Subs and such

go-go

questions, questions. trying to build a budget system, but still sound decent. which sub gives the best bass response, down or front firing? is a 12" that much better than a 10"? what do you all think of a polk sw10 to start out with? if i purchase lsi9's, will that sub complement them, and do i really need two mono amps? will lsi9's and sda's mix well in a sacd set-up? i listen to my music at low to moderate levels. thanks mucho in advance.

McLoki

go-go wrote:

questions, questions. trying to build a budget system, but still sound decent. which sub gives the best bass response, down or front firing? is a 12" that much better than a 10"? what do you all think of a polk sw10 to start out with? if i purchase lsi9's, will that sub complement them, and do i really need two mono amps? will lsi9's and sda's mix well in a sacd set-up? i listen to my music at low to moderate levels. thanks mucho in advance.

Welcome to club polk.

The direction a sub fires does not matter (for the most part) but a woofer has to be designed to allow for down firing.

12" or 10" - given the same linear travel, a 12" would be better. (for the most bass - not to say a 10" cannot sound better than a 12" but that is a different question) The size of the woofer is 1/2 the equasion. You also have to look at how much travel the woofer has. Multiply the woofer diameter by the distance of travel (called the x-max) and you have the amount of air the woofer can move. In a sub it is all about moving air.

While I do own a Polk sub, I never realized what a sub should actually do until I purchased my SVS. I do not know you budget, but I would save your pennies to get a better sub. (are you using it for movies or music?) What is your budget for a sub? SVS is nice, but they are very large and hard to come by for under $400 even used. Look at HSU and outlaw as they both make very good subs as well and they can often be had a little cheaper (used). If the $400 thing doesn't scare you, add SVS to your audition list.

You want some external amps for your LSi-9's. The mono-blocks are an inexpensive solution if you really want to purchase new. If you don't mind purchasing used - you can get a stereo amp much cheaper. (Under $200 wouldn' be to hard)

What SDA's do you have? I have heard that with the replacement tweeter the SDA's match pretty well with the LSi series. Depending on what SDA you have, you might be able to just set it to large and forgo the sub for awhile.

Have fun,

Michael