Recommendations for a Subwoofer specifically for music?

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pilecarls8

Audiophyte
I've been looking at subwoofers in the $300 or less range specifically for music (though input on any good musical sub at any price would be appreciated).

I read a few budget subwoofer articles with conflicting input. One said the Monoprice 9723 was decent for music. The other said not so good for music, that the Pioneer SW-8MK2, DMobdro ayton SUB-1000L, or BICV1020 are better for music. Then I have read that ported subs aren't so good for music, go for a sealed sub. I've also read that anything at this price point is terrible.word counter I can look at charts that show decibels and frequency range, but no data really tells me which one has a nice musical sound.VidMate

I have the Pioneer SP-BS22 speakers right now and a 15x20ft room.

I'm not looking for something that will shake the house and create a deep rumble of sound. Just something good for music that will sound nice / melodic / clean / accurate and get low enough for music. If anyone could give me their input I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
 
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vader540is

vader540is

Full Audioholic
I've been looking at subwoofers in the $300 or less range specifically for music (though input on any good musical sub at any price would be appreciated).

I read a few budget subwoofer articles with conflicting input. One said the Monoprice 9723 was decent for music. The other said not so good for music, that the Pioneer SW-8MK2, Dayton SUB-1000L, or BICV1020 are better for music. Then I have read that ported subs aren't so good for music, go for a sealed sub. I've also read that anything at this price point is terrible. I can look at charts that show decibels and frequency range, but no data really tells me which one has a nice musical sound.

I have the Pioneer SP-BS22 speakers right now and a 15x20ft room.

I'm not looking for something that will shake the house and create a deep rumble of sound. Just something good for music that will sound nice / melodic / clean / accurate and get low enough for music. If anyone could give me their input I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Follow this thread. These new chane subs will be based of the Snell 150, 300 and 500 subwoofers.


 
Shanman

Shanman

Audioholic
^^Cool, I own a Snell Basis 300 that had the plate amp fail, but sounded so damn good I went through many amps to passively resurrect it. Currently powering it with an Outlaw 2200. Following this with interest!
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
If your budget is $300, that is the perfect budget to get two Dayton Audio SUB1200's!
There are significant benefits to having two subs in your room (it smooths out the influence of room modes and nulls) and this sub beats several more expensive options!

To save my typing it twice, here is a link:

I set my GF up with a 2.2 system made of a pair of Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers and dual SUB1200's. It makes for a very nice music system and I think those subs are the easy choice. Obviously, the Chane subs are not something I am familiar with (my understanding is they are not out yet). They could be a game-changer, but I would hope for more than an enthusiastic endorsement from early owners (which you can readily find on some pretty crappy subs) before gambling on a sub that had not been measured for objective capability!

So if you want a sub today, I would do the dual SUB1200's; but if you are not in a rush, wait for a review of the Chanes which includes CEA 2010 measurements and then you can properly evaluate performance and price to make a decision!

Here is Jman's full review of the SUB1200:

Here are the subs that Brent Butterworth compared (with quick comment) in the article he did. It is ny no means comprehensive, but 17 is a lot to evaluate given he actually got measurements and set up listening sessions for them all! He does not mention the SUB1200 here because it is his top pick (and the SUB-1000L is recommended as an alternate option):
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.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I think if 300 was my limit, I’d go for a pair of these.

And a couple things. The sealed thing for music is an old wives tale. Should be put to pasture. You’re in a really tough price bracket for subwoofage, so make sure to temper your expectations. Even the Daytons I linked are “entry level”. But compared to the Polk 505sw and other klipsch models that pop up in similar searches, the Dayton’s are still better overall imo.
 
vader540is

vader540is

Full Audioholic
^^Cool, I own a Snell Basis 300 that had the plate amp fail, but sounded so damn good I went through many amps to passively resurrect it. Currently powering it with an Outlaw 2200. Following this with interest!
Yeah it's a amazing sub, I'm planning to buy one.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I think if 300 was my limit, I’d go for a pair of these.

And a couple things. The sealed thing for music is an old wives tale. Should be put to pasture. You’re in a really tough price bracket for subwoofage, so make sure to temper your expectations. Even the Daytons I linked are “entry level”. But compared to the Polk 505sw and other klipsch models that pop up in similar searches, the Dayton’s are still better overall imo.
Yup. Well designed ported sounds just as good for music as a sealed sub. In the $300 price bracket ported is about your only option if you want any decent output. I'll toss my vote in for a pair of SUB-1200s as well. They may not have a ton of power but going dual will help and they are nice clean sounding subs.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Yup. Well designed ported sounds just as good for music as a sealed sub. In the $300 price bracket ported is about your only option if you want any decent output. I'll toss my vote in for a pair of SUB-1200s as well. They may not have a ton of power but going dual will help and they are nice clean sounding subs.
It’s definitely a tough price bracket. For 100 more, IMO the rsl speedwoofer is a better sub overall, but a pair of decent 12’s for 300? Easy.
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
1200 Dayton I loved mine. Read the Jman review it was the reason I got it hopefully it will be available it’s been a couple of months without stock.
 
Alvarez

Alvarez

Audiophyte
Audiophile essay writer
Hi guys,

Emotiva BasX s8, s10 or s12 are within my budget. I tried looking for used subs, because great new subs usually start at $500. Would you recommend a bic f12 instead?
 
Alvarez

Alvarez

Audiophyte
Or should I go with a used sub and an Equalizer APO, for example?
Thanks.
 
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