTPUTS: Line-level RCA jack
- HEIGHT: 13" (33cm)
- WIDTH: 13" (33cm)
- DEPTH: 14" (35.6cm)
- WEIGHT: 37lbs (16.8kg)
- FEATURES: DCS control and feature set w/ 5 system presets and Adaptive Room Correction II with 12 active filters
- FINISHES: Black satin
Executive Overview
We're always on the lookout for the next, big subwoofer advancement. In recent years, unfortunately, online manufacturers have taken the "big" far too literally. What you end up with is people that have succumbed to the Internet hype of post-happy bass heads that can't stop talking about how low their new Internet Direct sub will hit. When Joe Consumer gets his new sub delivered in a crate... by a forklift... he quickly has to Google "cheap hotel rooms." It's either that or face the wife.
Direct to consumer manufacturers haven't had the luxury of building huge subs in order to "win" the subsonic arms race. Instead, they have to build a sub that consumers will see in a store and still buy. In fact, they have to build a sub that consumers will listen to in a store and still buy. Not only is infrasonic performance important, but so is linearity. This takes not only a modeling program, but also technical know-how. Klipsch has been in the speaker business for many years. If they are known for one thing, it is for making speakers that are well regarded for home theater. Specifically movie performance. If you are going to make a good set of home theater speakers, you better have a good sub to back it up.
Klipsch has announced a new subwoofer line that is focused on "cross-brand" compatibility. At first we weren't sure what exactly that meant since, of all speakers, subwoofers are the most agnostic. On closer inspection, we're guessing the new line has a more general look. Previous Klipsch subwoofers have all had their trademark copper color drivers. While these look great, we could see how they'd think people might be hesitant to pair them with their aluminum driver speakers - especially if they like to run their speakers with the grills off.
The new "SW" line consists of five new models: the SW-311, SW-310, SW-308, SW-112 and SW-110. They range in price from $1499 for the top of the line SW-311 down to $449 for the SW-110. All the new subs have highly damped, non-resonant woven fiberglass drivers, BASH Digital Hybrid amplifiers, and a 1-watt standby mode. The entry-level SW-110 and 112 have a front slot-style port and a matte finish. The SW-308, 310, and 311 all sport a 4-layer voice coil on an aluminum former, a black satin finish, and dual side-mounted passive radiators. In an interesting move, only the front driver is covered by a grill. The side passive radiators are left exposed.
There are a couple of unique properties to the Klipsch SW-311 model. The most advanced is the easy-to-access front controls and patented ARC II (Adaptive Room Correction) technology automatically customizes bass performance with 12 active filters. There are a few different control options. There is an "EQ" mode which you can defeat by setting to "Flat" or can boost the 55Hz region with the "Punch" setting or boost the 30Hz region with the "Depth" setting. Unless you KNOW that you have a problem in those areas (or if you don't really care about linearity - and if so, why exactly did you just spend $1500 on a sub?), we'd recommend "Flat." You can adjust the low pass filter (what others would call "crossover") and even the slope (18, 24, 36 & 48 dB/Octave).
There is a mic input. This is used for the the ARC II auto calibration which measures your room. There are five different presets (“Movie”, “Music”, “Night”, “User 1” and “User 2”) all of which can be overwritten by the user. Of course, the room correction is fairly opaque to the user unless you are a Klipsch installer. On the back of the unit there is a USB port. While these days you might be justified that this would be for integration with an iPod (every other USB port seems to be), it isn't the case. With the SW-311, the USB port can be used by a certified Klipsch installer to view and modify the EQ. Alternative, installer systems that utilize a USB hookup can use this port. Again, if you're not an installer, just ignore it. In fact, there is an IR receiver on the top of the sub that can be used to integrate the sub into a universal remote system (you can get the codes from Klipsch) but there is NO included remote for the sub.
Performance-wise, the SW-311 looks to be decent for its price point. It is listed as reaching down to 22Hz at -3dB, has a maximum output of 118dB at 30Hz (we're guessing at one meter), and a 500 watt amp. There is a single 10" driver with dual 10" passive radiators. We wish they would have upgraded the grill to a magnetic connection rather than the traditional compression posts. The Klipsch SW-311 weighs in at a respectable (and still manageable) 37lbs. It is just a bit bigger than a 13" cube, and has rounded corners.
Conclusion
The new SW subwoofer line from Klipsch, headed up by the SW-311 looks to make a break from the traditional Klipsch stylings. The flagship SW-311 is definitely geared towards custom installers that will be able to fine tune the integrated room correction algorithm and utilize the IR receiver or USB port to integrate it in their chosen control systems. General consumers will like the automated room correction, tweakers will like all the additional controls, and spouses will like small footprint. While it may seem a little over-priced for a sub that only reached down to 22Hz, the additional features and controls are sure to attract many.
For more information, please visit www.klipsch.com.
Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.
Ported/passive radiated subs can sound just fine. While a purist may get his undies in a twist, there is such a thing called an EQ, that most modern receivers have, that can tame any ‘exaggerations’ a non-sealed sub may have. Remember that not evryone has the same goals. Some people don't require as high an SPL as someone else.
The real issue is if someone buys a subwoofer that is ‘undersized’ and tries to make it perform at too high an SPL or produce frequencies outside its true range.
In the real world, not everyone can fit a 4+ cubic foot sub. If you can fit it, by all means, get a gigantic sealed sub and enjoy the quality.
Interestingly, I have owned a 6 c.f. (and passive radiated) subwoofer. It sounded fantastic and was reasonably flat to 12 Hz. Today, I would have no room for such a beast (unless I wanted to be kicked out to the street).
kaiser_soze, post: 763292
I presently own a Definitive Technology SuperCube II. It is an exceptionally nice subwoofer for its size, and I fully understand that given the small size, it is a practical necessity that it have passive radiators, or else be ported.
That said, the best subwoofers are based on the acoustic suspension principle, and when I eventually get around to buying another subwoofer, it will be an acoustic suspension subwoofer. It will necessarily be large, but that is price you have to pay.
The bass you get with ported enclosures (and passive radiators are in every significant way equivalent to ported enclosures) is phony bass as far as I am concerned, and it never ceases to befuddle me that more people do not realize this. The fact that almost all commercial speakers these days use ported enclosures or passive radiators and that the inherently superior acoustic suspension approach has largely fallen by the wayside, is a sad commentary on what has happened in the hifi industry over the past 2-3 decades.
Ported designs, to include passive radiators, turn the enclosure into a Helmholtz resonator. The mere fact that the word “resonator” is the primary descriptive word should tell you something. A resonance is being superimposed on the speaker's sensitivity curve. The resonance has a pronounced fundamental peak, and it is positioned, by way of tuning or aligning the port/radiator to the enclosure volume, so that it occurs at the frequency that is deemed optimal. But in fact the process of tuning or alignment amounts to deciding where the peak in the ripple should occur and then causing it to occur at that frequency. The rolloff below that frequency is abrupt, and this is contrary to the basic notion of a subwoofer. The idea of a subwoofer is that it should extend the bass response as deeply as possible, even below 20 Hz. Vinyl records involve equalization in order to deal with the mechanical limitations of the groove and tracking, and they are inherently limited in deep bass as a result. The same is not true of CDs and digital recording in general, where bass often occurs even deeper than 20 Hz.
It is just wrong to apply a ripple to the sensitivity curve of a subwoofer, because the effect is to emphasize bass at one frequency that is deemed, subjectively, as low as is needed or desirable, while dramatically de-emphasizing the sensitivity at lower frequency. The effect of the ripple is also evident at frequencies above the tuning frequency. The only way to avoid the ripple is to not use a passive radiator or port, because the effect of the principle, that is the rationale for using ports or passive radiators, comes by way of the ripple. You can't have the beneficial effect without the ripple, because the effect IS the ripple. Even if the resonance is damped so as to avoid the typical hump at the tuning frequency and flatten out the response down to a certain frequency, the response is still going to roll off abruptly below the tuning frequency, and the ear will still perceive the corner as a resonance or peak in the response. In other words, the “one note” bass effect will still apply even if the hump is avoided and replaced with a sharp corner in the response. The only way to avoid that effect is to avoid the corner, i.e., is for the response to roll off gradually and smoothly, with no abrupt roll off below the tuning frequency. This is why older acoustic suspension speakers in general have more natural sounding bass than almost all modern speakers that use ports or passive radiators. People who are accustomed to the sound of good acoustic suspension speakers generally find it difficult to listen to ported speakers, and there is no mystery why. The bass you get with ported enclosures and passive radiators is quantity in lieu of quality. It's just that simple. It's all about the perception of greater quantity of bass for the typical consumer who walks into a showroom at an electronics megastore and listens for speakers that have exaggerated, cheap, non-musical bass. Even most of the commercial brands associated with high quality have long since been forced to jump on the ported speaker bandwagon, because it is what sells. But the fact that it sells better says nothing about the true sound quality. If you want true sound quality, one of the things that you want to look for is true acoustic suspension, and not ported enclosures or enclosures with passive radiators.
Dumb question (perhaps) - are you simply saying the only good subs are sealed subs?
I presently own a Definitive Technology SuperCube II. It is an exceptionally nice subwoofer for its size, and I fully understand that given the small size, it is a practical necessity that it have passive radiators, or else be ported.
That said, the best subwoofers are based on the acoustic suspension principle, and when I eventually get around to buying another subwoofer, it will be an acoustic suspension subwoofer. It will necessarily be large, but that is price you have to pay.
The bass you get with ported enclosures (and passive radiators are in every significant way equivalent to ported enclosures) is phony bass as far as I am concerned, and it never ceases to befuddle me that more people do not realize this. The fact that almost all commercial speakers these days use ported enclosures or passive radiators and that the inherently superior acoustic suspension approach has largely fallen by the wayside, is a sad commentary on what has happened in the hifi industry over the past 2-3 decades.
Ported designs, to include passive radiators, turn the enclosure into a Helmholtz resonator. The mere fact that the word “resonator” is the primary descriptive word should tell you something. A resonance is being superimposed on the speaker's sensitivity curve. The resonance has a pronounced fundamental peak, and it is positioned, by way of tuning or aligning the port/radiator to the enclosure volume, so that it occurs at the frequency that is deemed optimal. But in fact the process of tuning or alignment amounts to deciding where the peak in the ripple should occur and then causing it to occur at that frequency. The rolloff below that frequency is abrupt, and this is contrary to the basic notion of a subwoofer. The idea of a subwoofer is that it should extend the bass response as deeply as possible, even below 20 Hz. Vinyl records involve equalization in order to deal with the mechanical limitations of the groove and tracking, and they are inherently limited in deep bass as a result. The same is not true of CDs and digital recording in general, where bass often occurs even deeper than 20 Hz.
It is just wrong to apply a ripple to the sensitivity curve of a subwoofer, because the effect is to emphasize bass at one frequency that is deemed, subjectively, as low as is needed or desirable, while dramatically de-emphasizing the sensitivity at lower frequency. The effect of the ripple is also evident at frequencies above the tuning frequency. The only way to avoid the ripple is to not use a passive radiator or port, because the effect of the principle, that is the rationale for using ports or passive radiators, comes by way of the ripple. You can't have the beneficial effect without the ripple, because the effect IS the ripple. Even if the resonance is damped so as to avoid the typical hump at the tuning frequency and flatten out the response down to a certain frequency, the response is still going to roll off abruptly below the tuning frequency, and the ear will still perceive the corner as a resonance or peak in the response. In other words, the “one note” bass effect will still apply even if the hump is avoided and replaced with a sharp corner in the response. The only way to avoid that effect is to avoid the corner, i.e., is for the response to roll off gradually and smoothly, with no abrupt roll off below the tuning frequency. This is why older acoustic suspension speakers in general have more natural sounding bass than almost all modern speakers that use ports or passive radiators. People who are accustomed to the sound of good acoustic suspension speakers generally find it difficult to listen to ported speakers, and there is no mystery why. The bass you get with ported enclosures and passive radiators is quantity in lieu of quality. It's just that simple. It's all about the perception of greater quantity of bass for the typical consumer who walks into a showroom at an electronics megastore and listens for speakers that have exaggerated, cheap, non-musical bass. Even most of the commercial brands associated with high quality have long since been forced to jump on the ported speaker bandwagon, because it is what sells. But the fact that it sells better says nothing about the true sound quality. If you want true sound quality, one of the things that you want to look for is true acoustic suspension, and not ported enclosures or enclosures with passive radiators.
I do wonder who buys something like this at even close to list price.
What are these ‘features’ that the article talks about? An EQ? A Class D amp? No remote?
Gee, can't get that on every other sub at this price point or less… :sarcasm:
Admittedly, I'm tempted to pick up a closeout Klipsch XW-300d. At $280 on Amazon, that's a price more in-line with its value, not its $700 (joke) MSRP.
This SW-311 may be a worthwhile pickup as well…in 2 years on clearance for $500 or less.
I like Klipsch speakers, in fact, all of my speakers are Klipsch, in two complete sound systems (one is a 6.1, the other an 8.1). They range from Cornwalls to RB-75s and in wall units and one very unique custom set using KLipsch woofers and RAAL 140-15D supertweeters with 4th order Butterworth crossovers (copper foil chokes, Auracaps, etc). However, my subs are not Klipsch. Why? They are a poor value for what they do. Have auditioned Klipsch subs and thought they were pretty darn good, but the price (OMG!)…just doesn't cut the mustard. $1,500 and it only goes to 22Hz (of course the in-room extension will go a bit lower), while competitors can accurately go much lower for a lot less mulah. In fact, 22 Gustav Herz barely gives the sub a claim to “sub”. Subwoofers should be able to do obnoxious teens in response, and until that happens, in my opinion, it ain't a sub.
As Associate Editor at Audioholics, Tom promises to the best of his ability to give each review the same amount of attention, consideration, and thoughtfulness as possible and keep his writings free from undue bias and preconceptions. Any indication, either internally or from another, that bias has entered into his review will be immediately investigated. Substantiation of mistakes or bias will be immediately corrected regardless of personal stake, feelings, or ego.
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