Subwoofer recomendation for home audio/stereo

[TechnoKid]

I have JBL Studio Series II S36 bookshelf speakers, powered now by a harman kardon HK3480 (see my previous thread about the nakamichi going out. Aside--this harman receiver is a nice receiever, plenty of depth, power and clarity in music. It at least matches the sound from the previous nakamichi reciever2 i had, but, perhaps the nakamichi wasn't sounding so great as it was failing).

Since these speakers lack low bass extension by its obvious 6" woofer size, i was looking to get a small subwoofer. Are there any in particular you'd reccomend for music? In otherwords the bass has to be fast and clean, so I don't think a 12" sub would be ideal. Perhaps a 10"? I know the names of SVS and Hsu, but are these not more for movies/home theater and not for music?

If the sub costs too much, i'm just going to get bigger speakers, possibly JBL S312, or the E100, or some floorstanders with a bigger woofer than what I have right now. I think going with bigger full range speakers might be a better idea overall than gettin a sub. I'm constantly on the lookout for the JBL S38II bookshelf speakers on ebay, basically a S36II with an 8" woofer in a ported encolure.


////revision: I listen to music a lot, so this sub wouldn't really be intended to be a "movie/HT" sub, just something to add some extension to the S36ii i have. I think i may get that 10" $125 dayton for now, while i reasearch building bigger speakers, or builind my own sub.

 

[MustISO]

Velodyne, DefTech, B&W would be nice.

BTW, I have the JBL studios. I use a JBL 12" sub.

 

[spidey07]

nothing beats a good sub.

don't worry about size at the size of the woofer doesn't matter. Its really the performance of the enclosure and woofer so a 15" woofer can sound great and so can a 8 or 10.

as far as value SVS and Hsu are superb. Both are great for music and movies and really can't be beat in that price range.

Also, bigger speakers (until you get into the 5000 per pair range) will never go as low and produce good clean bass as even a decent sub.

If you want good bass on the cheap the sony WM10 is great.

 

[Aztech]

This one is highly regarded and reasonably priced.

Dayton 10" at Parts Express

YoJello, I beat you to it!

 

[dr150]

ACI (audioc.com)
Hsu Research
SVS
VMPS
AV123.com

Google them. These will cover all your needs.

 

[TechnoKid]

THe sub i was acutally looking at was the PSB Subsonic 6i, but after reading a couple reviews, the bass is not as fast or tight as I'd like it for music. This sub however tested very well in Sound & Vision's subtest. Has the most uniform bass, and great low extension. 2004 of september was the issue on this article.

however, on this review: PSB SubSonic 6i (PDF in a webpage) they say the bas lags a bit, not that great for music.

edit: the review isn't availible anymore on sound&vision's webbie, but i do have the PDF of teh sub review

 

[dr150]

PSB is a good brand but doesn NOT COMPARE to the ones I listed above....

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Any DIY inclination? There are a lot of options there...

Mine I finished a couple days ago.

 

[EngenZerO]

SVS Subwoofers.

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/

my 25-31 pci is tuned to 22hz. drool during the intense bass scenes.

 

[Muadib]

How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Muadib
How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

Tweeter: 1.1 in. high-resolution silk dome, Neodymium magnet

Damn, my sub doesn't have a tweeter

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: Muadib
How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

Tweeter: 1.1 in. high-resolution silk dome, Neodymium magnet

Damn, my sub doesn't have a tweeter

I'm thinking that's a typo. The guy that showed it to me didn't mention it, and I didn't see it.

 

[Tiamat]

Budget <150$ = Dayton 10" 100 Watt subwoofer mentioned above.
Budget <500$ = SVS PB10 mentioned above.
Budget <1500$ = B&W PV1 (These are awesome)
Budget = nonissue: Krell Master Reference Subwoofer (Best subwoofer in the world imo)

 

[ribbon13]

The Krell MRS costs $15k for the record.

And Dayton Titanics are the best SQ subs evar IMHO. $350kit

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: Muadib
How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

Tweeter: 1.1 in. high-resolution silk dome, Neodymium magnet

Damn, my sub doesn't have a tweeter

I'm thinking that's a typo. The guy that showed it to me didn't mention it, and I didn't see it.

Have you, or the person that referred you to it, ever heard it?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
The Krell MRS costs $15k for the record.

And Dayton Titanics are the best SQ subs evar IMHO. $350kit

Distortion testing shows that the Titanic MKIII is inferior to the TC Audio TC2+ (and there are other subs in the 15" and 18" range that distort even less).

Peerless XLS > Dayton Titanic MK III

TC Audio TC2+ > Peerless XLS

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Budget <150$ = Dayton 10" 100 Watt subwoofer mentioned above.
Budget <500$ = SVS PB10 mentioned above.
Budget <1500$ = B&W PV1 (These are awesome)
Budget = nonissue: Krell Master Reference Subwoofer (Best subwoofer in the world imo)

If my budget was greater than $500 I would never buy a subwoofer.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: Muadib
How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

Tweeter: 1.1 in. high-resolution silk dome, Neodymium magnet

Damn, my sub doesn't have a tweeter

I should hope not.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: Muadib
How much are you willing to spend? The recomendations won't mean much if they're outside of your price range. Here's one that will blow you away. It's worth every penny of the 4k they want for it, but you can find it cheaper.

Tweeter: 1.1 in. high-resolution silk dome, Neodymium magnet

Damn, my sub doesn't have a tweeter

I'm thinking that's a typo. The guy that showed it to me didn't mention it, and I didn't see it.

Have you, or the person that referred you to it, ever heard it?

Yes, of course. If you have a dealer in your area, you should too.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Budget <150$ = Dayton 10" 100 Watt subwoofer mentioned above.
Budget <500$ = SVS PB10 mentioned above.
Budget <1500$ = B&W PV1 (These are awesome)
Budget = nonissue: Krell Master Reference Subwoofer (Best subwoofer in the world imo)

If my budget was greater than $500 I would never buy a subwoofer.

Why not?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Budget <150$ = Dayton 10" 100 Watt subwoofer mentioned above.
Budget <500$ = SVS PB10 mentioned above.
Budget <1500$ = B&W PV1 (These are awesome)
Budget = nonissue: Krell Master Reference Subwoofer (Best subwoofer in the world imo)

If my budget was greater than $500 I would never buy a subwoofer.

Why not?

I would build.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
I have JBL Studio Series II S36 bookshelf speakers, powered now by a harman kardon HK3480 (see my previous thread about the nakamichi going out. Aside--this harman receiver is a nice receiever, plenty of depth, power and clarity in music. It at least matches the sound from the previous nakamichi reciever2 i had, but, perhaps the nakamichi wasn't sounding so great as it was failing).

Since these speakers lack low bass extension by its obvious 6" woofer size, i was looking to get a small subwoofer. Are there any in particular you'd reccomend for music? In otherwords the bass has to be fast and clean, so I don't think a 12" sub would be ideal. Perhaps a 10"? I know the names of SVS and Hsu, but are these not more for movies/home theater and not for music?

If the sub costs too much, i'm just going to get bigger speakers, possibly JBL S312, or the E100, or some floorstanders with a bigger woofer than what I have right now. I think going with bigger full range speakers might be a better idea overall than gettin a sub. I'm constantly on the lookout for the JBL S38II bookshelf speakers on ebay, basically a S36II with an 8" woofer in a ported encolure.

HT: Get a sub
Music: Get full range speakers

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Howard
I would build.

:beer:

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
I have JBL Studio Series II S36 bookshelf speakers, powered now by a harman kardon HK3480 (see my previous thread about the nakamichi going out. Aside--this harman receiver is a nice receiever, plenty of depth, power and clarity in music. It at least matches the sound from the previous nakamichi reciever2 i had, but, perhaps the nakamichi wasn't sounding so great as it was failing).

Since these speakers lack low bass extension by its obvious 6" woofer size, i was looking to get a small subwoofer. Are there any in particular you'd reccomend for music? In otherwords the bass has to be fast and clean, so I don't think a 12" sub would be ideal. Perhaps a 10"? I know the names of SVS and Hsu, but are these not more for movies/home theater and not for music?

If the sub costs too much, i'm just going to get bigger speakers, possibly JBL S312, or the E100, or some floorstanders with a bigger woofer than what I have right now. I think going with bigger full range speakers might be a better idea overall than gettin a sub. I'm constantly on the lookout for the JBL S38II bookshelf speakers on ebay, basically a S36II with an 8" woofer in a ported encolure.

HT: Get a sub
Music: Get full range speakers

agreed.

but to get really good bass out of full range speakers you need lots of dough.

 

[TechnoKid]

Hmm...well it looks like i'm prob just going to get some bigger full range speakers, floorstanding instead of the bookshelf I have now. This is for the upstairs listening room. I suppose I could then use the bookshelfs in my room downstairs, paired with that dayton sub that $150 ($99 on sale sometimes).

Here is a Text (pdf) to that sub review from sound and vision which includes the PSB subsonic 6i i was orignally looking at. It has some pretty inpressive numbers. 93db @ 20Hz. But i dont think the 12" is ideal for stereo music lsitening.

This is not going to be used for movies just yet, though i certainly understand that there are subs that are good for both music and movies. I just want more depth and extenstion added to the S36ii bookshelfs i have.

My price range about now would be under $500. It looks like that dayton sub might be a good option at $150 to add some more bass to these JBL's i have. But for $500 i could score some used paradigms, or jbl studio series speakers. I'd prob go for dual 8" (the e90) or the dual 10" (E100) or the S312ii which is a single 12" woofer, or even the S310 which is a single 10" woofer.