I'm relatively new to home theater setups, just bought my first receiver in December and had a 3.0 setup and I was looking to add a sub. I bought a little 6.5 HTIB ported subwoofer for $20 on Craigslist and it made a big difference, but then I started reading about how much better it is to have a decent quality subwoofer ($200 minimum, though some would say $500) and how it makes a world of difference.
In late December I bought the JBL SUB-550P on sale (10", sealed) ... and frankly it was a bit disappointing. I can't tell much difference between in and the small HTIB sub. It's also not louder or more impactful, and I have to turn the gain almost all the way up for it to be loud enough... at 50% it's barely audible. I wouldn't know if all sealed subs are this much quieter than ported ones, but I wasn't expecting this. I suppose it sounds a bit "tighter" compared to the HTIB sub but I expected more for my money. I probably just don't know what to listen for to appreciate the difference.
Costco had a sale on the Klipsch R-12SW so I decided to grab one and see if it makes much difference, it's an easy return otherwise. Once again the sound quality seems almost the same to me. There's one major difference - it's MUCH louder, I only have to set the gain set to 35 or 40%. One smaller difference, I ran this
bass frequency test and noticed the volume's a bit uneven, lower around 80Hz and then higher around 40-50Hz and then falling again below 40. From what I've read this is very common for ported subs. The sealed JBL sub has more consistent volume.
I will be using this for TV shows and movies, and I can't make up my mind on which sub I should keep. I always thinking "maybe I can find out more info and make a more informed choice" but I always feel that I might be making the wrong decision. BTW I have zero interest in turning it up high and having window-rattling, overpowering bass where footsteps sound like explosions... I just want quality sound for my shows and movies. I don't need all the output that the Klipsch is capable of.
Also, I haven't tested different locations for the sub because there's only one place it fits in my room, which is to the side of the TV stand. As far as I can tell a "dead zone" is not the problem here.
Should I keep the JBL because it's more consistent and isn't "boomy"? Or is it a bad thing to have to run a subwoofer with the gain turned up so high all the time, which means I should pick the Klipsch instead?
Or maybe I'm so clueless about all of this stuff that I might as well stick with the HTIB sub because I can't appreciate anything better...