Hello Everyone,
First off I would like to say that I've been a long time lurker of this message board but never registered because I was always able to find the answers to what I was looking for. I've posted this question in another message board, but have not been able to get many responses. Audioholics seems like the right place for this question. So here's my first post....I hope you guys can help:
I've been looking through the subwoofer forum trying to decide on a subwoofer that I need. Judging by the responses I've been seeing in other threads, I have a feeling I know what everyone's going to say, but let me ask anyway.
Let me start with the essentials. Firstly, I live in Canada (so HSU, AV123, etc are out of the question...only SVS is). Next, the room size is 17 x 11 with 9 foot ceilings. One of 11 foot sides has the television, the other 11 foot side is open to the kitchen. My absolute maximum budget is $600(up from my initial $500 budget) with taxes (many may not know we pay anywhere from 5% to 13% in taxes in Canada).
I'm not looking to bring the house down with insane amounts of bass. I just want a decent subwoofer that can hit the low notes (~20hz) when needed. The last thing I want, however, is to get bored of this sub in a year or two and want to upgrade. I will mainly be using this for HT. I'd say 80% HT, 15% Gaming, 5% Music.
Now to my options. First up, is a PB10-NSD...it goes for $579CDN (plus 13% tax added to this). I've read rave reviews about this sub, but there are 2 things that are holding me back from completing the purchase. One, it's over budget. with tax, I'm looking at $655. Two, WAF! This sucker is huge! Coming in at 15"W x 19"H x 21"D, this sucker will be an eye sore in the family room and the wife has only one requirement for the sub....it's gotta be out of the way, not an eye sore.
My second option is new to me. I've never really been into the whole DIY thing, but in Canada, there is a custom sub maker company called Funky Waves (google their site or check em out at hometheatershack). They can pretty much custom build me a 10" sub using a CSS SDX10 10" woofer and 300W BASH amp. They can customize the box to my liking. Their "stock" model FW10.1 is supposed to be completely comparable to the PB10-NSD, and is frequently compared to it. The box will be 3" port with large radius flares. Their default dimensions to their FW10.1 model is 14"W x 19"H x 20"D. These dimensions are very similar to the PB10, and this sub will be able to hit the 20Hz mark with ease, just like the PB10.
However, as mentioned, those dimensions don't work for me. So, Funky Waves told me they could do a box for me with dimensions of 15"W x 18"H x 17"D. But with these dimensions, the tuning will move up a couple Hz from 20hz to around 22-23hz the in room would still be good to 20Hz. The BASH amp on this box also has more functionality than the PB10. The amp has variable cross over from 50-150hz and phase switch 0/180. I can get this sub for $525 (plus 5% tax) delivered to my door. This is within my budget, but I have no experience with Funky Waves or this CSS SDX10 woofer. I'm not sure if this sub will be any good (though from what I've read so far, it's probably good)
Which do I choose? Are either of these options overkill for the size of the room I have? As a side note, I can get a used Velodyne DSP-12 for about $300.....do I just skip the above options and just go for the DSP-12? Do I try to sell the wife on the huge size of the PB10? Or do I go for the custom made box? Decisions, decisions!
All I ask for responses are that your answer pertains to my question. I've seen a number of threads where people ask "A or B" subwoofer, only for people to say "Get C instead". If you're going to recommend a "C" subwoofer, please ensure it's available in Canada. Thanks a bunch in advance for your help!
