Looking for a sub upgrade or surrounds (1 Viewer)

[MichaelPR]

Hey new to the forum here and this is my first post. After lurking for awhile I've managed to put together what i feel is a nice little system for myself. I am looking to upgrade to a sub in the $300 range. My current system is the following:

TV: Sony Wega 27"
DVD Player: Toshiba SD-3900
Receiver: Yamaha RXV440
Fronts: Paradigm Titans
Center: Paradigm CC-170
Surrounds: Bose Direct Reflecting 201 IV
Sub: Sony SA-WM 20

Basically I'm looking to upgrade either the sub or the surrounds. I'm not to happy with the Bose. They don't sound right with my paradigms up front. I also feel I could be getting a lot more bass than the farting noise my sub makes. I have $300 to spend what would match my system well? Also any other recomendations you can make would be excellent. The room itself is not that big and it is in a basement. Thanks in advance! Should I go with a Paradigm sub?

 

[ChrisLazarko]

I think both would be a tremendous step up, more the subwoofer than the surrounds but I know exactly what you mean why you say that the surrounds both you, I used to have almost the exact same thing before I totally re-did my HT....

If you don't have alot of money to put towards it then try to find some used surrounds from Paradigm on EBay or something and find yourself a nice subwoofer.

As for going with a Paradigm subwoofer... it all depends on taste with subwoofers and price. Lower-priced subwoofers won't give you a good clarity and also won't go as low, while more expensive ones with bigger drivers and beefier amps will give you all you want... see what you can get for your money, every company makes an excellent sub and a mediocore subwoofer.

Enjoy.

 

[WayneO]

With $300 I would go with the surrounds, you should get a good pair for that price, and wait till you can spend about $500-$600, then you can look at an Hsu or SVS for a sub.

 

[MichaelPR]

I would like to say that I enjoy Bass just as much as the next guy but I really want something that wont overpower the rest of my system. I'm afraid a sub that is too beefie might give to much of a thud(like when you pull up next to a civic and the bass starts vibrating your skull). I want the sub to go low but beyond that I really don't know to much about them and how to match them to what I have. Thanks for the help so far!

 

[John Robert]

I had that same Sony sub - got it for $49 at Ultimate. Gave it to my son for his PS2 system - he thinks its great!

A sub will increase your enjoyment of both movies and music through your system. A well reviewed sub in that range is the JBL 120PII, online for $350. See the recent Subwoofer Shootout in HT magazine...

 

[Mitch_J]

I've heard good things about this companies Sub.
aperionaudio.com/

I'm looking to get some punch.

I just picked up some inexpensive Polk's for my surrounds and I'm looking to upgrade my sub. Anyone else have an opinion on these?

 

[MichaelPR]

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm still interested in any input anyone else might have. Thanks again!

 

[David Judah]

In the $300-$400 range you can certainly get a better sub than what you have now, but I would wait until you could spend a little more and get the next quality step up.

Don't worry about a better sub overpowering your system. You are still going to dial it in to your room and speakers. A higher quality sub will give you lower frequency extension which you'll want for DVDs, have a wider range of port linearity(if you go ported--less unpleasant port noise when you push it), and reproduce those lower tones with less distortion.

If you get those 201s placed right, they actually aren't bad speakers for rear duty, but if they aren't set-up to take advantage of their reflective capabilty, then there are certainly better speakers out there in the $200 + range that would give you more freedom in placement and still perform well.

In your situation, I think a decent sub upgrade will give you the greatest improvement. It's also the time of year when retailers are offering 0% financing, so you might be able to take advantage of that and stretch your sub budget a bit higher.

Good luck,

DJ

 

[DarrenAlan]

Adire Rava, $399 plus shipping, and Dayton Titanic kit from Parts Express, $350 including shipping, are among the best bang-for-the-buck deals out there.

I picked up a Rava about 2 months ago and am very very pleased with its performance for both music and movies.