Looking for advice on a <$300 subwoofer

favelle

Make your own. 100%. Especially at that price point.

jhracer3

Sorry about the delay in posting, was hoping to post with my solution, but the purchase ended up delayed. I had a minor car accident 5 days after purchasing a new (used) Z4M, which blew most of my toy budget for a while.

I haven't found any HSU or SVS (or even Polk) sub offerings on my local Craigslists, so I'm about to purchase either one of the refurb 550wi's from the polk direct ebay store, OR a Micropro2000 I'm currently watching on ebay. The micropro needs a calibration mic and remote, but I suspect its going to go for next to nothing so that will probably be the sub I buy.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I realize spending $300 on a sub to complement LSi15s isn't going to give me a huge return on my money, but it seems like the next step in terms of quality is around the $500-$600 level, which I'm just not ready to drop. Oh and yes, this will be used primarily for HT purposes, I'll most likely stick with just the LSi15s for serious listening.

teekay0007

$335 (free shipping) will get you a NEW 550wi on the 'bay right now.

I recently got one from Newegg for $300 shipped with a Polk UltraFit 3000 ($100 at Best Buy!) In-Ear Canal Sport Headphones included! I've seen them there for as little as $280 shipped (w/o the UF 3000) and that's WITH warranty, of course. Also, you can click on "Price Alert" at the 'egg and they'll send you an email when your price is beat.

LOVE the 550wi!! :cool:

EndersShadow

If it were me, I wouldn't go ebay as if it doesnt work your not gonna get Polk to honor the warranty (or at least they dont have too) on whatever part fails and you might be screwed if you have to pay shipping back, etc. If I were to be buying it would be from either a forum member or Polks ebay site.

After a couple issues with gear I dont mess with unauthorized dealers or people unless I know them, or I can demo the product myself. Too many ways it can go wrong or end up costing you a bunch to get something working that you thought was a deal

teekay0007

EndersShadow wrote: »

If it were me, I wouldn't go ebay as if it doesnt work your not gonna get Polk to honor the warranty (or at least they dont have too) on whatever part fails and you might be screwed if you have to pay shipping back, etc. If I were to be buying it would be from either a forum member or Polks ebay site.

After a couple issues with gear I dont mess with unauthorized dealers or people unless I know them, or I can demo the product myself. Too many ways it can go wrong or end up costing you a bunch to get something working that you thought was a deal

That's exactly why I suggested Newegg.....NEW, Warranty (5 years) and priced as low as $280 for the DSWPRO550wi. The ones from Polk's Ebay store are REFURB's, have only a 2-year warranty on them and are $300! Sounds like a No-Brainer to me!

EndersShadow

teekay0007 wrote: »

That's exactly why I suggested Newegg.....NEW, Warranty (5 years) and priced as low as $280 for the DSWPRO550wi. The ones from Polk's Ebay store are REFURB's, have only a 2-year warranty on them and are $300! Sounds like a No-Brainer to me!

My comment was not directed at you as I am in total agreement with you. I was simply commenting overall on buying off ebay. Newegg is my friend as is Polks ebay site.

teekay0007

EndersShadow wrote: »

My comment was not directed at you as I am in total agreement with you. I was simply commenting overall on buying off ebay. Newegg is my friend as is Polks ebay site.

No sweat, Dan, we're all on the same team here. And it's all FREE advice/input for the OP.

As always, we all just have to be as informed as possible whenever making purchases, especially pricey ones. As far as Ebay - or unauthorized resellers in general - goes, we just have to use our heads. For starters, you really have to get in there and READ their feedback and get a feel for who they really are. If they've sold 500 units of fake dog poo for $1 apiece with 100% positive FB and delighted buyers and all of a sudden they're selling a mid-to-high-end subwoofer, their FB rating doesn't mean much. However, if they've been selling good-to-great audio gear for a long time with 50 outstanding transaction feedbacks, then you can enter into a transaction with them on a subwoofer with MUCH greater confidence. To me, the good deal from this type of seller is the one with a good price even after a third party warranty - like Squaretrade, etc. - is added on, which can be done even on gear bought from unauthorized sellers.

To the OP, I'm just trying to make the point that I'd go for the DSWPRO 550wi, waiting for the greatly reduced price from Newegg (or anyone else who he/she can find one from). I prefer that sub in ALL aspects, except size, over both the DSW MicroPRO2000 (which he/she is also considering) and the DSW MicroPRO3000, both of which I've owned and replaced with the 550wi without regret - not to mention the serious $$ I've put back in my pocket! :exclaim: :cool:

jbooker82

And the 12" 660WI usually sells for $329-349 on the weekend sale from New Egg.