Subwoofers — Vandersteen Audio SUB NINE

Vandersteen Audio, based in Hanford, California, describes the SUB NINE as its best quality sub pair for matching with the Model Seven series of speakers. It began life as the bass section of a statement-level speaker system and was first shown at the 2016 Newport Beach show, and it then proved suitable on its own as a stereo pair for the Model 7 or other speakers. It is sold only in pairs, starting at USD 24,500 per pair before duty, taxes and freight, and each unit is built in the USA.

Key specs that matter

Each enclosure holds one 13 inch long-throw woofer that fires downward into a slot. The cone is a patented paper sandwich with a foam filling, driven by dual 3 inch voice coils in a patented symmetrical drive motor, and the spider is made of stiff cast aluminium. A 400 W linear amplifier runs from a switching, power factor corrected and regulated supply. Response is quoted at -3 dB from 20 Hz to 100 Hz. The contour control varies Q continuously from 0.5 to 1, and the level control matches main speakers with sensitivity between 82 dB and 92 dB. Each unit measures 43 cm wide, 51 cm deep and 53 cm high, weighs 49 kg net and 62 kg packed, and ships in a 58 x 74 x 83 cm carton. Four paint colours are offered - Royal Ivory, Sapphire Blue, Tungsten Silver and Candy Apple Red.

Engineering and use context

Vandersteen weaves tinsel leads directly into the spider rather than letting them hang free, a step also applied to the push-pull woofers in the Model Seven Mk II. Each sub is a mono unit with an 11-band equaliser, an adjustable Q and a level control. The amplifier lifts output at 6 dB per octave as a high-pass filter at the 100 Hz crossover point takes low frequencies away from the main channel. Signal enters through two 5-way binding posts that take a high-level feed from the power amplifier, keeping that amplifier in the chain feeding the subwoofer.

Pairing

With Model Seven or Seven Mk II speakers, which carry their own powered woofers, a SUB NINE pair turns the system into a four-subwoofer bass arrangement. Vandersteen also sells the pair as part of System NINE, whose entry point is a Model Seven, Seven Mk II or Seven XTRM, together with the liquid-cooled M7-HPA high-pass amplifier built for its powered-bass speakers.

Alternatives

The Vandersteen SUB THREE is the smaller powered subwoofer, using three 8 inch drivers and a 325 W amplifier in each cabinet.