Brute force, cost no object, size no object subwoofer designs are the easy way out of the physics issues involved. The results are often amazing in terms of output and extension (and often price, if well executed), yet extremely disappointing in terms of neutrality, musicality, IM distortions, etc. So, great for movie LFE effects, but not much else.

And for those looking for subs with substantial output below 20 Hz, be careful what you ask for ... a cone producing 10 Hz waves makes quite the mess out of the very meaningful 80 Hz sounds it is trying to produce. Not to mention the effect on the cabinet in any non-vibration-cancelling design.

If you want a sub that is compact (I do understand that members of this community may not care about size, but the other 90% of GoldenEar's potential buyers do, and very much so), extremely high output and remarkably good sounding, my listening experience to date would say the SuperSub (either) has absolutely no peer. And I've heard them all, so I'm not just guessing. The SuperSubs are engineering masterpieces, created by some of the most gifted and experienced speaker designers who instead chose to fight the physics with clever (and in the case of the SuperSubs, PATENTED), designs.

Moderator wrote:
If you want a sub that is compact (I do understand that members of this community may not care about size, but the other 90% of GoldenEar's potential buyers do, and very much so), extremely high output and remarkably good sounding, my listening experience to date would say the SuperSub (either) has absolutely no peer. And I've heard them all, so I'm not just guessing. The SuperSubs are engineering masterpieces, created by some of the most gifted and experienced speaker designers who instead chose to fight the physics with clever (and in the case of the SuperSubs, PATENTED), designs.

I haven't heard them all, as Moderator Dude has, have auditioned the SSXXL, and just LOVED how it voiced perfectly with other GEt speakers, AND "shook the rafters"!.

With four subs already (T1's plus T2's), and thinking about Triton Reference fronts/T1 surrounds, I'm not feeling a need for a stand alone sub, but if I were, it would be the SSXXL. I just plain love the way the GEt's play together. For me, that's priceless. Yes, I love LFE OOMPH for action movies, but I want MUSICAL bass for surround music, and no other speaker brand is going to show up in my HT system. GEt's flawless voicing across it's entire speaker line does it for me. Just my opinion. Don't want to hear separate speakers, some different, just want that AMAZING, seamless sound field.

Rick

Moderator wrote:

twinturbo11 wrote: Maybe... who knows... I mean it wasn't bad, just quite average. To be honest, I feel a bit let down in this area, as I gave repeated chances. First sub was a def tech, then force field, then the XXL... it seems to be a pattern...

I'd say there's something wrong with whatever you are doing to evaluate, as it is unlikely all those subs were defective.

Sorry, I didn't mean that they are all bad, just that they are somewhat average subs at their particular price points, in my opinion -- particularly when it comes to music. I am a HUGE GoldenEar fan, and relentlessly promote the brand... after buying these 3 subs over the past 10 years however, i just don't think this is the "strength" of the team. Which is fine in my opinion, you can't be great at everything!

Interestingly, this recent very POSITIVE review of the supersub X captured my thoughts quite precisely on the performance of the sub for music:

...the moment an actual bassline with a quick time signature is part of the piece, the SuperSub X simply isn’t quick and defined enough to be truly enjoyable. Where something like the Eclipse TD520 or even the very affordable BK P300SB will sit ‘on’ the bassline and deliver the music in a way that has you involved in it, the GoldenEar never feels quite responsive enough to do the same. Additionally, the limited controls don’t really aid tweaking this. Some experiments with positioning and the like never truly deal with the issue either.

www.avforums.com/review/goldenear-supers...bwoofer-review.13582

Well, there are lots of opinions out there, I'd say the one you picked, and yours, would be considered an outlier, based on things like:

The Absolute Sound 2017 Editor's Choice Award (XXL)

Or this from Mark Henninger of the U.S. AVS Forum: "Like other GoldenEar subwoofer offerings, the SuperSub X excels at detail retrieval in the lower registers. When especially listening to music, you really start to notice the different pitches in the low end more...a clearer sonic story."

Or this from Positive Feedback: "The bass gains not only texture but a sense of grip, the equivalent of torque offered by a great automobile ... Ultimately the first impression is one of great musicality, speed and effortless power."

Or this from The Absolute Sound Review: "What I heard with the XXL was an exceedingly tuneful, pitch accurate, and speedy subwoofer...and boy are those infrasonic radiators speedy...you get a sleek and svelte performer that, when called upon, will deliver tremendous wallop."

There has not been a sub that has won more audiophile accolades or industry awards in over a decade. Sorry, pretty much everyone begs to differ. Needless to say, you're entitled, and we appreciate your kind comments about GoldenEar products overall.

Hi. I'm very interested in the Supersub XXL or X. I was impressed with both after demoing in my house, and am trying to decide between them. My room is about 19x13x10. The XXL clearly filled the room very well. The X did a 90% job compared to the XXL.

All of the professional reviews have been very positive. My question is regarding the distortion between the two. I found this review of the X (hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/subw...-x-subwoofer-review/), which included distortion measurements - all good. But the same review of the XXL a year earlier did not include them, just SPL.

I guess my question is this: How does the XXL compare to the X with respect to clarity and distortion? (Are there any distortion specs?)

Thank you!