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choosing a sub for my home theater? (1 Viewer)

Gulfcoast

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I am in the process of setting up my first dedicated home theater and am looking at upgrading my sub (currently a Cerwin Vega ARPH 02300). My room is 21 x 14. My other components are an Onkyo TX NR708 receiver, Artison Portrait LCR (older model that I just bought used), and Artison Portrait LRS (bought new old stock). I am still up in the air about adding two more speakers to make it 7.1 so I have not purchased anything for that channel. My walls and ceiling are drywall and I have porcelain tile over a concrete slab. I have three doors and one window in the room. I keep the doors closed during movies. I can try to sketch something if necessary to show the layout. Based on the above what size sub or subs should I be looking at? If there is some additional information needed please let me know and I can try to provide that as well.
 

Type A

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Welcome to the forum Jason :)

Standard advice is a $500 minimum budget is highly recommended. This gets you a good amp and solid output to 20 Hz and below, measured, not just claimed. Building one DIY will give you better performance but obviously much more complicated. Manufactured sub leaders would be SVS, Hsu and Outlaw. There are several other good manufactures but prices go up drastically. Dual subs or better is highly recommended, greater impact and more even room response, once you go duals youll never want to go back.

Placement and setup is very important, recommended reading:

http://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-setup/subwoofer-placement-the-place-for-bass-part-1
 

Gulfcoast

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Thanks for the replies. I really just want a sub or subs that will enhance my movie watching experience and compliment what I already have. Don't need to win any competitions or knock stuff off the walls just want something that sounds good. My current sub seems to get distorted and makes a flapping noise during some parts of movies. I am not set on a budget yet just looking at different options now. I guess if I had to put a number to it I would prefer to stay under 1k if possible. Thanks for the link. I will read it over.
 

schan1269

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SuperCube, seriously?(found your other thread).Will you DIY? TC sounds, Parts Express etc all have drivers. Parts Express sells kits.$1000 gives you tons of options. Would help if I could find specs on your current sub to figure out "how it is lacking".
 

Gulfcoast

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schan1269 said:
SuperCube, seriously?(found your other thread).Will you DIY? TC sounds, Parts Express etc all have drivers. Parts Express sells kits.$1000 gives you tons of options. Would help if I could find specs on your current sub to figure out "how it is lacking".
I am wondering if my question is provoking a Chevy vs. Ford type of discussion. I asked about them in my other post because I came across them on Crutchfield (where I have bought several audio products for my vehicles as well as my home) and they had good reviews from those who had purchased them there as well as those who reviewed them on amazon. I personally have never heard them and I was hoping someone with first hand experience with them would chime in, which I am not sure has happened yet. Your reaction was similar to that of the person on the other post. I am just trying to do some research so yes I was serious when I posted the question about them. I am not set on anything yet so I am just taking in the info. It has been my experience (on other forums) that forum members sometimes develope a brand loyalty either because a particular vendor is a site sponsor, member, etc. which causes them to form somewhat of a clic, that bashes any other brands. I hope that is not what is going on here as I don't want to unjustly rule anything out.I am not opposed to doing DIY.
 

Type A

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It has been my experience (on other forums) that forum members sometimes develope a brand loyalty either because a particular vendor is a site sponsor, member, etc. which causes them to form somewhat of a clic, that bashes any other brands. I hope that is not what is going on here as I don't want to unjustly rule anything out.I am not opposed to doing DIY.
There are only a handful of affordable manufactures that have unusually good performance. The kind of prices and performance goals I listed in my previous post is somewhat hard to come by unless you are willing to build one yourself (most people arent). I guess you could call this 'loyalty', or a 'clic', but for enthuiasts on a budget its more about the right choice in a sea filled with wrong choices.
 

Gulfcoast

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Thanks for all the input. How would dual Lava LSP12's fair in this mix? Or would I be better off with one SVS PB 2000?
 

Gulfcoast

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Scratch that. I think I'm just going to go DIY or kit. How are the Dayton Audio Reference series subs?
 

Gulfcoast

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schan1269 said:
I know the Dayton are quite good (performance and build) .Know nothing of CSS

They offer kits for enclosures as well and a discount if you get the sub and enclosure together. Is that the way to go or would I be better off getting just the sub(s) and making my own enclosure?
 

Gulfcoast

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