Recommendations for a good Sub

[Smitty Henson]

I am in the process of putting togother a new A/V system and need a recommendation on a subwoofer in the price range of $300 to $500. The dimensions of my room are 18' x 35'.
System components consist of:
A/V Receiver - Denon AVR 2807
Fronts- Paradigm Studio 20's V3
Center- Paradigm CC 450
Rear - Paradigm AMS 100's

 

[Adam]

Smitty, hello and welcome to the forum!

That's a pretty big room that you have there. How tall are the ceilings? One important parameter when picking a sub is the volume of the room.

When looking at bang-for-the-buck subs (which you'll need to fill that big of a room anywhere near your price range), the top contenders that I've seen listed here are SVS, Hsu, and Onix (from av123.com). They are internet direct companies, and you save some money going that route. In addition to recommendations from here, I'd suggest that you e-mail those companies with your room specs and ask them which of their subs that they'd recommend. I've had great luck with responses from SVS, and I've heard good things about the other two companies as well.

 

[Ryan8886]

Ditto what Adam said.

 

[Pyrrho]

You will want to think carefully about what you want the subwoofer to do. For example, some people want loud, relatively low sounds, and others want deeper bass. Which you want will make a significant difference in which subwoofer you will want to buy. I personally like flat, deep bass, and would probably go with the best SVS subwoofer I could afford. At your price point, I would probably go with:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

If you happen to have an extra power amplifier on hand that can deal with 4 ohm speakers, at your price point I would probably go with:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-cspas1.cfm

But if you prefer louder rather than deeper, this would be better for you:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-cspas3.cfm

Or a compromise between the two:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-cspas2.cfm

 

[Nick250]

Also, you can call SVS and HSU and tell your needs and they will honestly tell you what sub they sell will meet them. I have a six year old Hsu VTF-2 that still works great, though I don't fire up the whole system every day. When discussing subs, the size of your listening area needs to be in cubic feet and include openings into other rooms.

Nick

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Unless your ceilings are 6ft high you may find it difficult to fill that room with a $500 sub. Dont skimp here; it is very important to get a sub that will handle your room.

 

[darien87]

If your budget is truly $500, but you want a great sub, check out www.rythmikaudio.com. You can get one of their 12" sub and amps for less than $500. Then all you have to do is buy the wood and materials and put it together. That's what I did and I couldn't be happier.