February 12, 2013

"It's the best commercial subwoofer I’ve ever encountered" - Dave Upton on the Signature SUB 2

Dave Upton of Home Theater Forum, recently reviewed our biggest, baddest top of the line subwoofer - the Paradigm Reference Signature SUB 2 and he liked it... more than just a little bit. In fact, in Dave's words, the SUB 2 is "...the best commercial subwoofer I've ever encountered." Want to know more?  So did we! We highly recommend that you to read the full review, but here's a start...

Initial Thoughts
"Upon Paradigm's generous agreement to loan a SUB 2 for review, I was notified that a 230lb package would be arriving at my house - a rather daunting prospect."

"Paradigm's Signature SUB 2 - a hexagonal behemoth of a subwoofer featuring the sort of cost no object engineering one would expect in a statement series product."

"It is a subwoofer that throws the entire concept 
of ROI out the window."

Wall Flexing, Room Pressurizing Bass
"This seemed like the ideal tune for the SUB 2 given its purported 7Hz in-room performance so I turned the volume up to -15 from reference and “let her rip”. The result was shockingly good – with my walls literally flexing on the lowest frequency notes. The SUB 2 proved almost immediately that I would reach my limits long before it did, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the chest shaking bass that the SUB 2 so effortlessly produced."

"This tune was a great deal of fun to listen to as each attack felt like a visceral hit on my chest while the sinusoidal sweeps pressurized my room to levels I’ve rarely encountered before."

Perfect Integration
"The SUB 2 demonstrated remarkable agility here – I assume in part thanks to the 10” drivers on board, which allowed each bass note to decay as quickly and neatly as I have ever heard in my system. The SUB 2 also didn’t overpower the other elements of the track, a testament to its capability to play both quietly and loud."

"The SUB 2 reproduced this track superbly, providing a sense of tactile force with each attack of the bass line. Integration with my mains was perfect – never giving a sense of directionality or muddiness."

"... a testament to what engineers can accomplish 
given free rein to innovate."

Reserved and Real World
"...the SUB 2 blatantly demonstrated the ridiculous reserves of power the amp can produce, generating sound pressure levels far beyond my comfort zone without breaking a sweat."

"Suffice to say, the SUB was able to reproduce this with plenty of power, but also a surprising degree of accuracy. When the bass hit it was both sudden and quick to decay as one would expect in the real world."

In Conclusion...
"The SUB 2 is insanely expensive, unreasonably heavy, and all around ridiculous in almost every way I can imagine – and despite all that, I love it." 

"It is a subwoofer that throws the entire concept of ROI out the window and is a testament to what engineers can accomplish given free rein to innovate. While I certainly can’t afford one – the SUB 2 deserves to be on the short list of anyone who can."

"It’s big, it’s a little stupid, and it’s the best commercial subwoofer I’ve ever encountered."

Click here! to read the full SUB 2 review on HomeTheaterForum.
Click here! to learn more about our Signature SUB 2. 

 

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