siLTru Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 Good day guys, I have been in search of a pair of ported Subs for home theatre in Sydney. Many online stores searched, mostly its SVS when its comes ported subs in AU majority of stores offer. Budget is under $5k. I have tried PSA from US but their shipping and importing is bit high (any one has any idea how much I will have to pay for tax if I order from US for these price range? ). I really want HSU subs - suits my room with output and price is good even after tax/shipping charges but they dont ship to here. Should I go with sealed option? But, I want to feel that bass punch and feel of these ported subs (its mainly for watching movies). Thanks in advance for your help. Regards Anha
hopefullguy Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 (edited) hi mate,svs are not worth the money currently. last black friday they did 30% off but were sneaky and did the smaller models one week and the larger models the week after. they have just released the pb17 and in the U.S. they are running out the sealed version SB16 around $2400AUD (converted price, $1600 U.S.), will that happen here? keep a look out but we dont get the real benefits anyway... 45 day refund, 12 month update etc. you can order Monolith from a melb. distributor but in the U.S. those that have a problem seem to have hassles because seemingly unlike some makes you need to ship the whole sub back, even for a faulty grill!, need to check what happens here. there are the new klipsch RP line but the RP-1400 seems the most liked, some problems have cropped up with the 16" model ( but then svs had many problems with their 4000/16 series on release. Selby do the Tonewinner subs, budget subs but you seem to get a lot for your $ BUT the 2 newest releases are priced at stupid levels vs the Canadian prices the first 4 subs were based on. other than that it does seem many prefer sealed for 18" and above. PSA is expensive BUT if you look on face book at PSA page they will do special price/shipping to Australia now, not sure how warranty will work as you wont get Aust Consumer protection. import costs will add 10% gst plus other fees. an Aust. guy recently got a couple shipped here and i think you can find that on this forum under sub tread, look back a few pages. also mentioned on F.B. i think. Edited October 20, 2024 by hopefullguy 1
siLTru Posted October 20, 2024 Author Posted October 20, 2024 (edited) After posting this only, I found out about the Monolith THX Subs. Not going for Tonewinner at this moment. SVS I mentioned because it was the only widely available ported brand in Australian Hifi/HT stores in general and I know they are over priced. Even though PSA is overkill and but their performance is way better as per most of the reviews and opinions. Ordering to here is raising the costs due to huge shipping and tax costs. If in US it would have been the choice. Have you heard of HSU, though they are not making monster subs like PSA they are also widely regarded in US but they stopped shipping to here. But considering the price for 2 and shipping it will be still under $4k. But import charges??? Edited October 20, 2024 by siLTru
Snoopy8 Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 5 hours ago, siLTru said: I have tried PSA from US but their shipping and importing is bit high (any one has any idea how much I will have to pay for tax if I order from US for these price range? ). Allow for at least 20 to 25% of your total cost (subs + shipping + insurance) to cater for import duty, customs charge, brokerage fee and GST. 1
crisis Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 5 hours ago, siLTru said: Good day guys, I have been in search of a pair of ported Subs for home theatre in Sydney. Many online stores searched, mostly its SVS when its comes ported subs in AU majority of stores offer. Budget is under $5k. I have tried PSA from US but their shipping and importing is bit high (any one has any idea how much I will have to pay for tax if I order from US for these price range? ). I really want HSU subs - suits my room with output and price is good even after tax/shipping charges but they dont ship to here. Should I go with sealed option? But, I want to feel that bass punch and feel of these ported subs (its mainly for watching movies). Thanks in advance for your help. Regards Anha 4 hours ago, hopefullguy said: hi mate,svs are not worth the money currently. last black friday they did 30% off but were sneaky and did the smaller models one week and the larger models the week after. they have just released the pb17 and in the U.S. they are running out the sealed version SB16 around $2400AUD (converted price, $1600 U.S.), will that happen here? keep a look out but we dont get the real benefits anyway... 45 day refund, 12 month update etc. you can order Monolith from a melb. distributor but in the U.S. those that have a problem seem to have hassles because seemingly unlike some makes you need to ship the whole sub back, even for a faulty grill!, need to check what happens here. there are the new klipsch RP line but the RP-1400 seems the most liked, some problems have cropped up with the 16" model ( but then svs had many problems with their 4000/16 series on release. Selby do the Tonewinner subs, budget subs but you seem to get a lot for your $ BUT the 2 newest releases are priced at stupid levels vs the Canadian prices the first 4 subs were based on. other than that it does seem many prefer sealed for 18" and above. PSA is expensive BUT if you look on face book at PSA page they will do special price/shipping to Australia now, not sure how warranty will work as you wont get Aust Consumer protection. import costs will add 10% gst plus other fees. an Aust. guy recently got a couple shipped here and i think you can find that on this forum under sub tread, look back a few pages. also mentioned on F.B. i think. I bought one of these a few months back https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=42847 No problems with it and in a modest HT set up Ive no complaints. Not the last word for music but for movies it shakes the house. And that only one. 1
siLTru Posted October 20, 2024 Author Posted October 20, 2024 10 hours ago, crisis said: I bought one of these a few months back https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=42847 No problems with it and in a modest HT set up Ive no complaints. Not the last word for music but for movies it shakes the house. And that only one. Did you order via their US website (.com) or AU one (.com.au). Aussie website most of the subs are out of stock. I think there is sale and most sold out. If you ordered from US how much did you pay in tax/duty etc for one?
siLTru Posted October 20, 2024 Author Posted October 20, 2024 10 hours ago, Snoopy8 said: Allow for at least 20 to 25% of your total cost (subs + shipping + insurance) to cater for import duty, customs charge, brokerage fee and GST. So, when the package is in customs they will contact you via post to pay duty/customs charge/GST etc? How does it work? I have only got stuffs from Amazon.com/AliExpress before where they sort out these when you pay and didn't have to deal with it.
Snoopy8 Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 14 minutes ago, siLTru said: So, when the package is in customs they will contact you via post to pay duty/customs charge/GST etc? How does it work? I have only got stuffs from Amazon.com/AliExpress before where they sort out these when you pay and didn't have to deal with it. You can hand everything to say FedEx and they do everything, at a huge cost! Or break up process by getting a customs broker here to do the work. Not recommended to do everything yourself, arrange shipping from USA, work with customs etc Lastly, but not least, no warranty and if things go wrong, have to ship back. IMHO, not worth the effort to import subs... 1
Satanica Posted October 20, 2024 Posted October 20, 2024 Tonewinner: https://www.selby.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=Tonewinner+Subwoofer
crisis Posted October 21, 2024 Posted October 21, 2024 6 hours ago, siLTru said: Did you order via their US website (.com) or AU one (.com.au). Aussie website most of the subs are out of stock. I think there is sale and most sold out. If you ordered from US how much did you pay in tax/duty etc for one? I’m pretty sure it was from Aus. It was actually a Facebook sale and my previous HT sub had cr@pped itself so I read a couple of reviews and thought it would be ok for HT. It came fairly quick.
crisis Posted October 21, 2024 Posted October 21, 2024 6 hours ago, siLTru said: Did you order via their US website (.com) or AU one (.com.au). Aussie website most of the subs are out of stock. I think there is sale and most sold out. If you ordered from US how much did you pay in tax/duty etc for one? https://monoprice.com.au/product/m-12-v2/
WasM Posted October 21, 2024 Posted October 21, 2024 Suggest some research and look at these. Give the store a call on stock and pricing for a set of 2. https://www.digitalcinema.com.au/klipsch-spl-150-15-inch-subwoofers-set-of-two.html 2
siLTru Posted October 24, 2024 Author Posted October 24, 2024 Thanks everyone for your inputs. I have some offer from Tom from PSA (sale). 2 x eV1513m subs (usually usd 1499 each) shipped to here for $2990. But, I will have to deal with the customs/duties/tax here. Hope those will be around $500. So I can't get them for about $5k. Considering, for getting 2 subs with that output here would costs more than 10k even in sealed option. I know taking the risk if any warranty, I will have big freight charges. 1
andyr Posted October 24, 2024 Posted October 24, 2024 On 20/10/2024 at 3:50 PM, siLTru said: Should I go with sealed option? But, I want to feel that bass punch and feel of these ported subs (its mainly for watching movies). Why do you feel a ported sub will give you better "bass punch and feel" than a sealed sub? (My own view is the reverse - which is why I don't have ported subs. ) On 20/10/2024 at 8:13 PM, siLTru said: Have you heard of HSU, though they are not making monster subs like PSA they are also widely regarded in US but they stopped shipping to here. But considering the price for 2 and shipping it will be still under $4k. But import charges??? You will be charged GST @ 10% of the sum of the purchase price & shipping ... converted to AUD. You may also be charged an additional tariff, to protect Oz manufacturing.
hopefullguy Posted October 26, 2024 Posted October 26, 2024 hmm so under $5000 budget becomes 2x $2990 each so say $6000 plus gst, plus they will open the boxes and charge for that plus being a large item slap on other charges as they will feel you should buy here. but anyway they will do the most to screw you. so no Australian consumer warranty and Tom's warranty does not cover shipping costs for replacement parts, so full on shipping costs but no import fees if its a warranty replacement part. better of making 2 subs.
siLTru Posted October 26, 2024 Author Posted October 26, 2024 1 hour ago, hopefullguy said: hmm so under $5000 budget becomes 2x $2990 each so say $6000 plus gst, plus they will open the boxes and charge for that plus being a large item slap on other charges as they will feel you should buy here. but anyway they will do the most to screw you. so no Australian consumer warranty and Tom's warranty does not cover shipping costs for replacement parts, so full on shipping costs but no import fees if its a warranty replacement part. better of making 2 subs. $2990 is for 2 subs in usd. About $4500 aud. I took a quote from a Australian freight company who ships from US which has breakdown of customs, gst etc. Customs electronic charge - $116.00 + gst/duty - $442. Altogether, It will be just over $5000 aud. These subs are rated 1920w RMS continuous and 4300w peak.
siLTru Posted October 26, 2024 Author Posted October 26, 2024 On 24/10/2024 at 6:33 PM, andyr said: Why do you feel a ported sub will give you better "bass punch and feel" than a sealed sub? (My own view is the reverse - which is why I don't have ported subs. ) What's the point of ports on subs, then?
andyr Posted October 26, 2024 Posted October 26, 2024 1 hour ago, siLTru said: What's the point of ports on subs, then? Simply put ... marketing! My view is that: yes, with a ported sub ... the -3dB point will be lower than with the same-sized sealed cabinet. Hence they sound attractive to an ignorant punter. but the bass quality will not be as good (as a sealed box). 1
siLTru Posted October 26, 2024 Author Posted October 26, 2024 (edited) On 26/10/2024 at 9:25 PM, andyr said: Simply put ... marketing! My view is that: yes, with a ported sub ... the -3dB point will be lower than with the same-sized sealed cabinet. Hence they sound attractive to an ignorant punter. but the bass quality will not be as good (as a sealed box). Are you talking about listening to music or movies? Edited October 29, 2024 by siLTru
andyr Posted October 26, 2024 Posted October 26, 2024 19 minutes ago, siLTru said: Are you talking about listening to music or movies? Music, obviously! No-one GaF whether a dinosaur's footfalls are distorted or not. 1
Satanica Posted October 26, 2024 Posted October 26, 2024 (edited) 2 hours ago, andyr said: Music, obviously! No-one GaF whether a dinosaur's footfalls are distorted or not. Other than when one hears severe port chuffing, I think you'll find more distortion in sealed rather than ported as sealed are less efficient. With sealed, the driver and amplifier have to work harder for the same SPL, creating more distortion. As always, there are pros and cons of both. It is ignorant to imply that playback of movie soundtracks won't suffer from audible distortion and more importantly there are those who don't care about it. Rather, there are those who take movie soundtrack playback (which includes the musical score) very seriously, with much time and money put into it Edited October 26, 2024 by Satanica 3
BenBenBen Posted October 28, 2024 Posted October 28, 2024 On 26/10/2024 at 8:25 PM, andyr said: Simply put ... marketing! My view is that: yes, with a ported sub ... the -3dB point will be lower than with the same-sized sealed cabinet. Hence they sound attractive to an ignorant punter. but the bass quality will not be as good (as a sealed box). For a given size, sealed is generally better than ported. However, with the same driver and amp, and a larger ported box, you can get a lot more output around tuning - often equivalent to an additional 1 or 2 sealed subs (or far less distortion as @Satanica mentioned). More MDF for a larger box is cheaper more drivers and amps! Looks like the PSA EV1513m is tuned pretty low around 15Hz, which is great for both movies (dinosaur footfalls) and music (the group delay around port tuning (probably the major negative of ported subs) is so low in frequency that it's largely undetectable, and by the time you get into 30Hz+ frequency range of music, the group delay and phase differences are almost identical to a sealed sub. IMO excellent choice @siLTru. @andyr I agree, under sized, high tuned (e.g. 40 - 50Hz) ported subs aren't great, and you'd be better off with a sealed sub. 3
siLTru Posted October 29, 2024 Author Posted October 29, 2024 @Satanica and @BenBenBen. Thank you for understanding my query in the right way and throwing your inputs in the right way technically rather not considering the right facts. Even though its bit over the requirements for the room but I won't be driving them to nuts. But, I feel having some headroom gives you options rather than regretting later especially when getting from abroad. 2
LogicprObe Posted October 29, 2024 Posted October 29, 2024 Sealed is always better.............unless you don't have the power to drive them. 1
BenBenBen Posted October 29, 2024 Posted October 29, 2024 1 hour ago, LogicprObe said: Sealed is always better.............unless you don't have the power to drive them. Or you like your bass loud and low, and don't like the high distortion of the sealed subs exceeding xmax while trying to keep up with ported. Sealed, Ported, Horns, Infinite Baffle, Open Baffle. They're all just different tools for different jobs, and what's best depends on the situation. Lowest frequency, SPL at that frequency, distance to MLP, room size, WAF, budget etc. Music in a residential setting - 30Hz and up, sealed is usually a good choice. Organ Music in a residential setting - 16Hz and up, several big sealed subs (e.g. 18" or lots of smaller ones) is usually a good choice. Home Theatre 15Hz - 20Hz and up at higher SPL - low tuned ported is usually a good choice. Ultimate Home Theatre - 5Hz and up - sealed or infinite baffle are the only way to go (e.g. 8 x 18" drivers or more). "I want it to feel like a club in my house" - Horn loaded subs.
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