Subwoofer Confusion (1 Viewer)

[chrisGA]

Folks, here is my dilemma. I have a Sony HT in a box system. I bought this 4 years ago without doing any research into HT systems. I'm in the process of building a dedicated HT room just for sat. tv and dvd's....I LOVE pounding bass..but the 100 watt 10" Sony sub I have is not cuttin it. Question #1: does room size play a part in subwoofer performance ( I heard that if the sub is to powerful it may sound worse than my current sub) and Question # 2: Any recommendations on a good quality sub that pounds out the bass, but won't give a pounding to my bank account?

 

[Bobby T]

Yes room size plays a role in how a sub sounds.

Start with looking at the offerings from SVS, HSU, Klipsch Reference, Velodyne, and Paradigm.

It would help if we knew your room size and budget.

 

[chrisGA]

My room size is 10' wide X 15' long X 7.5' high...I can afford to spend up to $600 on a sub.

 

[John_RO]

SVS or HSU will rock your world.

 

[chrisGA]

I've never heard of those brands....do you know if they are available in Canada ??

 

[Blaine_M]

Chris,

Do some scanning and reading in this forum, you'll find those are the two top brands mentioned. They are only available though the net though, and I know at least SVS will ship to Canada, I'd assume HSU would as well. I'd take a look at either the SVS PB10-ISD or the SVS 20-39Pci. I own the PB10 and have it in a larger room than you do....I'm very happy with it. I've heard the 20-39Pci in a huge basement, it was nice. The PB10 will be under your $600 shipped and the 20-39Pci will be slightly over your budget shipped.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

If a sub is too powerful for a room, they have a novel little feature called a gain (i.e. volume) control that let's you turn it down. Whoever told you that a sub that is too powerful can sound worse may not have heard of this feature.

That said, you do not want to pay for much more than you can use. The recommendations of SVS and Hsu are right on the money for best bang for the buck. From my personal dealings with SVS, I know they will never, ever oversell you. Heck, I've even seen them recommend other manufacturers if that is what you are dead set on (you don't want to be, trust me). Send them an e-mail, they are great to work with and will suggest the perfect sub for your room, listening habits and budget.

Link is on the home page of this forum.

 

[John Garcia]

I would normally say SVS too, but in Canada, I'd say you should probably look into HSU first as there are already Canadian distributors so you might save a bit. www.hsuresearch.com I've owned both SVS and HSU subs and both are excellent choices in your price range.

 

[chrisGA]

I just thought of another question...If I wanted to get a whole new system...would I be better off buying each component separately(getting the best performance out of each component ie. speakers, sub, amp) or going with a HT in a box system again. My mistake the first time was not doing any research into HT in a box systems and paying too much for a Sony system that is a lower end system.....Any suggestions???

Would a sub with a 1500 watt peak and 650 sustained watts be too much for my basement HT room. (15'long X 10' wide X 7.5' high) or should I be looking at something less powerfull ?

 

[Blaine_M]

Personally I would not get a HTIB......What would your budget be?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Not a good thing to judge a sub by wattage alone. Certain designs require much less power to do the job compared to other subs that require an enormous amount of power to achieve the same output. The old adage "performance, size, price - you get to pick two" always applies. A small sub with great performance requires a LOT of power, so the price goes up. A small sub at a low price (low power) will suffer in performance, etc., etc. A better criteria is to judge the dB output at a frequncy range +- 3dB. This will tell you:

a) How low will it go (lower frequency range) without losing output (the +- 3dB criteria makes sure the output does not drop off)

b) How much clean output it has (the dB output)

You want to get the lowest output at the highest dB level for your space. How loud you want it to go depends on your listening habits. You also want the flattest possible response. In other words, some subs compensate for a lack of low end "oomf" by boosting the frequencies between 40-50Hz. This is the "boom boom" range and makes the sub sound impressive (at first) but not accurate. This boost is shown by large humps in the sub's frequncy response graph. Check out SVS' website for more info on flat response.

 

[chrisGA]

Guys, this is great feedback...much more understandable information than I have got from the sales guys at various stores. Those guys only seems to be concerned with the sale...

 

[Jack Heckler]

Chris...just an opinion as there seem to be an exceptionally large number of SVS and HSU supporters in this forum which would tell me that they must be a pretty good value. However, my experience in speakers and subs has been mainly with Paradigm, PSB, and Velodyne. With both Paradigm and PSB manufactured in Canada, I would think that both would be readily available for you to audition. It's nice to get our opinions, but listening for yourself could save you hundreds of dollars. If you have put up with a Sony HTIB for 4 years, you may be pleasantly surprised how much better sound you can get without a second mortgage!

Jack