which sub should i consider?

felipe

Hello all I'm thinking of upgrading /getting a new sub. I currently have the psw110. Its a good sub, but it lacks extension (mid 30s or so), and I would like something with a bit more volume. My budget is about 250. Space wise, I can fit a sub with a 12" driver. As of right now, I'm trying to decide between the psw505 and the BIC F12. Both have great reviews, and I've read quite a few threads on the comparison of these two...some say one thing while others say another thing. Both are within my 250 price range. Any thoughts or opinions? Or if there are other options I should consider? Any thoughts or opinions? Thanks:-)

rpf65

Of the 2 speakers you are looking at, I would probably go with the Polk. I would personally recommend you save a little more, and look at an HSU sub over either of the 2 you mentioned. I think the VTF2 would be worth the wait.

felipe

Thanks for your response. Ive never heard of Hsu so I looked it up. The sub you mentioned seemed like a great sub, just way out of my budget...the stf-1 or stf-2 would be closer to my budget. I do like the Polk tho...had a ton of good reviews :-)

B Run

I had a PSW505 and it does pretty good for movies, wouldn't consider it very musical though. My buddy bought the Bic F12 and honestly they sounded about the same. If I swapped em out you'd prob never notice the difference. However if you do step up to HSU, SVS, or another ID sub company (check used on craigslist etc.) you're in a whole different league. Just from my personal experience.

felipe

Interesting. The reviews I read on both have mixed claims( sounded similar, look sounded better, bic f12 sounded better, etc). Guess it boils down to personal preference. How would the polk and bic compare to my psw110? What improvements would I notice? I'm probably going to pass on the hsu due to budget restrictions :-(.

snake1

Just bought a 505 myself and I am very pleased with it! I have it positioned in a corner and it goes all throughout the room. You won't be disappointed plus newegg runs $199 deals with free shipping fairly regularly, which is what I took advantage of.

felipe

Congrats on the 505 purchase. I was leaning towards the 505, but I see that the f12 is on amazon for 182 :-). Free shipping too! Just noticed that between the many reviews of these two, several reviews mention port chuffing with the 505, whereas none with the f12. As of rite now, the f12 seems to be the slightly better choice IMO. Anyone know of professional reviews on the 505 and f12?

aboroth00

If I were you, i'd wait until I could afford something better. Those are sort of "starter" subs and sure you'll live with them for a while and go wow they put out volume, you'll eventually realize they're sort of boomy and you'll want more. In your price range, if you could find an older SVS PB10, that's what I would do. They could be found for ~300 ish. They retailed for ~400 couple years ago. The 10" driver is bullet proof and the size of the sub is probably bigger than the 12" subs you mentioned.

B Run

Keep in mind how great Polk's customer service is, I never had an issue with port chuffing on the 505. It will be a nice upgrade from the psw110.

felipe

aboroth00 wrote: »

If I were you, i'd wait until I could afford something better. Those are sort of "starter" subs and sure you'll live with them for a while and go wow they put out volume, you'll eventually realize they're sort of boomy and you'll want more. In your price range, if you could find an older SVS PB10, that's what I would do. They could be found for ~300 ish. They retailed for ~400 couple years ago. The 10" driver is bullet proof and the size of the sub is probably bigger than the 12" subs you mentioned.

I've owned a few home subs prior to my psw110 ( infinity,jbl, mtx). I know that placement is a key to get the sound rite out of a sub. My psw110 sounds good, but I know that if I want that low deep LFE bass, I'll need a sub that can effectively do that...hence the 505 and f12. Boominess can be helped by proper placement and tuning...so I've found out by trial and error ;-).

aboroth00

felipe wrote: »

I've owned a few home subs prior to my psw110 ( infinity,jbl, mtx). I know that placement is a key to get the sound rite out of a sub. My psw110 sounds good, but I know that if I want that low deep LFE bass, I'll need a sub that can effectively do that...hence the 505 and f12. Boominess can be helped by proper placement and tuning...so I've found out by trial and error ;-).

I've owned Infinity subs, heard Polk subs, and so on. To be honest, in that range, they're all pretty mediocre. They'll do the job with quite a bit of distortion. You're absolutely right that placement and tuning helps a tremendous deal but eventually a subwoofer will be limited by its performance. The 505 or f12 won't be linear below 30hz and you can obviously see why, its cabinet is too small. If you compare something like the SVS PB10 and sit it next the subs you mention, it's gigantic. Read some reviews of the PB10 and look at the measurements.

felipe

I looked up the SVS PB10 and saw some photos..it is big compared to others. Read some of the reviews too...as my grandmother would say..muy bueno:). Too bad they dont make that model anymore . On another matter, what about velo subs??

aboroth00

I think it's called the PB1000 now and it retails for ~500. If you keep an eye out on the used market, it's a good deal. The upper end Velo's are good >500$. However, Velo's like other brands balance a small form factor with performance. It's unattractive to have a huge honking subwoofer sit in the living room more or less a showroom floor. With ID subs, their clientele is more along the lines of audio enthusiasts who don't mind the big honking subs so they will have larger cabinets more capable of outputting low bass. This applies to most mainstream subs as well.

felipe

I don't think I would want too big of a subwoofer...I want SOME floorspace lol. I actually got to listen to a bic f12 in action today ( co-worker of mine has one in their setup)...woow!! Not only will it shake the house down, but (at least to my ears) it is accurate,clear and relatively deep sounding..with movies AND music. Bass notes are distinct and separate. They obviously have their system and sub tuned properly :-). Honestly, it sounded better than any sub's I've owned...strongly considering purchasing one now...182 on amazon :-).

felipe

Well.....I got the bic f12. I can say that this was the least expensive sub I've purchased. But, so far this is the best sub I've owned! Its recommended to set it's volume at 4or 5, but I got it at 3 and its already rattling the walls!! Its not even broken in yet. Test movie was Pacific Rim...damn! Very pleased with this purchase...especially for the cost:-). I haven't reran audyssey yet..might not have to lol. Haven't tried music yet, but I reckon it'll be similar to my co workers in performance. Anyone think I should rerun audyssey??

sgtmick63

Anybody heard anything more about Polk introducing a lsiM subwoofer?

felipe

sgtmick63 wrote: »

Anybody heard anything more about Polk introducing a lsiM subwoofer?

I haven't heard anything bout that. However, judging from my recent experience, BIC F12 is a very good sub. Once tuned properly, it provides good, clean,powerful bass that you can feel and hear.