Sub Woofer Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[rambo1224]

I have a living room that doubles as a theater room. It' about 25 sq feet with 20ft ceilings. I have a motorized projection screen that comes down from ceiling. I currently have 6 polk tc65I speakers installed around the room (4 in the front and 2 in the back). I am to the point where I need some sub-woofers. I have two built in opening recessed in the wall on the left and right side of the room. The opening are about 18" high and 16" wide. I'm looking for sub-woofer recommendations that would fit in that space, but also supply enough power. If I have to enlarge the opening a bit, I can make higher but not wider. My install guy likes hsu research and velodyne but I'm looking for other opinions.

Thanks

 

[brandonchenry]

i think you have a typo on the square footage.

 

[David Willow]

Budget?

Also, putting a subwoofer in an enclosed are is a bad idea.

 

[rambo1224]

Your right. The room is 25X20 (450 sq feet)

 

[rambo1224]

Budget around $1500 for 2 woofers. Room is 450 sq foot. I believe my guys plan was to get a woofer smaller than the opening so it could breathe.

 

[SHS]

What is behind the wall in those recessed openings?

A built in Infinite Baffle system might be the answer at a lower cost albeit some elbow grease must be donated.

You could also investigate ported or sealed solutions that may be built into the wall.

Any one of these three options may give you the desired effect of being flush with the wall and yet fit into the recesses.

I agree that just placing a sub on a recessed area is not ideal.

I am amazed at what some HT installation "experts" suggest at times. I have a friend that had her surround system installed by a "pro" and he installed the sides and surrounds all the way to the top by the crown molding. They are 15' cielings and he turned the bi-pole speakers 90degrees because the "fit better". ( She is now complaining about the sound)

 

[mike from nyc]

I hate in-wall subs unless they are absolutely necessary. They transmit far too many vibrations into the rest of the house and the bass quality is dependent on wall construction. In addition, placement is critical to reduce room resonances and unless you get it right the first time you will be stuck with horrible bass response with peaks and nulls that can't be tamed unless you use enough subs to counteract the problems and that is $$$$.

My room is similar in size and I use a Velodyne DD15 that can shake my house if I so desire. I never heard a sub that could be as well integrated into either a HT or music system, other than buying a outboard SMS and using that with your current sub.

 

[rambo1224]

The openings are about 18" high and 16" wide and 24" deep. This is an outside wal so there is no other rooms behind it. The opening is hollow so there would be about 15 ft of space above the sub, but the width and depth are restricted to the measurements I gave. I was looking at Velodyne DPS-12-12, but not sure if that would provide enough power for that sized room.

 

[LanceJ]

I have to agree with the other guys, not having the freedom to choose the best location for a subwoofer could easily result in really crummy sounding bass for movies and music (I am not even that picky about such things i.e. I ran my system for several years with no sub at all until just two and a half years ago).

Boston Acoustics sells a specially-designed cubical subwoofer for "hidden" locations. Read on.....

BT1100

I think it may be too wide though.

It's an outside wall but there's two feet of space back there? I am not sure I understand how the wall is built.

 

[Nathan Eddy]

You're getting warmer!

 

[rambo1224]

The whole back wall is boxed out 2 feet.

From Left to Right. It would be:

16" for sub, 7 ft shelf, 4 ft fireplace, 7 ft shelf, 16" for sub . There is a polk
tc65i speaker about 5 feet above each sub opening and 2 speakers above fireplace.

 

[SHS]

IB subs are some of the MOST Accurate subs. That is IF they are designed properly and yes, positioned in the correct area. The OP has an issue with making a choice of where to put a sub. Cielings, other walls, etc. might be an option. As far as in wall subs causing too much vibration in the rest of the house....well it completely falls back on design. Infrasonic vibrations will travel no matter where you place a sub and will vibrate most homes anyway.

It sounds like that recess is not the "best" place to put a box sub but I have seen stranger things, it might just be the optimal palce to put it.

Anyway, good luck with this one Rob, it sounds like a challenge.

 

[rambo1224]

Unfortunately, the room is also my formal living room so I need to consider how things will look (knowing that I may have to sacrifice some of the sound). So... back to my original question. What smaller subs (no bigger than 17X17 and under $700 each) have people used that produce a good sound. I saw Velodyne DPS 12 would fit. Someone also recommends HSU, but no model. What others?

 

[brandonchenry]

this was my first sub: SVSound - Box Subwoofers
it really kicks ass. good for movies and music both!
double check your measurements, because the height is the only tight spot according to the measurements you posted. 1 more inch and your good to go. This sub is front firing as well as front ported, so it works well in your scenario. the only pain will be sliding it out to change the settings during initial set-up. After that, you can just adjust gain on your receiver.
As far as dips and spikes and nulls in your frequency response, there are now solutions to this. SVS, the same company that makes the sub I recommend, is now taking pre orders on their new subEQ. it will take any two subs, in any room, and make them play nicely. It not only adjusts for frequency response, but time delay also. It is Audyssey software, and has more processing power (needed for bass response algorithms) than any AVR that has Audyssey Multiq-XT. I have had the luck opportunity to be asked to product test this box for SVS. Just when I became to love it like my own, they asked for it back. I am one of the first on the list to get one when they start shipping. Check it out here: SVSound - Parts & Accessories