Compact subwoofers for small rooms (from the Seismic 100 to SVS's SB12)

[Alfie Tennyson]

Like most folks here, I'm trying to pick the right subwoofer, but I'm looking for slightly different parameters.

I'm in an apartment building, so I'm looking for something that can fill a <1800 cuft room well, but not explosively. I'm looking to listen to tight bass - organs and pianos, not Transformers.

I'm also looking for compact (so say <14 inches a side). As far as I can tell, these two subwoofers are the bookends to my search:

The Paradigm Seismic 100 - extends to 16 Hz, but >$1400
SVS's SB12 - selling now for $399, but drops off somewhere near 25-30 Hz

I'm pairing these with a lovely set of Studio 100s that are linear down to ~60Hz or so.

I'm trying to figure out what are the other options in the say <$800 range for tiny subs? I'm looking for accuracy, not roomfilling potential. Would folks consider 8 inch drivers at all?

 

[Alfie Tennyson]

Oh and I discovered one more bit of small scale black magic: the GoldenEars SuperSub X
http://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/goldenear-supersub-x-ultracompact-subwoofer

But alas - also too expensive.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

What is your application? If it’s music only, you probably don’t need extension down to 16 Hz.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Alfie Tennyson]

Fair enough - My sense is that flat response over say 40 Hz for music is table stakes for all these amps (at low-medium volumes), hence the focus on extension for the occasional movie or pipe organ.

Any suggestions on compact subs if we relax the ask to +-3 dB down to 25-30 Hz?

 

[shadyJ]

Lol none of those subs extend to 16 Hz, you can safely ignore specs that claim otherwise. for your needs, the SB12 should do nicely. Rythmik also has a couple that are not huge, look at the L12.

 

[lsiberian]

See Data-bass.com.
You can see real measurements for most subs there.

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