Studio subwoofer recommendation

[Abyde]

I'm planning on buying a subwoofer for my home studio/DJ setup and hoping to get some recommendations. The room is L shaped and about 3000 cubic feet. My budget is $500-1000.

The music I produce, play and listen to has a lot of low end, mostly Drum & Bass, Hip-Hop and other bass heavy genres. I would like to feel the bass in my chest and also for it to be flat enough so that my productions and DJ mixes will translate to other systems well.

I've heard a lot of good things about the HSU Vtf-2 MK5. Would that be a good choice or is there something else in that price range that I'd be better off with? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[JackstrawfromWichita]

The SVS SB 3000 fits that need. There is a demo version on Music Direct for $799 ($999 regular price). It's a sealed sub, so??

 

[Abyde]

The SVS SB 3000 fits that need. There is a demo version on Music Direct for $799 ($999 regular price). It's a sealed sub, so??

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have a link by any chance? I'm only seeing new SB 3000s on Music Direct.

 

[JackstrawfromWichita]

It was in the January clearance area, however I think it sold....I saw it yesterday, and did not refresh my computer this am, but doing that now its no longer there.

SVS has an Outlet store that you can also look at....the savings there is not as large as that demo was though.

 

[ryanosaur]

@shadyJ has had some good articles about Subs in various price ranges...

6 Best Powered Subwoofers Under $1,000 for 2020

Looking for a powered subwoofer that doesn't tip the price scale over $1,000? Check out the Audioholics guide to the 6 best subwoofers available in 2020 under $1K based on performance and features.

www.audioholics.com

If you are doing true Infrasonic work vs Mid-Bass, you may be hard pressed to get both from one product. The Subs that dig lower for Infrasonic Output usually do so at the expense of Mid-Bass Output, and vice-versa.

I am pretty certain that the bigger Hsu subs, either the VTF3 or VTF15 will have strong Mid Bass while also giving some deep extension. The Monolith 12" Should also be pretty strong in this regard.

Beyond that, I think a very important question is:
How serious is this production endeavor? You may want to look at a good quality Pro Sub that will likely not dig deep at all, but give high output where the "Slam" matters most.
Also:
Are you going to be using this for HT and recreational music listening?

Another option may be a Sub from PSA. They use Pro drivers from B&C with higher Fs which would translate to strong Mid-Bass output. There just are no third-party tests available, as far as I know, which would quantify their output at the frequencies you may find important.

Perhaps Shady will chime in when he has a chance and share his thoughts.

 

[ryanosaur]

Also, one other thought...You mentioned, DJ setup, separate from production work in a home-studio.

Are you going to be taking this out for shows, @Abyde ?

If so, I would strongly urge not looking at the HT market Subs and definitely steer you towards the Pro market.

 

[shadyJ]

I don't know your setup, but most pro-gear uses balanced inputs and outputs. That being the case, you might want to look for subwoofers with balanced inputs, mainly XLR inputs. The Monoprice Monolith subs have XLR inputs. The Hsu VTF15h mk2 and ULS-15 mk2 have balanced inputs. The Outlaw Audio Ultra-X13 has balanced inputs. You can also get a converter that scales the voltage difference like this thing, and that will allow you to use any sub.

As was also said, if you are looking to take something out to shows, do not buy a home audio subwoofer. They will not stand up to that kind of rigors. You need a pro-audio sub. The problem with pro-audio subs is that they don't dig very deep. Unless you can spend thousands, you are pretty much looking at a 35Hz low end. If this is for home studio use, yes, you can use consumer audio subs with no problem.

 

[Abyde]

Thanks for the detailed replies.

So right now I'm using a pair of Event 20/20 studio monitors and a Subpac S2 for production and a pair of JBL EON 15s for my DJ setup. I have a pair of Yamaha HS8 studio monitors on backorder that should be arriving in early February. When the Yamahas get here I'll be using them for my production setup and moving the Events to my DJ setup.

Since I have the Subpac for reference when mixing down low frequencies and the Yamahas are pretty much flat down to the high 30s, I guess the sub would mainly be for DJing and listening to music. The Events roll off around 50 hz so I would definitely need a sub for my DJ setup. I would also use it as another reference for my mixdowns in addition to the Subpac. I do need a PA sub for playing events but with everything on hold due to Covid and since most PA subs don't have a flat enough response to use as a reference, I think my best bet would be to buy a sub for home use in the studio and then get a dedicated PA sub later in the year.

The one exception that I've seen is the Kali Audio WS-12 which is marketed as an all around sub for studio and PA use. I just don't know if I'd want to get a jack of all trades/master of none so to speak and end up with poor performance in both applications.

As far as outputs go, my mixer has RCA and 1/4" out. The 1/4" outs will be for my mains and I would use one of the RCA outs for the sub. I would probably place it right next to my DJ setup so it will be a short run and noise probably won't be much of an issue.

I do also play PC games and watch Youtube, etc. on my production PC. I don't typically watch movies on that system, though. My Subpac works well for this application but it would be great to have a sub in addition to it so that I can feel the bass in my whole body and not just my back.

 

[ryanosaur]

Thanks for the detailed replies.

So right now I'm using a pair of Event 20/20 studio monitors and a Subpac S2 for production and a pair of JBL EON 15s for my DJ setup. I have a pair of Yamaha HS8 studio monitors on backorder that should be arriving in early February. When the Yamahas get here I'll be using them for my production setup and moving the Events to my DJ setup.

Since I have the Subpac for reference when mixing down low frequencies and the Yamahas are pretty much flat down to the high 30s, I guess the sub would mainly be for DJing and listening to music. The Events roll off around 50 hz so I would definitely need a sub for my DJ setup. I would also use it as another reference for my mixdowns in addition to the Subpac. I do need a PA sub for playing events but with everything on hold due to Covid and since most PA subs don't have a flat enough response to use as a reference, I think my best bet would be to buy a sub for home use in the studio and then get a dedicated PA sub later in the year.

The one exception that I've seen is the Kali Audio WS-12 which is marketed as an all around sub for studio and PA use. I just don't know if I'd want to get a jack of all trades/master of none so to speak and end up with poor performance in both applications.

As far as outputs go, my mixer has RCA and 1/4" out. The 1/4" outs will be for my mains and I would use one of the RCA outs for the sub. I would probably place it right next to my DJ setup so it will be a short run and noise probably won't be much of an issue.

I do also play PC games and watch Youtube, etc. on my production PC. I don't typically watch movies on that system, though. My Subpac works well for this application but it would be great to have a sub in addition to it so that I can feel the bass in my whole body and not just my back.

If you want something to use in-home only look at the Monolith 12" or either of the Hsu 15" Subs. The Hsus are strong, value oriented Subs that punch above their weight class.
The Outlaw X-13 is above your budget, but a very good sub. The Monolith 15" is also too high.
Hence the Monolith 12" as the other recommendation.

THESE WILL BLOW UP, PROBABLY, IF YOU TRIED TO DO A SHOW WITH THEM.
JUST. DON'T. K?

Start saving up for a good pro Sub, now.

JTR Captivator 215PRO — JTR Speakers

www.jtrspeakers.com

JTR Captivator 218PRO — JTR Speakers

www.jtrspeakers.com

 

[Abyde]

If you want something to use in-home only look at the Monolith 12" or either of the Hsu 15" Subs. The Hsus are strong, value oriented Subs that punch above their weight class.
The Outlaw X-13 is above your budget, but a very good sub. The Monolith 15" is also too high.
Hence the Monolith 12" as the other recommendation.

THESE WILL BLOW UP, PROBABLY, IF YOU TRIED TO DO A SHOW WITH THEM.
JUST. DON'T. K?

Start saving up for a good pro Sub, now.

JTR Captivator 215PRO — JTR Speakers

www.jtrspeakers.com

JTR Captivator 218PRO — JTR Speakers

www.jtrspeakers.com

Well since both HSU subs are out of stock with no mention of when they'll be back in and the Outlaw is a bit more than I want to spend, it looks like the Monolith would be the way to go. Looks like they'll be back in stock on 2/10 and they offer free shipping. For $800 + tax, shipped, it sounds like a great deal. I definitely won't be bringing it to any gigs lol. Thanks for helping me narrow everything down!

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks for the detailed replies.

So right now I'm using a pair of Event 20/20 studio monitors and a Subpac S2 for production and a pair of JBL EON 15s for my DJ setup. I have a pair of Yamaha HS8 studio monitors on backorder that should be arriving in early February. When the Yamahas get here I'll be using them for my production setup and moving the Events to my DJ setup.

Since I have the Subpac for reference when mixing down low frequencies and the Yamahas are pretty much flat down to the high 30s, I guess the sub would mainly be for DJing and listening to music. The Events roll off around 50 hz so I would definitely need a sub for my DJ setup. I would also use it as another reference for my mixdowns in addition to the Subpac. I do need a PA sub for playing events but with everything on hold due to Covid and since most PA subs don't have a flat enough response to use as a reference, I think my best bet would be to buy a sub for home use in the studio and then get a dedicated PA sub later in the year.

The one exception that I've seen is the Kali Audio WS-12 which is marketed as an all around sub for studio and PA use. I just don't know if I'd want to get a jack of all trades/master of none so to speak and end up with poor performance in both applications.

As far as outputs go, my mixer has RCA and 1/4" out. The 1/4" outs will be for my mains and I would use one of the RCA outs for the sub. I would probably place it right next to my DJ setup so it will be a short run and noise probably won't be much of an issue.

I do also play PC games and watch Youtube, etc. on my production PC. I don't typically watch movies on that system, though. My Subpac works well for this application but it would be great to have a sub in addition to it so that I can feel the bass in my whole body and not just my back.

The Kali sub doesn't really dig all that deep.

When you say you are moving the Event monitors to your DJ setup, do you mean you will be using them for PA type applications? They will not last long if you try to use them as party speakers.

The Yamaha monitors may be problematic. Look at the response of the HS5. Monitors made for content creation should not have a peak like that. I would be looking at other brands. Look at JBL LSRs, PreSonus Eris XTS, ADAM Audio, or Kali Audio. I think those will all have a more accurate response than the Yamaha.

You should think about bass management for your system. Most home studio systems don't have any type of bass management. Some monitors have High-pass filters that let you have some rudimentary bass management, like the PreSonus Eris E8 XT. I would cancel the Yamaha order and just get those instead.

 

[Abyde]

The Kali sub doesn't really dig all that deep.

When you say you are moving the Event monitors to your DJ setup, do you mean you will be using them for PA type applications? They will not last long if you try to use them as party speakers.

The Yamaha monitors may be problematic. Look at the response of the HS5. Monitors made for content creation should not have a peak like that. I would be looking at other brands. Look at JBL LSRs, PreSonus Eris XTS, ADAM Audio, or Kali Audio. I think those will all have a more accurate response than the Yamaha.

You should think about bass management for your system. Most home studio systems don't have any type of bass management. Some monitors have High-pass filters that let you have some rudimentary bass management, like the PreSonus Eris E8 XT. I would cancel the Yamaha order and just get those instead.

I agree, the Kali sub doesn't look all that great.

I have PA speakers for playing gigs. The Events will be for DJing at home.

Thanks for the heads up about the Yamahas but the HS8 are much better than the HS5. The HS8 are widely regarded as some of the best studio monitors you can buy at their price point. Here's a link to a 3rd party test:

We tested the Yamaha HS8 active studio monitor!

The Yamaha HS8 active studio monitor is unbeatable in its price range. It would also cope much more expensive speakers...

perfect-acoustic.com

They actually do have a switch on the back to attenuate the bass by 2 or 4 dB.

 

[Abyde]

So last night I did a little more research into the Monoprice 12 and it seems like the consensus on Reddit is that Monoprice has terrible customer service and you need twist their arm to get them to honor their warranty. Now I'm unsure what to do. HSU Research is out of all the subs that were suggested without any timeframe for when they'll be back in stock. (The VTF-2 MK5 has an estimated restock date of late Jan, early Feb, though)

Maybe I should look at SVS? I've seen some posts saying that they usually have a President's Day sale. Does anyone know what kind of deals they usually have?

 

[shadyJ]

I agree, the Kali sub doesn't look all that great.

I have PA speakers for playing gigs. The Events will be for DJing at home.

Thanks for the heads up about the Yamahas but the HS8 are much better than the HS5. The HS8 are widely regarded as some of the best studio monitors you can buy at their price point. Here's a link to a 3rd party test:

We tested the Yamaha HS8 active studio monitor!

The Yamaha HS8 active studio monitor is unbeatable in its price range. It would also cope much more expensive speakers...

perfect-acoustic.com

They actually do have a switch on the back to attenuate the bass by 2 or 4 dB.

That review is ... lacking. They don't A/B the speaker against others, nor do they measure it. They just give it a whirl and then declare it the best thing ever. The measurement image that you posted is actually pulled from the Yamaha brochure. Don't pull the trigger based on that review, it's a pretty low-effort review.

Again, you are setting yourself up for a suboptimal setup if you eschew any kind of bass management. Here is the thing: if you just get the Yamahas and a subwoofer, the only way you can integrate them is by setting the subwoofer's low-pass filter to whatever the lower limit of the Yamaha is. From actual third-party measurements, it seems to be about 50Hz. That is a problem for a few reasons. First of all, it wastes a lot of the potential of the subwoofer. The subwoofer will be a lot more capable in the lower octave of the speaker's frequency band than the speaker is, way more capable. So you waste a lot of dynamic range by limiting the sub to such a low frequency. You can use a higher frequency on the sub's low pass filter, but if you overlap the bass of the speaker with that of the sub, you will have too much bass. If you try to create content with too much bass in the monitoring, the mix will end up sounding thin on other systems. You don't want to make music with weak bass, do ya?

You can use an outboard crossover. Here is a very simple analog one. Here is a more complex DSP-based crossover. The Yamaha's bass attenuation is basically nothing, it won't help you out in the slightest. You need an actual high-pass filter. The PreSonus has one built-in.

 

[shadyJ]

So last night I did a little more research into the Monoprice 12 and it seems like the consensus on Reddit is that Monoprice has terrible customer service and you need twist their arm to get them to honor their warranty. Now I'm unsure what to do. HSU Research is out of all the subs that were suggested without any timeframe for when they'll be back in stock. (The VTF-2 MK5 has an estimated restock date of late Jan, early Feb, though)

Maybe I should look at SVS? I've seen some posts saying that they usually have a President's Day sale. Does anyone know what kind of deals they usually have?

SVS makes good subs. I doubt they will put their newer subs on a president's day sale though. From SVS, the subs to get are the 2000 Pro series or the 3000 series, and neither is likely to see discounts. They may have some previously used ones go on sale though.

The VTF-2 mk5 is a good sub. You might look at the Hsu ULS-15 for your needs. If you don't need infrasonic bass, the ULS-15 pounds pretty hard. If you do need strong infrasonic bass, look at the VTF15h mk2.

I think complaints about Monoprice's CS is overblown. Here is the thing about Monoprice: they don't normally deal in things like the Monolith subs. The companies that do deal in high-performance audio tend to be a bit small, and so you get more personalized customer service. Monoprice has standard big business CS. So the guys whining about Monoprice's CS are probably just babies who have been spoiled by dealing with small audio companies where you can get the owner on the phone and just talk about college football for half an hour. Of course, that type of customer support is better, but Monoprice isn't actually bad but just procedural and impersonal by comparison, like any large business.

 

[Abyde]

That review is ... lacking. They don't A/B the speaker against others, nor do they measure it. They just give it a whirl and then declare it the best thing ever. The measurement image that you posted is actually pulled from the Yamaha brochure. Don't pull the trigger based on that review, it's a pretty low-effort review.

Again, you are setting yourself up for a suboptimal setup if you eschew any kind of bass management. Here is the thing: if you just get the Yamahas and a subwoofer, the only way you can integrate them is by setting the subwoofer's low-pass filter to whatever the lower limit of the Yamaha is. From actual third-party measurements, it seems to be about 50Hz. That is a problem for a few reasons. First of all, it wastes a lot of the potential of the subwoofer. The subwoofer will be a lot more capable in the lower octave of the speaker's frequency band than the speaker is, way more capable. So you waste a lot of dynamic range by limiting the sub to such a low frequency. You can use a higher frequency on the sub's low pass filter, but if you overlap the bass of the speaker with that of the sub, you will have too much bass. If you try to create content with too much bass in the monitoring, the mix will end up sounding thin on other systems. You don't want to make music with weak bass, do ya?

You can use an outboard crossover. Here is a very simple analog one. Here is a more complex DSP-based crossover. The Yamaha's bass attenuation is basically nothing, it won't help you out in the slightest. You need an actual high-pass filter. The PreSonus has one built-in.

Now that I look back at that review, it's not the most objective or scientific, to say the least. I didn't realize that the frequency chart was Yamaha's but I realize now that it looks familiar. When I was researching monitors, I kept seeing rave review after rave review of the HS8s and people kept saying how accurate and detailed their low end is. Now that I've looked into the Presonus Eris E8XT a bit, it seems like they would give me similar performance at a lower price point. They are also front ported, which is huge because I'm close to a wall, plus they have more flexibility in terms of their bass management, as you mentioned. I'm going to look into what Kali and Adam have to offer in my price range but it looks like I'll probably end up going with the Presonus.

I actually have a Dayton Audio DSP-408 that used to be installed in my car that I can use for my studio, so I should be able to integrate whatever sub I end up with. I also have Peace EQ on my PC so that gives me some flexibility. What I need to figure out is how I want to set everything up, since I have 2 different systems with 2 monitors each, a Subpac and a subwoofer. I'm thinking I'll probably mostly use the Subpac for production and the subwoofer for DJing and casual use, while still being able to reference my mixes with it from time to time.

 

[Abyde]

SVS makes good subs. I doubt they will put their newer subs on a president's day sale though. From SVS, the subs to get are the 2000 Pro series or the 3000 series, and neither is likely to see discounts. They may have some previously used ones go on sale though.

The VTF-2 mk5 is a good sub. You might look at the Hsu ULS-15 for your needs. If you don't need infrasonic bass, the ULS-15 pounds pretty hard. If you do need strong infrasonic bass, look at the VTF15h mk2.

I think complaints about Monoprice's CS is overblown. Here is the thing about Monoprice: they don't normally deal in things like the Monolith subs. The companies that do deal in high-performance audio tend to be a bit small, and so you get more personalized customer service. Monoprice has standard big business CS. So the guys whining about Monoprice's CS are probably just babies who have been spoiled by dealing with small audio companies where you can get the owner on the phone and just talk about college football for half an hour. Of course, that type of customer support is better, but Monoprice isn't actually bad but just procedural and impersonal by comparison, like any large business.

I don't need infrasonic bass, so the ULS-15 looks like a good choice. Good to hear that the criticism of Monoprice is overblown. I'll still keep the Monolith 12 on my short list. What do you think about the Monolith 10? It's in stock right now and it's only $500 shipped. Looks like it uses the same amp as the 12 and has the same build quality. I've been thinking more about the setup of my room and I think going with a smaller sub might be okay since I'll be using it mostly for DJing and it will probably be set up right next to me. Although my room is about 3000 cubic feet in total, it's L shaped and my production and DJ setups are side by side on the long wall in the long section of the L. That section is 22 x 11 x 8, so a little under 2000 cubic feet. As long as the bass sounds good in that section of the L, I'm not too concerned with what it sounds like in the other section.

 

[lovinthehd]

Ever consider just building your own?

 

[Abyde]

Ever consider just building your own?

I have considered that. I actually built the subwoofer box in my car, so it's a possibility.

 

[lovinthehd]

I have considered that. I actually built the subwoofer box in my car, so it's a possibility.

It can be done in a variety of ways, too. Plenty of proven designs out there to copy. You can buy flatpacks for specific drivers or build your own. Depends on how pretty you need to an extent, and for best cost effectiveness a pair on a single amp is generally a good thing. Plenty of diy stuff out there, haven't bought a commercial sub in ages, as they're fairly easy to build and you have a good tool to implement with your Dayton unit....