Sub upgrade options

[SithSolo1]

Years ago I bought a b-stock Outlaw Audio lfm-1 and it worked wonderfully. It sill does. However lately I've felt it to be lacking in output. When I first bought it the room it occupied was less than 2500 cubic Ft. The current room it sits in is slightly under 7000 cubic Ft. Right now I'm just trying to get a feel of what the options are for a room this large and a ballpark figure on how much I'll have to spend(the "cheaper" the better).

Rest of the system if it matters:
Pioneer VSX-1014TX
Klipsch RF-3s, CS-3, SS1s

By "cheaper" I don't mean like $500 bucks but would it be possible at $1000?

 

[Sephire]

HSU VTF-15H

$879

Great reviews from AVS.

 

[vi edit]

Epik Empire:
http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/empire.html

I'd also look around SVS and see if any PB Plus's go on b-stock sale.

 

[Anubis]

lol those are the 2 i was gonna suggest, both great options

 

[CombatChuk]

PB12-Plus would be a stretch for the budget but so worth it... I'm lovin' my 3 week old PB13-Ultra

 

[joetekubi]

I was going to suggest 2 of these:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-742

But that dual 15" epik looks awesome. The only caveat is that all the high end people say 2 or 4 subwoofers will help provide even coverage and even out the room modes. You've got a very big room. there is the distinct possibility that in one position the bass is great, and 10 feet away it's not so good because of the room modes.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I'm probably going with an Epik sub when I get around to ordering the final components for my theater. They seem like a really good deal based on user reviews I've seen and their build quality and WAF look top notch.

 

[Booty]

I was going to suggest 2 of these:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-742

But that dual 15" epik looks awesome. The only caveat is that all the high end people say 2 or 4 subwoofers will help provide even coverage and even out the room modes. You've got a very big room. there is the distinct possibility that in one position the bass is great, and 10 feet away it's not so good because of the room modes.

I've been thinking about this too - I have a VERY modest sub (Dayton 12") in our living room, which is open to the dining room and kitchen. No doubt I need to upgrade my sub, but if I'm going to spend $1000 do I buy one really nice sub, 2 @ $500, 4 @ $250... ugh...

 

[vi edit]

I've been thinking about this too - I have a VERY modest sub (Dayton 12") in our living room, which is open to the dining room and kitchen. No doubt I need to upgrade my sub, but if I'm going to spend $1000 do I buy one really nice sub, 2 @ $500, 4 @ $250... ugh...

Excellent question. I think that as your room size goes up, you are better off with more numbers of subwoofers rather than size/performance of individual ones.

In a large room, you will likely see louder, more even response with 4 modest, $250 subs w/ 12" drivers than you will with one, enormous one for $1,000.

The difficulty comes in when you have to account for aesthetics and footprint space. There's a tradeoff in a lot of people simply don't want that many boxes laying on the floor.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Also be careful with using multiple subs. If you are running multiples, you need to make sure you can adjust the phase on each sub separately to compensate for distances from listening location(s). You also need to do a lot of pre-work on the placement so you do not create worse room modes than what you have with a single sub location.

 

[Booty]

Excellent question. I think that as your room size goes up, you are better off with more numbers of subwoofers rather than size/performance of individual ones.

In a large room, you will likely see louder, more even response with 4 modest, $250 subs w/ 12" drivers than you will with one, enormous one for $1,000.

The difficulty comes in when you have to account for aesthetics and footprint space. There's a tradeoff in a lot of people simply don't want that many boxes laying on the floor.

Yeah - WAF is definitely a consideration, but fortunately my better half is a big music/movie fan so she's usually pretty cool about this sort of thing. I've looked into disguising subs as things like end tables, footstools/ottomans, hiding them in cabinets/shelving, etc. if necessary, but right now she doesn't seem to mind the ugly black box sitting there, so what's 3 more, right?

Also be careful with using multiple subs. If you are running multiples, you need to make sure you can adjust the phase on each sub separately to compensate for distances from listening location(s). You also need to do a lot of pre-work on the placement so you do not create worse room modes than what you have with a single sub location.

Part of the reason I haven't upgraded yet (single or multiple). Right now the sub's behind the couch. There was nothing scientific about the placement. We moved in, I put it there, it sounded alright (my expectations were low all things considered), so that's where it's been the last year. I could probably move it around and get a little better sound, but I know in the long run I still need to upgrade so I haven't bothered taking the time to find the sweet spot for it.

 

[queequeg99]

The difficulty comes in when you have to account for aesthetics and footprint space.

I think it's even more difficult than that. While you can get some halfway decent subs in the $250 range, few of them will perform really well at lower ranges and simply adding more of them won't cure this problem. The additional lower end subs might add more power in the frequencies in which they excel and help even out response throughout the room. But if they can't reach the low end very well, you're just SOL. So depending on what the OP is looking for, this sort of solution might not work. It's a real dilemma given the huge size of the OP's room.

If your $1,000 budget is very firm and you don't require excellent performance at very low frequencies, the 4Xcheaper solution might be better. But if your budget is more flexible and you are a true bass head, you might want to try getting a single higher end sub from a company like Hsu, SVS, or Epik. If you like the sound but are having troubles evening out response or just need more power in the frequencies where those subs work, you could get a second. Most of these companies offer deals with you get 2 subs at the same time so you might want to talk with them ahead of time about getting the same discount if you order a second sub with 30 days or so of ordering your first.