help on sub purchase

squish

Hi I am new to this and need some advice.

I have an onkyo 601 receiver (85 watts)

I decided to try build up a polk speaker setup and have so far boiught:

Center CSi40
Fronts RTi8
Rear (no name 6" in ceiling)

And I am down to a sub.

My room is about 16' x 20' and I would like to buy a Polk sub but are lacking funds.

I looked at the 202 and 303 and they in the right price range but think they not big enough. The 404/505 look much better, but they a little expensive still (Hope clearances start soon)

So any advice on sub in $200-$300 range that will look good (wife says they need to match) and sound good.

Thanks

Early B.

Save up a little more money and get a Hsu STF-2. I bought one NIB off ebay for $325 a couple of months ago. Mine fits inconspicuously under an end table, so the wife is pleased with that.

Check out www.hsuresearch.com.

lomic

Love my STF-2. People at Circuit City must wonder why I laugh at other subs when I pass by, especially when they're trying to pass off the HT-In-A-Box subs as actual bass producing devices.

For music I find it hard to imagine the STF-2 can be beat by any perceivable margin, it's just so tight and, well, musical. For HT I've only noticed it reach for and not totally hit response in one scene, don't remember what film it was. It can definitely shake you up when it's called for - nuke blast at the end of Independence Day comes to mind - I can still feel that one.

Kpt_Krunch

Not sure where you are squish - but lets assume you're in the US. HSU or SVS would be your best bet. The cylinder subs are the ugliest (as least by the WAF scale) but have the smallest footprint. The boxes look the nicest, and you coud always throw some kind of covering over it.

I know its more than double what you want to spend, but you have to understand that in an H/T setup the most important speaker you have is your sub.

I had some neighbors come over recently and were absolutely blown away by my modest setup. I have a Paradigm PW2200 in a room that is 17 x 27 x 8. They were constantly saying how it sounded better than at the movies - it wasn't my Rt800i's they were commenting on. They immediately went out and bought a sub.

I had tried a PSW404, but it doesn't even come close in performance to the PW2200.

Now, the cheapest cylinder from SVS has been said to be slightly better than the Paradigm PW2200, and is about 2/3rd the price (retail to retail).

And as already mentioned, the HSU subs are also outstanding for the price.

If I were you, I would save some money and go this route - you will not be disappointed.

Oh, btw - I'm in Canada and the Paradigm is a much better deal up here for us and compares favourable to the SVS value if you live in the US. This is why I have a 'digm and not an SVS sub. I love the Polk loud speakers, I just don't think their subs are in the same league - though I haven't heard their new LSi offering.

EricH

Ditto. Polk speakers are great, but their subs are lacking. Go with SVS PB1-ISD. www.svsubwoofers.com . $599 + shipping. It's worth the money.

kingtut

Early B, will Hsu cover the warranty if you buy the sub from Ebay?

squish

Thanks Early B, lomic, Kpt_Krunch,EricH for the valuble information.

I may have a problem with my wife. Already without the sub, she is complaining that the sound effects are too loud, so I turn it down, then she cannot hear the voices, so I turn it up. So the whole way through the movie I sit with the remote

Now are the subs you are refering to, these HUGE BOOM base speakers. She will not go for that So I am looking for something with fair base that does not need to shake the house because I would not ever watch anything at that volume.

So does it still make sence to spend that extra money on a sub that I am never going to exercise. And if I could get my hands on a 404 for under $300 or a 505 for round about $320 would you still recomend that I save up for one of these?

Thanks for all your help so far.

jefft1314

Heh, I'd suggest you find a new wife. ;-) But, since that's probably not a possibility I'd say a 404 or a 505 will probably be fine, but an hsu stf-2 is still your best bet. It's 400 from hsu plus shipping, and is considered to be a very tight or musical subwoofer while still doing the job for home theater. Oh, and dude, if she doesnt' like bass just turn the gain down on the subwoofer to the point where the explosions don't bother her but she can still hear voices. No need to fiddle with the volume constantly:-). Hope this is helpful!

kingtut

Also check out the Atlantic Technology T70PBM. It's a small and very musical 10" sealed sub that can reach down to 25hz (tested by Sound & Vision). Due to my large family room that opens up to a kitchen and the small size of the sub, it won't rattle any walls. This sub produce tight bass, not over-bearing, and the bass blends into the speakers really well that you can't tell that the bass is coming out of the sub. Its original price was $500. Onecall had it on clearance for $330 about 3 months ago. I am not sure if Onecall still has this sub on-sale.

scottvamp

I hate to say it but (WAF) i'd say you don't need a subwoofer. Buy some calm DVD's for the wife.;)

lomic

In regards to the problem of some sounds being too loud, then voices being to soft - have to checked to see if your AVR has some sort of Dynamic Range Control settings?

On newer models I believe it's usually called Night Time Listening mode... basically it narrows the dynamic range of the soundtrack so the lowest voices and the loudest sound effects are brought towards the middle of road, as it were. This sounds like exactly what you need, pardon the pun.

Kpt_Krunch

Squish - a PSW404 should do you just fine then. The HSU would probably be too much for your wife, but the 404 should (?) be acceptable.

If you can get a hold of an SPL from ratshack, you can calibrate your sub to your system at 70db's (most people, myself included run the sub a bit hotter - mine is at 78 decibels), that + your DRC if you have it should keep the sound affects under control and your thumb will be less tired from constantly using the volume on the remote.

goingganzo

diy tempest 150 driver and 100 for amp and it will be under 100 for suplys and ask ron p he has one and is in the pwc club pulling 110 db on the ring drop sene lotr fotr