Hello all.

I'm currently using an old Audiosource SW-15 15" 200watt subwoofer I picked up ages ago (college actually). It's been modded with some additional sound deadening and poly fill as was recommended back when the unit was a popular value solution. Due to the recent Denon / BA model year clearances at CC, I've recently revamped most of my audio gear. Now I still have this SW-15 and am wondering if I can do a nice upgrade.

I'm now running:

- Denon AVR-987
- Fronts Boston VR2's
- Center Boston VRC
- Surrounds Boston CRC7's, CR67's, or Bravo II's. I'm using the CRC7's right now because they fit the best in my environment. I could use the CR67's, but would prefer not to use the Bravo II's...

Here is the "template" information about my situation:

1. Budget: I'm thinking about $300-400 max. Less is great. It doesn't seem like much compared to my other equipment but all my other equipment was bought at huge discounts. Suffice to say I have less than $600 tied up in the receiver, fronts/center/1pair of surrounds noted above.

2. Size requirements/limits = Same as or smaller than the SW-15. This should be an easy requirement since the SW-15 is huge and not particularly nice looking. For reference it's about 16"x19"x22" and weighs 62 some odd lbs. I would prefer a black wood style finish, but flat or gloss black would be ok.

3. Room dimensions: My current room is about 3,000 cubic feet with hardwood floors. But the room is open to a hallway connecting the rest of the house. I'm not sure if this matters but I don't forsee myself having a separate listening room anytime soon. I might end up moving the stuff into a basement setup but I expect the cubic footage will always be about the same.

4. Primary uses: 80% home theater/TV, 20% music. My main speakers seem quite capable for pure music low-end, so my main desire for the sub is movie impact / wow factor. Offensive as this may be to purists it's honest position.

5. Listening habits: Pretty much covered in area 4. Impact and low end vs. sonic accuracy.

6. Appearance requirements: Black woodgrain vinyl or laminate is ok. Doesn't have to be fancy. The appearance of the simple Velodyne VRP series, for example, is more than fine.

7. Timeframe: No hurry. Definitely will wait out deals if a particular model goes on sale every now and then or a clearance happens annually.

If you've made it this far, I can pick up a Velodyne VRP-1200 for less than half my budget. But it isn't a well regarded unit and I can't return it, and I have my doubts it'd be a noticeable improvement. Off the shelf offerings seem pretty limited with the Klipsch 12 being about all I can really check out.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I'd go for this (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=407) in your price range. The shipping is free. The amount of bass is likely the most you can get for this price. People will tell you it's incredibly ugly with the rough black paint but I have one of their subs with the same finish and it looks fine, like any other black box.

The BIC Acoustech H-100 gets lots of love around here and can be had for $250. Your room is pretty large though. You may need to spend more to get the air to move. Look at Epik, AV123, SVS and Elemental Designs for the more bang for your buck subs.
Check out this thread for some suggestions;
Craigsub rankings (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=768150)

Epik and av123 don't have anything in his price range..Except the x-sub, but that's hardly the best choice for movies.

Epik and av123 don't have anything in his price range..Except the x-sub, but that's hardly the best choice for movies.Which is why I said he will probably have to spend more for that size room.
Quit pushing eD to everyone that asks about subs around here will ya!
Did you get any speakers yet or are you still listening to a sub with no speakers?:rolleyes:

He did say $300-400 max. Less is great. which is why I doubt he's gonna move up to $700 shipped subs.
Don't I "push" epik and av123 when they fit the requirements, just as much as ED ?
Did you get any speakers yet or are you still listening to a sub with no speakers?
Not yet. I'm not listening to my sub it's just sitting in a storage room. But I'm glad everyone cares so much.

How are the these 12's in output vs. the 15" I have right now? I know the 15" is pretty muddy but the volume output overall is pretty good all things considered. Will a 12" model like that BIC H-100 be louder? Or just deeper/more accurate?

Also, my price range is firm, but I'm not opposed to deal hunting. I just have a hard time swallowing 400+ for the sub given the money I have in the other stuff.

Maybe this Dayton HSU sub would be worth looking into. Dr HSU
designed it for Parts Express. $390 plus shipping may be over your
budget. I havn't heard this sub (or maybe any one else for that matter).
I have had 4 HSU subs (currently 2) and they all were/are great.
Maybe worth looking into....link:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-394

Good luck..vardo

I did some poking around and found a returnable VRP-1200 under 1.2 bills. Went back and forth about it but figured I'd give it a shot.

Imho it's equal output volume wise and definitely lower and cleaner than my old SW-15, which has now been moved to basement duty. I figure I can offload the Velo at that cost pretty easily and will probably do so if I can find some way to demo some of these other units. Living in a bigger metro area makes craigslisting work pretty straightforward on the more popular names.

But I must also say that if the VRP is "crap"... I'm really intrigued to hear some of these good options. They must be just insane.

Is there a common B&M shop that carries BIC products? I'm interested in that H-100 but am just a little too paranoid to buy it blindly, and with BIC being a bit of a niche name I think I'd have a hard time passing it if I wanted to. Return shipping would be killer.

Within my budget it seems I could almost pull off a pair of H-100's with a little fanagling, and my setup allows for two subs, no problem. How's BIC's warranty & service? Are they carried in any shops?

Oh, and I also took a look at the ED offering, but I'm not terribly fond of ED's car audio stuff. I know it's not a solid comparison but being that ED is mostly known for car audio, I just can't justify taking an internet order risk on them for a different product line.

Thanks for the replies.