High-gloss piano lacquer over a cabinet weighing around 100 kilograms: in this finish, the Sub Contra from the German loudspeaker manufactory Audiophil pairs uncompromising bass engineering with a stately appearance. At its heart works a 15-inch JBL 2226H driver with carbon coating (HEM-Audio) and a sensitivity of 97 dB (1 watt/1 metre); the hand-crafted cabinet combines the black piano lacquer with satin black.
The built-in high-end amplifier stage leaves nothing to be desired: 500/600 watts of power (1,200 watts peak), power supply filtering of 60,000 µF and a damping factor of 700 – likewise hand-built. A parametric 8-band equalizer with detented controls allows extensive adaptation to room and system; connections include balanced XLR, unbalanced LFE, stereo line inputs and high-level speaker inputs.
Sonically, the big JBL driver delivers dry, powerful and very precise bass; the high sensitivity makes the Sub Contra particularly attractive for horn-based systems, and a single unit is ample for rooms of around 100 square metres. The height-adjustable spiked stands were newly made by us at HEM-Audio specifically for this subwoofer: they also allow tilt adjustment and eliminate resonances even on wooden floors, to the audible benefit of precision.
Following a recent refurbishment, the subwoofer presents as new and without visible scratches; depending on the light, slight polishing marks may show on the high-gloss piano lacquer. It measures 930 × 435 × 550 mm (H × W × D). It stands ready for demonstration at our premises in Wuppertal – viewing, listening and collection by appointment, delivery and installation at extra cost by arrangement; while stocks last, we also carry the same subwoofer in real black ash veneer, and matching subwoofer cables such as the one ViaBlue developed specifically for this purpose are available as well.
