Subwoofer choice? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan_DS]

When i purchased speakers for my Home Theater on a budget i decided NOT to get a subwoofer and chose bigger floor standing speakers for my fronts. I knew eventually i would want a subwoofer but at the time i was content with the bass that my fronts provided. I now want to add a sub to my HT but i want to be sure that what i get will actually provide a noticable difference in my setup. Right now this is what i have:

JBL N38II fronts
JBL Ncenter center
JBL N26II surrounds
Onkyo TX-SR600 receiver

When it comes to subwoofers i am pretty much ignorant. Right now i use my HT mostly for DVDs and Xbox. What would be a good subwoofer choice under $500 that would compliment my setup well. I would be willing to spend a little more IF it would provide a significant performance increase.

Any help that could be provided would be very appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Johnny Ayala]

look into the Definitive Technology line. They have a very nice 200 watt model for around 450.00 Johnny.......

 

[Sebastian]

SVS!
25-31

or DIY!

 

[steve nn]

Hi Ryan,

What size room are you in? Does it have any openings?

 

[Ryan_DS]

Its approximatly 12' wide by 25' long with a 8' ceiling. one entrance at the front on the side.

 

[steve nn]

Great! Just one entrance and no openings in a 2400 cube-ft room.

It sounds like you would rather not spend over $500 and I can appreciate that. It does sound possibly if it is worth it, that you would consider bumping up your budget a little? I think if I were in your shoes, I would put the SVS 25-31 PCI at the top of my list. I don't think you would regret it and it would be a sub you would be proud of.

Other choices to consider under $500 would be DIY or picking up a used sub like the CHT-15" Velodyne or comparable. The extra money spent on a the PCI sure would be worth it in my mind though and will present a performance advantage that would equate to very few more dollars spend for allot more sub/performance.

 

[Randy_Mann]

I'd have to second Sebastian's and steve nn's comment about the 25-31pci. For the money you are looking to spend and the size of room you have, it would be a great match. Drop me a pm if you'd like to see some photos. I also have a 3 month old 25-31pci for sale as well. I'm having to go to a larger model as we are moving into a home with twice as much space.

 

[steve nn]

There you go Ryan! Open door! I would think a great cost to performance. His offering isn't even up F/S yet. Might be a strong consideration for you? Trust me, SVS is the way to go. Lets see, I have tried Velodyne, AV15 and a few others. I could go on if you like??

 

[Sebastian]

Steve,
The AV-15 should easily out do a 25-31pci, actually all the plus series too. Each there own, I guess

 

[MikeLi]

SVS baby... Owned many before but once you have one you will never go back!

 

[FernandoBragh]

I own SVS... believe me.. it's a very good choice...
For your budget, 25-31PC will fit

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

If ya can go DIY then you could pretty much trump any of the PCi or PC+ series w/ a AV12 or AV15 and a Rythmik 380w amp. You could build a AV12/Rythmik for around $350 with a basic finish and around $400 with the same amp and an AV15. You could even do an AV15 and Behringer 1500 (around 1000 watts bridged mono at 4ohm) for about $500 + enclosure ($550 w/ a basic MDF box and a couple of 4" flarred ports). The Behringer would give you PLENTY of headroom with an AV12 or AV15 (probably only want to run one side to an AV12) and also give you the ability to add another identical sub on down the road or even be able to power an even better sub down the road (Tumult or the like).

You could even get nearly the exact same performance as the PCi line building something around Stryke SAE1201 and Rythmik 380 that would total around $300 with a basic cabinet and 4" percision-flared port.

You can see that DIY is very tough to beat if you can do it, but if not the 25-31PCi would be a very good choice. The Adire Rava for $400 would also be a good choice and would give you the parts needed (Shiva driver, AV250 amp) for a future DIY project in a larger vented enclosure if you think DIY is something you may get into later but just not right now.

Hope this helps

 

[John S]

CHT-15 Velodyne

 

[Ralph B]

SVS 25-31PCI

 

[Citizen87645]

If your budget is around 500, then you really should consider the SVS.

 

[Joe Szott]

I agree, find an SVS 25-31 PCi used if $500 is the limit. It is by far the most bang for the buck you will get in that price range. I see them for sale now and again here and on Audiogon. Good luck...

 

[steve nn]

Hi Sebastian,

I hear what your saying but have you ever done a personal comparison of the AV15 versus a SVS PLUS in your own house?

The comparison I was able to do involved two different tuned subs. AV15 21 hz tune and a single SVS 25-31CS+. Admittedly from the numbers I came up with. The AV15 might have taken the 25-31+ out if the AV had the same like tune, (it would have been close) If I were ever going to contemplate a enclosure the size of what my AV15 was again? I would go with a PB2-PLUS instead. Definitely not the rout for everyone but the road I would rather take hands down.

I fully agree if I were to take it upon myself to build a sub> I might be able to do better from the stand-point of dollar per db but it definitely would come at a sacrifice to it's looks and lets not forget about the time factor. Some have it or are willing to make it a priority.
Although I'm no carpenter, it's still an appealing thought of trying to build a beginner sub/project some day just for the sake of it. But then you would have to put up with me over in the DIY section and you know you don't want that.

 

[Ryan_DS]

Wow, i am just blown away with all the responses i received. Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I wish i was a handy guy i would definitely attempt the DIY, but alas i know nothing about that sort of thing and my luck i would hose it up and be throwing money away. I will look into the SVS and try and demo the CHT-15 if i can find it at Circuit City.

Thanks again guys for all the great comments.

 

[steve nn]

I haven't seen the CHT-15 over at CC for quit some time Ryan. The 12" is as big as they go now at CC for some reason. I used to run a couple of the ct-150's (basically dual CHT-15's) and if you can find one at the right price it would be favorable. $375-400 ?

If you would like to know anything more on how it would compare to a SVS go ahead and send me a PM if you like?

 

[cabreau]

Well, from the responses, I'd say you'd be safe going with the Velodyne 15" or the SVS 25-31+. Then again, you could spend about $320 and get a PDR-10, which to me is plenty. I've got a PW-2200 right now that is a little larger than I really needed.