Subwoofer suggestions

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GJSNeptune

[H]F Junkie
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Mar 31, 2004
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I'm running a set of Audioengine A5 bookshelf speakers. They're amazing, but I need some deep, punchy bass. Previously I was eying a Dayton 8" or 10" sub, but people say they distort at higher volumes, so I'd like to research a little more. The natural choice would be Audioengine's AS8 sub, but the $360 is well beyond my budget. I've already spent $314 on the speakers.

I'd like to get the best sub for music for $150-200.
 
I can't fault the Gale Storm for music 100hz down to 30Hz its brilliant anything higher i let my more than capable Cerwin Vega's take care of.
Though wouldn't use the Gale for movies up loud but its a great addition to a music system to take up the bass and its pretty cheap these days.
 
I put a Dayton Quattro 10" in my ported enclosure and am very happy with it. It's occasionally for music, but mostly HT, and has never distorted on me. I've had it turned up pretty loud, but not ear splitting loud.
 
I have an Acculine Asub with A5s and they match brilliantly. It's 239 before shipping, so it may push your budget a bit, but it is a much better value than Audioengine's own 8" AS8.
 
This will be 99% for music. I don't plan on using my computer to watch movies, and if I ever do, I'll tolerate any lacking performance.
 
I bought mine for 75% music where the Asub excels, for movies in a small office it performs pretty well too.
 
I'm concerned about the sub overpowering the speakers if I can't control the level of bass. I love bass, but it has to be balanced with the speakers.

The Dayton 10" with built-in level and low-level crossover sounds great, and it's only $147 shipped, but people complain of distortion at higher volumes and dying after about a year.
 
I have the M-Audio Studiophile BX10s complementing my Behringer MS40 monitors, and it is absolutely incredible. It sounds PERFECT after I spent a few minutes adjusting the levels and x-over. It had adjustable volume, gain, crossover, etc...

It will bring the house down if you want it to without a single hint of resonance or distortion, but is nice and musical at lower levels. It's big, too....it's like a piece of furniture in my office.

It is expensive new, but I bought mine from Craigslist for only $150. I don't know if you've tried Craigslist, but if you do, make sure to check in the "Musical Instruments" section, as most monitors and studio speakers are listed in there, and NOT in the electronics or computer sections. I had been trolling for weeks looking for speakers in the electronics section, and the first day I looked in Musical Instruments, I found a brand new set of monitors as well as the sub.


Audio03.JPG
 
OMG, I had no idea that the audio equipment would be in that subforum. And thus my wallet gets empty yet again...
 
GJSNeptune said:
This will be 99% for music. Also for music production.
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Then my advice would be to stick with something with an 8" driver. As far as monitoring goes, you don't need fantastic extension (which you'd get with a 10" or 12" driver), you just need to produce content above 35-40 Hz as faithfully as possible.
 
Two Dayton 8" or one 12" would be in your budget. Or build your own, they're fairly simple to build.
 
phide said:
Then my advice would be to stick with something with an 8" driver. As far as monitoring goes, you don't need fantastic extension (which you'd get with a 10" or 12" driver), you just need to produce content above 35-40 Hz as faithfully as possible.
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there are plenty of musical subs nowadays bigger than 8" so no need to tolerate weak performance, if and when you plan on using it for other applications (which I do with my AE5s + Asub).
10" Acculine Asub
12" HSU VTF3 mk3
15" Epik Valor, av123 MFW-15

the list goes on..
 
juventuscadillac said:
if you want cheap, there is always the energy and tSc 8" sub, you can get it for less then $100.
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Thats what i just went with so i will let you know how it sounds when it comes in thursday.And then there is the 10" version of the sub from tsc for 150.Good thing about thespeakercompany.com is that they are not only owned by D&M(aka Denon, Marants Boston Acoustics)but they offer a 30 day trial period which they say they will pay return shipping.So i would say its a pretty safe choice.Atleast i personally hope so_Oh and shipping is free on all items they sell.
 
I went with Fostex and got the PM0.5 mkii sub for 169 shipped and so far I love it. It's not as boomy as the Z5500 sub I had before--it's very light on its feet, has ample power, and blends in really well. You'd need to get XLR cabling for it though, but it's so worth with.
 
Choosing a sub is becoming impossible. My last sub was a Klipsch ProMedia, so I suppose anything over $100 will be an upgrade.
 
Brahmzy said:
I love my Velodyne 10"er. Nice and tight.
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Which Velodyne? I have read their Digital series is very good but when I compared their cheaper series to Energy I preferred Energy as a musical sub. It was punchier.
 
I'd like to futureproof my sub because I'm currently living in a 940sqft apartment with my girlfriend, and our office is pretty small. I don't plan on living in an apartment forever, so I'd be fine with getting a larger sub that might be muddy in a small room.

Seems the Asub is top-notch. Haven't seen anything bad about it yet. Not sure I wanna spend $250 though.

Let's suppose I got the Asub. Would it be better to have the sub feed my A5s or have the A5s feed the sub?
 
I have my sub feeding my monitors and it sounds wonderful. As far as having a sub that's "muddy" in a small room, you can always adjust the gain and such to blend in until you upgrade to a larger space.
 
It probably doesn't matter, but the A5s have sub-out RCAs. Probably be the easiest way to go.
 
I'd check out avsforum for sub opinions. Nothing wrong with the BX10 or Asub, but the only opinions you'll get on [H] are the few of us that actually have audiophile grade speakers w/ sub and not some el cheapo logitech.

The one thing to watch out for is overspending, since on avsforum they'll be quick to put you into a 12" or 15" very quickly, even if unnecessary for your setup.

Check out this list for some recommendations/ratings
http://tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11
 
jterp7 said:
I'd check out avsforum for sub opinions. Nothing wrong with the BX10 or Asub, but the only opinions you'll get on [H] are the few of us that actually have audiophile grade speakers w/ sub and not some el cheapo logitech.

The one thing to watch out for is overspending, since on avsforum they'll be quick to put you into a 12" or 15" very quickly, even if unnecessary for your setup.

Check out this list for some recommendations/ratings
http://tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11
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Excellent advice!!

The BX10 is incredible, btw....I think I said that.
 
Just got the tsc 8" sub and very nice.I have it set to about halfway gain/volume and it fills the room with bass.Cant wait to hear how it sounds cranked up higher.Now my room is only 12x11 i think so take that into affect.So I imagine the ten inch would shake the walls at half gain would love to hear that:p.So the new subs sound very attractive from the specs alone.I say jump on it and return it if you dont like it.
 
Yeah, I've seen a lot of people recommend the BIC. Substantially over my budget though. Looks like a mini-fridge. :D

I'm under the impression that it suits movies more than music though.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Yeah, I've seen a lot of people recommend the BIC. Substantially over my budget though. Looks like a mini-fridge. :D

I'm under the impression that it suits movies more than music though.
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The two authorized Bic dealers on ebay accept "Best Offers" of $190 or $200 + shipping. Edit: looks like they're not accepting Best offers any more :confused:

IMHO 90% of the whole musical or movie sub comparison is BS. What you want is lower distortion, and the Bic is a proven good performer in the $250 range. If i were forced to pick whether the Bic is a "movie" or "musical" sub....I'd say both, it reaches fairly low for HT effects, but it doesn't reach that low (25hz or so) The Bic will also be ready for when you move into a bigger apartment. This opinion comes from a biased Bic H100 owner :p.
 
The tSc T-250 is now available, so if I'm going to spend $250, it's either the T-250 or Asub.

tSc has a 30-day trial with free return shipping, whereas the Asub is $239 before shipping. It makes me worry that the T-250 is a lower quality sub with shipping costs built-in. I like the look of the T-250 more than the Asub. Unfortunately the T-250 is too new to for in-depth reviews and such.
 
Well its always a gamble going with a new company.But from what i read at i believe it was avs forums people have said it wasnt hard to return for refund.They just needed all the original packaging material.So It might be worth it to try it out and see how you like it.Plus i will say it again TheSpeakerCompany makes some very good quality speakers and subs.My p5 rears just came in and they sound wonderfull.Alot of force behind these as surrounds and they are paired with some beta 20s for fronts and they almost makes me want to buy the p6's and compare:D.So they know what they're doing.
 
The finish on TheSpeakerCompany speakers are really low quality though. Black vinyl that is often not glued down correctly.

I have both an ASW-8 and a pair of bookshelves from TSC. All feature sharp corners and sharp edges. Just from some simple handling to position the speakers out of the box, I can feel the Black Vinyl peeling on either a corner or sharp edge. I'll probably have to buy some rubber cement and reseal any loose edges.

Not something I particularly look forward to on a new product. You get what you pay for though I guess.
 
Well for the price payed the finish isn't horrible at least mine weren't.I will admit the edges are sharper then they should be and they feel faker then more expensive speakers.But it almost sounds like you got a bad batch or something cause they feel very solid in my opinion.I have the asw 8 and the p5-pr and they are put together nice with the materials they use.Also the connectors are very solid, much better than my receiver and good enough in comparison to the betas.So i can see where they had to cut some corners but the speakers still impress me with their sound quality.
 
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