choice: subwoofer OR surrounds

[Bevan]

hoping y'all can weigh in with your verdicts on this one.

me and my partner having disagreements over whether to spend our tax refund on surround speakers or a subwoofer.

we already have a multi-channel amp, and two front speakers that go down to 40hz. the system is used for music and movies, with a slight emphisis on music. source does include a universal player, though our multichannel hi-rez disks are outnumbered 75:1 by cd's.

which do you think adds more to movies, and to music, having surround sound or sub-40hz extention?

options are: a good musical sub; or, good quality rears; or, to split the money and get sub-standard sub and sub-standard surrounds both of which would only get used for movies.

thanks for any opinions,

b.

 

[johsti]

I'd put 90% into the sub and 10% into some cheap surrounds. Upgrade the surrounds at a later date if needed. Fry's/outpost.com occasionally sells the polk r-15's for $40 a pair. They would make great inexpensive surrounds for the meantime, or permanently. The sub makes a huge difference with movies, especially blockbuster action type movies.

 

[chasw98]

I have to agree with josh, partially...... I like to play music without the sub, but I can't live without the sub for movies. You can get very inexpensive speakers that will work for surrounds for now (some throw aways), but it is better to put your money into a solid sub once and not have to upgrade the sub later. Subs are hard to sell on ebay because of shipping! Depending on your tax refund, you could do both with a little creative thinking. DIY for sub, maybe?

Chuck

 

[jonnythan]

Give us details on your setup and budget.

I'd go for the sub, but if the total budget is $150, I'd say surrounds.

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

You would likely benefit more from a sub.

1. Sound stage is exspanded with a sub.
2. 50-30hz is filled in giving you that all important kick for drums and such.
3. Movies just aren't complete without a sub that can atleast run strong into the mid 20shz.
4. You can find a pair of surrounds on ebay for almost nothing. I use some old blose for surround duty in my bedroom ht.

Wharfedale wh-2 bipole surrounds are cheap and do a tremedous job.

I run my Rocket 550s large with twin xsubs holding down the low stuff. The 550s are pretty strong into the high 30s but the sound is so much more enveloping and enjoyable with the subs.

If you are receiving a sizable refund than go for an Aci force or an Onix ufw12/ufw10 from av123.com (the x-subs rock also and are cheap). If you want more emphisis on movies (sub 20hs) hsu or svs.

Onix ufw12 - 799$ without rdes - 22-23hz -3db
Onix ufw10 - 599$ 25hz -2db
Aci Force - 750$ 20hz -3db

Hope this helps,
JR

 

[Bevan]

thanks for your replies.

i was hoping that would be the verdict(i was favouring a sub and my girlfriend the surrounds.

i think i'll go for the very cheap surrounds(<10%) which should keep both of us happy for movies. and then get a good sub for movies and stereo, such as the rell strata or maybe hsu/velo/svs if i can find those in the country i'm moving to(australia).

i'll definitley use the sub for music if i spend upwards of $1000 on it. got a bfd equalizer so i should be able to integrate it in the new house no problem.

thanks for the backup.

b.

 

[Jack Hammer]

...i was hoping that would be the verdict(i was favouring a sub and my girlfriend the surrounds.
...b.

Good call, I think you'll get more immediate and long term benefit from adding a good sub as opposed to surrounds. As others mentioned, you can always add some inexpensive surrounds as a temporary solution to tide you over til your next tax refund or windfall. Then, when you are ready, you can add a nice set of matching surrounds.

 

[agarwalro]

I just added a sub to my setup after being 5.0 for over a year. I am revisiting all my favorite movies and music. In movies the difference is unreal.

I think people under estimate the impact a sub has on music. Its not as in your face when compared to movies, but on tracks that you are intimately familiar with, the presence of a sub is impossible to miss.

I say go for sub and go for broke.