List of budget subwoofers ($300 and less) - Page 15

Hey guys, long time lurker. I've got a bit of a dilemma here. I'm maxing my budget at about the $270 range. I probably watch movies/tv to music 90 - 10. I'm trying to get the best quality sound, not necessarily the most impressive. Don't get me wrong, I want some power, but I want something that's going to be subtle and fade nicely with my speakers, and then kind of punch you in the chest when there's explosions and things like that. The room it'll be used in is about 15x15x8. It's eventually going to be a setup for an apartment living room. Looking at single sub options, these are the ones I'm considering

Mordaunt Short MS309W refurbished
Acoustic Energy AEGO-AE12-8 refurbished
BIC F-12
Outlaw M8
Polk PSW505 (Heard bad things about Polk subs)

What I'm a lot more interested in though is a dual sub option. I ordered a used Denon 1912 from Amazon Warehouse, and they slipped up and sent me a 3312. So I've got more than enough receiver to deal with that, and just using logic makes it seem that while it might not be as earthshaking as, say, the F-12, it would be a lot more balanced and would fit in with my system a lot better. I've got a 50 inch panasonic plasma, and I'm running JBL Studio 180's as my left and right, and a JBL 120c as my center in a 3.0. I'm thinking if I picked up one of these subs, then snagged some rears, I could come back and buy another one in a couple weeks, which would make it so I wouldn't even feel a dent in my budget. I figure with a pair of something like these, after a run with Audyssey MultEQ XT, I'd have nice, balanced bass that will take a backseat to the Studio 180's when they need to. Should make for a really bad ass compact room set up. The two that stand out for me that I can afford duals of are the

MartinLogan Dynamo 300
Dayton Sub 1200
Monoprice 12?

The MartinLogan is only an 8 compared to the Dayton being a 12, so obviously it's going to be quieter, but it also costs more. Is it more accurate? I'm sure with 2 of them, I'd be happy with the bass level. The Dynamo's would cost a decent chunk more than the Daytons, but I'm kind of worried about the dual Daytons overpowering everything and being boomy and inaccurate. Anyone have any experience with both, or would be willing to give a recommendation for one or the other that it would fit my needs? Or would I get more balanced, quality bass from a $270 sub than two of either of these? Any other suggestions that I missed are more than welcome. I'm kind of at a standstill here. The most subwoofer I've ever owned was a bose bass module, so I don't think it'll take a lot for me to appreciate. I've never heard a sub stay flat at 20hz, and I don't want to for a long time. Otherwise, I'll be eating ramen for a while.
Edited by Volkerball - 11/29/12 at 3:54am

I have dual Daytons sub 1200s in my HT setup and they are neither boomy nor inaccurate. They are not as detailed as more expensive subs but they are tight enough for my particular setup. You will have to take sometime to level match them and then level match them to your existing speakers. At approx $220 for dual 12" subs, I am very happy with them and parts-express are good folk. If they don't work for you, just pack 'em up and return them, no hassle.

Thanks guys. I pulled the trigger on one Dayton for now. I'll snag bookshelves before I get my second one because I'm not imagining great results from a 3.2 system for movies. I'll make sure to post what I think of it so others can see.

That jamo 650 on amazon

The store actually re listed it at the same price, im going to try my luck one more time.

It is $650 now. What price did you see an hour ago?

164+60 shipping and 20 tax

The one you see is also a different seller.

i received a sub650 from amazon today. the listing was for the black ash; received a dark apple . kind of bummed, hoping i can get it swapped out. it was fulfilled by m. rothman (via DigitalEtc on amazon) though, which i believe is an authorized reseller, so it should carry a warranty.

I ordered two of the same thing for the 164 price as well a few days ago. but i was still on the fence and when the legends popped up on sale i kinda wanted those. I asked if it was too late to cancel the order and the person responeded asking if i would like them to find out and i asked them to but NOT to cancel the order but they did. apologized and said i could reorder. I asked if i could for the same price they said sorry no. Then I ordered the legends. 10 minutes later I get two emails from the actual seller (digitaletc) of the subs instead of amazon saying sorry and I could reorder. I went to my amazon account recent orders clicked the jamo 650 link and boom there were 4 for the same price of 164. i was at that point like whatever. i want the legends anyways. But feel guilty for going over my budget. oh well. I am not the type to upgrade so they will last a long time. Checked on em an hour later and they were sold out so oh well.

Amazon said they come with a 9 year warrenty. I kind of doubt they do. Anyhow now I am glad I didnt order them because dark apple would not have blended with my black speaker or black tv stand or black tv or black ps3 or black media player as well as black LOL

yeah, won't match a single thing in my setup.

That sucks, hopefully they will exchange them for you

some of those amazon stores just seem so shady

Count me as another with a DigitalEtc/Amazon "accidentally" cancelled $164 Jamo 650 sub order.

Kind of unbelievable deal really. $900 msrp marked down to $650 and then marked down to $164? Makes me wonder... You know the old saying: If it sounds too good to be true...
Edited by Bond 007 - 11/30/12 at 1:25pm

Well, at the retail price or even the $650, there are MANY better options. When it hits the $300 range is the only time it becomes a recommendation.

Thanks for this thread, there's lots of helpful info here. As you can see I'm a newcomer. Going by what I'm reading I'm thinking about adding either the Polk 505 or the Klipsch RW-12d to my system. I recently got the Klipsch Icon WF-35 fronts, WC24, and two WS24s, which will be powered by a Denon AVR2312. Amazon and Newegg have the 505 for about $190 at the moment, which would be more wallet friendly than Newegg's $500 price for the RW-12d, but that seems to go on sale quite a bit.

The whole thing's a work in progress at the moment, don't even have the rears mounted yet my setup in limbo but this thread has given me some pointers

FYI the RW-12d is now down to $299 on newegg with a $200 promo code until 12/13

Jim, as someone who is now looking for a budget sub, I thank you for this thread and your reviews. I noticed the NXG NX-BAS-500 a week or so ago on Amazon. I haven't found a review of it anywhere, nor have I read anything from anyone claiming to own one. It's a nice-looking sub (looks a lot like a PL-200). In fact, there's little info on the NXG web site about the sub other than on the product page. Unless I totally missed it, I can't find any further info on this sub in their current of legacy products. The specs are appealing, but I don't think I can buy anything without knowing something more about it. Do you (or any of the other posters) know anyone whose tested or used one of these?

Just over $300, Vann's has a Klipsch SW-308 through today for $309.88 delivered. Want it exclusively for music on a decent PC-based system I use for editing and such. Love the size, like the specs for the size, it's sealed, and it's gotten good reviews here. More than I was gonna spend, but it looks like a deeply discounted SW.

Good price? Or advertising?

I didn't know it had only been available for a month. I've only been researching a sub purchase for a couple weeks and there's definitely a lot to weigh in the decision process.

I'm surprised more budget subs, and audio equipment, don't get reviewed/compared more frequently. They really do get overlooked. I guess I liken it to the car magazines. No one would read them if all they did were comparisons of main stream sedans. Everyone wants to read about the newest Porsche or Ferrari though, since they're sexier. I suppose that's business and what sells magazines. I'm sure it's like that in the audio review mags, too.

However, I certainly have appreciated your reviews and look forward to reading about the NX-BAS-500 (could they have possibly given it a more homely name?) soon.

Reading your review on the Cadence CSX-12 MkII I got the impression you liked this sub quite a bit. In fact, all three reviews of this sub were quite positive.

How does it compare (musically, and with movies) with some of the other, more typically suggested, subs that can normally be found at $300.00? My impression from reading your review, and others, was that this sub really sounds quite good musically and with movies, but may lack response under 30Hz. Would it compare more, or less favorably to BIC's PL-200 (which was what someone recommended I buy since I have their PL-89 towers and PL-26 center). Based on the reviews. I'm beginning to lean towards the Cadence which, from what I'm reading, seems to sound better musically than the PL-200?

I'm having trouble deciding what sub to get. My budget is around $200.
I'm looking at the
BIC H-100,
BIC F-12
and Polk PSW505

I recall reading somewhere that the H-100 and F-12 are basically the same, is that true?
I would also like to add a second sub eventually, if that makes any difference in choosing.
Usage would be 60% music, 40% movies