My Polks go lower than most subs!

rhubarbe

My 5.1 HT setup has one LCi265 as a center (yes, they're all in-wall) and four LCi65's as fronts and rears.

These Polks go down to 27Hz (from memory).

I'm currently looking to buy a small(ish) sub, but things like M&K VX-10's which are very pricey indeed in the UK where I live, are listed as going down to 35Hz.

Now I may not be the smartest when it comes to AV, but surely, if all my speakers go down further than my sub can, I'd be wasting my money, wouldn't I?

AVR is a NAD T752 which gets 92WRMS to all channels, the LCi65 takes up to 100WRMS and the LCi265i up to 200WRMS, so it's not like my speakers can't take the load.

What do you reckon?

danger boy

well look at it this way.. sub's are designed to do one thing. and one thing only. provide LFE, bass.. your other speakers are not. having a sub in your system does indeed help. unless you have large fronts that can handle lows i'd add a sub. it's up to you of course.

I went for 8 months without a sub myself.. i could tell I was missing something.. i now have a sub in my system.

rhubarbe

Thanks. I'm quite happy to have a sub. I was just testing the logic. Now, of course, I have to get down and choose one.

PolkThug

Get a frequency sweep of your room now and see where the bass starts rolling off at. Then you can make the right decision about which sub to get.

rhubarbe

What do I need to do that?

And what do we think of M&K subs?

Early B.

rhubarbe wrote:

My 5.1 HT setup has one LCi265 as a center (yes, they're all in-wall) and four LCi65's as fronts and rears.

These Polks go down to 27Hz (from memory).

Actually, your center channel goes down to 43 Hz and the Lci65's only go down to 45 Hz.

I'd suggest getting a sub that goes flat into the low 20's. Here on the Polk forum we always recommend Hsu or SVS subs. What's your room size and budget?

steveinaz

It depends on what level (dB) your mains are at producing the given frequency. Subs are made to reproduce the lower frequencies closer to 0dB reference. You'd have to compare freq curves to see what dB level each respective speaker is reproducing the 35Hz tone to see if it's a waste of money.

Personally, I like subs for movies, but not for music. My current towers are down 3db @ 31Hz, and down 10dB @ 26Hz; so 28Hz is probably the "nominal level" they will reproduce effectively. More than enough for 99% of music, IMO.

rhubarbe

Early B. wrote:

Actually, your center channel goes down to 43 Hz and the Lci65's only go down to 45 Hz.

I'd suggest getting a sub that goes flat into the low 20's. Here on the Polk forum we always recommend Hsu or SVS subs. What's your room size and budget?

Eh? Do they?

Well SVS subs are just to big for the average UK lounge, unless you want to sit on one instead of a couch. I don't know much about Mr Hsu's subs except that they are well respected.

My room is 20' x 12'6" x 8'.

Budget is $1000 max. But bear in mind that an SVS sub on the SVS web site at $429 mysteriously becomes £480 when it arrives in the UK. A well-known rip-off and why I always buy stuff that has no power supply from the US if I can. The UK is such a high price market that the European car manufacturers actually refer to it as "Treasure Island".

shack

If you're in the UK I would look for a REL.

rhubarbe

Yes, I started out looking at RELs. Then I found that all the brand conscious guys who just buy on brand all go for REL. So, it started me thinking: do you just buy it because everybody else does, or do you hunt around and see if there isn't a better product around that the buy the brand kiddies neglect because they haven't heard of.

The UK is very image and brand conscious and people (some of them) will spend thousands on brand A because it is more "cool" or "in vogue" than brand B, even thoug in quality terms there is little to choose between the two.

They all want to drive the shiniest, newest BMW's and listen to hi-fi through B&W speakers. They seem to think Polk has something to do with spots. Even the license plate of your car tells everybody how old it is to the nearest six months.

shack

Regardless of why everyone else buys them....REL makes damn good subs....period!

reeltrouble1

I like my Polk subs I and dont make decisions based on someone else's validation. Does not mean however that its not smart to ask around.

Sounds like you are experiencing what is known here as the Y-generation, unlike the X's who are much more about self, the Y's are more about fitting in, not only having a Ipod but having the one that is in "vogue" as you say.

Good Luck and I would get a sub for 5.1.

RT1