before I post this, I will say, I think we need a HT section Wow, this is an impressive package. It comes well wrapped with a good old fashioned single staple Instruction manual, complete with a sales pitch (hey, I already know the Shiva rules!!!), simple instructions on setup including but not limited to gains, crossover and variable phase, and more complex install tricks like placement techniques etc. The sub is a sealed Shiva with 250 watts of power from a plate amp. The amp provides for an auto on/off feature, low and high level ins and outs, gains, 180 variable phase, crossover and interchangeable power cord. It will run with both 230 at 50Hz and 115 volt at 60Hz selections for use anywhere in the world. The enclosure is small, 18X18X18 or about 3 feet after displacement and has a rounded edge cabinet. The shipping weight of the unit is touted at 66 pounds, or about 16 pounds more than a Brahma. The screen covers the entire front of the unit, and is of course removeable. The unit sits on a raised pedestal, about 2 inches tall. In the front right of the pedestal is the only modest marking on the sub, the Adire Diamond, maybe 3/4 of an inch tall. It is a small package, impressive in it's simplicity. My initial thoughts proved to be incorrect... "There is no way this little sealed woofer with 250 watts will fill my big den." I hooked it up and modestly set my gains, using the Adire methood for LFE adjustments and it worked like a charm. I actually backed off on the gains considerably as my poor surrounds couldn't keep up when put to the test. I had alot more room too. I dropped in some HT stuff first, selected scenes from U571 in DD, Star Wars the Phantom Menace in DD, and LOTR the Fellowship, extended box set version in DTS6.1. This thing absolutely howls. Very clean, very deep extension. Very loud. The first depth charges in U571 when the US group was in the sub made me jump. The compression in the room was moving to say the least. Star Wars quick fighting scenes were explosive, detailed and accurate. LOTR has new meaning. Intense subwoofer use throughout the movie makes me realise how pitiful my little ported iso 6.5 was. No boom but tons of movement. More of a feeling of subass than the midbass strong boom of the little baby sub. All 1864 Sq feet of my ranch style home was moving. Floors, walls, ceiling, window glass... My wife came in from outside and asked if I would turn it down. All the windows and sliding glass doors were closed as AC was required on an upper 80s day with ~85% humidity. I will get some more movies in in the next couple days and further my review. This weekend I am going to play with some music. I hope you stick around for the review. Thus far, I am once again blown away by Adire.
For those of us not familiar with Adire's HT offerings... Can you describe what this unit consists of (the parts... you mentioned a Shiva driver? Sealed cabinet?), what Adire designed this particular alignment/combination to accomplish, if they had a specific goal in mind? Also, what's the cost of one of these units? Sounds like a nice self-amplified HT add-on that would be easy to integrate in to almost any existing system... it would be nice if "value" was up there, which I suspect it is - at least before shipping (blast that shipping industry anyway! )
Argh!! For the past few years we keep hearing Shiva this, Brahma that, Koda's here, Tempest there, but there is no freakin' Adire representation down here in SoCal (L.A. area). The two you mentioned over on CAF are a loooong drive from where I live. I would like to hear just one piece of Adire gear. I don't care if it's a set of Koda's being run mono on a 10 watt (max, not rms) amp. I think Dan should move from the rain and wind infested Northwest, and come down to sunny California. OK, rant's over. Most people are amazed at how "low" powered subs sound in HT. Most people (especially car audio buffs) would laugh if you said you just bought a 250 watt powered sub. If the manufacturer makes the box right, and the sub is of "adequate" quality (Adire seems to make products well above "adequate") it will get loud as all hell. Almost no noise floor, no backseat to fight through, both of which are major obstacles when putting together a sub system in a vehicle. My dad has a JBL 100 watt, 12" home audio sub from about 15 years ago. It's loud enough to shake the walls of his 2 story, 3500 sq. ft. house! Of course, the king of all HT sub test is the initial footsteps in the first Jurassic Park. That scene will make the pictures on your walls fall off (they did mine, anyways ) Of course, I have a 1500 watt 10" Def Tech. SuperCube (another GREAT small box woofer..box is something about 15"x15"x15"...something like that...it's a 10" and dual radiators). I bought that particular one, not just because it sounded amazing, but it matched my main speakers. However, I have a silver RPTV, which totally throws off the whole aeshetic appeal of the HT. Anyways, Seth, I hate to ask, but how much is this Rava sub going to cost? I paid around $1100 for mine (I still have occasional buyer's regret). Even though my home audio is top notch, by anyone's standards, I sometimes wish I had gone a slightly more "budget oriented route". I'm thinking $500ish. Also, did you test any "grueling" music on it? Many, many subs excel at HT duties, but fall somewhat short when it comes to the more demanding dynamics of music. Most subs sound decent in HT duties, for music however... Oh, and I echo you earlier sentiment...we need a HT section. I can only handle so much of the other "HT forums".
Rava is the smallest sub in our Exact Series lineup. Combining a custom 60L cabinet, a 12" driver, and 250W of power, Rava is the ideal solution for smaller home theaters and serious audiophile rigs. All for $399, complete.
Luv, $399 for the rava and $599 for the Rava SE. I woln't tell you what I paid though :lol: . The se is more why? I haven't listened to much in the line of music yet, I am planning on it this weekend. I do have a quote from another Rava user with regaurds to music, which is quite impressive... Sounds like a great review to me!!! As you know orchestral reproduction is amoung the most difficult to perform. A low string is more apt to show a weakness in a sub than just about anything out there. Add the difficulty in string and couple it with multiple big bass drums and one can understand why it is so difficult. I will put it to the test this weekend and be sure to offer my opinion. I have a customer in SD who bought a B15. Maybe I can get you 2 hooked up.
The unit consists of a Shiva driver, and an AVA250 Chris. The alignment is .67, or roughly 2.75 feet sealed. According to the manual it is stuffed as well (I expected closer to .6 than .7 overall, but in room I cannot say for sure). The unit was (according to the white paper) designed for all around use, but knowing Dan and his affinity for music, I would dare venture it is musically biased . I was absolutely astounded by it's output, very typical of a ported driver, but the SQ is obviously sealed. The extension is awe inspireing to say the least. If it is, as I assume, designed more toward music, I am sure I will be amazed come this weekend when I have time to put in some serious listening. Thus far from what I have heard it is worth considerably more than it's $400 price tag. Shipping was really nominal at ~$37. The same as my Brahma. Here is a link to the Adire page with the unit. As expected Adire does a fabulous job with the description of the unit. Estimated maximum anechoic output of ~100Db throughout opreating range is really apparent when running the drive unit to impress.
