Newbie Decent Budget Subwoofer

[drawde84]

Hi.
First of all, I apologize for my lack of knowledge; I'm still very new to home audio, and this will be my first setup.

I'm looking for some recommendations on a cheap subwoofer that is of decent quality. I've read a lot of posts and I can assume all of you will say that I should save up and at the least, get a Bic H-100 or an X-sub or something in that quality/price bracket.

But I won't be able to save up much money for like, a couple years, since I'm paying a lot for tuition and don't need to dig myself in a bigger hole. But I agreed that I'd buy audio for the apartment I'll be staying in with my friends, so I was looking to get the cheapest, starting audio thats better than a crappy HTIB i can get.

To get a taste of the price-range and match the quality of my other speakers, my current "plan" is to start my entire audio system out with only spending like ~$160. I'm looking at getting a pair of Polk R15 speakers for $50, and then a Onkyo TXSR304 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver for $110.

Later, I'd wait until I get a little more money and hope to be able to build upon it by buying a subwoofer next. Then I'd wait a little longer and buy the Polk CSi25 Center Channel for $60-70. And finally, if I'd get another pair of R15s $50 or if I had the chance, I'd go for Polk R30 or R50 which are sometimes ~$100 for a pair on Frys and move my first pair of R15s to back speaker duty.

So you see, my budget is really tight, and I don't think it'd make sense to buy a subwoofer thats more expensive than the rest of my entire setup.
The subwoofers I was considering were the Advent ASW1200 and the Dayton Sub-100. What do you think of those or are there any other suggestions? Are they around the same quality as the rest of my planned setup? Whats the cheapest I can get them?

Ideally, a $100 subwoofer would put me at having spent slightly over $300 on a decent nonHTIB 3.1 system (receiver $110, sub $100, R15s $50, CSi25$60) or slightly over $350 for a 5.1 system (adding in another pair of R15s $50).

Feel free to comment or criticize any part of this =) Thanks so much for the help! Again, spending an extra $100-200 may not seem like a lot in general, but for me, I'm not sure if I could scrounge up the money. Percentagewise relative to how much I plan to spend for the whole system, spending that extra money is a lot. I was originally looking to just settle for an entire HTIB for $150 (Onkyo S-590 refurb) but thought otherwise.

 

[Seth=L]

Have you tried looking at pawn shops for deals. For example a nearby pawn shop is selling a Klispsch 10" sub for $60. I just bought an Acoustic Research 8" from that same shop for the low price of $20. If you live in a populated area you may find good deals in some pawn shops. Just beware that some pawn shops really suck, and will try to sell you something that sucks. I was just at a pawn shop today and they had a Theater Research 5.1 speaker system for $500, those speakers are a scam. If you have ever heard of white van speaker sales that is what those speakers are. Don't buy speakers from people in vans.

If you have a little patience and a good eye, you may be able to find something very good at a pawn shop.

 

[j_garcia]

The R15s are discontinued, replaced by the R150s. The good news is, Frys has them for the same price when on sale.

For the price, I'd probably just go with the Dayton sub or look used.

 

[drawde84]

Thanks for the responses. It seems like the R15s are still stocked and sold at a few online vendors. Are they better or worse than the R150s in quality?

 

[apatel25314]

thats not much but you could buy used and save alot of money

 

[j_garcia]

Thanks for the responses. It seems like the R15s are still stocked and sold at a few online vendors. Are they better or worse than the R150s in quality?

I've been trying to find that out myself, but nobody seems to have an opinion of the 150s yet.

 

[zumbo]

I can't think of a better deal for a bottom dollar sub.

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/MORDMS907BL

 

[j_garcia]

I've heard the 907 and it isn't that great. For $200, I'd actually say the X-sub would be as good or better...seriously. And the Dayton is likely as good or better also, but definitely not as pretty.

 

[project86]

I've asked this question on different forums, and never got a good answer. Apparently there is no sub worth having unless it is nearly $200 or more.

 

[j_garcia]

Under $200, the Dayton 10" and 12" are worth having.

 

[Seth=L]

I've asked this question on different forums, and never got a good answer. Apparently there is no sub worth having unless it is nearly $200 or more.

Nonsense, you can always find a decent sub used for under $200.

 

[tubesaregood]

If you have a thriving craigslist in your area, check that too. I've gotten many amazing deals there - for example, a pair of dbx Soundfield V's for $15 and a pair of Audio Pro Stage 4's for $50.

 

[no. 5]

if the room is small you could go with a smaller (and cheeper!) sub, like a Dayton 8". it can't go as low or as loud as a 10" or 12", but it is cheeper.

 

[markw]

I've asked this question on different forums, and never got a good answer. Apparently there is no sub worth having unless it is nearly $200 or more.

Well, for $100 from the big box stores you can get some POS that will rumble, rattle and make vague low puitched noises, or you might want to re-read this thread. You'll note the word "Dayton" has popped up more than once. They even have an 8" sub for under $100.

It ain't no floor and wall rattler, but it's light years ahead of what the big box stores sell for anywhere near that price. ...same goes for their bigger subs.

 

[project86]

First of all, the Dayton 12 is over $200 for me after tax and shipping. The 10" barely makes it at around $185, and obviously the 8" is very cheap.

More to the point: He was asking for a very cheap sub (ideal price $100), so only the 8" applies in his case.
I have brought up the 8" and even the 10" on various forums, always to be told that they were crap and only the Dayton Titanic kits were good. This is the dirst time I'm hearing that they are decent, so thanks for the input!

 

[j_garcia]

Decent is the key, not great.

Once you hit the $200 mark though, then I'd be looking at the Onyx X-Sub. It is also only an 8" sub, but one that is pretty well reviewed here on AH.

 

[Seth=L]

First of all, the Dayton 12 is over $200 for me after tax and shipping. The 10" barely makes it at around $185, and obviously the 8" is very cheap.

More to the point: He was asking for a very cheap sub (ideal price $100), so only the 8" applies in his case.
I have brought up the 8" and even the 10" on various forums, always to be told that they were crap and only the Dayton Titanic kits were good. This is the dirst time I'm hearing that they are decent, so thanks for the input!

I would say that for around the $100-200 mark that those subs are probably the best value you would get out of a new sub. They aren't good in comparison to the Dayton Titanic Kits of course, but the budget doesn't allow for that. If you want good value out of a sub in this range look at used subs. If you can't live without warranty or slight cosmetic issues then get a new sub in the price range, just don't expect it to wow you in ways you have never been wowed before.

 

[j_garcia]

You might be in luck, there is a guy I know selling a used original version Dayton 10" (goes lower than the current model) for $50 + shipping. PM me and I will give you his email. Waiting to hear back to confirm that he still has it...

 

[GlocksRock]

I helped my friend get a new HT setup, and since the budget was tight I decided to go with the dayton 10". I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard it, as it's output was surprising. It's definitely no high end sub, but for the money it can't be beat. I also found it on sale for $100 + shipping so it was a good deal too.

 

[j_garcia]

He says it is still available, so let me know if you are interested. If not, I am going to post it up in the classifieds for him. PM or email me and I will put you in touch with him.