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588K views 3K replies 583 participants last post by  jmbrad 
#1 · (Edited)
I've often seen requests from people who are looking to purchase budget subwoofers. You can count me among those who tries to respond and help those folks out, but after replying to the hundredth such question I got to thinking; exactly how many companies are out their making budget subs? Intrigued, I decided to try and find out for myself.

First I had to decide exactly what constituted a 'budget' subwoofer. After going back over numerous posts I selected $300 as the ceiling, so anything that costs less qualifies. I also decided that the $300 price should be what you can reasonably expect to get the sub for, not it's "suggested" retail price. In other words, what most people can rightly assume to pay without the need to wait for some "clearance sale" or restricted holiday event.

Since most of the budget sub questions are asked about HT systems I original decided that a 10" driver would be the minimum. After going back and forth though I decided to include subwoofers with 8" drivers as well. Having a driver size and budget target I began scouring the internet. The list below is what I can up with, sorted alphabetically by manufacturer.


UPDATE 3/3/16: Up until today I had included subwoofers even when the manufacturers website could not be found. I've since decided if they aren't interested in having the general public know who they are that I wouldn't list them here. All links to products like that have been removed.

UPDATE 9/2/16: For the longest time I had included a disclaimer about how this thread was intended strictly to highlight available products, not debate their relative merits or ask questions specific to your own individual circumstances. For those posts I created the Budget Subwoofers Discussion thread, but the balance between the two never quite worked out as originally planned so the disclaimer has now been removed.


Acoustic Audio
* PSW Series

BIC America
* RtR 12s
* RtR EV1200
* F12
* H-100II (Review)
* Venturi V80
* Venturi V1020
* Venturi V1220
* PL-200 II (Review)

Boston Acoustics
* CS Sub10 II

Cambridge Audio
* Sirocco SX-120

Cerwin-Vega
* VE-28S

Crystal Acoustics
* TX-8SUB

Dayton Audio
* SUB-800
* SUB-1000
* SUB-1200 (Review)
* SUB-1500

Elac
* S10.2

Energy
* ESW-C8
* ESW-M8
* Power 10
* Power 12

Fluance
* DB10
* DB12

JA Audio
* JA-SS10

Jamo (Owners Thread)
* J 10 SUB
* J 12 SUB

JBL (Owners Thread)
* Stage A100P
* Studio SUB 250P

Klipsch
* Synergy SUB-12
* K-100SW

Monoprice (Owners Thread)
* 8248 (8")
* 14567 (8")
* 605999 (10")
* 9723 (12")
{these subwoofers don't actually have a name, just a part number}

Outdoor Speaker Depot (OSD) (Owners Thread)
* SS8
* Nero DualX8
* Nero TubeBass10
* PS10 (Review)
* PS12

Pioneer
* SW-8MK2

Polk Audio
* PSW110
* DSW PRO 440

Pyle
* PDSUB8A

Rockville
* APM10W

Sony
* SA-CS9

TeleData Express
* TDX-SUB8
* TDX-SUB10
* TDX-SUB12

Theater Solutions (Owners Thread)
* SUB Series

Yamaha
* YST-SW215
* YST-SW216
* YST-SW315
 
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#3 ·
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by capablanca /forum/post/21030905


Thank you. We so desperately needed something like this. It would be great if a $500 category was added, and then you would have 90% of the people covered with both. Again, thank you for putting this together.

You're welcome. I felt it was long overdue too. If it turns out to be beneficial perhaps we should consider making this a sticky.


I debated back and forth on what the cut off should be. After looking at quite a number of posts it seemed the majority of people who wanted a "budget" sub were looking for something below $300, so that's why I chose it.


I agree; there's probably a need for another thread, listing sub's between $301-$750 or $800. That could be for "mid-priced" subwoofers. Not sure I want to be the owner of that one though, because I'll bet there's a whole lot of those...
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by cel4145 /forum/post/21030932


More for your list: the HSU STF-1

Added. Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cel4145 /forum/post/21030932


and the new Monoprice subwoofers .

A $57 dollar subwoofer? $57 dollars!? Must...resist...urge...to...break...own...rule, must...resist...urge...to...break...own...rule.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson /forum/post/21032342


A $57 dollar subwoofer? $57 dollars!? Must...resist...urge...to...break...own...rule, must...resist...urge...to...break...own...rule.

It seems awfully cheap, doesn't it? I've been waiting to see what this thread has to say about them from someone who buys one. People can look for discussion there.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad /forum/post/21032464


Just last weekend I saw a JBL CSS11 (10" driver) at Costco for $187. It retails elsewhere for much more, and it isn't on Costco's website, but it was on the floor. Any opinions on this one?

It would probably be better if you started another thread asking for opinions on this sub. I'm trying to keep this one informational only, and not have anyone engage in a debate about what's good or bad about a particular model. Thanks...
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson /forum/post/21032568


It would probably be better if you started another thread asking for opinions on this sub. I'm trying to keep this one informational only, and not have anyone engage in a debate about what's good or bad about a particular model. Thanks...

I already have my M8 so I'm not searching, so no one needs to answer but it can be hard to get non-snarky info about reasonably priced audio equipment.
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad /forum/post/21032704


I already have my M8 so I'm not searching, so no one needs to answer but it can be hard to get non-snarky info about reasonably priced audio equipment.

I know where you're coming from. That's part of the reason I started this thread, to make it a little easier to find the info.


You also might want to try the forums at blu-ray.com . There's a guy called Big Daddy who seems to know just about everything you can regarding subwoofers. He might have some additional info on what you're looking for.
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson /forum/post/21032095


You're welcome. I felt it was long overdue too. If it turns out to be beneficial perhaps we should consider making this a sticky.


I debated back and forth on what the cut off should be. After looking at quite a number of posts it seemed the majority of people who wanted a "budget" sub were looking for something below $300, so that's why I chose it.


I agree; there's probably a need for another thread, listing sub's between $301-$750 or $800. That could be for "mid-priced" subwoofers. Not sure I want to be the owner of that one though, because I'll bet there's a whole lot of those...

It really should be a sticky. Think about all the "I'm looking to purchase a sub" threads. I was surprised earlier that there wasn't a sticky like this because it would be very helpful and allow people to see the options. Separate threads can be created to debate which subs are the best. I'll probably be in the market soon for a $400-500 sub and so here's hoping that you create that mid-priced thread
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson /forum/post/21032297


I added this one, but have a question for you; does Newegg have this on sale regularly, or is it just temporary?

$249.00 was its regular price at Newegg for a long time with occasional price drops for sales, but now I think its regularly at $219.99. A good sub in my opinion.
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ramesh69kumar /forum/post/21054841


How abt rating these budget sub woofers for newbies like us. The rating is based on your experience with product.

Who's rating system though? I'm certainly not able to listen to all of those subwoofers, so it can't be mine, and if I solicit other peoples opinion we'll simply get into arguing back and forth. That's precisely why I said in the first post this thread is not intended for any of that. I'm simply trying to create a reference to show people what's available. From there each person should do whatever research they feel necessary, because there are no two circumstances alike.


If you have any questions then by all means start a new thread specific to what you need. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who can assist.
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson /forum/post/21055317


Who's rating system though? I'm certainly not able to listen to all of those subwoofers, so it can't be mine, and if I solicit other peoples opinion we'll simply get into arguing back and forth. That's precisely why I said in the first post this thread is not intended for any of that. I'm simply trying to create a reference to show people what's available. From there each person should do whatever research they feel necessary, because there are no two circumstances alike.


If you have any questions then by all means start a new thread specific to what you need. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who can assist.

I agree that rating the subs would just cause arguing. How about, though, listing a link or two where they have been rated by legit magazines. It could and should be a sticky if you did that.
 
#25 ·
For those interested in the Energy S10.3, Sound and Vision did a review of it and some other Energy speakers. It's from 2005. If you search "energy take series home theater system" on google, it should pop up in your search results. It isn't a subwoofer-intensive review....it looks at the whole system...but the article was complementary of the s10.3. I've had the S10.3 since Wednesday and so far, it's a winner.
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by capablanca /forum/post/21055329


I agree that rating the subs would just cause arguing. How about, though, listing a link or two where they have been rated by legit magazines. It could and should be a sticky if you did that.

Interesting concept. Let me think about that one a bit further.
 
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