List of budget subwoofers ($300 and less) - Page 9

They actually sound similar even though the Klipsch are ported in the front and the PL-200s are rear ported. The Klipsch have a stronger mid bass punch and the PL-200s do dig just a little deeper IMHO. I got the PL-200s first and thought they were the best thing going. Then I got the Klipsch and maybe because they were new I thought they had the best deepest sound. After a few months of trying to combine both and playing with them separately, The PL-200s do go a little lower to me in my room. Together the sound is great. Smooth and deep.

Thanks! Useful info!!!

Good deal this weekend at Newegg for the Energy S10.3, lowest price I've ever seen, $189.00 with code EMCYTZT1649. If you're looking for a good inexpensive sub, this would be worth taking a look at.

Here's another one to add to the list: Sherwood SWH-672.

Interesting. This listing says Dr. Hsu help design it.

LOL

I didn't notice it was out of stock since the add to cart option was there.

Sonic Electronix is sort of the Newegg of the car audio world in combined reputation, popularity, and pricing. Since they carry other Sherwood products and list themselves as an authorized dealer, seems likely that the sub did exist, particularly since Parts Express had it.

I filled in the "E-mail me when it is in stock" option, so we'll see if they get it back in.

Also, Sherwood seems to be selling products in other countries not listed on their main site, such as the SW-10 subwoofer.

Just a heads-up to anyone interested in a Dayton Sub-1200 12" 120 Watt Subwoofer. Parts Express has it on a Father's Day special for $99.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-629&utm_source=Retail&utm_medium=Email_Newsletter&utm_content=300-629&utm_campaign=email060712

There's also a few other nice bargains to be had such as the small Dayton Audio Bookshelf B-652 Speakers for $29 and the Lepai 45w Mini-Amp for $37.

I'm looking for a sub as well but i'm keeping and eye on craigslist for a steal.
I have a habit of just looking at freq response - i want it to get below 30hz
i don't know much and this is really all i look at after brand name.
what more do i need to consider?
this is for a 14 x 15 apartment FYI
thx!

-home theater 7.1
-under $500 i guess but i'd like to find something use for like $200

it's an apartment so i dont want to shake the place down but i want to try to get a close to full audible range
every time i make an upgrade i hear things i wasn't hearing before at lower volumes, richer, fuller sound.
My current sub is an infinity from the tss-710 5.1 package
it only goes down to 35hz i believe.
thanks!

nice! thank you

Hey folks, I just exchanged emails with Nick at Emotiva who informed me that their warehouse still has a limited number of the highly-regarded but discontinued Ultra Sub 10 subwoofers, which they are pricing at $279 (down from 400+). The Emotiva Ultra Sub 10 is a 10" sealed sub with a 300W RMS amp that's rated down to 25 Hz. Nick said that Emotiva is including the full 5 year warranty, but because the item is discontinued, all sales are final.

The sub isn't listed on the Emotiva we site, so if you want it, call their sales line and place the order over the phone.

I wonder how the Ultra 10 sub compares to the Energy S10.3 which tests very well and has been available for $200 from newegg.

The Emotiva Sub is quite tempting but I'm looking for some feedback. I currently have an entry level HT setup using a Yamaha RX-V567 / Panasonic DB-85 Blu-ray / Pioneer (Andrew Jones) model speakers with 2 Pioneer SW-8 subs. Strangely enough, in my small room (12' X 15' X 8' ) this setup sounds really good to my ears. I use the system for both movies and 2-channel music that is mostly classical and jazz. I will be upgrading my blu-ray to an Oppo fairly soon followed by a new receiver (probably a Marantz). Should I bite on a single Emotiva or save the money toward the upgrades? I expect the Emotiva will give me better low extension (25Hz vs. 35Hz) but I will also be loosing the evenness of having two subs in my sound field. Believe it or not, I can rattle the windows with my two eights. LOL

Any thoughts from the community? Thank you in advance as I really enjoy the information in this forum as a newbie.

PS I called Emotiva this afternoon and they were really straightforward and helpful. They said that these units are "B" stock items (customer returns and warranty issues) with some minor blemishes but DO carry the full 5-year warranty. However, there are no returns and no refunds.

Yes, Nick told me that there were no Ultra 12 subs left in the warehouse. That's what actually prompted my email to Emotiva!

I can't speak to that, unfortunately, other than to guess based on specs (which anyone can do). Nick is trying to can dig up Emotiva's R&D frequency response graphs for the Ultra 10 to send to me, and if he does, I'll post them here. There is a hometheaterhifi.com review of the Energy system which includes a lab report. If/when we get the graphs for the Ultra 10, we can compare.

I'll start by saying that I didn't actually buy the Ultra 10. I was going to, but then I found a deal on a 1 month old eD A3s-250 which is in the same class as the Ultra 10, has a narrower frequency response (on the high end, not the end that matters), but has higher spl, so I went with that. I just thought I'd share the Emotiva deal with my fellow avsforum users as a public service

I've had some very positive experience with Emotiva electronics. I own a UPA-2 power amp and an XDA-1 DAC, and both pieces of equipment are superb. Based on that experience (as well as an overwhelming percentage of other positive user reviews I've read on this site from Emotiva owners), I feel comfortable recommending Emotiva as a brand. It's a very rare day when competitors produce a superior product at a lower price-point! I imagine if you end up buying the sub, you're gonna be happy with it. You'll get better low-end extension than your SW-8s can produce, that's for sure.

Or, if your question is only should you upgrade your electronics first or your speakers/sub first, I believe the conventional wisdom is that 80%+ of your audio quality is derived from your speakers, 10% from your room, and 10% from electonics. (Others might quibble and say its 70/15/15 or 60/20/20, , but I'd be very surprised if someone were to dispute my assertion that speakers are the primary factor in driving sound quality.) Of course the sub is only part of the speaker equation, but if you're an action movie buff, it's a pretty significant part. Are there features that you'd get on your new receiver or blu-ray that you don't currently have that you really want, or are the upgrades intended to improve sonic/visual quality? If the former, maybe do the electronics first. If the latter, I'd lean toward the sub.

Here is a professional review of the Ultra 10 from audioholics:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/subwoofers/emotiva-ultra-sub-10-12-fl

If its user reviews you're after, I suggest posting a question in the Emotiva owners forum on this site, or else go to the "Emotiva Lounge" website and see if you can dig up any user reviews there.

The Ultra 10 is a good jump in sub class in terms of SQ over the SW-8s. However, I would not expect it to have significantly lower frequency extension. Here is a graph of its big brother, the Ultra 12.

And I agree with Thunder240. Save your money toward speaker and sub upgrade, and you'll get more bang for your buck over upgrading the electronics. For instance, subscribe to Outlaw Audio's mailing list and watch for a sale on the LFM-1 Plus. It would be a tremendous upgrade over the SW-8s. Last summer it was on sale for under $500 shipped.

Here are the test bench results on the Energy S10.3 from 2 different magazines. First, from HomeTheater: The leftmost trace is the S10.3. In this test, the measurement is close miked. The S10.3 is down 3db at 24Hz.



The next graph is from Sound&Vision and the tests were performed by Tom Nousaine who has tested hundreds of subwoofers ranging in price from a couple hundred bucks to the $15,000 Velodyne DD-1812. This measurement appears to have been taken ground plane at 0.5 meters in the "best" corner of Tom's 7,500 cubic foot room. In a smaller room one can expect 2-3 db greater extension. Even in his very large room the S10.3 exhibited 97% bandwith uniformity which is excellent. The S10.3 is not a mid-bass module like so many inexpensive subwoofers.

Thanks folks for all the great feedback. For now, I put the Emo's on hold. After thinking both about what was said here on the forum and the discussion I had with one of the techs at Emo, I think that I will wait a bit and possibly find an X-Ref sub with the DSP controller. I find it a pain in the patoot to always be adjusting the sub level for music vs. movies. Sounds like subs that have a top mounted DSP controller or a (dare I dream) remote controller might be the way to go. Again, if there are any thoughts here, fire away! Thanks again for the help.

Be aware that most people in this forum won't recommend the X-Ref subs for movie watching because of their poor response below 30hz. See this review. And that movie boost EQ selection on the X-Ref does not help with that since it is centered at 45 to 50hz.

Hi,

Noob here - are you saying the X-Ref subs are a poor choice for movies? The X-Ref10 was possibly on my radar due to being completely sealed & its very small form factor - anything else similar?

Bazzy!

Just received a pair of Energy S10.3 subs yesterday. I thought that it would be a real gamble at $398 delivered (for the pair). All I have to say is WOW what a great budget subwoofer. I have heard good and not-so good things about these, but I must say that they rock big time and are great for home theater if this is what you want. I strongly recommend a pair of these. Your neighbors, pets or drywall may not be too excited though.

I agree, very good purchase for the value presented. Some dont hear the difference between outlaw, and others.

I love mine for the price/ performance ratio. And they arent too bad looking at all. Very good crafsmanship, no seem issues in the black covering / venneer whatever.

An honest opionion please.

My dad has the energy take classic system in a fairly large room I would say close to 900 ft. He is a senior and is really not that into home theater but for dad's day Ive been helping him set up something better than what he had from 6-10 years ago.

We went with Denon 2112CI
Take Classic 5.0
and he has in ceiling boston rear speakers.
...as for the take 5.0, we are using three downstairs and moving two upstairs for fronts there. , and he purchased a seperate take center on ebay *new to complete the sound stage upstairs with the two remaining sats from the take 5.

He has a klipsch RPW-10 downstairs. Now maybe it was just me but it seems very weak when i visited last and it was running sub-preout from a Denon 1908


With the deals that are out there and a craigslist special .


Would we be doing real well to replace the RPW-10 with the S10.3 , ?

I have two of these myself and love them for the value / performance ratio.





Question:

HOW much better is the S10.3 than the RPW-10. Music and Home Theater perspectives please. ?

I think i can sell that RPW-10 for abotu 150-180 on craigslist.


Anyone thats had both comment or at least know the subs well. ?

I got a feeling newegg is getting to the bottom of the S10.3 stock from Energy. This party might be ending soon.


Edit: There is a Mirage S10 on craiglist for $100 bucks about 2 minutes away from me. wowzers!!?
Edited by nc88keyz - 6/17/12 at 4:20pm

Hi,

Thanks for putting up a great list of budget subwoofers, It's given me a few options to consider. However I came across this subwoofer - YARO SUB. It has some good specs, but i can't find any reviews of it anywhere. It's prolly a new model. I'd like to know if anyone's heard of this or can advice me on it. Thank you.