Need sub recommendations

[cpals]

With all the Polk deals @ NewEgg recently I'm most likely getting two Monitor 70s for fronts and a CS2 for center. I have two tSc dipoles for rears, which most likely will get replaced eventually since I'm not even sure how well they're working out.

What sub would be good for this setup? My receiver is an Onkyo 605 and the room is a living/dining room @ 20' x 17'.

Choices I've looked at so far ($200 budget):
Polk PSW505
BIC F12

Update 1:
Also, I have a Dayton sub-120 now... Hopefully the ones I'm looking at above would be noticeably better??

Update 2:
I just read a post on another forum where a person recommended just replacing the driver in the Dayton SUB-120 box with this one.

I never thought about doing this, but would it work? On the Parts-Express website another guy bought a Dayton 240W amplifier, a Dayton Titanic MK III driver and 3lbs of acoustic stuffing.

Is it as easy as just unscrewing the driver and amp and screwing in a new one? Would this be a better choice so I still have a nice looking box but better components?

 

[cecco]

I bought the F12 when amazon had it for $183. I had been looking for a sub to go with my Paradigm monitor 9s and Denon 1910. I'm not much of a buff when it comes to audio equipment, but after playing around with placement for some time, it sounded good. Worked great for movies and even for music it performed with a good amount of tightness. It also comes down to price subs in the higher price ranges perform better and go lower than the 25Hz of the F12. If you're the handy type there is also the DIY route and might get you a better sub for the money.

 

[cpals]

Definitely not that handy so will be purchasing one.

 

[alkemyst]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1106661&highlight=sub+180

some good recommendations in there even though it's a thread on $80-100 subs, most are in the $150+ range.

My dad was set on Polk deals. I swayed him to spending about the same money on two Klipsch Choruses and an Academy center. He skipped surrounds for now and went with the Emotiva Ultra 12 when it was on sale for $359 shipped.

It's going to be pretty hard to find any sub capable of a realistic sub 25hz for under $500 and probably would take nearly twice that to be decent.

 

[CallMeJoe]

...My dad was set on Polk deals. I swayed him to spending about the same money on two Klipsch Choruses and an Academy center...

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


edit: Fortes also match up well with the Academy...

 

[alkemyst]

I am running Quartets with mine which is also technically the best combo.

My dad always liked my Klipsch setup.

 

[vi edit]

It's going to be pretty hard to find any sub capable of a realistic sub 25hz for under $500 and probably would take nearly twice that to be decent.

That's where DIY comes in real nice. It doesn't take rocket science to make a sub work. A $125 Dayton 12" RS, $100 200w amp, and $30 in MDF will make a decent little subwoofer. Go up to a $300 Tempest-X and a $200 500w amp in a slot loaded box and you are really talking about some house rumbling performance.

 

[cpals]

Also, forgot to mention I currently have a Dayton SUB-120... not sure how that matches up with the news ones I'm looking at, but hopefully they would be noticeably better?

 

[cpals]

That's where DIY comes in real nice. It doesn't take rocket science to make a sub work. A $125 Dayton 12" RS, $100 200w amp, and $30 in MDF will make a decent little subwoofer. Go up to a $300 Tempest-X and a $200 500w amp in a slot loaded box and you are really talking about some house rumbling performance.

I agree that it would probably sound a ton better, but I don't have the time or tools to do a project like this. Also, I like my equipment to have a finished look and most of my projects end up looking amateurish.

 

[velillen]

I agree that it would probably sound a ton better, but I don't have the time or tools to do a project like this. Also, I like my equipment to have a finished look and most of my projects end up looking amateurish.

Tool wise you dont need much. im int he process of doing my own sub. You can have the hardware store literally cut all the pieces for you. Then once you get home its just a matter of glueing pretty much. But it does take a bit of skill to have a finished look.

Tempest-X and a $200 500w amp in a slot loaded box

Hehe tempest-x with a ep4000 (1400watt per channel, so 1000watt to the tempest) for me!

 

[cpals]

I just read a post on another forum where a person recommended just replacing the driver in the Dayton SUB-120 box with this one.

I never thought about doing this, but would it work? On the Parts-Express website another guy bought a Dayton 240W amplifier, a Dayton Titanic MK III driver and 3lbs of acoustic stuffing.

Is it as easy as just unscrewing the driver and amp and screwing in a new one? Would this be a better choice so I still have a nice looking box but better components?

 

[s44]

It's going to be pretty hard to find any sub capable of a realistic sub 25hz for under $500 and probably would take nearly twice that to be decent.

Craigslist! Someone in NYC is offering his ED A2-300 for $250.

 

[calvie]

i think a sub is the most important speaker in any setup. It's what make a movie/music come alive. If i were you, i will just use the dayton until you can save up for a 'decent' sub. $500 can get you a hsu or svs, ed, epic etc.

 

[alkemyst]

I just read a post on another forum where a person recommended just replacing the driver in the Dayton SUB-120 box with this one.

I never thought about doing this, but would it work? On the Parts-Express website another guy bought a Dayton 240W amplifier, a Dayton Titanic MK III driver and 3lbs of acoustic stuffing.

Is it as easy as just unscrewing the driver and amp and screwing in a new one? Would this be a better choice so I still have a nice looking box but better components?

partsexpress is excellent if you call. Tell them what you'd like to do.

That may be the most bang for buck option...the internal volume is going to be the trick. If it's enough you will get down lower.

That A2-300 is a semi-good deal, they are $415 new. I'd expect at least half price.

I don't care for ported subs though.

Before I bought my Emotiva Ultra 12 I was thinking of the A5s-300 http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=681

It was a bit more $$$ but the wait time was what killed the deal for me. I was looking at a couple months to get one, the Emotiva arrived in 3 days.

 

[cpals]

Someone recommended a parts express c1500 for around $230. Would that be a nice bump up from where I am?

Wondering if that's better than my part upgrade idea.

Would the c1500 fill my room size pretty well?

 

[joetekubi]

Someone recommended a parts express c1500 for around $230. Would that be a nice bump up from where I am?

Wondering if that's better than my part upgrade idea.

Would the c1500 fill my room size pretty well?

The C1500 looks very good.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-770&FTR=c1500

Don't know if you would ever see a better bargain with something on sale, but you would need $400-500 to significantly outperform this. The kit is pretty non-technical, and can be assembled in an hour or so.

 

[vi edit]

The C1500 looks very good.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-770&FTR=c1500

Don't know if you would ever see a better bargain with something on sale, but you would need $400-500 to significantly outperform this. The kit is pretty non-technical, and can be assembled in an hour or so.

Wow. That's a new kit that I've never seen them offer before. You are basically buying the cabinet and amp and they are throwing the driver in for free. Lookes like an incredible value in the $220 range.

Should give you some room to upgrade the driver in the future should you feel the need.