help me choose a sub (1 Viewer)

[greg_lee]

hello,

i am just starting the HT scene. i currently have a sony wega 32fs13 tv, yamaha htr-5460 reciever, and yamaha a100xt floorstands.

i am looking for a subwoofer. i'm thinking about using car audio subs, like rockford, pioneer, etc and hooking it up to a stereo reciever. but i've read some of the posts here and people say using HT subs are much better.

i want a sub that slams, meaning its deep and loud, in that order. i would spend around 200 on the subs. i have carpet and my room is about 15x10.

just write a few good subs, their wattages, and prices

thanks

payce

 

[Dustin B]

Well first off, are you wanting raw drivers, or finished commercial products? Since you were considering car subs I assume you wouldn't be opposed to building your own enclosure. If that is true you have some great options. If it isn't true don't expect to get all that much.

Second, watts are pretty much meaningless considered alone when it comes to raw drivers. There are many other specs that are much more important. The main ones are Sd, Xmax, Fs, Vas, Qts and sensitivity. Any good driver that has those specs in order will automatically have a power rating to suit those specs. The Pmax rating of a driver is usually well above what is required to get that driver to hit Xmax. For instance a Tempest has a Pmax of 750watts, but it only takes 250watts in a vented EBS allignment to hit Xmax.

Car audio drivers aren't neccessarily bad for HT use. For instance the Mass 2012 is a very capable driver that has worked extremely well for some as a home sub. It's just a little pricy, as are most car drivers that have suitable specs for HT use. The inexpensive ones rely heavily on vehicle cabin gain to boost the last octave and a little bit. Home subs can't rely on this cabin gain (which can be as much as 20dB)

We need to know what you are planning on using for power. We also need to know if you have any size limitations. Depending on your answers to those questions the top recommendtions will either be a Dayton DVC 12", an Adire Shiva, or an Adire Tempest. The price range on these drivers is $120-$150. There are a few other options that will take you a little over $200 but can offer unbelievable output.

Finally if you are going to build the enclosure yourself, you should ask a mod to move this thread to the DIY/Advanced area where all discussion of this type takes place.

 

[Juan_R]

And if you are not going to build it yourself and only have $200.00 for an HT sub then I recommend going with the Sony SA-WM40. The Sony is the best sub in that price range.

 

[greg_lee]

i want a finished product, i don't want to build a custom box or anything in that nature (no time).

nothing sony please =) something that will slam hard. i prefer 1 or 2 subwoofers. i've heard people write about shivas and tempest, tell me more about them and how good they are compared to mainstream brands like sony, jbl, cerwin vega.

thanks

 

[Juan_R]

Greg,

I dont have a Sony sub but for the $200.00 price range nothing will beat the Sony. If you really want a great sub then save yourself some more money and get ans SVS sub. The 25-31 will do what you want.

 

[Dustin B]

There is nothing I would call a good sub at the $200 price point (the Sony is supposed to be not that bad though). The Shiva and Tempest are really well built and speced drivers that can perform extremely well in a properly designed enclosure. Nothing from the 3 brands you listed could touch them. JBL's top stuff could come close, but at many times the cost.

At $399 there is the Adire Rava (small sealed enclosure with a Shiva). At $599 there is the Adire Dharman (much larger ported enclosure with a Shiva). You could contact Kyle at Acoustic Visions and he will costum build you a Shiva or DVC 12" for around $400 (he can work within budgets, but $200 ain't gonna get you much). SVS can start at $550.

 

[Martin G]

You would be amazed at the sony SA-WM40 sub. Its the best you can do until you hit around the $400 mark. You can normally find it online for around $150. It seems liek a perfect match for you as it gets really deep and its powerful. Its a little boomy for music, but its perfect for HT.

 

[greg_lee]

what would you guys choose between? the sony or yamaha subwoofer (the subs they sell at best buy) since i get a discount there.

how much is the shiva, tempest, and mass. would i have to build my own enclosure for it?

 

[greg_lee]

which would you guys choose?

1. sony 8" saw-m20

2. sony 12" saw-m40

3. yamaha 8" yst-sw105

4. yamaha dual 8" yst-sw305

 

[Dustin B]

Out of those 4 I would take number 2.

Reread the second paragraph in my last reply. All of those options are finished subs. Problem is they start at twice your aloted budget.

 

[Art_C]

I think your best, maybe only, option at $200 is the SAW-M40. If you are not satisfy with the Sony I would suggest you either save up ($400-$500) for a better sub or look around eBay for a used sub. $200 is really just too low of a price point for the kind of performance that you are looking for.

 

[greg_lee]

what makes that sony model better than the other 3 i mentioned?

 

[matthew_rm]

None of the sub's listed are going to hit hard, and play deep. They are 1 note sub's with a boomy distorted sound.

---------

You said you wanted a car sub? Ok, good idea, but a finished product? Raw drivers are great, you can design your own box, in order to not only get the best performance, but you could also design i to perform YOUR way.

----

I would not recomend buying the sony SAWM40, or any of the other subs listed. If you did want to buy it, and put a diffrent driver in, it would sound bad.

A sub enclosure is designed to be used with a specific driver, and varies from ported to sealed to passive designs.

--you could aslo buy a car sub with a box allready with it. But I still recomend making your own.

 

[Jason Hammerly]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...127048-2270518 I bought one of these babies. Haven't hooked it up yet, but hear that for the price it's a solid performer for HT. You need to keep it dialed down to around 80 Hz or under, but with proper placement I've heard it sounds much better than it's price suggest. I pulled it out of the box, and it looks and feels very solid. I think there are coupons for $20 off at Amazon every once in a while. I got that coupon when I got mine and free shipping. Got it for 180 shipped. Not bad.

 

[ColinM]

Quit yelling!
:frowning: