Jim (or anyone else who may have input),
I've spent many hours the past several days looking at different subs, many times feeling like I've found the one only to find something else that made me change me mind. Perfect example, Def Tech Supercubes, which looked great and have good reviews and I was about to pull the trigger on until I realized they don't do well below 30Hz, something that is hidden by the fact they don't publish full specs. While there's not much on the LV12R since it's so new, I have to say your review and positive comments on its predecessor and Rythmik in general really have me leaning toward it. I do have some concerns though and want to be sure I make the best purchase I can for the money.
My situation is as follows: My living room is open to the kitchen and dining room, as well as a double-wide stairway (split-level house, stairs go halfway down, turn 180 degrees, and go the rest of the way down) and a hallway. To make matters worse, the ceiling is vaulted. Not counting the hallway or the space down the stairs, which are separated from the living room by a half-height wall between them and the couch, the living/dining room and kitchen are ~8,000+ cubic feet. What I'm looking for is a sub that will provide deep bass primarily for movies/TV (and I watch a lot of sci-fi, fantasy, action, etc). I want it to sound and feel great. Music isn't very important to me, I'm not that picky, though of course I do want it to sound good. I, like you, prefer quality to quantity. Currently I'm using an Onkyo TX-SR607 to run Polk Audio RM6750 speakers with the included subwoofer. Because of this, pretty much any of the subs I'm looking at will be a huge step up, so ultimately I'm sure I'd be happy with any of them. Still, I'd obviously rather get the best for a given amount of money.
Here are the subs I'm considering:
Rythmik LV12R: $589
SVS PB12-NSD: $769
Hsu VTF-3 MK4: $750 (sale, reg $800)
I don't have a set budget. I'd like to not spend a fortune, and ideally keep it to the price range of the above, but am not totally against going outside of it. A big factor for me is the size: I don't want a massive box taking up a lot of space, and the larger it is, the less likely I will be able to position it perfectly, so while it would probably be ideal for me I'm not interested in a 15" or dual box or anything like that. I may after some time add a second one, though. Speaking of which, how important is it for them to both be the same (brand, model)? I'm thinking of maybe one of the compact SVS subs for the second one as that may be all I'd have room for.
Obviously the Rythmik is by far the cheapest option of the three, so I'm wondering how the performance compares. If it's similar, the Rythmik is a no-brainer, so my question is are they close or do one or both of the others outperform it by more than a small margin making it worth the extra cost? And do you think I would be happy with them considering my situation? Finally, how important is it to have ~1' of space between the back of the Rythmik and the wall, and could it be turned 90 degrees instead?