Subwoofer Purchasing Advice!

[Ybills15]

Hey guys I recently just started getting interested in home theatre after listening to my buddies new setup he got a few months ago. After researching for the past couple of months, and watching a bunch of youtube videos, I saw a deal on a Klipsch 3.0 system on amazon that I couldn't pass up on. The bundle included 2 RP8000f's and 1 RP 504C. I currently have them plugged into a Yamaha receiver that I picked up from my local Costco and they sound phenomenal. I never realized how (relatively) affordable cinema grade quality was for the average consumer. After watching several movies (Including Saving Private Ryan, the Christian Bale Batman Trilogy and Inception) I was completely blown away. Not only do they sound amazing for movies but music sounded incredible. I never realized how much I was missing in listening to music until having these.

However after reading online how much subwoofers truly make a difference in home theatre I decided that would be the next major purchase I make for the man cave. I later plan on purchasing a pair of Klipsch RP 600m's for surrounds since I've been very happy with my mains and center thus far. My question is if you were in my scenario what subwoofer or subwoofers would you purchase? For some background my room is 21x13x9 but opens up into a completely open basement that is extremely large (over 2500 sq Feet). I was looking into the SVS line and heard a lot of extremely impressive reviews about the new PB 3000. My Budget is currently 1300-1500 total and wouldn't be willing to purchase another high end sub or subs for at least another year or two. Some other subs I was interested include the Monolith 15". I've also heard lots of good things about HSU and Rhythmik but I get a bit nervous about possibly not liking them and paying for return shipping (partly why I've become even more interested in SVS).

So if you guys were in my shoes what would you guys do? Also would you pick up the sub first or surrounds? Also as far as surrounds go would you prefer bookshelves or bipolar speakers such as the Klipsch 502s? I use my system I'd say for about 70% movies/video games with the remainder being for music. I know there were a lot of questions that I listed above but any help from you guys would truly be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd have a hard time believing with your background (or rather particularly your lack of) with subs, that you'd be unhappy with most major sub company offerings in your budget; you'd probably be blown away by any very good sub. With your budget extended just a tad I'd get the dual Hsu VTF-3 mk5s and not worry about wanting to send them back; while SVS round trip policy is nice I think Hsu has the value advantage. You do have a huge room tho, so it will likely somewhat affect performance, but with some near rather than far field positioning probably work well enough with duals. You can do surrounds for movies/tv with some very basic speakers that don't cost much, for multi-ch music that might not suffice, tho.

 

[sterling shoote]

OP, today it's not so much about what sub will satisfy as it is about how the bass is managed to sound right for movies or music at a preferred listening volume. Since all active subs connected properly to an AVR are controlled by the AVRs bass management all you need is knowledge for how to set-up your AVRs bass management to make what ever sub you buy work in harmony with your main, center, and surround speakers.

 

[ryanosaur]

You are really shopping for performance to room volume, budget and feature set/ergonomics. Even our most respected infrasonic gurus mostly agree that among the leading candidates, you can’t really go wrong. Hsu, SVS, Outlaw, Rythmik, Monolith: all the subs are strong contenders as long as you shop wisely.
Room volume the sub will see is arguably the most important. You don’t have to pressurize the whole basement, and can be successful with wise placement of the subs, but something too small can easily get lost in there. The Hsu 15” options (Vtf-3, Vtf-15) are the value leaders at their price range! I don’t recall anybody saying they aren’t happy with them. Yes you have to pay shipping, whereas with SVS, that is all built into the pricing.
I recommend taking a little bit to really look at the larger offerings in your budget: the Hsus I mentioned above, at least the SVS PB3000, the Monolith 15... learn about their performance differences, how they connect to your system, etc....
Then buy the single best sub you can allow yourself to afford! Immediately begin saving for a second matching sub.
That said, the “dual drive” VTF-3 option is going to perform pretty flipping well by all accounts, and it seems you could almost go straight to that if you chose.

 

[2channel lover]

after reading online how much subwoofers truly make a difference in home theatre I decided that would be the next major purchase I make for the man cave. My Budget is currently 1300-1500 total and wouldn't be willing to purchase another high end sub or subs for at least another year or two. Some other subs I was interested include the Monolith 15". I've also heard lots of good things about HSU and Rhythmik but I get a bit nervous about possibly not liking them and paying for return shipping (partly why I've become even more interested in SVS).

So if you guys were in my shoes what would you guys do?

I'll answer your last question 1st.

What would I do...I bought two of the HSU vtf 3mk5 subs that a few others are suggesting.

Now circling back to your earlier thoughts.

Granted, a good CC or LCR speaker combination raises movie audio quality by leaps and bounds over the TV speakers, but its the sub or subs that put the theater into the HT experience.

Tempting with your budget, but I would suggest not to do it...don't buy one larger sub and call it a day or come back a yr or two later and add another one. Even with one killer sub in a room the size you have, without perfect placement, not every seat in the space is going to experience the bass like it was intended to be. My space is 18x17x9 and open to large open spaces...these two babies cruise along until they command the stage and then they can rock the house when called upon to do so.

All of the brands mentioned are going to perform well for you...from a value stand point, it's hard to beat HSU.

Good luck with it.

 

[Ybills15]

I'll answer your last question 1st.

What would I do...I bought two of the HSU vtf 3mk5 subs that a few others are suggesting.

View attachment 29352

Now circling back to your earlier thoughts.

Granted, a good CC or LCR speaker combination raises movie audio quality by leaps and bounds over the TV speakers, but its the sub or subs that put the theater into the HT experience.

Tempting with your budget, but I would suggest not to do it...don't buy one larger sub and call it a day or come back a yr or two later and add another one. Even with one killer sub in a room the size you have, without perfect placement, not every seat in the space is going to experience the bass like it was intended to be. My space is 18x17x9 and open to large open spaces...these two babies cruise along until they command the stage and then they can rock the house when called upon to do so.

All of the brands mentioned are going to perform well for you...from a value stand point, it's hard to beat HSU.

Good luck with it.

How do you like your HSU's? I know I've heard so many good things about them and the more I hear about them the more I like. I guess my only question would be how do these compare to the PB-2000's as they have a pretty similar price bracket. The 7 year warranty is pretty good with HSU's though no lie. Also I was thinking just waiting till the end of the summer to make my purchasing decision as I won't be home that much to enjoy them till Mid/Late June! Do any of these subwoofer companies typically have sales during a certain time of the year I should know about? I know monolith just had one a few weeks ago that I completely missed out on lol.

 

[2channel lover]

How do you like your HSU's? I know I've heard so many good things about them and the more I hear about them the more I like. I guess my only question would be how do these compare to the PB-2000's as they have a pretty similar price bracket. The 7 year warranty is pretty good with HSU's though no lie. Also I was thinking just waiting till the end of the summer to make my purchasing decision as I won't be home that much to enjoy them till Mid/Late June! Do any of these subwoofer companies typically have sales during a certain time of the year I should know about? I know monolith just had one a few weeks ago that I completely missed out on lol.

Love them. I don't want to make a claim that they are better than the PB2000 because honestly I don't know that to be true or not. I can say, they're quick, and at the same time powerful.

I think the SVS, HSU, Monoprice, among a few more are going to perform somewhat similar in the same price range. Unless I was extremely limited on floor space, the only thing I wouldn't do is get one more powerful sub and spend the same or near the same as buying two lessor beast 15" ported subs.


It sucks to miss out on great deals. But unless you're really on everyone's mailing list, it's hard to know them promotions are going to happen. At the time I purchased it was near the end of the year and HSU was running a dual promo that they have now...I paid shipping but got faster delivery for the money paid or something...it's wasn't a huge deal....the dual price savings was goo d enough for me to pull the trigger.