~$400 sub choices for a large room? (1 Viewer)

[Chad_R]

I've got a pretty open floor plan in my house with no dedicated HT room.

My living room is essentially one big room that spills over into the kitchen and has a formal dining area (part of the big room) in the back.

If I had to guess, it's probably about 3500 ft3 or so. 28' on longest side by 12' wide and on the shorter side it's about 15'.

In any case - I've got an older Sony 8" sub that doesn't put off much sound. I don't get to play my movies or music very loud most of the time, but when I do I want to be able to feel it.

Now to the bad part, I'd like to see what I can get for ~400 shipped. I've got JBL's all around except the sub for now. I had considered the JBL E250 but recently got turned on to the SVS PB10-ISD and I have found a Velodyne sub in my range as well. I can get the JBL for much less than my limit though.

Also, it's not horribly important that I have the ability to rattle the pictures off the wall, I just want to have a much more full sound and to be able to feel it a little more than my current setup.

Can anyone suggest something or comment on the two I've noted?

Thanks!

 

[Chris Quinn]

Of the two the SVS would be the better choice. You might consider the Hsu STF-2 also.

 

[Chad_R]

Okay - so between the SVS and Hsu for such a large room?

 

[Ilkka R]

I would prefer SVS PB10-ISD. That room is not too large for that beast.

 

[Chris Quinn]

I've got a 17' x 18' room with ceiling sloped from 9' to 18' open to another 200sq feet og kitchen/breakfast nook. My STF-2 vibrates the couch and rattles the windows. It does not give you a gut punch though.

 

[Gus Smith]

I have a similar room. 20x15 with a cathedral ceiling that starts at 9' and is somewhere I'm guessing around 16' at the peak. One 20' side is very open enclosed mostly by a knee wall that's proably 30" high.

Anyway....

My PB10-ISD arrived yesterday, I have it paired with Klipsch RF,RS,RC,3s and an HK525.

This is my first sub, please don't ask me for a review because I'm most certainly not qualified to give one.

I began calibrating it last night (that's fun!) and I do have to work on the placement(the room is tricky) but it is plenty enough bass for me. I wasn't looking for a massive sub with tons of bass that would scare the neighbors, just something to add the low level frequencies I've been missing.

The PB10 is bigger than I was expecting to be (I like) and has no problems filling my room with deep bass that I instantly noticed I had been missing. I popped in Das Boot as my first test and skipped right to a few scenes recommended in the manual that came with the sub and....WOW!

I do think, though, that I might just be able to scare the neighbors if I really wanted too.

-Gus

 

[John Garcia]

I have a VTF-2 and I have been happy with it in a ~19x20 room with high vaulted ceilings. I am replacing it with a PB-10 though... Looking at the numbers, the PB-10 will outdo the STF-2 and VTF-2.

The JBL and Velodyne will do what you are looking for though, at a lower price, however I doubt either will be as good as the PB-10.

 

[RichardH]

If you had a decent spare receiver/amp laying around, you could also consider the unpowered SVS 25-31CS.

Then of course there's always used and DIY. That's where you get into the real bang for your buck.

Good luck!

 

[Chad_R]

Very nice responses - thanks for your input.

Guess it's time to start saving for the PB-10.

 

[Max F]

If you don't mind a kit, you could build this:

http://www.creativesound.ca/details....l=EZTUBESHIVAP

Add a 250 watt amp on sale and that would be around $400 total.

 

[David Bikeman]

"I have a VTF-2 and I have been happy with it in a ~19x20 room with high vaulted ceilings. I am replacing it with a PB-10 though... Looking at the numbers, the PB-10 will outdo the STF-2 and VTF-2."

Hi John,
I very interested in the musical difference between the VTF-2 and the PB10. I'm sure the PB is going to go lower with authority but how does it handle the music compared to the Hsu? Could you post your thoughts once you've had time to listen to the PB10?

Thanks,
David

 

[Jeremy B.]

On another note if you do have a CompUSA near you the HSU STF-2 is being clearanced out for $199 right now, I just picked one up a couple nights ago.

 

[John Garcia]

I will definitely be posting my opinion of the PB-10 and how I feel it stacks up to the VTF-2. I don't want it to be a "shootout", but I will try to at least keep the VTF-2 around long enough to do a little back to back comparison.