# premier acoustic PA120 sub review home theater



## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

this is what i found out in comparing my current rca pro sw120p 10" sub with the pa120 12"sub.. the pa120 is brand new.. and has not been burned in.. so from what im told.. the sound will just get better... wow cant wait.. now my levels were set at 70db off a decimeter.. 

all speakers.. 70db on meter ... -21db on rcvr.. my reference point

for all testing the rcvr volume was at -30db ,,, 9db lower that reference .. unless other wise stated 



MOVIES various clips

*THE INCREDIBLE HULK*
*RCA-*campus.. the roar was weak,, and so was the pounding of fist while on that bridge while turning into the hulk.. the conic cannons just didn’t have any sonic ability.. 

*PA120-* the roar was a lil more pronounced.. not by much.. and the fist pounding on the bridge was only heard at reference level (70db at test tone)… sonic cannons played a lil song in my ears..lol


*THE INCREDIBLES *
*RCA-* india-golf-niner niner… the sound the missles make as they fly.. I thought was impressive.. the rocket blast sounded good aswell. And the zero point energy thingy,, well it was lacking a lil

*PA120-* missles.. oh wow.. the rocket.. good and zero point.. was now noticeable

*U571*
*RCA-*depth charges,, had no depth to them.. loud bang,, but no boom

*PA120-* depth charges.. loud bang and a lil boom


*
SUPER SPEEDWAY*
*RCA-* chapter 14 road test.. going under the bridges.. very lil to no bass.. except for the last one prior to spin out

*PA120-*all bridges had that low rumble.. like I was used to when I first saw the dvd.. 


*BOLT*
*RCA-* the beginningnice impact while penny is talking to her father… and the id tag is shown.. ramming the car.. just a lil bass.. nothing impressive.. i
ntro to the helis… nice 
slow mo jump over heli… nice
“speak”,,, it was ok.. 

*PA120-*
WOW… WOW.. WOW.. OK IM HEARING BASS NOTEES THAT I DIDN’T HEAR WITH MY OTHER SUB.. 


*TRANSFOMERS*
*RCA-* IRONHIDE FLIP.. impressive at reference level

*PA120-* FLIP.. impressive at 30db aswell as reference 21db… more so at reference though.. wow wee.. 


*IRONMAN*
*RCA- *when he is helping those people being held hostage.. he turns off those cannon thingies.. nice.. 

*PA120-* very nice and louder and lower.. 



CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER BREAK IN..



everything mentioned above for the movie test.. are the same for music.. but music was ONLY played at 9db lower that reference,, -30db on rcvr


MUSIC
various artists
RCA-holly cole ,,, “I can see clearly now “ sounds great..bass strings ,, you can hear the vibration after every pluck
Hotel California,, accurate
Jurassic lunch,, foot steps noticed at 22 seconds
Mahkers 5th symphony,,, good 


PA120- same as above,, except for mahlers 5th.. very good and impressive


Iasca sound quality competition disc: superman track 18hz bass 
RCA- Olympic fan fare.. bass was there but not loud
Superman track,, 18hz not even a lil wimper

PA120-
Fanfare.. was good and loud..
Superman 18hz.. I could hear a faint whisper nothing more.. maybe at reference level I might be able to get more out of it.. 

telark erik kunzels TIME WARP: battlestar galactica 
RCA-track 2.. 2001 space odyssey… bass note heard 08 seconds into the song
Track 3, star treck ( one of the newer tv shows) good bass
Track 5,, battle star gallactica.. good accurate

PA120-
Track 2.. 2001 space odyssey… bass note heard 05 seconds into the song
Track 3, star treck ( one of the newer tv shows) wow.. way louder and deeper
Track 5,, battle star gallactica.. good accurate and louder


movie soundtracks sound bites
RCA-
Track 17 movie scores erik kunzel… Godzilla strole through new york steps first heard .09 seconds into 
Growl was ok
Titanic hitting iceberg… horn blast.. no low bass note at all.. 

PA120-
Track 17 movie scores erik kunzel… Godzilla strole through new york steps first heard .07 seconds into 
Growl was good
Titanic hitting iceberg… horn blast.. low bass note heard and felt..





new pics showing my subs.. pa120 and the rca































tonight i watched CARS .. and was surprised at certain scenes.... i watched the last part before the main race.. when the jets flew by.. this time i had it up at reference.. 70dB... the wife yelled at me.. i think her reference is about 100dB 

then we watched clips from the incrdible hulk.. i was more impressed with the information i was missing before.. a lot deeper sound... but unfortunately i was not able to watch at reference... had it about 10db below. 

and i just finished listening to blueman group... the last song on the disc plays a very low freq tone and the pa120 was able to pick it up it was low in volume but i could sense it being there.. the last time i heard it was in my car with my image dynamics 12" idmax playing it.. IB mounted with 1500watts fed into it... too bad i had the music playing low... 29db below reference




conclusion... i like this sub a lot.. and like everyone says.. set up (tuning) and placement is the key


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

if anyone is looking for good reviews other than the one i gave.. here is a link 

Premier Acoustic PA-120 - AVS Forum

The Official Premier Acoustics Owners thread - Blu-ray Forum


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

good gosh... 

i just watched TITAN AE... man i had no idea that this movie was full of LFE.. all throughout the freakin movie.. i liked how it starts off with the main character looking at his lil invention as a lil boy.. and then boom,, LFE..

gonna try to watch it tomorrow earlier in the day so not to disturb the neighbors,,, too bad i cant go to certain parts in the movie ,, the entire thing is full of it.. nice deep tones..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

what a pleasant surprise... i love this sub.. 

but what was even more surprising was the dark knight.... 

i took my time with it,, cause i thought it was all hype.. since i got nothing from my other sub... damn was i completely wrong.. had to turn the thing down from reference.. i thought if i had it up loud (reference) that i might be able to hear some bass... hell i had to turn it down by 11db from reference.. and that was still loud.. a lot of very low freq stuff happening in there.. 

i was complately shocked at the underground scene.. the batmobile busting through the wall.. and the truck flipping over.. i never heard that bass before..


and now im watching TOP GUN on dvd


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## brownmoses (Jul 23, 2008)

nice nht's. what model are they? i have a pair of nht 1.8 towers that needs a foam kit and a tweeter. can't wait to fix them. they look just like yours but have 2 6" subs in each cabinet as well.


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

brownmoses said:


> nice nht's. what model are they? i have a pair of nht 1.8 towers that needs a foam kit and a tweeter. can't wait to fix them. they look just like yours but have 2 6" subs in each cabinet as well.


the nht 1.3a's


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

now that its been a complete week of me running it.. i just recalibrated everything.. and watched 
matrix reloaded
horton hears a who
ironman
blackhawk down
various music

all at or above refernce.. and im completely shocked.. good thing no one is at home..lol.. and i just found out that my heighbors ARE at home... oh boy... oh well.. i hope that just the scene selections (not the entire movie) were ok with her.. now im playing classical music.. maybe she will enjoy that a lil more..lol.

cant wait to get my second one..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

well my movie finally arrived... war of the worlds.. the entire scene leading up to the unearthing of the aliens very impressive... from the low pulse while he walks to the hole in the street.. to the rumbling earthquake madness that comes after.. 

someone mentioned somewhere that the laser strikes on the ppl was supposed to be low bass.. well im unsure of that.. if it was i didnt sense it... 

had my system playing 5db below reference (75db) ... and my sub is level matched so it isnt running hot... well maybe just a tad.. 

also HORTON HEARS A WHO... pretty impressive aswell.. im sure anything with an elephant in it will have massive bass..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

well i just ordered my second pa120 sub.. cant wait for it to get here..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

mart9847 said:


> jlghsdkfjghpodfigh;dfgnd


oh shoot.. thanks.. i appreciate the warm comment..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

well i have dual PA120's now and just finished watching bugs life,,,,, a second time and this time while using the second sub

rcvr swfr setting 
-5dB for movies
-10dB for music

with my 75dB reference set with rcvr volume at -16dB I normally watch my movies with the rcvr volume at -30dB....

watched bugs life the first time with rcvr volume at -30dB... everything sounded good..no problems at all

second time with dual subs
same rcvr volume BUT had to reduce swfr volume down to -10dB... and still low bass was more evident than with the single sub at -5dB....

i will try to repeat my initial tests listed in the first post.. 

jaejw1's Home Theater Gallery (18 photos)


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

had my family over yesterday.. for steaks and chicken... and was watching transformers.. 

now i normally listen to my movies with the rcvr volume at -30db.. yesterday i had it at -25db.. and oh man... with everyone i the living room.. i was hearing very low freq bass notes i didnt hear before.. simply incredible.. 

my rcvr volume reference for leveling my speakers at 75db is at -16db..


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

well now that i have switched to an optical audio cable (so long analog) i have had to reduce the subs down to -15db another 5db from before.. and now instead of watching my movies at -30db at the rcvr volume.. its between -35 to -40dB at the rcvr volume.. 

a huge difference that cable made


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## jaejw1 (Jul 2, 2007)

WOW (war of the worlds)... just played about 20-30 seconds of it.. just the start of the lightning strikes to the part where they ran into the house.. 

*master volume at -21dB* my fiirst test was done at -30db master volume.. 

matched reference of test tone 75dB is at master volume -16dB

wow.. what a kick in the chest that was.. 
460bux worth of subs.. and they played beautifully with no chuf,fart,burp or bottoming.. 

i think im gonna tray the street scene next week... playing it this loud brought the neighbors outside wondering what was going on..



with my first test with master volume at -30dB,,,,, still 14dB below my 75dB matched reference...... already 98dB was loud enough everything sounded great and no stress on the subs.... gain on subs are both at 6 and are -15dB adjusted 

lightning strikes were measured at 85dB at the begining and hit its hardest at 98dB right before they ran into the house


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