Help me decide on my subwoofer?

sup guys,
first of all this is gonna be my thread here on HTF, so excuse me if i ask you guys question that had been asked before. However, before I even had to write this thread I have been doing my research as well, but I can't really find the right solution for it. Here it goes...I'm looking for a best budget subwoofer. And so far I had nailed it down to 2 option, they are; Polk PSW10 or Dayton Sub-100 HT (Partsexpress.com). My living room spec; L 18' x W 12' x H 8', i'm gonna be using this subwoofer mainly for HT and 20% for music, my budget is <$150 (including S&H), and less boomy subwoofer the better. I hope a I covered all the info that you guys need to decide. Sooo...what would you choose or can you guys recommend me other subs..??

thanks ahead,
Ray

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

I would pony up the extra cash to buy the SVS PB10-NSD at $429 or the Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Plus at $549.

I just bought the LFM-1 Plus and it is incredible. Yes, it is quite a bit more, but it is worth the investment. I had the JBL Northridge E150P and upgraded to the LFM-1 Plus. What a complete difference this new sub makes. I can't say enough good things about it!

With a room the size of yours it would seem that the SVS PB10-NSD would work great as well and the specs are are comparable.

I might seem like a lot more, but again I say, it is well worth the additional cash!

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

well...that'll probably be my first choice when i'll buy my house, but for now i'm just looking for an entry level subwoofer, plus i live in the small apt. i dont wanna try to disturb other tenant ya know. And i'm bugeting myself under $150, i know this is gonna get me a crappy subs but i'll manage for the time being. soo any other ideas guys or what about my option: polk psw10 or dayton 10" subs. please let me know. Does anybody had any experience with this subs..??

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

any suggestion guys...

polk psw10

or

dayton 10" (partsexpress.com)....???

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

If it were me I would buy the Polk, It seems to have really good reviews.. And CNET liked it as well. I don't know much about the Dayton.

I would be careful though as you said you live in an apartment. When I lived in an apartment I couldn't turn my receiver on at all without getting complaints. Which is why I went from renting an apartment to renting houses. Believe it or not they run about the same money

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

Yeah I have an older lady that lives below me and everytime the sub kicks in during a movie she bangs on the ceiling with a broom. I just laugh. But I would just go with the polk. Like brian said, cnet liked it and they are very knowledgable

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

i'm really leaning of getting a polk as well, but i was just reading the review on amazon.com about this subs and it says that this subs for music not so good for movie usage....if i would've subs i'll prolly use it for movies 80%-90% of the time. What about the Daytons..can anybody chime in on this product..??

-RAy

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

I've read some good things about the Dayton, but haven't heard one myself. I have heard a few Polk subs and didn't care for them, though at $150 I'm not sure what other options you have. If you're willing to up the budget, I've read some very good things about these and I'd be willing to bet it would blow both the Polk and Dayton away. I use the newer version of this and I like it more than the Polks as well. If you're sticking to $150 though, I don't think you'll find anything besides the Polk or Dayton, and I think either would be fine for you.

Also, I wouldn't go by anything C-Net says.

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

Look for the BIC F12, might be $20-40 over your price, but likely worth it.

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

OMG...i went a little overboard on this one!! i think i'm cursed for being an audiophilic guys. I just got myself a BIC AMERICA F12 subwoofer from amazon (thanks John). I couldn't just pass it over, for $209 shipped its just a steal, considering it was $499 (MSRP). I've read lots a good thing about BICs subwoofer, but never really read anything about the F12 though..??? I just hope I made the right decision.

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

BTW thx for the input you guys, i'll make sure to tone it down a bit since i live in the apt building...heheehehehee..

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

I have to agree with some of the other members here: using any halfway decent sub in an apartment is very probably going to piss off someone. So if I were you, if your front main channels are large enough - in other words, they can make it down to around 40Hz - I would just set your receiver to "no subwoofer" and it will redirect those low notes to those speakers. They won't be able to reproduce the very lowest ones (if the movie even includes them) but at least you won't miss out on all of them & those have less chance of bothering the neighbors, especially if those front speakers are not sitting on the floor.

But if you really want to use a sub, read on..........

FYI: I wrote the following before finding out Circuit City no longer sells this MTX sub, but it looks like other places still sell it.

I'm sure this will offend somebody but I've listened to the MTX SW2 at circuit city several times and for only $180 it was pretty good! To me it wasn't boomy and like most other MTX products which are tuned for bass "punch" rather than ultimate low-bass extension (Cerwin-Vega is the same), this sub didn't rattle my colon but what it did have was quite enjoyable and definitely added to the movies and music I brought to listen to it.

Also, on a side note it looked good too, a simple but nicely shaped black woodgrain box, that to me looked much better than several competing subs nearby that cost much more. And its overall construction seemed respectable and the amp's controls all moved with a solid feel. Heres' the model I listened to.

Other subs to check out: Sony's 10" and 12" subs, $99 and $250 respectively. The 10" would probably be fine for your situation i.e. decent bass, but not so much to really freak out the neighbors.

I haven't heard these latest versions but the previous ones always received very good reviews (here and elsewhere) for their price point. And if you pull the grill covers off, you'll find out part of the reason for that: those woofers they use look like something used in something much more expensive, with their thick heavy cones and large rubber surrounds. BTW about three years ago I was extremely close to buying Sony's dual 10" woofer/push-pull sub which I thought sounded great with music (a bit less so with movies), but my car's ailing engine had other plans.

Cerwin-Vega makes good-but-affordable subs too (I used to sell them back in the 90s), but their smallest one (dual 8" woofers) is priced at a minimum of around $235.

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

$L1ckr4y, I'm in the same boat as you. I've heard some bad things about the polk too, but I'd go with the dayton because it's not very musical. The dayton is very good for movies, this is due to it's boominess, so I'd go with the dayton.
I'm might be going with a sub from the speaker company or the velodyne vx-10 since i'll be using my sub for 60% music and 40% movies

Re: Help me decide on my subwoofer?

k