upgrade depth to descent

[zaphod]

i'm rounding the corner to getting this system done (pause for laughter). i started 20 years back, and now it's just the final push.

new panels for the CLS
the second balanced power transformer
last of my homebuilt interconnects
maybe a squeezebox classic to stream a few stations i just can't get over the air/cable

one of the things that i've pondered is the depth that i bought. i only use it for .1 applications, the CLS run without for 2 channel applications. the pondering is if i should have held out for a descent. my room is 18x13x8, and as i said the sub is only used for LFE applications.

one of my local shops has a descent for $2200 - probably their demo. i know that the descent is hailed as more musical, but would i also get benefit from it during movies?

one of the things i like about my depth is how snappy and punchy it is. i replaced a DIY 12" downfiring sub with the depth and the difference was night and day. while the 12" had more internal organ moving skill, it didn't have that fast thump i enjoy.

is the descent with 10" drivers going to be less snappy than the 8" drivers in the depth?

okay, i've also pondered the theater over the logos, but man i do like the logos

 

[nsgarch]

With the original models, the Depth had better transient response than the Descent, and thus a better match for the CLS's. Your room doesn't need a Descent from a SPL point of view, one Depth should be fine. The new Descent i has a separate amp for each woofer, so the transient issue may be improved. You should also know that the Depth actually has more contouring adjustments than the Descent. This is important because it makes it easier to get a seamless match with the CLS's.

 

[tonepub]

See if the Dealer will let you take the Descent home and see how it mates with your speakers, room and electronics....

That's the best way to decide.

 

[zaphod]

With the original models, the Depth had better transient response than the Descent, and thus a better match for the CLS's. Your room doesn't need a Descent from a SPL point of view, one Depth should be fine. The new Descent i has a separate amp for each woofer, so the transient issue may be improved. You should also know that the Depth actually has more contouring adjustments than the Descent. This is important because it makes it easier to get a seamless match with the CLS's.

interesting, i didn't realize that. i do know that it blends in so seamlessly that i sometimes, if i watching something without big bangs or explosions I wander over and place a hand on it to see if it's still working (it always is .

i think i might just have a case of upgrade-itis.

 

[zaphod]

See if the Dealer will let you take the Descent home and see how it mates with your speakers, room and electronics....

That's the best way to decide.

you are of course correct, but i'm going to unable to listen for a while, so i want to grab it before it goes away. symptom of upgrade-itis i think

 

[C.A.P]

Spend your $$$$ else where the Depth is fine for most 2 channel applications. Even with HT. The thing with HT is most people want that big bang.

 

[nsgarch]

there are always more options

you are of course correct, but i'm going to unable to listen for a while, so i want to grab it before it goes away. symptom of upgrade-itis i think

If you just have to buy something and you're going to use HT as your rationale for needing more subpower I think buying another Depth would be both a better sonic choice and a better fiscal one too!

 

[zaphod]

If you just have to buy something and you're going to use HT as your rationale for needing more subpower I think buying another Depth would be both a better sonic choice and a better fiscal one too!

brilliant! after all, if "less" is more, think of how much more "more" will be! i love a good rationalization

 

[Rich]

The question is . . . what are you looking for? If you don't want it for two-channel listening and you are just concerned about home theater, then why are you wanting to upgrade? Does the depth not go low enough for you or loud enough on the big explosions? Does thunder in the soundtrack not shake the foundations of your house? If that is the problem, then by all means purchase the descent. You could easily put the descent in one area of your room and the depth in another and tweak them out to give you very even bass response.

Or if all you need is more even bass response, you could buy another depth and do the same thing, which would give you more even response throughout your room once you get them tweaked in correctly.

If your problem is just that you have money burning a hole in your pocket and are trying to decide where to spend it (a classic case of joeyitis) then there are probably more important areas to upgrade than the subwoofer I would think.

Just fyi, $2200 is kind of expensive for a descent, which has been discontinued for some time now. They are going on Audiogon for around $1500 to $1600. There is a descent i on Audiogon right now for $2100 and another for $1999. So it isn't like your dealer is offering some fantastic deal or anything.

 

[zaphod]

well, there is certainly a bit of "burning a hole" going on, but for the most part, it's the palatable taste of getting my HT done because i am just so very very close. that is combined with the realization that in the next year or so, my spending of disposable cash on HT and audio might be going away. in a good way, but going away. so like the runner that finds the last push of energy in the last 25 yards of the marathon, i'm sprinting for the end.

one of the things i'm deciding is if i should pull the trigger on a descent to replace my depth, and it looks like it would not gain me a thing. a second descent might, but there is no advantage to the descent over the depth with CLS in a room of my size.

 

[Craig]

... You should also know that the Depth actually has more contouring adjustments than the Descent. This is important because it makes it easier to get a seamless match with the CLS's.

The Descent i has an 50hz and a 25Hz knob for contour adjustments vs the Depth i with it's one 25Hz knob. I bought Depth i recently, had it for a month and traded it on a Descent i. It's still breaking in but so far it seems to be just more of a good thing.

I like the improvements they made with "i" series subwoofers and in my opinion I think its worth the additional cost for an "i" model.

One of my local dealers is now carrying the JL Audio Gotham sub and I got to spend some time auditioning it in his showroom. It's a beautiful sub and I wouldn't mind owning one. It's very clean and tight but so is the Descent i. I think the JL Audio Gotham is costs something over $7,500. For the money the Descent and Depth subs are a great value especially when you put them up against those costing much more.

 

[tonepub]

I've found the 25 and 50hz level controls particularly helpful because
when I had my room measured last fall, the only bump was at 40hz.

With those two controls, we were able to dial it out very easily.

 

[nsgarch]

Craig and Jeff: if you will read my post again, you will note I was referring to the original Depth and Descent! For your edification, you can see the control panel of the original Descent here: http://www.us.martinlogan.com/pdf/manuals/manual_descent.pdf

Your remarks about the 50K level control would not apply if one were using the sub with a pair of CLS's (or CLX's, as clearly marked on the crossover control of the new Descent or Depth i-series) because the sub would be rolled of starting at 30Hz anyway. Zaphod has CLS's.

Other than the location of the controls, I see no difference in the design or specifications of the old and new Depth. The new Descent is another story.

 

[raygunn]

NSGARCH, I absolutely agree on both counts....

Two Depths are a better match than One Descent. IMHO, a move from a single Depth to a single Descent is not an upgrade, but a step backward in terms of balance.

....
Other than the location of the controls, I see no difference in the design or specifications of the old and new Depth. The new Descent is another story.

Yeah, about that. Once I got the second Depth and realized what a real P-I-T-A it was going to be to set things up, I would have sold them both in a heartbeat and upgraded to the Depth-i's just to have the bloody controls on the top where they can easily be seen, read, and adjusted!

Hell, my system is pretty much dialed in and I still think about getting the Depth-i's just for the sheer convenience if I want to "play around" with the balance!