Subwoofer Choice

[cb1474]

I have been reading the many responses regarding subwoofer recommendations on this site. The one observation I have is there are no or very few recommendations for "big box" store brands such as Polk Audio, Klipsh, JBL, Infinity or Yamaha. I am currently in the market for a subwoofer in the $250-$300 range for my 5.1 system and have been shopping around and stumbled upon this sight. Can I assume that these brands should be avoided as the TSC, Dayton and other similar caliber subs are a better value?

My room is L shaped with the viewing area approximately 15'X20'. My other speakers are all in-ceiling and powered by Yamaha RX665 AV receiver.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Use will be 80/20 movie/tv to music.

 

[j_garcia]

It is not simply that they tend to be better subs, it is that they are often internet direct meaning less/no overhead compared to mass market brands so you get more for your money. They can provide you with a superior product at the same price point because they don't have the same kind of distribution and advertising.

 

[XEagleDriver]

. . . I am currently in the market for a subwoofer in the $250-$300 range for my 5.1 system . . .

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Use will be 80/20 movie/tv to music.

cb,

A little above your price target, but SVS currently has a B-stock PB-10NSD for less than $400--real good sub at a good price!

https://svsound.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=182&CFID=4927&CFTOKEN=95199237

XEagleDriver

 

[j_garcia]

I've owned the PB-10 and it is definitely worth the price.

 

[tcarcio]

This is a nice sub for the price. Customer service is great also...http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F711-67261-24966-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fcgi.ebay.com%252FH100-Premier-Acoustic--PA-120-Subwoofer-Cherry-Color!_W0QQitemZ310139860649QQcmdZViewItem%26itemid%3D310139860649&ei=LamVSu3tONPOlAfqsYWwDQ&usg=AFQjCNFOMsMzGwFkxIrXfbtTQIinSOrMtg

 

[j_garcia]

These two are pretty good as well. I reviewed both of them a while back.

http://www.cadencehometheaterspeakers.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=2

 

[dorokusai]

I like SVS.

Mark

 

[blackzarg]

I have been reading the many responses regarding subwoofer recommendations on this site. The one observation I have is there are no or very few recommendations for "big box" store brands such as Polk Audio, Klipsh, JBL, Infinity or Yamaha. I am currently in the market for a subwoofer in the $250-$300 range for my 5.1 system and have been shopping around and stumbled upon this sight. Can I assume that these brands should be avoided as the TSC, Dayton and other similar caliber subs are a better value?

My room is L shaped with the viewing area approximately 15'X20'. My other speakers are all in-ceiling and powered by Yamaha RX665 AV receiver.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Use will be 80/20 movie/tv to music.

Those brands you listed shouldn't necessarily be avoided - it's just that subs are not their specialty, and also the subs that they make that are comparable to the makes from TSC, Dayton, and other internet direct (ID) companies are costlier because they spend more money on marketing. j_garcia touched those points.

That being said, with your budget, the Premier Acoustics PA-120 is a very powerful sub in its price range. Some other subs to look for in that price range are the BIC VK12, BIC H100, TSC T300, and the Dr. Hsu designed Dayton ES10. However, your listening area is quite large and you may want something more substantial. Have you purchased your speakers yet? How uch are you spending, and what are you getting/have?

 

[j_garcia]

I forgot about one more: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-392 The Dayton Elite sub was designed by Dr. Hsu of HSU Research.

 

[MatthewB.]

I owned a Polk sub and a store bought JBL and they sucked big time in comparison to an internet direct sub like SVS. I had my JBL on level 9 to just get any decent bass, the SVS I have is on level 2 and outperforms and blasts that JBL out of the water. Don't even get me started on Polk subs, they make decent speakers, but they should be shot for selling what they call a subwoofer.

I would look at SVS B-stocl or a DIYer sub, any of those will outperform any sub you can buy in a store.

 

[tonydahose]

i am a newbie here and after writing a very long post asking for help in choosing a sub i hit enter and it said i needed to have at least 5 posts to start a new thread so here i go again.

i just purchased a new panasonic plasma P58S1. my old tv was a giant 65" projection box. while taking the old one out i noticed that my 20 yo cerwin vega sub was dry rotted and sounded like sh!t so i am need of a new one. i want a powered one with crossover outputs for the front speakers because my amp doesnt have a seperate sub output. i have 4 mirage speakers AVS200 and the center is AVS100-B1. my room is 20' X 13' and the sub will be placed behind an L shaped couch in the corner. i use the stereo mainly for music and once in awhile for movies. my budget after getting the TV and stand is around $250. i woulld like to keep this sub after i do an addition in a few years. the new room (a kitchen/great roo) will be 20' X 38'. these are some of the ones that i have picked from similiar threads on this forum. i don't know if all of them have the crossover with the outputs for the front speakers, if not please let me know so i can cross them off the list. some of these were priced a lil higher but with the BING cashback it will be within my budget....thanks ahead of time with all the NOOB questions

it won't let me post the links without a 5 post count either

 

[tonydahose]

the number 2 post...please forgive me for this but i need the count up to 5

 

[tonydahose]

number 3..again sorry for this

 

[tonydahose]

number four..almost there

 

[tonydahose]

ok this should be the last one hopefully

 

[tonydahose]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=303-432

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-392&vReviewShow=1&vReviewRand=5042722

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-635

http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1239&sc=28

http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1270&sc=55

http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1062&sc=32

 

[njedpx3]

I agree SVS are great subs

cb,

A little above your price target, but SVS currently has a B-stock PB-10NSD for less than $400--real good sub at a good price!

https://svsound.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=182&CFID=4927&CFTOKEN=95199237

XEagleDriver

I agree with XEagleDrive the SVS b-stock PB-10NSD is a great sub in your price range.

Also, if you can't find the b-stock SVS the Dayton SUB-120 HT Series 12" 150 Watt Powered Subwoofer is a very good sub for $155.23 from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78

If you can raise you budget a little, the Hsu makes a very good sub, the STF-1 for $254
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

 

[TheFactor]

SVS For the Win

 

[tonydahose]

If you can raise you budget a little, the Hsu makes a very good sub, the STF-1 for $254
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

after doing some research on this and a few emails back and forth with a salesman at HSU i picked one up..thanks for the recommendation.