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New member Username: Funkman65Greenville, NC US Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-12 | First of all, a wave, salute, and nod to everyone. I finally decided to create an account after lurking around for years. Anyway, I've recently been in the upgrading mood for my home theatre, and my subwoofer is in dire need of retirement/sent to electronics heaven/used for cannon fodder. I am currently running a 5.1 setup with an Onkyo TX-NR609 receiver, a pair of Polk Monitor 70's for mains, Polk CSi3 center, Polk Monitor 40's for surrounds, and last...and regrettably least, my sub, a KLH ASW10-125C. Obviously, my sub doesn't really match (sonically, aesthetically, or even categorically) the rest of my setup. I upgraded from an older JVC RX-7030VBK and some vintage Polk Monitor 10A's. I've been toying with different options, and had hoped to get some opinions (even though we all know what they're like ). I'd like to stay in the $200-300 range if possible, and preferably on the lower end of that bracket as finances are tight, but my desire for beautiful sound is limitless. I've been looking at a few options: a Polk Audio PSW505, BIC America F-12, and BIC's Acoustech H-100 for the lower end of my price range (comfort zone), and then I saw the HSU STF-'1 and STF-2, which, based on the specs and reviews can potentially make me happy in places that electronics shouldn't be able to. I have a feeling that my girlfriend's head would explode if I spent anything past $300 (as an absolute max, and that may be iffy as well. Long story worthy of a campfire and marshmallows). So, in short, of the makes/models I mentioned, based on my price range, thoughts, suggestions, possibly other models that would be comparable for possibly less money? Oh, and I have a mid-sized room to work with (I'll get exact measurements in a bit). |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 17206 Registered: May-04 | . Either the Hsu or; http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-760 |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2725 Registered: Oct-07 | Spend what you want and unless you are somehow financially bound, don't tell her.....I hesitate to outright recommend a lie. The HSU at the lower end of the food chain is FINE. Go to the HSU site and look at the room size vs sub chart. You'll notice that each sub is rated for room size in Cubic Feet. I use a VTF2-3 in a room a bit larger than recommended with no problems. Even on a movie with lots of effects. I can literally rattle the walls........ If you live in Southern California you can save shipping and go pick it up in person. |
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New member Username: Funkman65Greenville, NC US Post Number: 2 Registered: Apr-12 | Thanks for the responses guys... Leo, it's not necessarily a matter of being "bound" per se, but a matter of dealing with the "Where did this come from!?" line of questioning. Honestly, I had never heard of HSU until recently, mainly because I've been somewhat out of the game when it comes to home theatre. I got a bug up my a** lately to get back into it like I once was (yes, I was the one with a multimeter and SPL meter for everything). The BIC F-12 is mighty tempting at a price of $188, and I know it would be a considerable upgrade from my current piece of bass management disguised as a giant turd. I had originally thought of the Polk just to match my other speakers. But, from plenty of reviews I've read online (and a few in-store demos that weren't exactly dripping with the "WOW factor"), I'm apprehensive about Polk as a sub choice. I want something that won't break my wallet, will last, AND sound as fantastic as possible. |
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New member Username: Funkman65Greenville, NC US Post Number: 3 Registered: Apr-12 | So an update for anyone interested... I ordered a BIC America V-1220 12" down-fire 200W RMS, 430W peak. The frequency response advertised is 23-180Hz. We'll see. Nearly every review I've found for it claims that it is the best bang for the buck. After breaking it in, I'll review it for those interested. It was really all I could comfortably afford at the moment, sadly. After I get some decent, steady fundage to play with, I'll put on my big boy pants and join the SVS/HSU club. Again, thanks for the responses guys! |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, South Carolina America Post Number: 14598 Registered: Dec-03 | In your price range, I'd look for a used Velodyne or Sunfire sub on Craigslist or in the used forums on audio sites like Audiogon. I'm using a sunfire true sub mk II right now that I picked up at a thrift store, and re-capped. It's amazing. |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Rattle your ... Missouri Post Number: 3050 Registered: Dec-06 | Haha May 11. Assuming you do read this, the main advice I can offer is room treatment. I have 8000 cubic feet to fill, so I ended up building a 30 cubic foot enclosure with an 18" driver in it, powered with 90v RMS (2000w). It sounded terrible at first, so I spent a lot of time troubleshooting. It turns out I had to deaden a bunch of metal panels in the room that were vibrating sympathetically (causing a suckout in the 35-45hz range and ringing in the octave above), place the subwoofer to minimize destructive interference from a wall that caused a 27hz suckout, and reinforce a door that caused a 22hz suckout. A 12-band parametric EQ took care of the resulting curve. It's funny how such a small part of the pass-band needs so much attention. Even with all of that taken care of, I still need more power in the 30+ range, a future project... Rambling complete. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1815 Registered: Oct-10 | 8000 cubic feet Andre? To make the math easy, if your ceilings are 8 feet high, that means you have 1000 square feet of floor space. Is this in a single room or you entire living space? |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Rattle your ... Missouri Post Number: 3053 Registered: Dec-06 | The floor plan is extremely open. The three largest rooms (Kitchen/Dining, Main Living, Family Area) and are a big open area without any air-restrictive room separation (semi-vaulted ceilings avg height 10ft). |
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New member Username: Funkman65Greenville, NC US Post Number: 4 Registered: Apr-12 | Andre and all, 8000 sq. ft. is an absolutely HUGE area to work with! My entire apartment is 1200 sq. ft., so I can't imagine working with an open area that is so large. Since I am in an apartment, there is only so much that can be done as far as room treatments go. So, I basically worked with what I had. Also, for anyone that is interested, I am pretty happy with the BIC America V-1220, especially for the price. I will say that it seems to perform better for movies and television rather than music listening though. On a side note, I picked up a Panasonic TC-P60S30 60" plasma for $900. It was a pleasant upgrade from my 42" Vizio! |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1818 Registered: Oct-10 | Actually Josh, Andre has 8000 CUBIC feet, not 8000 square feet. You do know the difference right? |
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New member Username: Funkman65Greenville, NC US Post Number: 5 Registered: Apr-12 | Yes, I know the difference. I misread and misinterpreted, thus mistyped. No one said every brain cell had to be a winner... |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Rattle your ... Missouri Post Number: 3054 Registered: Dec-06 | It won't matter next week anyway since I'm moving my system from 8000 to 1300 cubic feet. I'm sure I'll have some fun modal issues to fix with that... I remember when I put a small 10" cube subwoofer in a small room to test it and it had great slam/viscerality, but then sounded weak when I put it in the big 8000cuft space (already use 4 floorstanders with 12" drivers, really doesn't make sense to put a small 10" unit against that as a 'subwoofer'). I blew it in a couple of weeks even though it was supposed to be able to withstand anything. Forum veterans reading this might have seen this story before. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1820 Registered: Oct-10 | Okay Andre, you're completely crazy! We get it! |