Earthquake Supernova MKIV-15
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sure here you go Dan Earthquake
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Cheers John,
That review puts it at $2900, so if you are getting it for $900 then your probably onto a winner. It looks decent on the specs so I say give it a go. Of course my opinion is based solely on what I read on the net, but it sure looks half decent, and really good for $900.
That review puts it at $2900, so if you are getting it for $900 then your probably onto a winner. It looks decent on the specs so I say give it a go. Of course my opinion is based solely on what I read on the net, but it sure looks half decent, and really good for $900.
I did an in-home with one of these brutes years ago and found it to be almost frightening. The sheer output was not something I was used to, just walking all over my NHT Sub 2i (sealed sub with 2, 12" drivers and 500watts). Since I only had it for two days, I was unable to really play with it alot, but had I been able to afford it at the time, I would not have taken it back. Please understand that I was not taking advantage of the shop that allowed the demo, as they insisted that I take it home after helping them move some gear from one location to another. In fact they offered it to me for a week, but I would have felt guilty for keeping it so long.
Did you end up going for the Earthquake in the End, and if so what is it like?
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Sorry I am digging up an old thread. I have owned this sub for about 4 1/2 years and it is still impresses me beyond anything else I have auditioned (including the new JL Fathom subs). Street prices are much lower than the online price Earthquake gives. The main issue or more of annoyance with the sub is its ability to move around under its own weight. The excusrion of the active and weighted passive radiator cause the unit to shuffle around the carpet if not properly secured....not kidding.
The optical distortion limiting circuits are aweosme and gives peace of mind that you will never blow the driver, which looks impossible to kill anyway.
As it is a sealed design, I do beleive it is much harder to place and tune than a comparable vented sub, however the clean transient response and ultra pants flapping lows it can produce lend forgiveness to that physical shortfall.
That being said I am wanting to augment its performance with something akin to the newer Chase type dual 18monolith subs or possibly a JBL commercial unit with external amp. Face it, the direction most the big boy subs are headed are nearing the specs of the commercial monsters, just tunned to lower extension and better aesthetics.
The Earthquake was never meant to be marketed to the masses as the company caters to the more "I have money, make it sound good" Crowd, which is why many give a sideways look when they see the logo on the sub.
Any more questioned feel free to ask. It is amazing how many people overlook this sub. I paid around 1,200 for it years ago brand new, of course shipping to Alaska was around $250! :rolleyesno:
The optical distortion limiting circuits are aweosme and gives peace of mind that you will never blow the driver, which looks impossible to kill anyway.
As it is a sealed design, I do beleive it is much harder to place and tune than a comparable vented sub, however the clean transient response and ultra pants flapping lows it can produce lend forgiveness to that physical shortfall.
That being said I am wanting to augment its performance with something akin to the newer Chase type dual 18monolith subs or possibly a JBL commercial unit with external amp. Face it, the direction most the big boy subs are headed are nearing the specs of the commercial monsters, just tunned to lower extension and better aesthetics.
The Earthquake was never meant to be marketed to the masses as the company caters to the more "I have money, make it sound good" Crowd, which is why many give a sideways look when they see the logo on the sub.
Any more questioned feel free to ask. It is amazing how many people overlook this sub. I paid around 1,200 for it years ago brand new, of course shipping to Alaska was around $250! :rolleyesno:
Sorry to dig this thread up again my-self but I have to add that I too think the Earthquake Supernova 15 is one of the most under-rated subs available.
I just thought about this sub again when I visited a friends house who bought my old one, while listening to some demo's it reminded me how good it really is. I had the 12" Supernova as well and another friend of mine still has that one, he wanted 2 at first but I told him to try the single and after that he told me that it was more than enough.
I have owned plenty of subs from the Velodyne HGS-18, JL Fathom F113, SVS ultra pair, Sunfire Signatures, Various HSU subs, RBH SEN1010, NHT Sub2 and others I forget until I got into DIY. For movies the Earthquake was at or near the top and musically was only topped by the F113 and Velodyne but the Earthquake slayed those subs for movies. The SVS Ultra pair shook the house better but the Earthquake had much better mid-bass punch, I would suspect that if I had used the Earthquake in pairs like the SVS it would have been a better movie combo as that 1 held it's own against the SVS pair.
Anyone considering this sub I would not hesitate to pick one up, I recommended it a few times and no one was disappointed.
If I can find a deal on a 15" I am going to pick one up my-self to compare to my DIY efforts, nice to know were you stand.
I just thought about this sub again when I visited a friends house who bought my old one, while listening to some demo's it reminded me how good it really is. I had the 12" Supernova as well and another friend of mine still has that one, he wanted 2 at first but I told him to try the single and after that he told me that it was more than enough.
I have owned plenty of subs from the Velodyne HGS-18, JL Fathom F113, SVS ultra pair, Sunfire Signatures, Various HSU subs, RBH SEN1010, NHT Sub2 and others I forget until I got into DIY. For movies the Earthquake was at or near the top and musically was only topped by the F113 and Velodyne but the Earthquake slayed those subs for movies. The SVS Ultra pair shook the house better but the Earthquake had much better mid-bass punch, I would suspect that if I had used the Earthquake in pairs like the SVS it would have been a better movie combo as that 1 held it's own against the SVS pair.
Anyone considering this sub I would not hesitate to pick one up, I recommended it a few times and no one was disappointed.
If I can find a deal on a 15" I am going to pick one up my-self to compare to my DIY efforts, nice to know were you stand.
I have the MKV-15. I picked mine up, get this, for $100 at the first ever warehouse sale of a relatively well-known etailer and audio catalog retailer headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI. I suspect it was a model that Earthquake gave them for evaluation, and they opted not to carry the product line.
Anyhow, I got mine for like 95% off. It does have one small problem, and that is that it doesn't always sense the presence of an input signal. Unplugging it and plugging it back in solves the problem, and, frankly, I'm happy to do that to pick up a $2600 subwoofer for $100.
It is a beast. Somewhere in the 90 pound region. But it's a beast, too, in the physical presence it adds to music and movies. My house is a relatively open design (about the only rooms in the house that have doors on them are the bedrooms and bathrooms). And yet, when I play the 5.1 remix SACD of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, what happens when you listen to Time is amazing. I liken it to what it must feel like if you're cheap peanut butter being pressed between two pieces of Wonder bread. It's crazy. You really feel the pressure change when the sub kicks in.
In movies.... that sense of ominous threat that hangs over dark scenes when they start pumping up the subsonics... it really is scary. Amazing.
Anyhow, I got mine for like 95% off. It does have one small problem, and that is that it doesn't always sense the presence of an input signal. Unplugging it and plugging it back in solves the problem, and, frankly, I'm happy to do that to pick up a $2600 subwoofer for $100.
It is a beast. Somewhere in the 90 pound region. But it's a beast, too, in the physical presence it adds to music and movies. My house is a relatively open design (about the only rooms in the house that have doors on them are the bedrooms and bathrooms). And yet, when I play the 5.1 remix SACD of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, what happens when you listen to Time is amazing. I liken it to what it must feel like if you're cheap peanut butter being pressed between two pieces of Wonder bread. It's crazy. You really feel the pressure change when the sub kicks in.
In movies.... that sense of ominous threat that hangs over dark scenes when they start pumping up the subsonics... it really is scary. Amazing.
That's a steal and a half, if you want to double your money I would take it off your hands
I actually got my first Earthquake Supernova used for 3 times what you paid from the Editor of a well known audio magazine. I really wasn't expecting the sub to be so good and it wound up replacing the Velodyne HGS-18 I had at the time since it punched so much harder with movies.
I actually got my first Earthquake Supernova used for 3 times what you paid from the Editor of a well known audio magazine. I really wasn't expecting the sub to be so good and it wound up replacing the Velodyne HGS-18 I had at the time since it punched so much harder with movies.
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I'm digging into this old forum as well. I'm specifically interested in how much the JL Fathom F113 bested the Supernova 15 in terms of music. I have the Supernova 15, and was considering going to dual subs (either by adding a 2nd Earthquake 15, or buying two JL's. The internet raves about the Fathoms, but there are very few folks who have compared the Fathom to the Earthquake.
Please help me understand how much better the Fathom was if you can.
Please help me understand how much better the Fathom was if you can.
What the F113 did was better articulate the bass information if that makes sense. I heard subtle differences in the bass that nearly all other subs just mushed together. The F113 was the most accurate sub I had owned until I made a pair of DIY LMS Ultra's which are just as articulate but with a lot more impact and SPL.
The F113 was going to be my end all sub but it's biggest flaw for me was it needed to be used in multiples to get the impact I was looking for. A single Earthquake 15 bested the F113 easily for movies and would be my first choice for a system that was geared towards movies. For a system that was geared towards music though and SPL wasn't a primary concern then the F113 is hard to beat.
A dealer I know stopped carrying the JL Audio sub line though as he said he was having too many returns. I also heard from someone else that they moved production over sees and there quality has dropped off. I have not looked into it further though as I don't have plans to buy another but I thought I should bring it up. The 2 Earthquake subs I sold to friends are still going strong and it has probably been close to 7 or 8 years since they bought them from me. Not sure what the current Earthquake products are like now though, since going DIY I have never looked back.
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Can't help you with the JL Fathom
I also have an MKV-15 in my home theater system. I cannot believe the amount of clean tight bass I get out of it. The Earthquake is paired with Axiom M80 V3. I have Legacy Focus SE's in my 2 Channel system. The Focus has 4, 12 inch woofer's that cannot match how tight ,deep and the impact the single Earthquake provides. Don't get me wrong, I love my Focus SE I'm just missing the little extra the Earthquake provides.
I am on a search to find a sub that can help my system but every post I make a moderator sends me someplace else. All I'm asking is comparison's if anyone heard SVS,Rythmik or Power Sound musically and why one would choose that sub over the other brand. The simplest thing would be to buy another Earthquake or a Legacy sub. They List from $2500 to over $5000. Trying to save some cash.
Sorry for the rant. if you find something please post it.
I also have an MKV-15 in my home theater system. I cannot believe the amount of clean tight bass I get out of it. The Earthquake is paired with Axiom M80 V3. I have Legacy Focus SE's in my 2 Channel system. The Focus has 4, 12 inch woofer's that cannot match how tight ,deep and the impact the single Earthquake provides. Don't get me wrong, I love my Focus SE I'm just missing the little extra the Earthquake provides.
I am on a search to find a sub that can help my system but every post I make a moderator sends me someplace else. All I'm asking is comparison's if anyone heard SVS,Rythmik or Power Sound musically and why one would choose that sub over the other brand. The simplest thing would be to buy another Earthquake or a Legacy sub. They List from $2500 to over $5000. Trying to save some cash.
Sorry for the rant. if you find something please post it.
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Thanks for the reply. I LOVE my supernova 15 for home theater. I keep wondering if the newer (non SLAPS) 15" sub with room correction would be on the same level as the JL Fathom. I found a good used supernova for less than half the Fathom price.
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Did you compare any of the Internet direct brands SVS,Rythmik and Power Sound? I was wondering how they stack up to the Earthquake or the JL Fathom.
I have owned a pair of SVS CS-Ultra's and another one of there cylinder subs but none of them held a candle to the Earthquake 15" IMO. I also heard a SVS PB13 Ultra in someone else's system which is a good sub but I would take a Earthquake Supernova over it. The person with the PB13 eventually replaced it with a Seaton Submersive and it was a big upgrade in SQ and output.
I don't have any experience with PSA but with there background and sealed dual and triple opposed sealed subs I would bet they sound really good. They are also using the same amps in there Triax model that Mark Seaton uses in the Submersive which is a great amp.
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