Best small sub for big room.

[df4801]

Are there any good small subs that can fill a 25x22x14' room thats open to a bar area.
I know room is less than ideal, and maybe need 2 subs. 100% HT use.
But the subs have to be as small as possible.
Budget - up to $2500 or so if need be.
Thanks.

 

[Sheep]

What are the size limits? I know subs that will fill that room, but they are huge.

SheepStar

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

Personally I would pick up 2 Forces from www.audioc.com. They are small powerfull and accurate plus they hit 20 hz and below with authority. Mike Dzurko is the owner and a great guy that frequents this forum often.

Other then those the Definitive Techs supercubes look promising along with sunfire, Velodynes spl series and I'm leaving out a bunch but that's about all I can remember at this moment. sorry.

JR

 

[df4801]

Those force's look good. Two of those may work.
I'm helping a friend who has an open area, and doesnt want the sub's to be seen. He doesnt have a lot of spaces to hide the subs. So he might be O.K. with sub's that "blend" into his high end decor.
Thanks.

 

[AVRat]

2 Def Tech SuperCube Is would definitely do the trick.

 

[df4801]

Thanks,
I think he now would like to go with the supercubes or velodyne spl 1200's.

But what about this layout,

All front speakers in a cabinet across the lower portion of the screen.
Meaning the order of the 5 speakers from left to right would be -
L, sub, C, sub, R.

Can 2 subs be that close together?

 

[patnshan]

Thanks,
I think he now would like to go with the supercubes or velodyne spl 1200's.

But what about this layout,

All front speakers in a cabinet across the lower portion of the screen.
Meaning the order of the 5 speakers from left to right would be -
L, sub, C, sub, R.

Can 2 subs be that close together?

They can. Two subs can be stacked one on top of the other if you want.

Pat

 

[Steve42]

Are there any good small subs that can fill a 25x22x14' room thats open to a bar area.
I know room is less than ideal, and maybe need 2 subs. 100% HT use.
But the subs have to be as small as possible.
Budget - up to $2500 or so if need be.
Thanks.

With this criteria, I would recommend the Earthquake MKV-15 way before the supercubes or velodyne spl 1200's. Having owned the supercube, one MKV-15 will easily fill that size room with much more bass than even two of the supercubes. I've heard the Velos too, and it will surpass them as well. The MKV-15 is about 17" cubed and cost about $1400 from authorized dealers.
If your friend can demo all three in his home, he will see for himself that one MKV-15 will beat "two" of the other two subs fairly easily. "Proofs in the pudding".

Good Luck!

 

[Tomorrow]

Thanks,
I think he now would like to go with the supercubes or velodyne spl 1200's.

But what about this layout,

All front speakers in a cabinet across the lower portion of the screen.
Meaning the order of the 5 speakers from left to right would be -
L, sub, C, sub, R.

Can 2 subs be that close together?

I'm with Duffman. Those ACI Force subs have great specs, are sized for your requirements, are designed to be stacked if you want two, and can be attractively finished in whatever real hardwood matches your friend's furniture. In fact, as I mentioned to you in an earlier post, all the ACI speakers provide a beautiful look and reportedly great performance in a small package.

Then again, if quality is not an issue, go with any small, unobtrusive setup. Just tuck them in a cabinet and let 'er fly. (Beware, though. You will likely have negative audio effects, depending upon the cabinet he's thinking of using.)

Happy sub hunting.

 

[Sheep]

To add to RJ's post, only sealed or front ported AND front firing subs can go in a cabinet.

SheepStar

 

[Steve42]

Couple of thoughts. As far as subwoofers in cabinets that is something you want to completely avoid, though as Sheep said if you have to, front ported/firing subs would be best. I think it's a moot point though, as the OP said nothing of using a cabinet.

Second while I think very highly of the ACI Force (used to own one) and they are very good for music or HT in a smaller room, even two would not come close to filling that HUGE room with bass. Remember the OP was asking about 100% HT use. To put it in perspective it would take roughly six Forces to equal one Maestro (which is very large in size) as far as acoustical output. And one MKV-15 or say the much larger SVS PB12 Ultra/2 would roughly get you the same output as one Maestro.

Again that is a huge room to fill.

Having owned a lot of subs, the MKV-15 really has no equal when it comes to size to output ratio. And it sounds very clean and tight for music as well. It is very close to the ACI force as far as music goes, coming from someone who has owned both.

Godd Luck.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Are there any good small subs that can fill a 25x22x14' room thats open to a bar area.
I know room is less than ideal, and maybe need 2 subs. 100% HT use.
But the subs have to be as small as possible.
Budget - up to $2500 or so if need be.
Thanks.

I'd go with one Martin Logan Depth, or twin Dynamo's. I'd say twin HSU's or PB10's, but the cabinets are most likely too large.

 

[df4801]

That martin logan looks really cool,
but it does have to go into a cabinet, so I dont think that the hexagonal shape will work.

 

[Tomorrow]

That martin logan looks really cool,
but it does have to go into a cabinet, so I dont think that the hexagonal shape will work.

What kind of cabinet?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

That martin logan looks really cool,
but it does have to go into a cabinet, so I dont think that the hexagonal shape will work.

How about the Dynamo?

 

[Steve42]

That martin logan looks really cool,
but it does have to go into a cabinet, so I dont think that the hexagonal shape will work.

Into a cabinet is not going to sound very good unfortunately for your friend. That defiantely rules out the SuperCube as it has passive radiators that would need to fire into the cabinet. Very bad idea.

Go with a front firing sealed design if possible and isolate it as much as possible from the cabinet its placed in. Looks like the SPL1200 is the way to go.

Unless you can fit a ACI Maestro in there with the base plate taken off facing the driver outward (ACI does this sometimes with custom installs). That would be MUCH better than the SPL1200's. The Maestro without wood panels and placed on it's side would be 22" high and wide, and about 14" deep. In fact you can order the Maestro without the base plate and its legs for custom install into a cabinet. Contact Mike Dzurko at ACI for more info.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Are there any good small subs that can fill a 25x22x14' room thats open to a bar area.
I know room is less than ideal, and maybe need 2 subs. 100% HT use.
But the subs have to be as small as possible.
Budget - up to $2500 or so if need be.
Thanks.

With a room & budget that large, why sell yourself short?? Space obviously wont be an issue in a room that large, so why sacrifice output? With that budget, I'd recommend the SVS PB12-Ultra/2. It will make those 'mini' subs sound nonexistant by comparison. Only if sound quality and output is of no importance would I'd suggest buying mini-subs. As it relates to 100% HT use, those mini's are terrible.

 

[Steve42]

With a room & budget that large, why sell yourself short?? Space obviously wont be an issue in a room that large, so why sacrifice output? With that budget, I'd recommend the SVS PB12-Ultra/2. It will make those 'mini' subs sound nonexistant by comparison. Only if sound quality and output is of no importance would I'd suggest buying mini-subs. As it relates to 100% HT use, those mini's are terrible.

Agreed on the mini-subs. But the OP has stated the sub has to go into a cabinet. The SVS will not work for that. The Maestro has similar output to the Ultra/2 and can go into a cabinet. I would not personally ever put a sub in a cabinet though.

 

[df4801]

Unfortunately, the sub has to go into a cabinet at the bottom of the screen along with the L/C/R speakers.

The dynamo looks good, but dont think it will have enough for that room.
The maestro looks like a beast, but if the legs, etc can be removed, then it may work well. Not cheap at $2100, but not a lot of good choices out there for this less than ideal setup.

Thanks to all.

 

[Steve42]

Unfortunately, the sub has to go into a cabinet at the bottom of the screen along with the L/C/R speakers.

The maestro looks like a beast, but if the legs, etc can be removed, then it may work well. Not cheap at $2100, but not a lot of good choices out there for this less than ideal setup.
Thanks to all.

df4801,

Actually there is a "Custom" version of the Maestro that is meant to be installed into a cabinet. It has no legs and comes with isolation pads for cabinet placement. This version is only 14" deep too, and is a little cheaper at $2000.

Here is the link: http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/custom/customftm.htm

It does no come with a grill though as they assume you are going to have your own cloth covering for the opening of the hole (to "hide" the fact that you even have a subwoofer). Many custom installs are like this, and it is easy enough to do.

Another cool thing about the Maestro which makes it perfect for cabinet placement is that it has a seperate outboard amp that you can put with the rest of the audio equipment for easy access of setup adjustments (volume, cross-over, phase, etc.)