Interesting observations on budget subwoofers.

KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
If this does go forward I think you'd need to include subs from the speaker folk like Klipsch, DefTec, Polk, Yamaha, Sony etc, too as they are relatively big sellers.
It would be nice if it were more comprehensive, but it looks like they included 15 subs in this round, which is not too shabby! The article did include a couple of those (2 each, Polk and Yamaha):
The competition
The BIC America V1020 is a previous pick. It’s a nice, compact, very good-sounding subwoofer, and we still recommend it, but its price has gone up since we originally picked it.
The BIC America V1220 has impressive power in the deepest notes but lacked mid-bass punch and didn’t blend as smoothly as the V1020 did with the speakers we used.
The Dayton Audio SUB-1500 is a nice subwoofer that doesn’t really perform significantly better than the less-expensive SUB-1200.
The Monoprice 14567 sounds pretty good, but the Dayton Audio SUB-1000L and the Monoprice SSW-10 deliver substantially greater output for roughly $40 more.
The Monoprice 605999 is a pro-style subwoofer that can be used in the home, but our top picks and the BIC V1020 offer more kick for fewer bucks.
The Monoprice 9723 is our previous top pick. It delivers surprisingly good sound quality and lots of deep bass output for the price, although we do have a slight overall preference for the Dayton Audio SUB-1200. However, the 9723 often goes out of stock, and while we haven’t had any problems with the three samples we’ve tried, we’ve seen too many complaints about defective units to ignore.
The Monoprice SSW-10 slim subwoofer is very similar in size and performance to the Dayton Audio SUB-1000L, but it’s a little pricier and its low bass performance isn’t as good. We felt that the SSW-10 sounded punchier in the mid bass, while the Dayton SUB-1000L delivered a more even, natural response.
The OSD Audio PS10 is appealingly compact, but it doesn’t deliver as much performance for the price as the Dayton SUB-1200.
The OSD SS8 is a low-profile subwoofer similar to, but smaller than, the Dayton Audio SUB-1000L. It’s very pricey for the performance it delivers.
The Pioneer SW-8MK2 is our former pick for a compact model. It’s a great sub, but we like the Dayton Audio SUB-1000L better as a compact pick.
In our tests, the Polk PSW110 didn’t have much punch or power for its size; the smaller, less-expensive PSW111 is more impressive, but we think the Dayton Audio SUB-1000L is a more appealing and versatile compact pick.
The PSB SubSeries 100 is nice if you really, really need a super-tiny subwoofer, but it can’t touch the price/performance ratios of our picks.
The Yamaha YST-SW012 and YST-SW215 both distorted on deep bass notes and couldn’t deliver much low-frequency rumble.
Like I say, we are not the target audience for this article, LOL! Dismissing alternatives with a sentence just seems outright negligent! I suspect Brent Butterworth was told to keep it as brief as possible (he certainly has several more detailed reviews on-line). The audience they are looking at is not interested in reading a technical article, they are only interested in knowing what to get!
For the graph of CEA measurements, I am thinking he left some out because a graph with 15 curves can get pretty convoluted to read and interpret.
 
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kystorm

kystorm

Audioholic
I do wish the dayton was a bit smaller. Wonder if the 10 inch model gets as much love versus its competitors?
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
I do wish the dayton was a bit smaller. Wonder if the 10 inch model gets as much love versus its competitors?
It does get lots of love I recommend it to my friend and he loves it for his vinyl setup.
 
T

TankTop5

Audioholic General
If this does go forward I think you'd need to include subs from the speaker folk like Klipsch, DefTec, Polk, Yamaha, Sony etc, too as they are relatively big sellers.
Years ago I had a DefTec to go with a Polk surround sound system. Came home and was putting my key in the front door and I thought I heard a semi on the jake brake behind, nothing there. Front door was recessed between the garage and 1st bedroom so that may have helped with accustics, my roommate was playing video games with the sub maxed out

Researching subs to pair with my special forty’s, dynaudio recommends DefTec super cubes. For a little over $1k you get 13hz on paper.
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Years ago I had a DefTec to go with a Polk surround sound system. Came home and was putting my key in the front door and I thought I heard a semi on the jake brake behind, nothing there. Front door was recessed between the garage and 1st bedroom so that may have helped with accustics, my roommate was playing video games with the sub maxed out

Researching subs to pair with my special forty’s, dynaudio recommends DefTec super cubes. For a little over $1k you get 13hz on paper.
LOL no way is a SC doing much at 13hz. Cant imagine why Dynaudio would recommend those subs, tho, they're not even on the same continent.
 
T

TankTop5

Audioholic General
LOL no way is a SC doing much at 13hz. Cant imagine why Dynaudio would recommend those subs, tho, they're not even on the same continent.
That’s what I was thinking too but I read it on the internet so it must be true.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
That’s what I was thinking too but I read it on the internet so it must be true.
Yeah sure. Sounds more like a salesman or reviewer reco than one from Dynaudio. DT subs are so inadequate its not funny (aside from a very few older models that had some actual cojones).
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Yeah sure. Sounds more like a salesman or reviewer reco than one from Dynaudio. DT subs are so inadequate its not funny (aside from a very few older models that had some actual cojones).
Actually had a DefTech sales person recommend SVS over DT one time! :eek:
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Researching subs to pair with my special forty’s, dynaudio recommends DefTec super cubes. For a little over $1k you get 13hz on paper.
I'd take that spec with a huge grain of salt or three. They rate the SC4000 as having a total frequency response of 16-200 Hz. That is a flat out lie in my experience. I'll pull up my frequency response graphs of it when I get home. I remember it having almost nothing below 28- 30 Hz though. And it would frequently complain during movies/music/games. You probably heard your roommate hitting it's limits. lol
 
theJman

theJman

Audioholic Chief
2. I am very familiar with the SUB1200 (used as a pair) and it is actually a decent sounding subwoofer. For a subwoofer to go with Pioneer BS-22's or the Sony Core bookshelf speakers, it does a wonderful job of filling in the bass and I feel is a very good match - not a compromise at all!
+1

I evaluated the SUB-1200 almost 6 years ago, so it's definitely due for a refresh, but I'll bet it's still king of that price class. It was a very solid value back then and I think it's only gone up about 20 bucks since then (roughly $3 a year). Not bad at all.


Those Dayton 1200 ain't no joke with music. I have two. At the moment they are stored. That Jamo 8 inch I bought used is no joke either.
You probably own more subs than I do Joe. You still cornering the market on them? :p
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
+1

I evaluated the SUB-1200 almost 6 years ago, so it's definitely due for a refresh, but I'll bet it's still king of that price class. It was a very solid value back then and I think it's only gone up about 20 bucks since then (roughly $3 a year). Not bad at all.




You probably own more subs than I do Joe. You still cornering the market on them? :p
Hiya J, I wish I'm almost homeless. Let's see two Dayton 1200(in storage),OSD audio sub(Gifted by a great pal in storage) SVS PB1000(bought 4-5 years ago for my bday in storage),Jamo SUB200 8inch(bought used for around $50 a year ago) My 3.1 at the moment. Man it's good to see you posting here. I also miss your fantastic reviews.
 
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vader540is

vader540is

Full Audioholic
I’d rather recommend saving a little more money. I see purchasing a mediocre sub as a waste of hard earned money.
I agree. I made the mistake by buying a Dayton sub1200 and was amazed by it. I wouldn't know any better...I never heard a real sub before. Then I had a bass null in my living room, so I bought a 2nd Dayton 1200 and the null was still there. I ended up selling both subs and bought a PB12-NSD and was extremely impressed... it was my first experience with a subwoofer that could actually produce infrasonic frequencies. However, I still had a bass null. I was going to buy a 2nd Sub, PB2000 or a PB3000 but I discovered power sound audio and bought a V1510 and it got rid of my null!


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