Klipsch R-120sw or Bic H100II

[Ming27]

More for movies but Rock concerts also.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

More for movies but Rock concerts also.

What is the room size and absolute max budget?

 

[Ming27]

300.00 and 15 by 23 only looking for one or the other. The specs seem better on the Bic. I do have some klips now rear and center, two Bose 901's ft

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

The specs are slightly better in the bic but neither one will do what you want. For HT neither one goes low enough, and your room is too big for a single 12”er. Especially if it’s open to other rooms.
I’d buy 2 of these and be done.
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1500-15-150-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-634
You’re definitely working in a tough price range, but for that money I’d buy the Daytons all day long. Klipsch isn’t known for great subs, and bic has a decent reputation, but only in the budget realm. FWIW, @Reckel, a member here, has QTY-4, BIC pl200 for sale. Can’t remember what he wants but it could be worth asking him.

Edit: also, don’t get too caught up on the specs. Third party reviews and measurements ore much more meaningful, as manufacturers can fudge specs. For example, the 150w rms rating on the Dayton’s might seem small, but considering the driver is 56% larger it has much less work to do to get the same output. Basically they will outperform either of the aforementioned subs. Keep in mind as well, subs are “systems” that are designed to work as such, and efficiency and design can easily outweigh inflated power numbers.

 

[Ming27]

Thank you

 

[Reckel]

Thank you

I’ve got two original pl200s and two pl200 iis

 

[Ming27]

I have a choice of the two models I mentioned at the start. I was wondering your thoughts between the two. Only the two. It's a long story.

 

[Reckel]

I have a choice of the two models I mentioned at the start. I was wondering your thoughts between the two. Only the two. It's a long story.

Hell let’s hear the story man. Well I’m not familiar with the klipsch sub you mentioned or that bic model, although I did see that bic got good reviews when I was looking at the models I bought. Not to get confused but you are referring to the bic h100ii right?

I can tell you that the bics I have, for what they are, are a pretty good budget sub. 30hz and above they sound pretty dam good but they don’t dig very deep. For the most part though they did pretty well, imo they just couldn’t handle filling my area which is in my basement and around 7400cft. The left side of my listening area opens up to the entire rest of basement. They just didn’t have enough to fill the area.

In my listening area they sounded pretty good but couldn’t get really low. They never sounded bad but just lacked the real low end impact. I ended up buying two vtf3-mk5s from hsu and they’re awesome. The bics don’t even compare to the hsu, it’s just a totally different sound going from a budget sub to a “true” sub.

I’m not putting you down for looking at bic cuz obviously I did n bought four of them. At the time it’s what I could afford and they did their job while I had them hooked up. Idk what your budget is or how big your room is but I’m guessing the bics would sound probably even better in a room smaller than mine. I’m asking 600 for mine but would listen to offers. Idk what other subs you’ve looked at but the vtf2-mk5 from hsu has awesome reviews and looks like excellent performer. Think it’s on sale now for 509 plus shipping, think you’d be around 570 total.

 

[Ming27]

The Klipsch were a gift and while I still have a choice I was hoping for some help from someone that has more knowledge in this area. the only other sub that I can afford to exchange with would be the Bic listed at the top. I'm out of work on disability and can't add money to the exchange. There are very limited choices at this store. The Bic stats seem much better (but what do I know) if you have time to look them up I'd love your opinion. If not I'll understand. I may never be able to go back to work so I'll have these for a while. Thanks for getting back to me.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Your best bet would be to get 2 x Dayton sub1500 or sub1200.

 

[Ming27]

Again I only have two options. Thanks anyway.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Again I only have two options. Thanks anyway.

Why are you limited to only these 2 options?

 

[Ming27]

The Klipsch was a gift. the only sub in the same price range is the Bic. Just wanted to know if it was worth doing the exchange while I have time. Klipsch R-129sw or Bic H100II.

 

[Reckel]

The Klipsch were a gift and while I still have a choice I was hoping for some help from someone that has more knowledge in this area. the only other sub that I can afford to exchange with would be the Bic listed at the top. I'm out of work on disability and can't add money to the exchange. There are very limited choices at this store. The Bic stats seem much better (but what do I know) if you have time to look them up I'd love your opinion. If not I'll understand. I may never be able to go back to work so I'll have these for a while. Thanks for getting back to me.

Bic might be a little better but both are probably going to be pretty similar from what I read. I saw that your room is 15x23, does it open up to other rooms? Neither one of those subs is going to be enough for that size room especially if it opens up to another room.

There’s a lot smarter people on here than me when it comes to subs. Don’t get me wrong, I did a lot of research on real true subs before I joined here n bought my new ones but I still needed advice from people that know more than me. Don’t be afraid to ask questions for advice even if you think it’s a dumb question, everyone on here was a beginner at some point n time and everyone I’ve talked with seem like good guys. They won’t steer you in the wrong direction.

I can tell you from advice i got, you’d be better off buying the best sub you can get now and saving to add a second in the future. In your size room your going to need two for sure. I know you said ur hurt now but look at long term. IMO I think at some point you’d regret buying a budget sub instead of getting the best you can now, I know eventually I regretted it n always wondered what a real sub would sound like.

Obviously it’s your decision n money and I’m not trying to spend it for you but I don’t want you regretting on getting a budget sub. I’m sure there’s others on here that would agree. If you do have to choose between those two I’d definitely be getting two of them with ur size room. Hopefully everything works out for you man, definitely keep us posted!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I really hope you can get back to work. Didn’t pick up on the Klipsch being a gift. The reality is, as @Reckel pointed out, these subs are goin to be more similar than different. The good news is you already have the Klipsch, which while pretty much the same costs more so if it’s something you could sell to finance something else you’d see more money. And Klipsch is more well known so your market is larger. That means you could get 2 of the Daytons. by selling the Klipsch. I understand not wanting to do that, as gifts are something not easily traded/sold for something else and can definitely hurt some feelings. My hunch is the Klipsch might have slightly more output while the BIC will probably sound better(linear and controlled) overall. Like I said before, respectfully,
neither one will deliver movie soundtracks or rock concerts at realistic levels but if you listen quietly it might not matter.
Since you already have the Klipsch I would just keep it.

 

[Ming27]

If I were going to eventually double up with one or the other, klip or Bic ? (same two units)

 

[kini]

If I were going to eventually double up with one or the other, klip or Bic ? (same two units)

The Bic would be less expensive to add a second down the road. As for the two subs I'd call them being about equal. If you ever needed to sell, the Klispch would be easier.

As for either not being enough for your room size this is coming from those that really like a lot of bass. I like a lot of bass and have a pair of pretty good subs in a 1600 cubic foot enclosed room. I also have a Polk 8" sub in a 2600 cubic foot room (bedroom). The Polk does a fine job for music in that room, just as either of those subs will do just fine within their limits >30hz. Most all movie and music content is above 30hz anyway. Sure it's nice to be able to get that under 20hz stuff, but it generally costs a lot in price and space.

The closer you can place the sub to your listening position the better it will be.

 

[Ming27]

The Bic is 24hz and 500 watts

 

[snakeeyes]

I believe the Klipsch would be just an ok sub but it’s a gift so use it. If you do get addicted to home theater action movies that have big explosions or music with heavy bass, you will focus on getting a nicer sub and it will happen eventually for you anyhow.

 

[kini]

The Bic is 24hz and 500 watts

The 24hz spec is likely not going to be with enough output for it to be useful so figure usable output to around 30hz. The 500 watts is peak output. The klipsch actually is actually rated higher in RMS at 200 versus 150. So again they're going to be about the same.