Price Paid:  $500.00 from Creative Sound

Summary:
Well, my sub project wrapped up this past weekend and I had a chance to fire up my new 'beast' and give it it's first run-in. I built a sub from an Adire Shiva 12" driver and an Adire AVA250 plate amp in an 88L cabinet as per Adire's specs. The purpose of my project was to get a sub that sounded good with both music and HT. 1) Music -- After calibrating the sub to around 4db higher than my other speakers, I ran a myriad of CD's and concert DVD's to see how it would do with music. The results were better than expected. The bass was very 'tight' with no boominess whatsoever (just as Dan promised). Bass guitars, drums and other 'deep' instruments mixed seemlessly with my other speakers. Until I toggled the sub on and off, you couldn't even tell that the sub was on at all. As soon as I hit the off button though, it was like an entire section of the band just disappeared! All in all, I was very pleased with the results. 2) HT -- I ran a few movies through my DVD player and wasn't very happy with the result at first. I ran xXx, Godzilla and the Fifth Element at first and thought that the bottom-end was lacking. Once again, it was very noticable when I toggled the sub on and off but it just didn't give that punch that I was expecting. I then decided to run Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan (DTS) and was blown away by what I heard. The bass levels dropped considerably and my entire listening room started to shake. The sub stayed on course and not a single rattle was heard (except for one of my vents which I'll fix later). Overall, the sub did very well in HT and I've come to the conclusion that not all movies are mixed with the 'big bass' that I thought they were. Turning the sub off demonstrated quite clearly what I was missing. Overall, I was very impressed with the results of my little project. I've heard some $500 (Canadian) subs that boom and shake and generally sound horrible. This sub was always tight and crisp, even when fed a boomy-bass signal like in Jurassic Park. For a total cost of just over $500 Canadian for the components, the wood and the veneer (did I mention that it looks alot nicer than other subs?), I don't think I could have done better!

Strengths:
Price, performance, cost etc., etc...

Weaknesses:
Still looking

Similar Products Used:
Listened to several pre-built subs in the same price range but none of them came close

Price Paid:  $399.00 from Adire Audio website

Summary:
Rava: This is a great value! It looks good and sounds great. I almost purchased a HSU-VTF, but Dr. Hsu indicated that the 10" driver was a bit weak and recommended that I go with one of his cylindrical subs with the 12" driver (at a higher cost, naturaly). I certainly appreciate Dr. Hsu's candid comments, but it made me a bit uncomfortable with the VTF. On the other hand, Dan Wiggens (Adire) repeatedly steered me back to his cheapest sub, the Rava. Indicating that this would be best for my room (12x20) and my needs, 60/40 music/HT. He appears to have been right on! System; Spica TC-60s Hafler 9300 Transnova, amp Hafler 915, pre Toshiba and Philips CD/DVD players Kenwood turntable w/ AA VAC-in-the-box

Strengths:
Price to performance ratio, well made, good service from Adire.

Weaknesses:
Not much output below 25hz.

Similar Products Used:
Mirage FRx8, Near 50Me

Price Paid:  $399.00 from Adireaudio.com

Summary:
This is review for Adire Rava subwoofer which uses Shiva MkII driver. Beware of your orders from Adireaudio. They are not what they used to be. First off, they shipped the subwoofer in timely fashion which is good. but the unit I received was returned/refurbished unit, even though I paid for a brand new unit. That''s strike one. I then sent an e-mail describing my problem and asking for refund. It''s been a week and still no response despite multiple e-mails I sent. That''s strike two. Now on the product side: The subwoofer finish is very nice and the sound is surprisingly accurate. However, forget about the auto on/off feature, it will turn itself off after a very short time if there''s no signal present. When you''re watching movies it''ll be very annoying. Also there is some resonance in the box that rattles the speaker box. At first I thought that it was from the wall or other things lying in the house. But after I took the sub to my studio''s sound room and testing it, I realize the rattle is from the sub box itself. That''s a major strike three. Of all the subs that I''ve tested, this is the only one that had the box so flimsy that the box rattled. I know Rava isn''t the best sub out there for the price, I''d open the box to find out where the rattle is coming from, but I''ve had enough headaches from this junk. If Adire doesn''t respond soon, I''ll put a charge back on my credit card. In any case, this proves that you should always test before purchase. Right now, I''m kicking myself for not going with HSU VTF series sub. I''ve listened to the VTF sub and it mops the floor with the Rava. For extra $50, go with the VTF. Adire could''ve worked out for me too, if they weren''t so greedy dishonest and irresponsible. If you go with Adire, don''t tell me I didn''t warn you. This may be your pick if you''re building your own sub, the driver seems to be the only thing that''s good in the Rava. Everything else is appalling.

Strengths:
Amp has good power. Driver produces clean sound with no distortion.

Weaknesses:
Construction flaws; makes rattle noise; Auto on/off is a joke. They may send you refurbished product complete with the previous owner''s invoice.

Similar Products Used:
HSU VTF series; Velodyne HGS-10,15; various Boston Acoustics and Klipsche products; They''re all better constructed and better subwoofer than this Adire junk. Driver is the only thing that''s keeping

Summary:
This is a review of Adire's Rava Sub, consisting of a Shiva Mk. II woofer, a specially optimized version of their 250-watt sub plate amp completely assembled in an attractive REAL oak veneer enclosure. Fit and finish are excellent in comparison to the junk I've seen for the price. Instructions for set up are unusually clear and easy to follow. Adire gives users a choice of quick-and-dirty as well as the what's easily the simplest and most effective way to set up any subwoofer right. The Rava subwoofer is available on Adire's website at http://www.adireaudio.com for a obscenely low price of $399.

Also keep in mind that these are my first impressions, albeit good ones so far. It's the first subwoofer that easily keeps up with the fast, if not so deep aerogel bass units used in my Mission 774 fronts.

The Rava's bass is shockingly more articulate and detailed than ANY powered sub at the $400 price point, and more so than at least two subs I've listened at length to...including one with a $1200 price tag! It's the first bargain sub I've head that was able to convey a sense of air and space at the lower registers. THAT was definitely something I've not heard since I spent an afternoon with a pair of Dunlavy Signature IV/a's in a local audio shop. Just play one of Diana Krall's last two CD's, especially "All or Nothing At All" on her "Love Scenes" CD, or "First Steps" on Jim Brickman's "Picture This" CD to hear how natural it can reproduce the sound of the piano's lower registers. I could almost smell the wood, steel and felt!

Users desiring "boom-boom bass" will likely be disappointed. Properly set up, the Rava doesn't offer it's listers the distorted, one-note, sloppy, Bose-bass found in most subs in this price range. I found it shockinly easy to differentiate between a electric and acoustic bass on the first one or two notes. That level of articulation is unheard of at the $400 level.

One absolutely WONDERFUL feature that separates this amp from others in its price range is that this amplifier has full on, full off and auto-on signal sensing choices which is a Godsend for those of us who HATE turn on/off transients when the amp cycles off. My old Mission 70as would announce turning off with a loud thud after five minutes in spite of having a movie blazing away, then only to lag terribly turning back on (again with a loud thud) a few seconds behind the actual sound in the soundtrack. It got to be just plain awful.

This sub appears to be a real giant killer AND a music lovers amp. When bass is present, it gives you what's there with more finesse than any sub I've heard below $1000.

I'll write more as I get this settled in...

Thanks and cheers!

Strengths:
Fast and detailed, its remarkably distortion free and harmonically correct bass allows you to easily identify the source instrument. Obscenely cheap in pre-assembled and amplified form. Outstanding instructions help users get it set up quickly and almost effortlessly--it weighs 65 pounds! Complete lack of the sloppy and awful Bose-bass some love so much. Tremendous power (250-watt amp included) and extension (95db SPL at 22Hz in my living room) with the level set to 1/3!. Excellent fit and finish. Outstanding customer service. These are great people with an outstanding product.

Weaknesses:
Lack of Bose-bass makes this sub sound like music and not your neighbors pounding on your walls with pillows. Adire makes a larger, ported sub that looser-bass lovers and HT folk would die for!

Similar Products Used:
Definitive Technology, Boston, Mission, Sunfire, Paradigm, Velodyne, Monitor Audio, PSB, M&K and Mirage Subs.

Price Paid:  $399.00 from Adire Audio

Summary:
This is an incredibly powerful subwoofer backed by great service from Dan Wiggins at Adire Audio.

It is rated down to 27 Hz and I couldn't hear (feel?) any distortion. I heard bass from Pictures at an Exhibition on the Dorian label that the Velodynes couldn't even dream of producing.

Very musical and enjoyable, just make sure you have a large enough room or it will be over powering.

Strengths:
incredibly deep, powerful, musical bass
first-rate cabinet finish

Weaknesses:
just OK for home theatre (no boom factor)

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne VA-1012 II
Velodyne CHT-8