Reasonable (inexpensive) Sub for Whole House system (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

I've had my whole house music system set up for a couple years now, with the ability to play in up to 5 rooms around the house. I already have a Top Notch system in the HT, but what I want to do now is add some low end to the living room part of the whole house system. There are no other electronics in that room. Just a receiver and Polk Monitor 40s on stands for the music system. Right now the receiver is an old H/K stereo model, but I will swap it for a lower end Onkyo digital surround one I have, so I can get a crossover in the mix for a powered sub. The Polks sound fine for how they are used, but I would like some more low end. The main thing is, I want reasonably clean, low volume bass. I will not be using it for movies or house shaking. If it gets sloppy, even at low volume, I won't be happy,

I know I see Robert recommending Daytons in the budget area. I see they have a 12" I can get for about $170 shipped, which seems like a decent choice, so long as it is reasonably clean. Any comments or other suggestions?

 

[Robert_J]

Dayton or Bic America. If you can find a close-out at PE it would be even better. At one time they had some Hsu designed subs for around $200. Deals like that pop up about twice a year.

 

[JohnRice]

PE has some Allison subs on closeout. I've never heard of them. Have you? One small thing I like is that the amps have a crossover bypass, which none of the others seem to have. I just find that a bit annoying.

 

[Ed Moxley]

I've not heard an Allison sub, but Allison has built some outstanding speakers, so I'm sure their subs are ok. Allison Ones are very much sought after. You can find Allisons on eBay occasionally. There's a couple of pair on there now. Not the Ones, but still nice speakers. I have a pair of Allison AL-115 speakers that needs refoaming. I'll get around to doing them one day in the near future, and use them somewhere. I'll not sell them..............
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1311&_nkw=allison+speakers&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Roy Allison was head engineer at AR many years ago. He left and started his own company, Allison Acoustics, and did very well for years. The company is closed now. That's why you have to find them on eBay, if you want some. Occasionally, you'll see a pair on Craig's List for sale. They have a wonderful sound to them. If you see any for a good price, grab them!

 

[gene c]

At one time they had some Hsu designed subs for around $200.

I picked up one of those 10" Dayton HSU's for less than $150 shipped. It was more sub than I needed so I gave it to my brother and bought the 8" version for $99. It's in my "everyday" room with my Infinity Beta's. Too bad they're no longer available.

I also bought two of the original Dayton 10" subs for $99 each which were listed as going down to 25 hz. The newer versions are only rated to 30 hz. Un-fortunately I can't take advantage of a really good sub but these work pretty well for me. That 10" Dayton HSU packs quite a wallup for what it is. Almost got me evicted when I had it.

 

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by JohnRice

PE has some Allison subs on closeout. I've never heard of them. Have you? One small thing I like is that the amps have a crossover bypass, which none of the others seem to have. I just find that a bit annoying.

Same as Ed above, I've never hear of Allison subs but have heard of their speakers. The lack of the crossover bypass shouldn't be a deal breaker. Turning the crossover on the sub amp to its highest setting does the exact same thing.