Subwoofer on a budget.

[qba]

Hi,

I need to buy a subwoofer for my office, I want to spend less than $500, it doesn't have to be new, I'm planning to look online for a second-hand subwoofer but I want to see if anyone has some suggestions so at least I know what to look for. I just want the music to sound clear, not looking necessarily for a big boom but for a clean and clear bass.

I have two amps, I will only keep one of them once I do a blind test, but this subwoofer will be connected to the Yamaha R-S300 or the Yamaha A-S501.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance,

Alex

 

[vader540is]

SVS SB-1000 Subwoofer | 12-inch Driver | 300 Watts RMS

Small enough to conceal yet delivers massive subwoofer output and low frequency extension for home theater and music.

www.svsound.com

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

RSL Speedwoofer 10S - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

 

[Pogre]

RSL Speedwoofer 10S - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

That's a great little sub, almost earning a bassaholic large room rating.

RSL Speedwoofer 10S Subwoofer Review

The compact RSL Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer, available for only $399 with free shipping and a risk-free trial, offers best-in-class performance and advanced features like built-in wireless connection.

www.audioholics.com

 

[NINaudio]

An alternative for these would be the Starke Sound SW12 or the SW15 (if you stretch your budget just a tad), which are still on sale:

https://shop.starkesound.com/collections/subwoofers

 

[qba]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, This is what I found so far second-hand within my price range, I know there is a lot I just want to know the top 1 or 2 out for playing clean bass. Plus forgot to mention this is going under my desk so it can't be so big that I don't have space for my feet.

Definitive Technology SuperCube 2000 7.5" 650W

Definitive Technology SuperCube II Ultra-compact powered subwoofer

HSU Research STF-2 Subwoofer

Polk Audio HTS 10 Powered Subwoofer

Mirage BPS-150i Bipolar Powered Subwoofer

SVS SB-1000 Subwoofer

Transaction in Progress - Paradigm - UltraCube 10 Subwoofer

Thanks

Alex

 

[Pogre]

Of all of those the SB1000 and HSU stand out to me, but the Speedwoofer Bill suggested is a better performer. Paradigm can make good subs but I'm unfamiliar with the model you're looking at. If it's an older, smaller sub I still think the Speedwoofer is a better option.

Mirage and Polk subwoofers don't do much for me, and a hard pass on DefTech's Supercube subwoofers. Bloated specs and meh performance.

So depending on what you have there with the Paradigm a brand new Speedwoofer with a 30 day free trial period is still likely the best option. It's completely risk free to try and it's within your budget.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

That's a great little sub, almost earning a bassaholic large room rating.

RSL Speedwoofer 10S Subwoofer Review

The compact RSL Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer, available for only $399 with free shipping and a risk-free trial, offers best-in-class performance and advanced features like built-in wireless connection.

www.audioholics.com

I like rsl a lot. Great company, and great performance. What seems like a long time ago, Joe told me they were working on a big boy sub. I wonder how that’s going. I do know they tend to fuss over things, so I’m guessing they’re still tweaking it. Leaving it in the oven til it’s done! Lol

 

[Pogre]

The Ultra Cube looks interesting, but it's also over ten years old. At that point I think reliability becomes a considerable factor. It's a powered sub and electronics have limited shelf lives. I think the Speedwoofer likely offers better deep bass performance, comes with a risk free 30 day trial and a full warranty.

 

[Pogre]

I like rsl a lot. Great company, and great performance. What seems like a long time ago, Joe told me they were working on a big boy sub. I wonder how that’s going. I do know they tend to fuss over things, so I’m guessing they’re still tweaking it. Leaving it in the oven til it’s done! Lol

I found the product page for that Paradigm Ultracube. Looks interesting. Sealed passive radiators tho, and I'm still looking for some kind of measurements. All I've seen so far is "extension to 22 hz". That could be a f3 of 30 hz for all we know, and likely is being a smaller sub.

UltraCube 10

Single high-excursion driver, dual 229-mm (9 in) balanced-plane, high-velocity passive radiators, built-in advanced Class-D™ amplifier, USB Port / PBK Interface. Power output is 1950 watts Dynamic Peak/650 watts RMS.

www.paradigm.com

 

[Replicant 7]

Or one of these or two, I believe they have a 15"

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I found the product page for that Paradigm Ultracube. Looks interesting. Sealed passive radiators tho, and I'm still looking for some kind of measurements. All I've seen so far is "extension to 22 hz". That could be a f3 of 30 hz for all we know, and likely is being a smaller sub.

UltraCube 10

Single high-excursion driver, dual 229-mm (9 in) balanced-plane, high-velocity passive radiators, built-in advanced Class-D™ amplifier, USB Port / PBK Interface. Power output is 1950 watts Dynamic Peak/650 watts RMS.

www.paradigm.com

It is an interesting little sub. If I remember right the DIN after the FR is typical “in room” f3. I’m glad manufacturers got away from that.
Edit: I see after looking further on the product page, they make reference to the DIN thing. I think it could be a nice little sub and actually remember some people really enjoying it over the years. I agree with you though that the speedwoofer is better. Hard to recommend for someone else, not really knowing how much weight they put on what. But for me, speedwoofer wins. I think they might be in stock finally?

 

[Pogre]

Or one of these or two, I believe they have a 15"View attachment 52178

This is a decent budget-budget option too, but with up to $500 I still think the Speedwoofer will offer better performance. It's a little smaller too.

 

[qba]

I found the product page for that Paradigm Ultracube. Looks interesting. Sealed passive radiators tho, and I'm still looking for some kind of measurements. All I've seen so far is "extension to 22 hz". That could be a f3 of 30 hz for all we know, and likely is being a smaller sub.

UltraCube 10

Single high-excursion driver, dual 229-mm (9 in) balanced-plane, high-velocity passive radiators, built-in advanced Class-D™ amplifier, USB Port / PBK Interface. Power output is 1950 watts Dynamic Peak/650 watts RMS.

www.paradigm.com

Thanks a lot Pogre for looking closer at the list, I looked into the RSL Speedwoofer 10S but they are sold out.

If it is so much better than anything else I could wait because I'm using a subwoofer from my kitchen and it sounds pretty good, so is not like I have to have it right now.

So far from two forums, I posted the same question I'm getting the RSL Speedwoofer 10S and the SVS SB-1000 Subwoofer.

So the RSL Speedwoofer 10S seems to be the best one?

 

[Replicant 7]

This is a decent budget-budget option too, but with up to $500 I still think the Speedwoofer will offer better performance. It's a little smaller too.

Specially for music yeah, but there out of stock.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

This is a decent budget-budget option too, but with up to $500 I still think the Speedwoofer will offer better performance. It's a little smaller too.

I agree the Dayton that mike linked is a really good option especially considering it’s price tag, AND the fact that RSL is sold out. But, I do believe the rsl is more linear, and you can definitely get on the pre order list. Didn’t look at physical measurements, but I think the Daytons are a bit larger too, making an under desk deployment more difficult.

 

[Pogre]

Thanks a lot Pogre for looking closer at the list, I looked into the RSL Speedwoofer 10S but they are sold out.

Well crap.

If it is so much better than anything else I could wait because I'm using a subwoofer from my kitchen and it sounds pretty good, so is not like I have to have it right now.

If you're not in a hurry I think it's worth the wait.

So far from two forums, I posted the same question I'm getting the RSL Speedwoofer 10S and the SVS SB-1000 Subwoofer.

The SB1000 is a good, linear subwoofer. My knock on it is that it's sealed and doesn't have the deep bass extension of a good ported sub. I'd much prefer the PB1000, but that's gonna be over budget.

So the RSL Speedwoofer 10S seems to be the best one?

I really do think so, but a guy can't wait forever to be back in stock again. The SB1000 isn't a bad option if it comes down to timing, but the RSL will outperform it.

 

[qba]

Thanks Replicant 7, I can't have a huge sub under my desk, I sit in that desk sometimes for over 8 hours and comfort is very important to me. I could totally wait for the RSL Speedwoofer 10S to come back on stock, so pretty much the collective agreement is that the RSL Speedwoofer 10S is superior to the SVS SB-1000?

 

[Pogre]

And I didn't even look to see if RSL was in stock. My bad. Still worth waiting a little bit if not in a hurry. I totally understand not wanting to wait 6 months for it tho...

 

[Pogre]

Thanks Replicant 7, I can't have a huge sub under my desk, I sit in that desk sometimes for over 8 hours and comfort is very important to me. I could totally wait for the RSL Speedwoofer 10S to come back on stock, so pretty much the collective agreement is that the RSL Speedwoofer 10S is superior to the SVS SB-1000?

Yes, but the SB1000 is a decent backup plan for under the desk if it takes too long for the RSL to come back in stock.