Sigberg Audio 10D Subwoofer Evaluation: Greatest Performing Small Sub?

For
our latest assessment of Sigberg Audio’s SBS.1 lively audio system,
Sigberg despatched us their 10D subwoofer to enhance the audio system since they wanted a subwoofer to play full vary, and the 10D is made to be simple to arrange with the
SBS.1 audio system. Nevertheless, the 10D subwoofer is made to be extra than simply an
accent to the SBS.1 audio system. It has the design, performance, and
efficiency of a really severe audio product, and it warrants a detailed look in
its personal proper. That’s the reason we’re going to take an in-depth have a look at it in
at present’s assessment. It’s a smaller, dear subwoofer, and there isn’t something
else available on the market fairly prefer it. Just like the SBS.1 audio system, Sigberg made an
audio product with an affordable measurement that was uncompromised in each different
regard. It makes use of high-end parts in a high-end design and is inbuilt
Norway, and it appears to be like (and prices) the half. The query that we’ve got to ask now
is how good can a small subwoofer get when it’s chocked filled with the best
performing parts at present obtainable? And is it definitely worth the $3.7k asking
worth (pricing is at present pinned on the Norwegian Krone, so greenback and Euro
pricing could fluctuate a bit)? Let’s dig in to search out out…

Packing and Look

The
10D arrived in a heavy-duty cardboard field with some dense polyurethane foam
packing. That must be sufficient to guard it for routine transport practices,
however I feel it may benefit from double boxing and one other layer of froth in
case transport transit will get tough. As soon as unpacked, the 10D is revealed to be an
understated but engaging subwoofer. All the perimeters are rounded, and it has a
effective satin black end. Other than the side-mounted drivers, the one detailed
function is the Sigberg emblem on the decrease entrance of the unit. Its minimalism
offers it an air of seriousness, however the rounded edges soften {that a} bit. That
minimalism might have been emphasised a bit extra if the drivers had trim rings
across the body, and if the cones had used inverted dustcaps, however those that need
minimalist as attainable will in all probability simply use the grilles which disguise the
drivers altogether. They use magnetic grille guides so the facet panels
are that a lot cleaner wanting. The ft are spherical and aren’t actually seen
when the sub is resting on them. There isn’t an entire lot extra to say in regards to the
look of one thing with such a easy industrial design. It’s
classy-looking with out being flashy or ostentatious. 

Design Evaluation

The
fundamental design of the Sigberg Audio 10D Subwoofer is a sealed sub with two
dual-opposed mounted drivers and is powered by a 500-watt RMS Class-D
amplifier. There may be, after all, rather more to it than that, so let’s dig into
a number of the particulars, and let’s begin with the motive force. Sigberg makes use of a Scan-Communicate
driver from the Discovery line, which is a identified amount amongst speaker
designers for its broad bandwidth and linearity. It’s a driver befitting of a
high-end subwoofer. It has 1” of linear journey, peak-to-peak, and over 2” of
whole peak-to-peak tour, which is sort of a bit for a ten” woofer. Two 10”
woofers have about the identical floor space as a 14” cone, so this subwoofer might
be thought-about the equal of a sealed 14”, every little thing else being equal. Nevertheless,
every little thing else shouldn’t be equal, since few 14” drivers would have something like
the mixed motor properties of those two 10’s. One good factor about splitting
the displacement of a subwoofer amongst a number of drivers is that sensitivity can
be retained and inductance will be lowered since there isn’t an entire lot of coil
stuffed right into a single motor. Which means the shifting meeting weighs much less,
thereby rising sensitivity, and never as a lot shifting copper within the hole will
produce much less inductance, thereby flattening the response in addition to decreasing
even-order distortion.

The
cone itself is created from aluminum and has a big glass fiber dustcap. Aluminum
is a bit heavier than some various cone supplies that would have been
used, nevertheless it does have the additional advantage of serving as a superb heatsink. It
attaches to the basket through a skinny and light-weight NBR half-roll encompass that ought to
present loads of journey earlier than any severe stress units in. The basket itself
is a heavy-duty cast-aluminum piece that undoubtedly won’t flex within the
slightest towards something the shifting meeting might do. The motor makes use of a stack
of two magnets for a mixed thickness of 1 ⅜” with a 5 ¾” diameter, though
these figures aren’t all that significant with out realizing the magnetic flux they
produce within the hole. I’d guess they would offer quite a lot of pressure,
since this driver doesn’t look like utilizing an enormous coil to drive the shifting
meeting and would subsequently be relying extra on the magnets to supply pressure.
Once more, that is one other good technique to scale back inductance. The motor makes use of a 2”
diameter voice coil round a titanium former. The warmth conductivity of titanium
isn’t excellent, however it’s mild and is barely weakly magnetic so it gained’t
intrude with the magnetic subject of the motor very a lot. Venting of the motor
is completed within the basket underneath the spider. The backplate is barely bumped out to
enable for higher tour with out onerous bottoming of the previous.    

To
energy the drivers, Sigberg has chosen Hypex’s FA501 amplifier, once more utilizing the
acclaimed nCore modules very like Sigberg’s different choices. This
state-of-the-art Class-D amp gives 500W RMS of energy with extraordinarily low
distortion and noise with linearity metrics which can be significantly better than
subwoofers might in all probability ever profit from. The drivers are wired in a
parallel circuit with the amp, and which may appear to be a heavy load with two
4-ohm drivers, however the amp has been verified to be steady with the 10D’s
electrical load. The drivers are given as a lot energy as they will deal with, and
the limiters set by Sigberg be certain that they gained’t beat themselves to loss of life
from over-excursion or soften from thermal overdriving as effectively.

The
amp has a balanced XLR enter and throughput, in addition to left and proper RCA
inputs. There are additionally high-level inputs for many who wish to join it to a
system through speaker wire. The amp additionally has a USB enter with which its DSP
features will be accessed from a Home windows PC, and Sigberg gives the USB
Mini-B cable with which to attach the sub to the PC. There are three preset
configurations that may be accessed from the amp controls: Preset 1 removes the
low-pass filter so the sub can be utilized with exterior bass administration. Preset 2
units the sub up for use with the Sigberg Audio SBS.1 audio system by lowpass
filtering the subwoofer at 100Hz. Preset 3 lowpass filters the sub at 40Hz and
is meant to easily shore up the bottom octave in methods that don’t have any bass
administration. Included within the software program is a 9-band parametric EQ, so the
inevitable deformation that in-room acoustics does to the response can
compensated for to a fairly effective diploma. After all, it’s at all times good apply
to deal with peaks with equalization and dips with placement, and, if it may be
accommodated, a multi-sub system. Different features of the sub that may be adjusted
are particular person enter achieve, enter degree for wake-up, time to enter standby after
no sign detection, LED brightness, amongst others.

The
MDF enclosure is a reasonably beefy one with the drivers being mounted on panels
which can be roughly 1 ¼” thick. Working parallel to the drivers are two
full-length braces with massive holes. There’s a delicate, rubbery foam lining the
facet partitions for damping. The ft, as beforehand talked about, are rubber
half-spheres that give the sub an affordable degree of clearance. They aren’t
onerous rubber in order that they gained’t scratch any onerous flooring, and they’re in all probability
well-damped sufficient to soak up what little cupboard vibration may happen. With a
dual-opposed driver orientation, the shifting pressure that every driver imparts on
the enclosure is canceled out by the other driver, and this prevents the
drivers from transferring any rocking movement on the cupboard. That, mixed
with the heavy inside bracing, implies that the 10D cupboard must be stable as
a rock at each drive degree. This degree of construct high quality must be anticipated at
this worth level, and Sigberg delivers it. It may be felt within the 60 lbs.
weight, a substantial quantity of heft for such a small sub. 

Trying
on the total design, as with the SBS.1 audio system, the 10D sub makes use of a number of the
best parts obtainable, which is sort of spectacular. That’s mirrored in
its worth. Its design suggests a automobile that’s attempting to supply an
exceptionally high-fidelity sound from a modestly sized subwoofer. The
components are all current to do this, however how does it sound in apply? Let’s
do some precise listening to see what all this know-how and design quantities to…

Listening
Classes

The most effective placement for a single sub in my
room offers me a comparatively flat response for an un-EQ’d single subwoofer, with
a window of +/- 4 dB from 25 Hz to 100 Hz with no broad dips in necessary
ranges. This location trades low-end room achieve for a comparatively flat response,
a worthwhile commerce for my tastes. The receiver used was a Marantz AV7705 and
the crossover was used largely at 80 Hz with a pair of the SIgberg Audio SBS.1
audio system. As at all times, I’ll observe right here that since room acoustics have an enormous
impact on low frequencies, the best way these subwoofers sound in my room at my
listening place shouldn’t be essentially going to be the best way they sound wherever
else for anybody else, so readers would do effectively to maintain that in thoughts, and never
only for this subwoofer on this assessment however for any subwoofer in any assessment.

Music
Listening

No acoustic
instrument can do deep bass just like the pipe organ, so I at all times strive at the very least one
pipe organ recording for each subwoofer assessment. For the Sigberg Audio 10D, I
discovered a terrific 2012 launch titled “The Johan Patroclus Moller Organ” that
was made to have fun the restoration of the title-referenced organ within the
former Benedectine Abbey in Marienmunster, Germany. This organ was inbuilt
1738 and survives with most of its authentic parts intact. It was restored
as intently as attainable to its historic situation. Music lovers of the 18th
century actually loved their bass, as will be heard on this album, and the
music is a choice of compositions that might have been performed on this organ
when it was new by composers Johann Sebastien Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach,
and Heinrich Gerber. The recording high quality is excellent and captures the sound
character of the organ fairly effectively, so it’s as much as the standard of the sound
system to breed the performances right here for the listener to listen to what the
organ is like.

The Sigberg 10D subwoofer’s pitch and definition are flawless.

This album shouldn’t be
a deep bass extravaganza like another pipe organ albums, nevertheless it does hit the
decrease notes sufficient to maintain the sub busy. A shoddy sub could be too busy and
smear the notes collectively, however fortunately that was not the case with the 10D;
its pitch definition was flawless. Many pipe organs require a lightweight contact as
effectively as some muscle when wanted, and a reliable sub has to scale the vary
between these two poles. The 10D might impact a touch of bass in a number of the
undertones, and when the large pipes opened up, it was greater than as much as the duty
for that barrage. One factor I might hear on this recording by means of the 10D was
a really mild background rumble that apparently didn’t get filtered out within the
mixing stage. It’s attainable that it was left intentionally with the intention to absolutely
recreate the surroundings of the efficiency. One other subtlety that I might hear
by means of the 10D was the sunshine decay of the decrease notes from the acoustics of
the Marienmunster church. After all, many of the acoustic cues are delivered by
the audio system, however the sub has to keep up a presence with out being overbearing
with the intention to correctly understand the acoustic properties of the efficiency house.
The 10D completed this, and pipe organ fans who want a smaller sub
are going to like what this factor can do. 

One other acoustic
instrument that may benefit from subwoofer vary frequencies is the double
bass. An album that basically exhibits off the deep bass capacity of this instrument
is “Crescent” by bassist Tony Overwater and pianist Atzko Kohashi. This latest
launch that I streamed from Qobuz is a jazz album that retains the vitality excessive
even with solely two gamers. Kohashi and Overwater play off one another
superbly, and the concord discovered by these two musicians helps to make these
two very completely different devices mix collectively effortlessly. This can be a very good
jazz album, however to get the total impact, listeners will want a very full-range
speaker or a subwoofer.

Many individuals may
suppose that the assault of a plucked double bass string is an efficient demonstration
of a subwoofer’s transient character, however I’d say that individual a part of
the sound has much more to do with the audio system and their integration with the
sub than the sub itself. A lot of the assault is greater frequency info
and that’s merely not within the subwoofer’s bandwidth. For my cash, the actual
exhibition of a sub’s transient character lies within the muting of a double bass
string, since a lot of the harmonics have decayed but the elemental continues to be
sturdy however immediately needs to be silent. Both means, on “Crescent,” the 10D exhibits
that it’s adept at each, and the double bass was given a bodily presence by
the 10Ds and sounded prefer it was within the room with me. The bottom octave on the
piano was additionally properly materialized by the 10D, and it served as a reminder that
of all of the acoustic devices, the piano is definitely one of many deeper
frequency diggers. It’s exceptional how this little sub and these little
audio system had been in a position to recreate the sound of such massive devices with such
realism. It’s the sort of system that would depart individuals baffled: “the place is all
that sound coming from?” I feel anybody can be impressed by the 10D’s
efficiency with such a music, even with out contemplating its measurement.

For a really completely different
musical strategy to bass, I discovered a portentous album in “Colossus” by darkish
ambient artists Atrium Carceri and Kammarheit. This album creates an environment
of gloom and foreboding, and Carceri and Kammarheit’s use of bass is essential
in the direction of that finish. Low frequencies are sometimes delicate however ever-present and loom
like a distant thunderstorm. There’s a cinematic high quality to this music as
although it was a rating for a surrealistic horror movie. Low frequencies are used
throughout a variety of various sounds so subwoofers can be stored busy though
hardly ever pushed onerous. One of these music tends to be a superb check of nuance in
deep bass, insofar as it will possibly have any nuance. 

On the 10D sub,
the primary monitor, “Subpulse,” undoubtedly lived as much as its identify. An intense bass
pad paying homage to the opening credit of “The Factor” throbbed and seemingly
energized your complete room with a low-frequency buzz. The next tracks
dialed the bass right down to a deep hum however then kicks in with some percussion that
appears like a big koto drum, and the 10D continued to impress with its
capacity to breed each low-frequency sound, whether or not massive or small. The
bass utilized in “Colossus” usually had a fancy texture due partially to the a number of
layers of low-frequency sounds, and the 10D had no hassle delineating these
particular person sounds. The completely different layers had been all stored distinct by the 10D
as a substitute of blurring collectively right into a muddy mess, and a superb instance of that is
monitor 6, “Interwoven,” which might undoubtedly be a difficult monitor for a
mediocre sub to get proper. The 10D helped to substantiate the ominous
soundscapes offered on this album. It supplied a stable basis to the
music that was tangible in a means that headphones might by no means match.  

the bass produced by the 10D sub was so thick you could possibly reduce it with a knife.

For a way more
flagrant use of bass, I listened to Milanese’s “Lockout.” This 2009 album sits
someplace between UK storage and dubstep in digital music types, and it makes use of
heavy bass beneath sparse percussion and rap lyrics. At excessive loudness
ranges, this music is usually a robust load for subwoofers, and as such, serves as a
good endurance check to see how a sub can tolerate some heavy lifting. Milanese
was a London-based digital music artist who launched a slew of bass-heavy
classics from the mid to late 2000s. Anybody seeking to make the cones of their
audio methods actually transfer would do effectively to take a look at his releases.

Not lengthy into the
first monitor, I once more needed to surprise how such a small factor was in a position to make such
a large bass sound. The bass produced by the 10D was so thick that you could possibly
reduce it with a knife. It was in a position to belt out monitor after monitor of pounding
bass. I might need been pushing it near its limits, however I used to be fairly
glad with the great sound it produced and felt no want to show it up
louder. It has no downside hitting eviction-level SPLs. Kick drums had a pleasant
tactile punch, however the actual star of the present right here was the basslines. The
basslines that Milanese cooks up for “Lockout” are like a rollercoaster on such
a succesful sub, and on the 10D it was a enjoyable trip. Listening to it on the 10D
made me understand simply how killer this album is. Significantly, bass heads have to
test it out if they’ve a system with potent low-frequency efficiency. I
have reviewed smaller subs earlier than, however they weren’t in a position to produce bass like
the 10D. Don’t let its measurement idiot you, that is undoubtedly not some gimmicky toy
sub. Its pricing must be proof of its seriousness, however the proof lay in
the sound it will possibly produce, and cranking “Lockout” with the 10D would show to
anybody past a shadow of a doubt that it may be an actual bruiser.  

Film Watching

One
film that I watched with the 10D sub was the 2011 fantasy-actioner “Conan the
Barbarian” starring Jason Momoa. I had not but seen it, however with warring
armies, battles towards colossal monsters, and feats of great power,
this film appeared like it could make for a superb check of low-frequency dynamic
vary. “Conan” was panned critically and wasn’t a giant field workplace hit both,
however generally most of these films will be enjoyable as soon as your expectations are
adjusted. Such was the case for me with the newer “Conflict of the Titans” films,
which had been neither thought-provoking nor emotionally partaking however had been
nonetheless an amusing strategy to spend a few hours. I got down to see if
“Conan the Barbarian” might present that very same degree of leisure and likewise
if the 10D might ship the low-frequency mayhem that this film promised.

“Conan
the Barbarian” turned out to be precisely what it was marketed, and it’s
unusual that anybody select to see this film after which complained about it. On
the promise of a bombastic sound combine replete with low-frequency mayhem, it
delivered. From elephant-drawn land ships, sea monsters, underground temple
cave-ins, and many full-grown males being thrown into partitions, there have been lots
of bass-heavy results to push the subwoofer, and the 10D might sustain with all
of the carnage with out breaking a sweat. The music rating by Tyler Bates additionally
had its fair proportion of bass, and as one would think about, it was filled with kettle
drums. The 10D managed to maintain the bass of the music distinct from the results
sounds despite the fact that they fairly often overlapped. The climactic scenes had tons of
low-frequency content material, and the 10D energized my room with thunderous bass
all through its length. Whereas “Conan” isn’t prone to be remembered as a
traditional of world cinema, I discovered it to be a reliable sword and sorcery motion
film, and a superb sub just like the 10D makes most of these films much more enjoyable.

A
very completely different film that I watched with the 10D subwoofer was “Troll Hunter,”
a 2010 Norwegian mockumentary a few group of movie college students who got down to
make a documentary about an unlawful bear trapper. What they tragically discover out
is that he isn’t out searching bears however moderately trolls- monsters which can be far bigger
and rather more harmful than any bear. “Troll Hunter” had acquired good evaluations
ever since its launch, and I had been which means to look at it for some years now.
The truth that I’m reviewing a Norwegian audio product utilizing a Norwegian film
is merely coincidental since I wasn’t even certain what nation the film got here
from particularly, solely that it was from a Scandinavian nation. A film about
large monsters is often a superb demonstration of a subwoofer’s prowess, so
“Troll Hunter” appeared like an acceptable movie to see what the 10D might do.

“Troll
Hunter” turned out to be a low-frequency fiesta, and the 10D sub ate its coronary heart
out. When the trolls made their appearances, the bottom shook, and the 10D
introduced that rumbling sensation into my front room. The bellowing of the
trolls resounded with pressure from the 10D subwoofer, particularly within the last act
with the large mountain troll. The sound combine, as rendered by the 10D
subwoofer, managed to make the trolls scary versus what might need
been comical. Actually, deep bass is essential to get the total impact, and I don’t
suppose that facet of this film would have labored as effectively and not using a good
subwoofer. As a pseudo-documentary, all the sounds on this film are combined
to look to return from the documentary movie crew’s microphones, and we get
loads of different low-frequency sounds comparable to air turbulence in a shifting automobile
cabin, wind noise on the mic, and the thuds of bodily contact with the
microphone itself, and a full copy these sounds helped to provide the
film a way of realism regardless of the absurd subject material. “Troll Hunter”
actually advantages from a robust sub, and it’s a feat of know-how that such a
small subwoofer can so amply recreate the sound of such monumental creatures. It
is serendipity that I ended up watching a terrific Norwegian film with a
terrific Norwegian subwoofer, however I’m glad I held off in watching “Troll
Hunter” for thus lengthy since I ended up seeing it with some really good audio
tools, nationality however.