Monoprice Subwoofer?

zingo

Obviously these subwoofers are BUDGET. $84 for one, powered, 12" subwoofer is unheard of, even for a white van speaker. But, knowing that monoprice makes a better product for the money than anyone else, I'm wondering if one of these subs would be decent. Has anyone heard/used one? Obviously you get what you pay for, but monoprice has thrown a bit of a wrench in that phrase, and so I have to wonder about these subs? What's the worst case scenario: I'm out $80 is it turns into a DIY project?

Speaker Type: 12" High Performance Powered Subwoofer
Amplifier Power Output: 150 Watts RMS
Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 250 Hz
Lowpass Crossover: Adjustable from 50 Hz - 150 Hz
Dimensions (H x W x D) 17" x 17.25" x 17.5"

Glowrdr

Sure looks like a nice sub. Not staggering specifications, but the price is unheard of outside of an 8" pioneer or something. I just noticed that MP sells Apple accessories as well. I personally think it's great that they are/have become a type of "one stop shop" without being torn to shreds for quality.

I've bought enough stuff from them to know that this probably is worth the gamble (for someone in the market for a cheap sub)

nhhiep

from what I read, it's the most bang for buck. great for general usage. it's not like you can find anything near that price with that spec. material and labor alone cost even more than the price they ask for.

zingo

It would be interesting to see how the box is made, but even if you down the road installed a new woofer and/or plate amp, you might be able to make a nicely custom sub.

Syndil

Glowrdr wrote: »

I've bought enough stuff from them to know that this probably is worth the gamble (for someone in the market for a cheap sub)

I agree with this. They haven't given me a reason to shy away from them yet. I bought a pair of their in-wall speakers and they are every bit as good as Polks for a tenth of the price. The only thing that might give me pause is the construction of the cabinet. If it's veneered that's fine, but if it's that contact paper stuff that eventually peels off (like on my Polk PSW-300)... I would not be happy with that.

rooftop59

Syndil wrote: »

I bought a pair of their in-wall speakers and they are every bit as good as Polks for a tenth of the price. The only thing that might give me pause is the construction of the cabinet.

I also am a big fan of monoprice for what they are, but I have to disagree with this. I have a 6.5 in pair of polk monitor series in-ceiling speakers in my great room, and a pair of 8 in in-ceiling monoprice for surrounds, and although the monoprice have more bass which helps for surrounds (that's why I put them there) the clarity is seriously lacking. Was it more than I expected for 60 bucks or whatever I paid? Yes. Do they sound as good as the polks? No. You get more than you pay for with MP, but don't expect miracles. For the price I would pay 20 bucks more and get the 10 in dayton if tha twas my budget: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-633

PC

Syndil

rooftop59 wrote: »

...although the monoprice have more bass which helps for surrounds (that's why I put them there) the clarity is seriously lacking.

Did you try adjusting the crossover via the switch on the rear of the speaker?

TECHNOKID

zingo wrote: »

Obviously these subwoofers are BUDGET. $84 for one, powered, 12" subwoofer is unheard of, even for a white van speaker. But, knowing that monoprice makes a better product for the money than anyone else, I'm wondering if one of these subs would be decent. Has anyone heard/used one? Obviously you get what you pay for, but monoprice has thrown a bit of a wrench in that phrase, and so I have to wonder about these subs? What's the worst case scenario: I'm out $80 is it turns into a DIY project?

Speaker Type: 12" High Performance Powered Subwoofer
Amplifier Power Output: 150 Watts RMS
Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 250 Hz
Lowpass Crossover: Adjustable from 50 Hz - 150 Hz
Dimensions (H x W x D) 17" x 17.25" x 17.5"

I agree with your comment about getting what you pay for however, we also have to realize that with MP volume purchase of that company along with eliminating the middle man will IMHO put the value of this purchase more in the 150$ - 200$ if it were bought at a chain B&M store. with this in mind along with MP's return policy you can't go wrong with this deal as IMO, if you do not like it you could sell at the same price if not slightly more.

Conradicles

Bump, anybody heard one of these yet? Seems like you could get 2 of them and have decent music/HT bass.
Curved cabinet and 35 LBS? Really?

ArthurM

I read from a reviewer on monoprice that the box finish is contact paper. And I would love to see a frq response curve, but I am sure these subs on an individual basis are nothing special...but when you buy 10 of them, **** gets real interesting!!!!

Face

No phase switch, really?

Syndil

It's not hard to reverse the phase manually, and it's not an adjustment you need to make more than once.

Scratch that. Harder to do on an integrated amp. Good morning!

unc2701

$80 for a 150 watt plate amp isn't bad, plus you get a driver and a crap box for free!

The thing that jumps out at me is the lack of heat sinks- specs might be a little exaggerated or there's going to be a spot on the back of that amp that'll burn your fingers.

Face

unc2701 wrote: »

$80 for a 150 watt plate amp isn't bad, plus you get a driver and a crap box for free!

The thing that jumps out at me is the lack of heat sinks- specs might be a little exaggerated or there's going to be a spot on the back of that amp that'll burn your fingers.

None of the plate amps I've owned have had heat sinks.

VR3

Probably does not even need one...

unc2701

Face wrote: »

None of the plate amps I've owned have had heat sinks.

I hear ya', I've seen and owed plenty without... and one's I've had w/o heat sinks have been lower power, digital, or would have a spot on them that would get hot enough to cause some discomfort.

halo71

hummm, $116 shipped to me. I'd feel better about buying if they had some pics of the insides of the cabinet. Either way this little sub might be a good buy for my daughters room.

mgalbr22

note that if you want to use a sub out line level input, you need to use a y splitter and run 2 sub cables to the woofer. not the greatest setup unless you don't care about the added cost and eyesore.
tell us how it works!

EndersShadow

mgalbr22 wrote: »

note that if you want to use a sub out line level input, you need to use a y splitter and run 2 sub cables to the woofer.

Depends. I believe that if you are using an external amp for your setup, you could actually connect the L/R pre-outs to the line in on the sub, set the crossover and then use the line-outs to your amp and then to your L/R speakers. That would be a pretty decent setup depending on what your speakers are.

Syndil

Also depends on the internal wiring of the sub amp. If the sub's circuitry simply sums the two inputs together before sending the signal to the amplifier section, then there is no need to have a cable attached to both of them. If it's not a dual voice-coil driver--and at that price point I'm pretty sure it's not--I would assume the inputs would have to be summed.