Looking For A Good Cheap Subwoofer! (1 Viewer)

[Nick Graham]

Well, the NSP1 II set is here, my VR-6060 is here, and soon enough another pair of N24 IIs will be here to replace my woefully underpowered rear center channel, and everything sounds wonderful . However, it has come to my attention that my sub just isn't on the level of quality with the rest of my equipment now. All I need is a decent 50-100W sub to finish the upgrade process. I am swiftly running out of cash, but I've seen low-end subs from KLH, Jensen, etc that fit my power requirements, but do they fit my quality needs? My younger brother (he;s 16, so he's on a pretty strict budget) has the current 50W KLH Bass Bite II sub, and I've always been impressed with the it's quality, but I was kinda leaning towards something with a little more power and punch. I have like a little over $100 to spend on this (yes, I'm approaching broke-land), any suggestions?

 

[Eric_E]

I think you meant to post this question in the Speakers and Subwoofers forum.

 

[Nick Graham]

D'OH! Mods, please move, didn't even realize I had done it.

 

[chris_hunigan]

Check out the Sony SAWM40 12" sub. A very nice sub with plenty low end. However, at loud volumes it seems to run out of gas, but for apartments, this sub should pound for $125...

http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/sea...:,did:,pf:,pt:

Another alternative is to build an in expensive sub...Take something like...

JBL GT120 ($49) http://www.jbl.com/car/product.asp?p...er=GTO&cat=SUB
Apex AF35 35 watt amp ($30) http://www.apexjr.com/AF35.htm
custom sub box built($25-$30) without finish for now...

This should be a perfect sub at moderate levels. Should get you decent performance, but with a better plate amp, you can possibly get more performance from the sub...

These are just suggestions...
Cree

 

[Kevin Co]

Velodyne has a new entry level sub,the VX-10. There's a small thread somewhere on this forum. From what I've read it sounds pretty decent. It's a 10" driver with a 100W amp and Soundcity.com has it for $169. I don't know how you feel about the price, but I haven't seen many decent subs for less money (especially since the DLS-10 is no longer).

 

[Frank A]

Nick, might check out local pawn shops, if any, in your area. That's where I got my KLH sub and three surround speakers for under $100 combined. Just another choice to check out. (my sub was in great shape, appearance wise, with no noticeable scratches, etc.). It is a 120 watt model with probably an 8 inch woofer. Sounds fine to me and when I mention getting a bigger, more expensive unit, the wife says this one is good enough and shoots me down on that front.
p.s., the local pawn shops (2) here are very reputable. They employ college students and aren't the way often depicted in movies, etc. at all.
Good Luck in your search.

 

[Richard Burzynski]

I just installed the Velo VX10 in my Uncle's first HT system. IMO, it's very nice for the $. His son, my cousin, asks me during a demo of a JP2 scene, "I fell the bass, but I can't hear it like I did on my old sub. Is the sub OK?" His old sub was a cheapo RatShack model that farted quite loudly.

In a big room too - about 15' x 25' x 8'. Reference levels no, good bass for the $, YES.

Rich B.

 

[Jeffrey R]

Richard, did you by any chance demo the VX-10 with music? I am considering this sub for my NYC apartment, so earth-shattering bass with movies is not really possible anyway, so I'd like a sub that has nice bass extension for movies, but is also pretty tight and fast for music, at around this pricetag. I am also considering the Sony SA-WM40, but I feel like the Velodyne might be better because of the Velodyne name. Thanks in advance.

 

[Richard Burzynski]

Jeff:

Sorry we didn't do any critical music listening, but I will offer this:

* the driver is small(ish) = good for "tight & fast" usually
* it is a ported design = depends who you talk to, many say sealed is more "musical", others disagree.

We payed $170 + local sales tax and for the money I wouldn't hesitate getting this for an apt. If I ever decide (convince my wife) to get a sub for our living room system (HT is in basement), this would be it in a heartbeat.

Also, one thing that helped its performance and everyone's opinion of it, is its location - we put it in the rear corner of the room, right behind the L-shaped sofa.

Rich B.

 

[kevin tate]

I purchased the Atlantic Technology T70PBM from SoundCity for $179 + shipping & insurance. The sub is a 125W RMS 10" sealed design, not ported. The bass is tight and smooth, not boomy. It has pretty good bass for home theater; however, it does not have the "sock-it-in-your-gut" kind of punch. For music, the sub blends the bass very well w/the front Polk R50 speakers. The bass sounds like it is coming from the front speakers. The bass fills my fairly large 24'x 13' & 9'ceiling room really well. Another plus, the sub was assembled in the USA.

The downside: there is no crossover by-pass switch, as stated in the manual at Atlantic Technology's website; the driver's surround is a foam material, not rubber; the Atlantic Technology name tag on the grill is glued on, not fastened by plastic studs as most companies (I'm nit-picking).

Overall, it's a very good price, and I'm happy w/this sub.

 

[perrin]

I also bought the Velodyne VX-10 for my home theater about two weeks ago, and it gives an amazing sound. I was playing Jurassic Park I, and the scene with the first dinosaur going on it's hindlegs to reach the top of a tree to get the leaves. This subwoofer really shook my apartment, which I never felt before. This is my first sub, so I am still impressed with this extra bass. For a couple of years, I only had a 5.0 speaker system that I was using from a friend. Now that I bought this sub and the Fluance AV-HTB 5 piece speaker package, I am really hearing a major difference. My friend had an old pair of JVC tower speakers, with a center and the rears from two different speaker companies.

perrin

 

[kevin tate]

Perrin, how is the Velo VX10 w/music?

 

[perrin]

This sub is very good with music. I was playing some jazz, and I can hear the subtle bass coming from it. I like this sub very much because it is not too boomy. Moreover, this sub has a very good price as I paid $180 for it.

perrin

 

[kevin tate]

Thanks for the info Perrin. Last night, I played the same dinosaur scene (Jurassic Park I) that you reported in your early post; the Atlantic Technology T70PBM sub that I recently purchased did not produce the same shaking affect that your Velo produced, granted that my room is fairly large (23' x 14', w/9' ceiling and 6' hallway). Or is it because of the Atlantic Tech's sealed design (not ported)? The bass was fairly loud and tight, but not strong enough to shake the room.

 

[mike_frontier]

hey also look at BIC they seem to not be expensive in the Subwoofer dept.

 

[ChuckSolo]

I just bought a KLH bottom firing 50 watt sub for $50.00 and it sounds quite good. I upgraded my previous Sony Prologic system to 5.1 a couple of weeks ago and already had 2 Sony floor standing tower speakers and two surround speakers. I bought a 50 buck center speaker from Radio Shack and the aforementioned sub. It has pretty good sound output for such a low buck sub, although it isn't as driving as the 100 watt AudioSource sub I have on my main system.

 

[Frank Carter]

I think the Sony SA-WM40 that was recommended is your best bet. Since they've been replaced with a newer model they can be found cheap. Most users are surprised by the level of bass they get with such an inexpensive subwoofer. I'd recommend adding some polyfill in the cabinet($2 at Walmart). You can read more about the sub and what polyfill does below(or by searching here).

http://www.audioreview.com/Subwoofer...7_2741crx.aspx

http://www.nonsensicalgibberish.com/sony.html

 

[Adam_Reiter]

Nick, if you already have a sub, I seriously would consider waiting and saving. IMO, the words "quality sub" and "$100" to NOT go together.

You should put that money somewhere and slowly add to it. When you hit $300-$400 ish or so, you should try and look for a used SVS sub, or used HSU sub. This would be a far better idea, IMO.

However, I do remember awhile back people talking about a 10" sub, that was supposed to be very impressive for its $200 or so price tag. I cannot remember what name it was. Hopefully someone will chime in with the name of it.

I think Seth_L or Chu Gai should know what sub it was.


Or, if you cant wait, the best bang for your buck would be to build one. But, obviously that is an option for a very low number of people.

 

[Frank Carter]

Adam,
I think what you're talking about is the DLS-10 that was sold by Parts Express. It sold for $100 and was free of the massive boom, boom syndrome that most low priced subs are known for. Though output wasn't too much(normal for it's price range), it was exceptionally clean bass for a $100 sub. Parts Express discontinued them due to some amp problems.

Nick,
I think Adam's suggestion to save that $100 and buy something like a used Hsu or SVS is the best thing to do. With that jump in price range you go from extreme low end to bass that competes with multi $k retail subs.

 

[Adam_Reiter]

Very well put Frank. My thoughts exactly.

Also, DLS-10 was the sub I was talking about. Thanx.