Comparison: Thor's Hammer to Krell MRS subwoofer

[Charles]

As many know I recently added a Thor's Hammer to augment the low bass of my MAXX3's. It became apparent that my Krell MRS simply couldn't keep up with the MAXXes. This surprised me greatly but I just couldn't match up the sensitivities at all. The MAXXes would play through all my low frequency material at high volumes, and give a very credible show of themselves without distortsion. I found that I couldn't turn down the gain on my MRS enough to keep breakup from coming in and so the MRS was in the off mode much of the time. When I got the chance to aquire a Thor demo I knew I had to take it because the oppotunity might never come again.

With my older Mac XRT 29's the MRS was fantastic. It was and is a very musical sub with tremendous output (20 Hz and above) and very transparent electronics. Where a lowboy compact configuration is required it is ideal. However, as one goes below 20 Hz its output becomes quite limited, I found. This is not the case with my new Thor. It can totally keep up with my MAXXes while playing all my low frequency material with ease. I have also found the Thor to be as musical as my MRS. It is quite the complete package and very efficient. It requires about half the power (-3 db) as my MAXXes as a general rule. However, I do have one bass blast that demands of it 600 watts.

For comparison the 1812 played in my room at a high level demands a little over 120 watts/ch from the MAXXes and a little over 60 watts from the Thor. However, much more would be demanded from the MAXXes if I were not employing the HP filter set at 30Hz with the 6 db/octave rolloff. The Thor is simply an ideal match for the MAXXes in conjunction with the Wilson Watch Controller, completely relieving the MAXX woofers of any strain and yet getting their very best from about 28 Hz and above.

[turntable]

Charles

You are having too much fun. Why, because you can!!

Great to see you are still getting more and more out of the Maxx3's. I am certainly enjoying mine.

You are the bass and dynamic headroom king.

[Charles]

Turntable, I'm sure that you have experienced the magnitude of MAXX bass even without the Thor. That the MAXXes can best a Krell MRS by a considerable margin is quite incredible. It also exceeds my old Gen II's which were awesome. Many folks don't appreciate the Krell MRS. The beauty of the MRS is its musicality. It produced wonderful, tuneful base in the 25-50 Hz range that could not be beat. I can't say that the MAXX is better in this respect but the fact that it is as good is quite an accomplishment. The fact that the MAXXes had much more ultimate low end really amazed me. Right now I can't say my bass drum whacks are all that much better than with my old system but you are talking about a $30,000.00 subwoofer with 15" custom made drivers and two bridged Krell 650 cx amps with custom Motorola output transistors housed in an all aluminium 400 lb cabinet. Keep in mind my Thor LP is 30 Hz with an 18 db rolloff. I want to hear my MAXX woofers on all but the lowest of material.

[jfrech]

Interesting addition of the Thors. I always thought I'd swap my maxx 3's for Alexandria's one day...wonder if this is a cost effective move....my next step is a Rive's room project, the drawings are nearly done.

Charles, can you share what your room is like?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jfrech

Interesting addition of the Thors. I always thought I'd swap my maxx 3's for Alexandria's one day...wonder if this is a cost effective move....my next step is a Rive's room project, the drawings are nearly done.

Charles, can you share what your room is like?

If you go to community you can see detailed pics of my room and where I placed my Thor. My room is an A-frame 40 feet long and 15'3" wide with 5 foot side walls sloping up to a full 8 foot ceiling in the center. It seems to have excellent acoustics because of this property of being an A-frame. It is extremely sturdy in construction. My MAXXes work great in this enviornment, better than any other speaker I've had in the room. It would be fun to be able to compare Alexandria XLF bass to a MAXX/Thor combo.

[Masterlu]

Charles... I'm enjoying this thread on your Bass travels.

[chessman]

Charles, way cool!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Charles... I'm enjoying this thread on your Bass travels.

Although I became addicted to what Arnie Nudell called the "big bottom", when I was a kid I didn't realize it. I wish that everyone could have heard a Bozak Concert Grand in all its glory. I tried with twin Dalquist DQ1W's (12" subs and out board crossover made by Jon Dalquist especially for the DQ-10). Everone said that the Thiel CS5i had the big bass but nothing could match the Bozak's. Then I heard the Genesis II's. Although they had significant flaws, they could put out the low bass that could flap your trousers. I bought an extra bass amp and ran each sub mono. The Krell MRS/XRT 29 combo could never quite match the power of the Gen II's.

I was quite surprised that the MAXX3's could surpass the Gen II's on their own. And they had a much fuller upper bass. The MAXX is very even/smooth in the bass tapering off around 17-18 Hz. I have a cut that has a sustained 18 Hz organ note that is clearly audible (shakes the room) with the MAXX.

I believe that the MAXX/Thor combo offers a cost effective solution for those of us who will never own the super expensive Wilsons. My lust for the big bottom is completely satiated. Simply run the MAXX HP 30 Hz with 6 db roll off and the Thor 30 Hz LP with 18 db rolloff, adjust the gain on the Thor (also use the EQ set to 20 Hz with the necessary gain and Q where needed) to achieve all the 25 Hz and below you want to hear and let the MAXX do the rest. Really low bass is totally a matter of taste, IMO.

For me the most exciting thing in audio is to feel that faint 20 Hz organ note waft through my room. It is really incredible that the Thor has the dynamic range to pick up the faintest subsonic note while literally laughing at the enormous bass blasts without having to back off on the gain or EQ. The Mac 601 IMO is the amp to drive the Thor because it is relatively inexpensive and drives the Thor with ease. The watt/hold feature is invaluable because you can see the wattage on the peaks.

[GaryProtein]

Charles, please don't come crying to us when your house falls down!!! I hope you have earthquake insurance!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Charles, please don't come crying to us when your house falls down!!! I hope you have earthquake insurance!

I am certain that you have experienced this type of bass through your Infinity's judging by the SACD you suggested. It among my top two or three. My wife got mad at me today because I was playing it at high volume with some considerable EQ while she was on a walk. She came back early. She said she could feel the bass from the mailbox at the end of the driveway. That is some disc.