I'm looking for a subwoofer for my living room, ~22'x20'x11ft ceilings, mainly for HT. Front speakers are Polk R50. Not necessarily looking to shake the house, but looking for clean, tight bass.

Any opinions on which of the following subs would work best for my situation?

Infinity PS212 (400W RMS) ~ $280 shipped Crutchfield
BIC H-100 ~$250 shipped
HSU STF-2 ~$380 shipped

I'd prefer a sub less than 12" width, but from what I've read, none of the 10" subs (other than STF-2) would do a good job in a room my size. Has anyone tried the STF-1 or PS210 in a large room with success?

Thanks.

Success is a hard term to define, I know many people that say their HTIB subs are all they would ever want for their great room. The HSU is the best designed of all the above, but I would say that the H-100 is the best value.

clean and tight STF-2, out of those 3 that's what I'd recommend. That's a large area for the STF-1, if your considering it I I'd go with the H-100 for it's value.

Thanks. Does anyone have any experience with the Infinity PS212? It appears to have by far the most powerful amp and could be tried risk free from Crutchfield.

Hey wangg75,

I have experience with the PS212, but not the Bic or the Hsu. In my opinion it does fine, it just doesn't get very low (though none of these subs you mentioned get super low). It has plenty of output to about 30hz, then tapers off fairly quickly. I just upgraded to an SVS PB10-NSD and can say that for HT it's significantly better. For the majority of music, the Infinity isn't too far behind though. It has plenty of extension for music unless you listen to pipe organ music or stuff with really deep beats.

As far as room size, I used the PS212 in a small 11 x 10 x 8 bedroom (live at home college student). Output was more than enough for that room, unless you want to listen at reference levels. In its frequency response range, it sounded quite good in my opinion. I only upgraded to get deeper extension for home theater. How it would do in a large room, I'm not sure. I would assume it would be fine as long as you don't plan to try to shake your room.

If you can really try the Infinity risk-free (including shipping costs), I'd say you have nothing to lose giving it a shot. For under $300, I think it's a great deal. I haven't heard the Hsu or Bic, but from what I've heard those are excellent subs. The Hsu is in an entirely different price range than the Bic and Infinity, and it will definitely outperform them both. Again if the Infinity will actually cost NOTHING to try out, try it. It's a very capable sub, it just didn't dig as deep as I wanted. Other than lack of deep extension, I really liked it a lot. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Stephen

PM me if you want to talk more about the Infinity. I just don't want to type pages on this thread :p

Is the Infinity PS212 worth around $200?

I will have Polk monitors all around. The room is about 20x8 and carpeted. I want to use it for movies, music and games equally. I don't care about the size.

Is the Infinity PS212 worth around $200?

I will have Polk monitors all around. The room is about 20x8 and carpeted. I want to use it for movies, music and games equally. I don't care about the size.

If you don't mind losing the lowest frequencies on movies, a new ps212 is worth $200, IMHO. If the sub is used I might try to tell you to look for something else.

A new BIC H-100 should sound very much like the 212 but you can get them new from a few sources. sounddistributors.com

If you don't mind losing the lowest frequencies on movies, a new ps212 is worth $200, IMHO. If the sub is used I might try to tell you to look for something else.

A new BIC H-100 should sound very much like the 212 but you can get them new from a few sources. sounddistributors.com

The PS212 is new. This will be my first real separately purchased sub. The BIC H-100 is about 50 more dollars then what I can get the ps212 for. Is it worth the 50 more dollars.

Is the Infinity PS212 worth around $200?

I will have Polk monitors all around. The room is about 20x8 and carpeted. I want to use it for movies, music and games equally. I don't care about the size.

I think for $200 bucks that is a pretty good deal. I have two Infinity csw-10 (a little different than the ps212) in my 14x22 theater and it is very well balanced with very good extension.

Thanks for the help. I pulled the pin on the Acoustech H100. Should be here on Friday.

I've read alot of good things about HSU Research. And also that Dr. HSU also helped design the H-100.

I'd prefer the HSU STF-2 but it's on the expensive side for me at $349 vs. $259. for the H-100.

For my 17' X 17' room 7' ceiling height would the Acoustech H-100 be sufficient?

I haven't had the chance to listen to alot of subs. Can anyone tell me more about the H-100 performance for use with movies?

Thanks,
Hank

Another option many seem to be happy with is the Premier Acoustic PA120 for $229 shipped on ebay from sounddistributors. Plus, you can use the live.com search to get 10% off.

Thanks much!

That looks like a better deal! 12" subwoofer, 24HZ-180HZ. for $229.

I like the STF-2 but it's a little expensive for me at $349.

Hank