Subwoofer under $900 for music, 9'x20'ft room

[MonkeysHamlet]

Hey guys,

Im looking for thoughts on the best possible subwoofer for my basement listening room. Room is set up as an HT but I primarily listen to 2 channel music in it. The room is 20ft x 9ft wide and is open to another room. I was initially looking at SVS or HSU but have come across two other options that have piqued my interest more - the Bravus 10D from Aperion and the F12 Signiture from Rhythmic. Does anyone have any opinions on these boxes or any other subwoofers? Im trying to stay UNDER $900 not including shipping. I'd also be interested in hearing if you think I would be better off with a pair of $450 subs.

I currently just have a Dayton 10" ported.

And don't waste your time mentioning DIY, Not gonna happen.

Cheers guys,
New guy - Jim

 

[shadyJ]

Have you looked at the Epik Empire? That is supposed to have great sound quality and a lot of output, I would think enough for your room. If you were to go with Rythmik, I think you should step up the the 15" woofers given your room size. A Hsu VTF3 will hit pretty hard too, and have great sound quality. If you were to go with SVS, I would step up to a PC12-Plus or PB12-Plus. Two subs might make more sense in your situation too, you might look at two Hsu Research VTF1's or two Emotiva Ultra Sub 12's. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these solutions, the only way you can screw up is by going to bestbuy and buying a overpriced microsubwoofer. Or a Bose bass module.

 

[MonkeysHamlet]

I'm more concerned about quality bass than output. I know that I love the offerings from JL Audio but I was hoping I could find something for less that could compare.

 

[sholling]

The difficulty in making a recommendation is not knowing the total amount (cubic feet) of space involved. Not just your listening space but everything that it opens into.

 

[JoshK]

An Empire would be a fine choice.

 

[MonkeysHamlet]

Id say roughly 2400 cubic ft in total.

The shape of the room is very unusual as we had a bathroom built in the corner of what was once a single long and narrow room.

Formerly it was roughly 30' x 10' and we added a 10'x5' bathroom, the 10 ft wall running parallel to the 30' ft wall.

 

[sholling]

When I was looking at bedroom subs (3000cuft) I spoke with Brian from Rythmik and he felt that corner placement would be critical to getting enough output from one of his 12" subs to fill my space. That tells me a single 12" Rythmik would have been cutting it close.

I like sub overkill so I think I'd look at a Hsu VTF-3. Or Elemental has a couple of interesting options as well. I seriously considered a pair of their A5s-300 sealed subs ($1000 shipped) but lacked the space. I'd give them a call and run some options by them. Options like a pair of sealed A5s-300 vs a pair of ported A2-300 vs a single A5-350 and see what they say. I've listened to a couple of Hsu products and own one, but I've never had the chance to listen to an eD.

 

[MonkeysHamlet]

So Sholling are you of the opinion that I am better off with 2 lower priced subs than a single higher end model?

The 15" Rhythmic is around $1000, I'm not planning on buying until late next month at the earliest, I could probably stretch my budget another $100. I do have a preference for the smaller sized sealed subs. I really don't want a huge ugly 200lb box.

Elemental isn't a name I hear often around the audio forums. I'll go check out their site.

Any opinions on shadys idea of 2 Emotiva 12's?

 

[sholling]

So Sholling are you of the opinion that I am better off with 2 lower priced subs than a single higher end model?

The 15" Rhythmic is around $1000, I'm not planning on buying until late next month at the earliest, I could probably stretch my budget another $100. I do have a preference for the smaller sized sealed subs. I really don't want a huge ugly 200lb box.

I have a huge 200lb box in my family room and it can just about shake the place apart. But just to try something new so I went with a Hsu ULS-15 in my bedroom. Anyway I asked similar questions.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66535

Elemental isn't a name I hear often around the audio forums. I'll go check out their site.

They're smaller and delivery times can be slow but their rep is decent.

Any opinions on shadys idea of 2 Emotiva 12's?

I asked this question myself and the answers confirmed my feelings. The Emo is awfully small and the specs just aren't that great. On the other hand 2 eD A5s-300s should do the trick and eD ships free if you're in the US.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65215

As for one large vs two smaller, I've never used two subs but there are some that swear it's the way to go. The stickies in the subwoofer room might help and it seems to me that there was an article on calibrating two subs.

 

[Matt34]

Might be a long shot but look for a used Epik Dragon. 18" sealed sub that would have the SQ and output you would need in that size of room.

Also these used options as well:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homesubw&1281296233

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homesubw&1283566516&/Martin-Logan-Depth

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homesubw&1283109099&/Martin-Logan-Depth

If not I second the 15" RhythmiK recommendation.

 

[BufordTJustice]

Try an eD....

I own an eD A7s-450 (18" sealed, 1300 watt RMS) and it is a music MONSTER. From ACDC to Diana Krall. I have been utterly pleased with it. $850 including shipping (and right now a free outboard EQ, to boot). It was my first true 'big sub' and took a leap on it. I'm so happy that I feel I got a steal at $850. I'm confident you'd be happy with it as long as the size doesn't bother you. It's a 140 pound, 22" cube. If ur cool with that...then you'll love how it sounds. I understand that room size, layout and WAF play large parts in these decisions as well.

I'm a huge fan of HSU (Owned an original VTF-2), but eD is a big up-and-comer and they bang it out of the park on value and customer service. Try an online chat with one of the guys at eD....they don't try to sell you anything...tons of facts, figures, and measurements. As overkill as the A7s-450 was for my room, they never tried to act like it was the beats it was. They were very humble and realistic, wanting to discuss real-world performance (which is considerable) over the use of superlatives. Just my (biased) two cents.

 

[Matt34]

I own an eD A7s-450 (18" sealed, 1300 watt RMS) and it is a music MONSTER. From ACDC to Diana Krall. I have been utterly pleased with it. $850 including shipping (and right now a free outboard EQ, to boot). It was my first true 'big sub' and took a leap on it. I'm so happy that I feel I got a steal at $850. I'm confident you'd be happy with it as long as the size doesn't bother you. It's a 140 pound, 22" cube. If ur cool with that...then you'll love how it sounds. I understand that room size, layout and WAF play large parts in these decisions as well.

I'm a huge fan of HSU (Owned an original VTF-2), but eD is a big up-and-comer and they bang it out of the park on value and customer service. Try an online chat with one of the guys at eD....they don't try to sell you anything...tons of facts, figures, and measurements. As overkill as the A7s-450 was for my room, they never tried to act like it was the beats it was. They were very humble and realistic, wanting to discuss real-world performance (which is considerable) over the use of superlatives. Just my (biased) two cents.

As long as they got the amp power surge issue fixed, that would be another good choice.

 

[BufordTJustice]

As long as they got the amp power surge issue fixed, that would be another good choice.

Matt,

that was my only hesitation about buying one. I run the A7s-450 on the same 15 amp circuit as my Behringer EP4000, NAD T-751, Denon DVD changer, Samson S-convert, and Vizio 55" LED/LCD tv without issue. With no sarcasm intended...I'm pretty sure they got it remedied.

And, yes, the 15 amp breaker is gonna turn into at least one 20 amp circuit (but maybe two 20 amp runs). However, so far, no issues at all. Even during ACDC's live 'iron man' DVD or WOtW.