Monolith 15 Subwoofer Review | Worth $1450? | Slow-mo Excursion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ค. 2024
- Hello TH-camrs,
Today I talk to you about the monolith 15 inch subwoofer from monoprice! It's a 15 inch 1000 watt monster subwoofer. Unfortunately even after breaking it in, it's shallow and did not give the deep note I was hoping for. Not sure what the hype is all about this subwoofer but not worth the asking the price. I would pay $1000 for it tops.
Hope you find this review helpful!
Enjoy :-) - เพลง
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I watched this and the only thing I kept thinking is most if not all of your disappointments seem to be your room, furniture setup and your equipment.
Or the faults of the combination of some if not all.
I would say that it is really rare that someone would place a subwoofer under a TV like that. And placing a center speaker on top of it wouldn’t be ideal audio wise either. SVS do sell some isolation feet that work well considering the cost over the pucks.
Your room is ridiculously “live” hardwood (or type) floors on a slab. Bare floors, bare windows. There is like no treatment except potentially your couch assuming it’s not leather. I couldn’t tell because you had blankets on it. If leather - than not much improvement.
Playing at reference level and having some port chuffing (depending on the eq settings...) you have set in the receiver.
Plus, they have more refined calibration services in other receivers. The SR5000 (series). I don’t know what specific SR5 you have has XT calibration vs any one above has the XT32. This probably would “help” given what it is up
against (your room).
Knocking on the sub box proves or supplies info how live you room is. That vibration is reflecting all over the place.
Put a decently thick area rug in your seating area. Get some thick curtains for around your windows. Add some panels. Your room and setup needs help in the right direction. Getting the SVS sub won’t help. Maybe some DSP from that maybe.... could potentially help but at no degree all that different.
Good luck.
Thank you for the reply! I think the sub level was at 0 on the receiver after calibration. It’s SR5011, I think it only has the Audyssey calibration with included mic. I want to use REW but I need to figure out what mic I need to get for that. To be honest I was really shocked at the subwoofer performance. It was loud as hell but didn’t sound deep. I was sad that I had to send it back as it sounds it was a setup issue but honestly I think a sub of that caliber should have deep presence right out of the box even if it was connected to a basic amp!
I really didn’t want to go with SVS but I picked up an SB16U and I put it in same spot under the TV and the sound is way different. It has that deep presence I was looking for but I don’t know how and why... same room and same spot.
@@GrindMyGears The MIC that is most popular is the U-MIK1. The subwoofer's certainly could sound slightly different but both should be quite capable of deep bass. They are (2) different Audyssey calibration tools "XT" and "XT32" in the Marantz and Denon receivers/preamps. The receiver shouldn't matter that much when it comes to actula subwoofer performance but the calibration system might not do as well and assuming it was done the way it is prescribed to be done.
There is also some DSP options in the SVS subwoofer that the Monolith doesn't have. Maybe you were able to play around with that and that gave you the bump you needed?
Anyway, both subwoofers are killer - congrats.
@@nickvail2210 as of today I did nothing in the app settings except selecting “movie” preset and set the volume to -13db! I checked the setting on the movie preset and it does nothing else really but the music profile has 1 or 2 EQ’s to bump the mid bass. At initial hook up I only hooked it up before recalibrating and the sound was different... it was fuller bass idk how to describe it. I can’t tell which calibration I have but thanks for the mic tip I’ll look for one and get it. I received a second SB16U yesterday so I’m still evaluating if 2 subs are a lot then I’ll probably send one back but I like now that each sub serves as a speaker stand for the ELACs.
I had that sub but buying a giant ported sub and run it in sealed mode and then call it shallow lmao that sub crushes any svs in the price range this is user error
I tried it with all ports open and with two ports opened… didn’t make much difference. The room is 7500 cubic foot and might be too big for it? I just want to know why did a different subwoofer sound better with the same settings and space?
@@GrindMyGears u must have gotten a dud or hooked it up wrong another thing is if your using the LFE input you need to use a y splitter and run it into both otherwise you get a low signal it was in many of the forums I had to figure it out that way because mine was quite before I did that also so subs have a far more exaggerated 30-60 Hertz range so the seem audibly louder this sub is super flat through the entire range the sub was harder to dial in than the any of the svs subs I've had and the Hsu-vtf15h mk2 that I had at the same time but crushed them in sheer low energy but it was not a good sub for music
@@dayonerecoverdub3626 "Y" adapter is the way to go. That what I did with my 2 15's
@@d.l.2401 yeah it usually doesn't make a difference but on the monolith it makes a huge difference otherwise you get a very low signal coming in
Derrrr, I corner loaded my sub and it makes my room vibrate. Derrrr, I put my TV right on top of my sub and it's huge magnet had an effect on the tiny magnetic fields in the TV speakers. Derrr, listen to my sub thru the awesome mic in my phone. Wow, the level of knowledge. Monoprice should have a 100% UE indemnity for people like this.
😂
I suppose you have returned it by now, but I am very confident you did not have it set up correctly. This is one of the best sounding subs under 2k without a question.
Yeah they received it end of last week. Idk man I was so disappointed and didn’t expect to return it at all! Like didn’t even cross my mind and that’s why I didn’t mind paying full price. I don’t know what to tell you but at that price and performance I wasn’t happy at all. I bought their newly released cheap 15” 600W and the performance of that isn’t much far behind the monolith 15 to be honest. After hearing SB3000/4000 at the AVR shop, the depth of the sound was quite apparent! So we’ll see how their SB16U will perform. I will receive it tomorrow so I’ll find out soon. At least I’ll get free easy shipping with SVS. If their sub didn’t perform well, I’ll go with 18” sub I guess!
I doubt you will not enjoy the SB16U!!! I was kinda in the same boat as you when I first hooked mine up, but then I did some research and found that the setting had to be adjusted and it fixed everything for me.
@@B.A.Audio. interesting... so what were your settings initially and what are they now? What’s your equipment? In my case, after calibration I left subwoofer level at 0db on receiver and bass level at 0db, speakers at full range and subwoofer channel with LFE only... experimented with LFE+main but all it did was make bass louder and boomier. I feel sad that I could have made it sound better but I tried a lot of things... sad 😞.
No worries man, I think you will be happier with the 16U. When I first hooked it up and ran calibration, the sub was so quite I thought something was wrong. I have never had a subwoofer this big or expensive and I’m use to cheap subs around the &300 range. This being said, I felt the cheap subs way outperformed Mono15. So I did a lot of research and found this.
#1. With large, deep, expensive subs, you have to treat them different than the cheap ones. The cheap subs are quite good at the mid bass and have a loud presence. Higher end subs, won’t have that until you turn the Volume nob on the amp up and or the db in the receiver. In my case, I run my receiver +2-4 db on LFE and each Mono15 at +6 on the sub amp. It was not until this point that I noticed the impact of these.
#2 placement seemed to have much more of an impact with the Mono15’s than any of my cheap subs. Not sure why this is, but placement was a game changer.
#3 to get the loudest and most impactful bass I had to run it with all three ports open, THX off, and on extended mod. Once on these settings I was amazed to keep it simple.
The fact that your on concrete floor could also effect the sound of the bass. I don’t know, I’m not an expert. Do let the channel know how you like the 16U. Very curious to know your thoughts on it compared to the Mono15.
@@B.A.Audio. thanks for the reply, I’ll definitely post an update here and a video. Indeed monolith 15 is pretty strong and loud but I want deep sounding bass at lower volume levels. I was told by Funk audio and Deep Sea Sound that their 18” will achieve that easily. Mostly likely because it’s an 18”. I’m interested to see how the SVS app functions and what it can do besides changing modes and volume level. I’m going to put it under the TV like I did with mono and I made SVS aware of the heartbeat issues I had. They said it shouldn’t be an issue so we’ll see!
Using an RCA "Y" adapter and plugging into both left and right inputs really helped improve the sensitivity on my 2 Monolith 15's.
Yeah I heard it makes them louder. Too bad I don’t have the subwoofer anymore. I heard they are working on 16” or 18” version!
Sometimes you have to do alot of fine tuning with these type of systems. Depending on your reciever and settings on there also. And placement of subwoofer. Different areas in your room will give you different sounds. Also where you sit in the room has alot to do with getting best sound. That's sub should be on 0 and you still should be getting blown out of your seat. Sorry brother for the bad experience. That sub is a beast .Also check phase position on sub.
Thank you… I really wish I had a better result. Maybe next time is better! They released a new 16” subwoofer with 4 ports!!!
With the ports plugged as seen here, it won't go as deep. You would benefit from getting a Mini DSP and shaving off the peaks which would eliminate the boominess.
Mini DSP will probably help but this subwoofer should provide excellent bass right out of the box and that wasn’t the experience in my case. I ended up returning it and now I run dual SB16U. Started with a single one and immediately the bass tone was so much deeper and only was heard when needed. No boominess at all… they’re quite expensive now and not worth the price tag but when I got them they were $1800 - $2k or something like that but now I think they’re a lot more and not really worth it.
Kate to the remarks but something was off for you. This bass is one of the deepest subs out there. Anyway if you're happy with the SB16s then you're good to go because those are nice sealed subs. I liked sealed and ported subs.
There must be a problem with the sub I got... it makes no sense for a 15” ported to sound like that! SB16s are sweet I’m very happy with them.
My first ever subwoofer was svs pb-1000 and i loved the deep tone and musicality of it. Then i saw the monolith thx 10 for 550€ and desided to give it a try. I was allso really disapointed with it. I mean i quess it has rumble for movies but its absolutely horrible at music. Very boomy and it hits hard only on the lowest of notes. Then i bought a svs pb-3000 and i was very impressed with it right out of the box. Really clean deep sound for movies and music. I guess svs makes the sound i like. Planning on ordering a second one soon.
Awesome!! Good to know someone else thinks the same lol. I run dual SB16U now and they’re amazing.
I have 2 monolith 12's 1 SVS PB4000 and this monolith 15. I noticed the same thing and my 12 sounded much better than the 15. I found out you HAVE to use the crossover on the 15 sub and turn the crossover on the sub to 80 hz or lower and that fixed the the 15". I can leave the crossover off on the 12's and it ready the processor settings. The 15 needs a manual setting on the sub.
I think you are correct. If I remember correctly, playing with the crossover on the sub lowered the boominess but I kept telling myself I shouldn’t be using the knob at all like all other reviews I’ve seen on TH-cam before I bought it. Even the manufacturer asks to not use the knob and keep the crossover on the receiver. Anyways, I’m glad it’s out of my hair!
Wow it's pretty obvious you may have just turned the sub on and expected it to perform. It doesn't always work that way. In addition you never mentioned what your settings were on the back. It could even be due to the track your playing as it may accentuate an odd frequency. Even the best sub can sound bad at certain frequencies if not some slight tuning isn't done. The environment they are in plays a Huge roll on how they interact in their environment. It's all good, we all had to start somewhere, don't get butt when someone suggests that you study up.
I’m not butt hurt at all. I just think it should sound decent out of the box. I’m not someone who returns things easily but this one really had no hope with me. I replaced it with SVS SB16 Ultra and if that’s a terrible subwoofer then I guess I like terrible subwoofers 😅 the SB16 showed it’s presence with authority and deep bass right away it knocked my socks off. It’s so good I got a second one a month later!
What crossover cut did you set your speakers in relation to the subwoofer?
I believe it was 80hz and still 80hz right now but I’ll double check.
Yea it sounds like the crossover might be set a bit high. Try 75hz or even 70hz
@@theonlycoolone I would try if I still had it. I still have the crossover set at 80hz now with the SVS… no drama at all.
Its a damn shame u had a bad experience with that beast of a sub. It definitely was the placement and sound treatment of the room u had it in. I think there is such thing a too much bass when it comes to the size of ur entertainment room and the capabilities of a powerful sub such as this one. Maybe two of their "smaller" 10s or 12s monoliths would've been a better option for u. I rock two of their thx12s in my movie room and they have more than enough power to shake the house and dig deep and never seem to bottom out. One thing i noticed right away was that they have a stronger lower end vs a stronger midbass that other subs have. They are more foundation shakers rather than chest kickers. The monolith thx line of subs is the best bang for ur buck in my opinion.
Yeah man I wish things turned out differently. Is 7500 cubic foot too small for it? Initially I ordered two monolith 10” but cancelled the order two hours later LOL… I was afraid they won’t be enough for the room. I checked their new line up of 13” and 16” and they look badass. I’m happy with the SB16’s for now but I think next I’ll go for 18” from rhythmik or JTR!
What are your settings? I have two of these and they are amazing and very deep.
I tried it at reference level and wasn’t boomy much but bass wasn’t as loud as I wanted so I put it at +6db on the gain knob. Opened two ports and set it to extended (even at reference level gain knob) but all it did was get boomy and rattle the heck out of my house LOL. So I plugged all ports since I didn’t care much for bass under 20hz (since all I’ll hear is rattling and floor vibration) and set it to THX instead of extended. It got better but the bass isn’t deep... like doesn’t sound deep. Maybe it was going deep in the audio frequency but it didn’t sound deep.
Its your room not the sub
@@bensaven5151 agree. Way too close to the wall in a tight corner and seem like too much sub for your room space a SVS PB2000 pro would have made you happy
Brandon Akins Yeah with the correct bass loudness it will be difficult to hear the mids or treble sounds it is strange that most people think the sound is flat no matter what settings the subwoofer is set to but that is wrong the sound can only be flat with a specific setting on the subwoofer
@@ShitHappenzz could be… I was told the room is way too big for a small sub :/ problem is the room opens to the kitchen and dining and entry hall.
I bought recently the Monolith 15s. Nowadays they glue the fabric to the grill. No more rattling.
Subs shouldn’t be shoved into a corner and so close to the end and back walls
Yeah it sucks… in a theatre room aesthetics don’t matter much but in a living space it’s tough sometimes.
You have to take at least 2 of your port plugs out, I would do all 3
I tried all configurations! Not much luck… idk what it is but a single SB16U sounded much much deeper compared to this one! I need to make a video on that 😊
When you say "boomy" do you mean 'sloppy'? I'm considering getting one of these
Not sloppy but more like if you’re banging on a hollow enclosure. Boomy sound usually comes from a poorly insulated enclosure or not enough insulation as the sound radiates from the walls of the enclosure.
That's an echo chamber for a 15 inch sub, especially that size room with no acoustic treatment. You have frequencies bouncing around cancelling each other all over the place. It's definitely your room. You'd be better off with a dual smaller subs. And regardless of the subs, very first treatment would be an area rug on that reflective wood floor.
Very possible. I would put a rug but my wife doesn’t like it. I can’t mount stuff to absorb unwanted audio on the walls either. Maybe one day I can move to a bigger house with dedicated movie room to make it my playground!!
@@GrindMyGears You need an area rug or you're never going to have decent sound. That is the worst thing about hardwood or tile floors are they ruin the acoustics in a room.
@@EVMANVSGAS yeah makes sense! All media rooms or home theatre rooms are usually carpeted. As of now I run 2 SB16’s and they sound solid! Anyone hears it they can’t help but ask about it lol. Maybe it’s the room but the sealed subwoofer made a huge difference! However I can’t be sure if being SVS has to do with it as they’re known for deep bass. Watched Dune yesterday and the ground underneath shook like crazy. Best of all the bass sounds so deep it’s amazing!
I’m so surprised this sounded like that . How to do like the sb16 I’m debating getting one or 2
I am surprised too. Hooked up SB16U in same position and same settings before I even recalibrate the system and sound was so different. Much deeper and fuller base. So good I bought a second SB16U that I received yesterday. I didn’t recalibrate yet but I only had couple hours listening time in a movie with two subs. I need to give it some more time to break in and I can give you a better opinion on 1 SB16U versus two in my case.
Sounds like your delay and sub level was off on the tuning. Maybe you ran into clipping
I never run my sub level at 0db always alittle negative and I turn my gain in the sub amp up.
No the issue is the sub itself sounds shallow... even at reference the subwoofer never flinched, it handled it superbly but it just sounds shallow and not deep. After I sent it back I got a single SB16 ultra from SVS and the difference was day and night man... it’s so good I got a second one. I’ve been wanting to make a video but just been busy.
Turn up to signal to your sub in your avr.
That could’ve worked. I returned it…
Maybe a phase issue. Sometimes the receivers don't get it right.
Could be… I’m sure someone with more experience could have calibrated the subwoofer for better results. I still can’t get over how massive and mean looking that subwoofer is lol. SVS looks so docile in comparison.
Wow that’s crazy I saw a sound demo on TH-cam and it sounded boomy so now I know for sure to go with the svs equivalent
No you should try the monolith specially the new 16” version! It didn’t work in my room I guess. SVS performance crushed the monolith in my room plus you get used to the remote and Bluetooth app lol
Thanks for the video😂!!!
You’re welcome 😬
@@GrindMyGears yes sir buddy!!!
I am having the exact issues. Just got my monolith 15 today. I am replacing an old 12" mtx SW12 100 watt rms 200 watt max down firing and down ported subwoofer. I plugged in the monolith, figuring even with basic uncalibrated settings it would blow the mtx out of the water. Played edge of tomorrow intro and was in shock at how shallow and quiet it sounded. I turned up the subwoofer settings on my klipsch the sixes (this is where the sub out comes from) and turned the gain to max on monolith. Even after that, it barely outperformed the mtx in punchiness and "deep" sound. I even moved it around the room. Not much improvement in the spot I found it to perform best. I have thx off, crossover to 80hz, DB to max, subwoofer level full from my klipsch sixes sub out. It shook the hell out of the walls and rattled everything, I heard more of that than bass. My room is 15' by about 10' then leads over to kitchen around corner which is about 8' by 15'. I just don't see how this little mtx sounded better to me than this monster monolith. Any tips from anyone who comes across this would be appreciated! Hoping I don't need to send back! Curious, did monoprice charge you return shipping?
Wow finally I’m not the only one!!!! Same thing happened to me!! More rattling than audible bass. Plugged it in expecting it’ll do amazing (according to raving reviews) at whatever settings the 12” sub was working on but the disappointment was unreal. I knew immediately I’m going to end up returning it and was thinking about how much it’ll cost to ship back. I contacted Monoprice and explained to them the situation so they covered return actually which was very nice. I left a 3 star review on the sub but it was never released... so that made me wonder if all those 5 star reviews are real!? Whatever... I replaced it with SVS SB16U and difference is day and night... to the point I bought another SB16U but now I feel the bass might be a bit too much sometimes so thanks to SVS for including remote and app control, all I have to do is adjust it from my couch anytime I want to my liking. I’ll make a video on those sometime soon.
@@GrindMyGears That's good that they took it back with no issue. I just got my return info and a paid fedex label to send back. I am definitely going to go with SVS. Maybe the PB4000. Thanks for the reply!
@@seanerdid I’m glad they paid for you too! I think they used to not pay but now they do. From the research I’ve done on subs, PB3000 is as good as the PB4000 just FYI. I went sealed so I don’t have to hear port noise ever again. The only thing I wish I can do is trying Rythnik F18 but they don’t pay return shipping. I recently watched a video on a channel called SpareChange he reviewed F18 and praised it a lot... like A LOT!! So it made me wonder if they’re better than SB16U. But the app control is really neat I must be honest. Good luck!
Something is wrong no way a pb1000 is deeper lmao!!
Lol I agree with you! Dude idk why this mono 15 sucked so bad. I didn't feel signs of driver problems no rattles no noises... just shallow bass. I grabbed SB16U and it sounds way deeper... I'm still so annoyed it didn't sound as I thought it would/hoped.
@@GrindMyGears all the reviews say it his is a low end monster! I may get a rythmik, hsu, or psa sub. Monolith is off my radar now lol.
@@dclowz586 It is a monster, even the 10inch version is a fucking beast.
@@DDRHeretiC I got the psa tv2112 it will destroy most subs in its class...
That room looks very small and looks like your sitting position is very close to the subwooofer.
Hey some advice,, You need to learn more about subwoofers. You obviously didn't run Rew or anything to tune it to your home/location. You dont buy a sub and just throw it on the floor and turn it on. It seems you need to Do alot more research.
While that’s a good and sound advice, it shouldn’t be that complicated to get a decent presence from a subwoofer like that when plugged in! To do all you said I need more equipment (like a decent mic and a laptop to run REW) which means additional money and time. I’m not an authority on audio equipment but I’m only sharing my experience. When it comes to sound, our ears tell us what sounds good and my ears told me this sub didn’t deliver great sound as expected. When I plugged the SB16U with the same settings on the receiver, the difference was huge. How come that one didn’t need any tuning or REW work out of the box? I don’t know.
Btw I have absolutely no affiliation with SVS or anything of that sort. I bought it after checking out SB4000 at a local home audio shop.
Why cant a guy simply not like the sound of a sub? I just returned a sub to a vendor that was highly regarded in the community. It sounded like crap and I don’t wanna hear it. We shouldn’t need extra equipment to be satisfied with something so expensive. Tuning and placement is one thing, but the sound signature is part of the “voice” of the unit and that was a no go for this guy.
@@PumpUptheJam81 thank you I totally agree. The tuning should be to go from sounding amazing to sounding superb… not to go from sounding crappy to sounding superb lol. Which subwoofer did you have to return? I would love to know!
@@PumpUptheJam81it’s a high end sub for a more affordable price if you’re shilling out around $1,500 for a sub you should be able to invest in a crappy mic to run room corrections this honestly shouldn’t be something you’re in the market for if you aren’t cable of doing these simple things you’re just wasting your money if you’re unwilling to unlock its potential
Do you remember the music(songs)played in this video?
The one around 10 minute mark?
Yes
@@Coffeedad I tried Shazam and google but they couldn’t detect the track!! I’ll have to search TH-cam and find it for you. Might take a while but I’ll try to find it.
I think I found it
@@Coffeedad th-cam.com/video/2V48Rd-kgnU/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
Try JTR
That’s going to be my next upgrade. Right now I have dual SB16U and pretty happy with it for the room size.
Dang sorry you had such a bad experience. I hate when this happens to people and their products when it's not representative of the norm, but they have already been soured enough to swear off it.
I agree :/
You got 1500 dollars subwoofer and you can’t tell of it sounds good so you selling it
No I returned it back to monoprice!
Wtf. Firstly who gets a Monolith 15 and tries to integrate them into tiny ass Elac bookshelfs and center. Either get a smaller sub or bigger mains or you will never be able to get them to play well together without the sub overpowering the mains. The boominess problem is because your sub is still doing a lot of work 70 and above and your tiny mains havent really kicked in yet at respectable volume due to the crossover 12db octave.
Have you listened to those ELAC UB5 speakers before?
I'll trade you my like new SVS PB 2000 Pro for your subwoofer
I returned the subwoofer shortly after! Ironically I bought SVS after that and it’s a day and night! How do you like your PB2000? Initially I bought a single SB16U and was shocked how deep is the sound compared to monolith 15. I ended up adding a second SB16U because one of those works hard to produce the sound I want. Since it’s sealed, the rattling sound around the room is kept to minimum without affecting the quality of the sub audio. It shakes the ground beneath me!
cool kitty , what breed of cat? sorry you had to return the sub
Thank you! He’s a bengal 😄 11 lbs as of today according to the vet visit. Sucks the sub didn’t live up to expectations in my case! Do you have the same sub?
it's the room that echoes. carpet your floor ffs
Nooooo! Lol… why pay a lot for wood floors if I’m going to cover it with carpet 😬 it’s wood floor on solid slab tho! I thought floating floors have echo issues 😐
there has to be something wrong then because the output of these is close to a pb4000. do you think that you just like the sound of svs. I've seen videos of subwoofer 101 explaining that svs subs sound deeper than other makes??
and a wooden floor will make a serious difference if the room hasn't been treated. I had a cylinder svs on a wooden floor and it was terrible
@@TheJohnypie do you have wooden floating floor? My wood floor is on a concrete slab so I thought the floor shouldn’t be the issue? The room is big though… I think 7400 cubic feet or so. From my experience SVS sounds better in my setup! I wish I knew someone close to me who has the monolith 15 so I can hear it. I would have kept it if it had the deep bass sound I want why would I spend more for SVS.
@@GrindMyGears no I had concrete base then wood floor it was shockingly bad. tiles are even worse. it's your room for sure that subs a beast. get a massive rug over that floor.
I'll tell you what your problem is right now. take the plugs out of the port that's your problem
I tried it in all configurations… nothing helped. The sound wasn’t deep… loud but no depth to the bass.