Need sub for apartment (1 Viewer)

[WayneEA]

My wife and I just moved into an aprtment, a month ago
I live on the ground floor in the middle of the building.
Wife says that I can get a sub for my home theater, What size shold I get?

 

[Topher]

I would suggest something small. You won't need earth moving bass if you live in an apartment like I do. I have a Polk PSW303 and it works great for me. Something with an 8 or 10 inch driver would be enough, IMO. Of course it all depends on how much bass you want and how much your neighbors can tolerate!!!

 

[The Void]

I agree that you don't need anything very big. But you can always get a big one and just keep it turned down. I'm also in an apartment and I have a 12" 150W sub that I keep turned way down. It adds bass and helps out my bookshelf speakers but doesn't rattle the walls...but it easily can if I turn it up. I think I keep the volume on the sub about 1/4 of the way up. The sub is a Cerwin-Vega LW12. I can't really complain about it but for the money I wouldn't recommend it. It is definitely dependable and loud, but it can get boomy when turned up. I've had it close to 3 years now, no problems at all. It's just a typical Cerwin-Vega...all sound quantity with little quality.

For an inexpensive sub I'd look into one of Sony's subs. Many people have these and they seem like a great bang for your buck. If you the ultimate sub, get an SVS. I would get one in a second if I lived in a house.

 

[perrin]

I have the Velodyne VX-10 subwoofer, and I believe it is the best bang for the buck if you want a low cost sub. I paid about $180 here in the Seattle area, and I am in complete awe as this sub puts out a good bass for movies and music. Velodyne is good, respected company, and many people on this forum trust this company to make great products.

perrin

 

[Curt C]

I agree the Velodyne VX-10 would be a fine sub for your application. Surprisingly good performance for the price.
Curt

 

[Lew Crippen]

What is your budget Wayne? Plenty of good subs around that are not large.

My advice is not so much to turn the volume down on the sub, but to calibrate the sub to have volume levels consistent with your main, center and surround speakers. Then it will always be correct for the volume levels you use—you can just adjust your listening levels overall to be consistent with what works in your apartment.

Of course if you have some special circumstances you may need to reduce the sub’s volume level even lower, but I’d try calibrating it properly first.