Bass is the Place

AS SOMEONE who appreciates the benefit deep bass brings to music and movie soundtracks, I’ve come to accept that having a box the size of a small refrigerator in my living room is a reality of life I need to contend with.

- Al Griffin

That box, of course, is a subwoofer, and welcoming one into your space is the deal you must strike in order to get deep bass. Some cleverly engineered models use innovative DSP-driven solutions, along with serious amplifier power, to coax extended bass from compact boxes— certain subs from JL Audio and the KEF KC62 (reviewed on page 64 of this issue) come to mind. And while such models definitely make a better fit with non-mancave-like interior spaces, you’ll pay handsomely for the tech wizardry that brings about the bass miniaturization.

OSD Audio’s Nero TubeBass 10 is another subwoofer option that won’t dominate your space. And at $179, it will go very easy on your wallet. The TubeBass 10 features a 10-inch downward-firing driver housed in a 19-inch-high, 13-inch diameter cylindrical enclosure. Cylinder subs—a design associated most closely with the early days of SVS, which still offers a few such models—have a significantly smaller footprint than conventional subwoofers. They are more compact, and thus easier to move around than big box subs—a help when tweaking placement to get the best sound and minimum boominess during setup.

The 10-inch driver in the TubeBass 10 is powered by a 400-watt class-D amplifier. OSD Audio specs frequency response at 30Hz-120Hz. At $179, you shouldn’t expect amenities like built-in DSP— a feature that, among other things, shapes frequency response and prevents distortion and bloat, especially when cranking the volume up—and, not surprisingly, the Tune Bass 10 lacks it. It also omits wireless connectivity, app-control, EQ settings, auto room correction, and other features found higher up the subwoofer food chain. (Did I already mention that the TubeBass 10 costs $179?)