Ok I am generally considered a noob when it comes to audio equipment for a home theater setup. I'm planning on upgrading my audio system (currently an old kenwood HTIB) but I'm going to go in intervals...starting with a new sub.

I drew up a VERY quick sketch (in MS Paint) of the layout in the living room and I would like an opinion on which sub to get based on the best output for the room and possibly best sub placement/start out settings before I can tweak. I will be on a budget of around $350 max.

The cubic footage of the room comes out to just over 2500. Here is the sketch...ANY info at all whatsoever would be considered helpful so get to it audiophiles! :cool:

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4259/livingroomud7.jpg

It looks like either left or right of you TV or between the backdoor and fireplace. I don't really see any other places you could put it.

In all honesty you need to make up (or buy) some long temporary cables for your new sub. Play with placement and positioning for a couple of days and find what you like. Once you find a place that sounds good from you listening position and a space you can live with, then run your cables and make it permenant.

Yea I will mess around with the placement when I get a new sub but thanks for answering part of my question. Do you have any insight on what would be a good suggestion for a sub for me to buy? I've been looking at the Bic H-100 and it seems like a good sub for the price but I'm not sure if it would be the best solution for me or not.

It looks like either left or right of you TV or between the backdoor and fireplace. I don't really see any other places you could put it.

In all honesty you need to make up (or buy) some long temporary cables for your new sub. Play with placement and positioning for a couple of days and find what you like. Once you find a place that sounds good from you listening position and a space you can live with, then run your cables and make it permenant.

i agree. one trick that some people find works well is to put the sub in the listening position and then "crawl" around on the floor until you find the spot with the best bass. then put your subwoofer in that spot.

the elemental designs sub in your price range should be an enormous upgrade. good luck. also, if you haven't read the "craigsub" post on subwoofers. it's huge and full of great info.

Do you have any insight on what would be a good suggestion for a sub for me to buy? .

There is not hard & fast rule about this but, typicaly a front firing sub (like the H-100 you mentioned) will go in the front of the room. This gives the LFE sound waves a change to stretch out before they reach the users ears. As well as, they are firing toward you seating position.

A down firing sub will be better suited for the sides of the room but, can also be used in the front as well.

I might would suggest a Infinity PS212, it has a 12" driver and a 400watt amp. That's alot of bang for your buck. The Polk PSW125 is also a good sub. Both of these are $350 MSRP. You might be able to find a Polk DSW PRO 400 in your price range if you look around. They retail for around $400 but, I'm sure you can find them in your budget if you do some research. Same goes for the Velodyne DLS-3500R.

Awesome thanks for all the info. I'll definitely be checking out the craigsub post and looking at the subs mentioned. Thx again Condar and LTD02.

I might would suggest a Infinity PS212, it has a 12" driver and a 400watt amp. That's alot of bang for your buck. The Polk PSW125 is also a good sub. Both of these are $350 MSRP. You might be able to find a Polk DSW PRO 400 in your price range if you look around. They retail for around $400 but, I'm sure you can find them in your budget if you do some research. Same goes for the Velodyne DLS-3500R.

I've owned the Infinity PS212, and can say it's a pretty good sub. I don't know how it compares with the Bic though. The Infinity has plenty of output and sounds pretty clean, but it lacks somewhat in deep extension. Did an LFE sweep with AVIA calibration disc and after about 30hz it pretty much disappeared. Not terrible, but you might be missing the deepest effects in movies. That said, at this low a budget, you're making compromises like this no matter what. I've seen the PS212 for as low as around $260 shipped online from time to time, and at that price, it's a great deal, IMO. I've since upgraded to an SVS PB10-NSD, but only for more deep impact in movies. Sound quality on the Infinity is quite good. Just my 2 cents.

Stephen

The best bang for the buck in your price range is either the ED A2-300 or the up coming Acculine sub. See Craig sub's ratings thread for details.


Ian