If you have been like the majority of people during the
pandemic, you have either been quarantined, done a lot of binge watching, or
both. During this binge watching you may have come to a realization that it’s
time to upgrade your surround sound system. You may have also learned that,
while streaming services are getting more and more popular, they are also
appear to be a new vehicle to get new release movies to us. We saw this with
Wonder Woman 1984, and it won’t stop there.
Being able to watch first run movies at home may have
motivated you to not only upgrade your home theater equipment, but to also
build a home theater. While a majority of the sound frequencies we hear are
highs and midrange, we don’t want to forget the bass or lower frequencies.
After all, try watching any action movie with a lot of explosions without a
subwoofer. The movie will just seem flat. Having a good quality subwoofer will
help you get the most out of any movie. Up for review today is the RBH Sound
SI-1212 in-ceiling/in-floor subwoofer, and DA-1802DSP amp.
Unlike most products you get in the store, RBH Sound sells
their products only through authorized dealers. You go to an authorized dealer,
and they help you design your system based on your needs and room size. But in
speaking to RBH Sound about my theater room, I not only wanted in-wall speakers
so they’re hidden, I also wanted the subwoofer to be hidden as well. I was told
they just had a new in-ceiling/in-floor subwoofer come out. It’s a design which
features two 12’s in a sealed enclosure.
I went to their corporate offices to pick up the subwoofer,
and they also showed me the driver they use. The box was very well made, employing
HDF, and looked great with an excellent black finish. On one end of the
enclosure was the wiring terminal and on the other end was the port. The port
is not a traditional port/vent as you would expect in a ported sub. This is a
sealed sub. But to allow it to be
installed in-ceiling or in-floor, the face that the two drivers are mounted on
is recessed and covered. And it’s this
small cavity that has an opening with a black cloth cover, and you would have a
return vent cover mounted in front of it in your wall. Quality of materials
used was excellent as was the fit and finish. The actual driver is mostly metal
with a beefy magnet, thick rubber surround and stamped steel basket. It is a
heavy gauge steel basket so it can handle a lot of power. The basket was of a
very high quality, as was the spider which had sewn in tinsel leads. The
aluminum cone was also of excellent quality, as was the large rubber surround
designed for high excursion. All of the components used are of exceptional quality
as was the fit and finish.
One additional feature that is not only really cool, but
also really unique, is a resettable fuse.
RBH Sound includes a physical resettable fuse mounted in the enclosure
with the subs. This is to further
protect the drivers. If the subs are
being overpowered, the fuse will trip, protecting them, and then reset once the
overpower has passed. This ensures the
drivers will never need to be replaced once the enclosure is installed in the
floor/ceiling. Extremely cool!!!
The subwoofer I received included the DA-1802DSP DSP/AMP.
The subwoofer is passive, but RBH Sound has the DA-1802DSP DSP/AMP that can be
sold with the subwoofer as a package. With 1800 watts RMS, the DA-1802DSP does
a great job powering the subs. The
DA-1802DSP provides 1800 watts RMS into 2 channels (900 watts RMS to each sub)
so you will get every ounce of performance.
Features
and specs:
SI-1212
Series: Signature
In-wall
System Type:
In-floor/In-ceiling Subwoofer
Frequency Response:
20Hz-200Hz (+/- 3dB) when Powered with RBH Amplifier
Sensitivity: 90dB
(2.83V @ 1 Meter)
Recommended Power:
100-1000 Watts
Subwoofers: (2) 12" (300mm) Aluminum Cone
Crossover Frequency:
N/A
Crossover Slope: N/A
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Cabinet Material/Color:
High Density Fiberboard (HDF)/Black
Cabinet Finish: Black
Enclosure
Baffle and Grille:
Baffle Black; Grille Black or White Fabric
Grille Options: Heat
Vent (in-floor), Cold-air Return (in-ceiling)
Enclosure Dimensions:
13-1/2" W x 56" H x 9" D (335mm W x 1423mm H x 229mm D)
Grille Cutout Dimensions:
12" W x 6" H (305mm W x
153mm H)
Weight: 85 lbs.
(38.55 kg)
RBH DA-1802DSP Stereo Amplifier
DSP: 24
Bit/96Khz (31 PEQ filters user
programable)
Optimized
Filters for RBH Subwoofers (included)
Power Supply: Switch
Mode Power Supply
Output Stage: Class
D
Power Output: 2x600W @ 8 Ohms, 2x900W @4 Ohms,
(1200W/1800W Bridged)
Frequency Response: 10Hz-22kHz
(+/- 0.5dB)
THD: <1%
Slew Rate: >30V/micro
second
Damping Factor: >300
Input impedance: 20K
Ohms
S/N Ratio: >95dB
Input Sensitivity: 1.4V
Input Connector: XLR
(RCA with Adapter)
Output Connector: Binding
Post/Speakon
Protection: Thermal,
Overload, Under Voltage
Cooling: Quiet
Mode Variable Speed Fans
Rack Size: 2U
Dimensions (WxHxD) 19”x3.5”x10.5”
(483mmx88mmx260mm)
Weight: 13.5
lbs. (6.13Kg)
Options: RS485
Programming Cable
The RBH Sound DA-1802DSP came in a standard cardboard box. Opening
the box revealed a well-protected amp held in place with some custom foam.
Materials used in the construction are mostly metal. Quality of materials used
as well as fit and finish were excellent. Buttons, knobs and connectors are tight,
well put together and it felt very solid in hand.
To really check the quality, I took off the top to get a
good peek inside. There’s a couple large aluminum heatsinks, several large
capacity caps, the transformer and beefy internal wiring, along with multiple
coils, and quality soldering. The rear
connectors are tight and solid on the inside. Circuit boards also appear well
put together. Hats off to RBH Sound on a
well-designed, well built, quality amplifier!
Now that I’ve seen its high build quality, lets get it
connected! Connecting the DA-1802DSP was
very simple. There’s the detachable
power cord, along with 5-way binding post for the speaker wire. The inputs are XLR, and included in the box
were a pair of XLR to RCA adapters. Your
current equipment may not have XLR inputs, but if you plan on going that route
in the future, this amp can grow with you. I also loved the fact that the
DA-1802DSP came with front rack ears built-in. That way if you have an AV rack,
its ready to be mounted.
The amp is pre-programmed in the RBH Sound Lab for the specific
sub it’s purchased with. The front of the amp is very simple. The internal
settings are locked for this particular amp, so there are no software
adjustments to be changed by the consumer.
The LED showed the model SI-1212 for the sub followed by “BRG” and an
image of a lock. This is to tell you
that it is in “bridged mode,” that it’s set-up for the SI-1212 sub, and the
settings are locked. Yet if you wanted
to make any internal software adjustments, RBH can walk you through that. From the dual connectors for inputs and
outputs on the back of the amp, you can tell that it is actually a two-channel
amp. But as the SI-1212 only has a one
channel input connector on the back of the enclosure for the two subs, so the
amp is bridged to one channel. And the
speaker connectors on the back of the amp are easy to read with instructions
for which wire is to be connected to which terminal when it is in bridge mode. This makes it really easy to hook up.
You obviously need good midrange and tweeters for a high-quality
surround sound system. After all, most of the audio in our movies and music
comes from the frequency ranges produced by these drivers. But you need to
watch an action movie with a lot of explosions without a subwoofer. Watch it
again with a good subwoofer and you will see just how flat a movie feels
without a subwoofer. To get the most enjoyment out of your music and movies,
you need a high-quality subwoofer. Subwoofers
are not all created equal. After all, get a just “ok” subwoofer and while you
may see and hear T-Rex coming, you may not actually “feel” him coming. With the
RBH Sound SI-1212 subwoofer system, you’ll definitely feel him coming. Let’s
see how it sounds.
Movies
Ready Player One- Race scene: all of the engines revving had
really good depth and life-like dynamics. All of the various car explosions had
not only excellent low-end extension and pitch definition, they were extremely
life-like as well. As the wrecking balls created their havoc on the various
cars, they did so with excellent authority and in your chest punch that was
really tight and clean. T-Rex’s stomping and biting of cars had the same
realistic dynamics. When Kong is racing to beat Percival to the finish line,
not only was it extremely deep and clean, I was expecting to get complaints
from my teenagers on the 2nd floor.
Impressive, since I was in the basement. Even though it’s a sealed sub,
it played with serious authority!
The Great Wall: there are some great scenes with drums and
black powder explosions. At the 17:59 mark, they beat against the huge drums
with nun chucks to signal the army to use long range weapons. The striking of
the drums with nun chucks had not only great definition of the pad, but also
played deep with foundation shaking authority! At the scene of the general’s
funeral, the playing of the drums was not only really deep with excellent
authority, they were extremely musical, providing much better than expected
resolution of the sticks beating against the leather drum pad! At the scene where
they go to capture a creature, the black powder explosions were so life-like
with such dynamics and room shaking bass. I questioned who had the better system, my
theater room or the last movie theater I went to. And all of this was done so
cleanly with excellent dynamics and great control of the motor structure.
Interstellar: the dust storm at the 18:30 mark shook my
whole room. And when they got out of the truck to run inside the farm house, it
was even more so. The base was deep, with tons of output. And when they got in
the house and closed the door it wasn’t as loud, but was even deeper.
At takeoff at the 43:30 mark, not only did it
shake the theater room, it shook the whole house, and even got my daughter’s
room on the second floor shacking a little! In fact, this whole movie was a
bass feast, providing clean, tight, deep bass with tons of output!
Music
New Order- Blue Monday: bass was nice and tight, quick, with
in your chest punch that you could really feel! And without a hint of muddiness.
Katy Perry- Dark Horse: bass hit really hard, clean with
lots of output and authority.
Richard Strauss- Also Sprach Zarathustra- bass was extremely
deep and really clean. The pounding of the mallets on the tympani had excellent
resolution of the pad as well as excellent dynamics.
Timmy Trumpet and Savage- Freaks: beats were so punchy and
hit so hard, my whole house shook. Bass was tight, very dynamic, yet really
clean.
Using dual 12’s and giving them 900 watts RMS each from the
accompanying DA-1802-DSP, I had high expectations
and was anticipating some very good to
excellent clean tight bass. With the size of the
sealed enclosure, I was expecting good low-end
and high output. I wasn’t wrong!
You would think I would have learned by now, but RBH Sound
has done it to me again. Not only have they exceeded my expectations, they also
surprised me. I measured the SI-1212 to be -3db at 20hz, which was right what
it is spec’d at. I also wasn’t expecting the house shaking output that I got,
which I’m used to getting from my reference 4-foot tall SVS ported cylinder
sub. What I got was even more so! I was
enjoying it so much, I couldn’t resist and put on a track from my old school
car audio days, Techmaster PB: Activate, and Time To Jam. Holy cow!!!
It hit so hard! I thought I was
going to knock things off the shelves in the room next door. I could only image if this sub was ported,
the havoc it would bring!!
The RBH Sound SI-1212 and DA-1802DSP did everything
extremely well. If the bass from the source material was a tight bass, you get
the tight clean punch in the chest bass. And I’m talking about a real punch
where you can feel the sound pressure wave hit you! If it was the more rumble
bass type of bass like a rocket taking off, not only did my theater room in the
basement rumble, it shook the whole house, being able to feel it on the second
floor! The subs performed extremely well with this amount of power. At one torture test I turned the gain/trim
down on the front of the amp as I thought the subs may have reached their max,
just to realize they were handling the power great and turn it back up a little
more.
There were a couple of times when the sub did seem not to
know its own limits and was pushed a little too far for where it should go, so
I ended up turning the gain/trim down just a bit. One thing is for sure, this amp has all the
power that these two subs can take, so it’s a perfect match. And with that amount of power, I could
actually hear and feel those drivers were very well controlled! The dynamics, control, and tightness of the
punch when the scene or music called for it was amazing. I had only heard that level of performance
from just a handful of subs before. The
level of resolution they revealed surprised me especially since a sub designed
mostly for home theater could be so musical!
The low-end extension was not as deep as some subs out there, but -3db
at 20Hz, you will definitely FEEL it when T-Rex is coming. And the sub is
completely hidden! Just imagine the look on your buddies faces when you’re
giving them a demo, and they realize and ask… wait…where’s your massive sub for
this much bass?!?! And they can’t find it!!
RBH Sound has a game changer on their hands, with this type
of performance in a hidden in-ceiling/in-floor subwoofer. The RBH SI-1212 and DA-1802-DSP
is true to the sound of the source material, and handled everything I threw at
it extremely well. Not only did it perform in spades for movie material, it
proved to also be very musical and performed exceptionally well with music
material as well. Based on its design, features, quality and performance, the
RBH Sound SI-1212 and DA-1802DSP has earned our Editor’s Choice Award. For more
info and complete specs, check out their website at www.rbhsound.com. But don’t just see them online, find an
authorized dealer near you, because this level of sound needs to be heard to be
believed. Reference gear used: Onkyo TX-RZ920 Receiver, Outlaw Audio
7000X amp, Emotiva BasX A-500 amp, RBH Sound SI-663R fronts, RBH Sound SI-760R
surrounds and back surrounds, SI-615 in-ceiling height channels, Panasonic
DP-UB9000 UltraHD transport, Sony Bravia projector, Elite Screens
EZ-Frame screen.
