Currently I have some 2 Polk R50's sitting in the garage and an Onkyo TX-SR606 on the way from amazon.com. The next missing piece I would like to tackle is the Subwoofer. Budget wise I would like to stay below $300 and my living room actual is a huge open area with vaulted ceilings that opens up into the kitchen. Currently the I am watching some Hsu HRSW10 on Craigslist but I do not know if that would be a good pairing with this amplifier. Suggestions would be appreciated.

If the $300 is a hard limit, the BIC H100 would probably be your best bet. But if you can up it $15, the elemental design A2-300 would be your best bang for your buck. That's $315 shipped. Hard to beat the price/performance ratio of the A2-300.

Seeing how you have a huge living room, I would probably think about increasing my budget for a bigger sub. First thing you would probably want to do is answer a couple of simple questions...

1. Your budget. This seems like an obvious thing to state when seeking advice, but many people neglect to mention this anywhere. If you have a budget of $200 but don't mention this and say you want awesome performance, you'll be getting a lot of suggestions for PB13 Ultras, Conquests, F113's, etc. Please cut down the frustration for everyone and simply state a budget range, preferably making it clear to those who desire to help you whether or not this budget includes shipping and taxes

2. Size requirements/limits. If you say you have a $700 budget but fail to inform us that you need a 10" cube form factor, you can rest assured you'll be receiving recommendations for Epik Knights, eD A5-350's, MFW-15's, etc, none of which will come anywhere close to meeting your need for a tiny box. When size matters, please say so!

3. Room dimensions. If you have a 10,000 cubic foot room and a $150 budget, chances are we can't help much. Still, room dimensions can make a big impact on recommendations. Small subs like the SVS SB12 Plus are great subs for music and pretty good for HT, but they'll prove to be insufficient in huge rooms.

4. Primary uses. Given a certain budget, one sub might be a better choice for HT, while another might be a better sub for music. Of course quality subs can do both well. Still, giving an estimate of usage (example: 60% HT/TV viewing, 30% music, 10% gaming) will help others give better recommendations.

5. Listening habits. Listening habits can dictate what sub you'll need. Many AVS members are a bit excessive with their bass requirements and desires (myself included). However, not everyone needs two Epik Conquests in their 2500 cubic foot room. If you realistically won't be listening at really high volumes, say so. On the other hand, if you like to watch concert DVDs at SPL levels that make live concerts seem tame by comparison, we need to know that too.

6. Appearance requirements. Some people have no problem putting a huge box with a rough, black cabinet in their dedicated home theater. Others need a nicely finished cabinet to fit well in the family room. Please make any aesthetic requirements known so those giving advice will be better able to assist you.

7. Timeframe. There are many new subwoofer manufacturers that sell direct over the internet and have enjoyed extremely high popularity in a very short time span. Unfortunately, this has caused severe backorders on their products, as they have not been able to keep up with demand. Try to let us know if getting the sub right away is a priority, as it might affect the suggestions you receive depending on whether or not certain companies are backlogged.

8. Search the forum. Chances are, your question regarding "this sub vs. that sub" has already been asked, discussed, chewed, and spat out hundreds of times already. Try to search the forums and see if you can get a good amount of information that way. If you still want personal advice, feel free to make new threads, but the search function is a wonderful thing

Thanks,

I think I can stretch the budget to get the A2-300. Unfortunetly I couldn't resist so I picked up a CSI3 center and that is going to crap out my budget for a few weeks. I will research the A2-300 and post back when I have more info and room dimensions.