Budget subwoofers discussions, opinions and questions thread - Page 14

Does anyone have anything other than version 1.14 on their Klipsch RW12-d? I am just curious.

lol, i havent even checked the version. i am out of town right now, otherwise id check both of mine

Hello folks,

An audio virgin here, finally took the plunge to assemble my first audio system. Been lurking on the AVSforum for about two weeks now and it's been immensely helpful. Very glad such a resource exists.

Like with the first car, I want the system to be affordable so if I screw it up, it's not a significant financial exposure. tMy setup is as following: Marantz NR1602 (picked it up for $300 on Amazon) driving a pair of small second-gen Pioneer bookshelves (BS22 I think) and a matching center. The room is just 2200 cubes, so I can live with the weak power output. Thinking about buying a pair of floorstanders eventually and demoting the bookshelves to rear, but for now, I want to get to 3.1 that can handle music and HT equally well. (Music is much more important though.) Hence, looking for an advice on a budget sub. Prefer to stay under $300 if possible. Since it will likely outlive the other pieces of the equipment, I'd like it to be applicable for a bigger room as well.

From what I gathered in this topic, I have the following options available:
— Polk PSW505. Guess it's the best deal around right now, with Amazon and Newegg both giving it out for $190.
— Outlaw M8. Currently $250 + S&H. Would be my first pick if it was not just 8".
— BIC PL-200. Word on the street is that it can be had for around $275 + S&H. Looks like it's not the best fit for the music though.
— Energy ESW-8. $300. Did not see it as one of the main suggestions here, so unsure. Same concern as Outlaw.
— Klipsch RW-12D. Can be snatched for $315 + S&H. I consider it to be a step up from BIC, but with the same concerns.
— Energy s10.3. It was probably a steal at $200, but I cannot find it lower than $360 now and it seems excessive.
— HSU STF-2. $350 + S&H. That's probably as high as I am ready to go. I am somewhat baffled that it is ported and not sealed though.

Am I missing any obvious picks not on the list? Any comments and suggestions really appreciated.

"Weak power output"...The 1602 is far from being "weak". What you are experiencing is 'clean, clean, CLEAN sound.

For the sub that blows away the Polk 10" cone and 2" of surround material at HALF the price, you want this:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-629

I think he is going for budget/value...but I've been wrong before.

Splicer010,

Thanks for the pointer to Dayton. Actually, I do not care that much about budget. From an ROI perspective, if I can get a significantly better sub by throwing in another hundred, I will gladly go with it.

Jim,

That's what I've thought. With music in mind, would you recommend going with RW-12d or STF-2?

I am also eyeing VTF-1 MK2, but it's more expensive than I planned and I am not sure if the difference will be that pronounced.

I dunno...I setup my sister with a Denon 2310CI and this sub and the sound is amazing. But she paid the normal price so maybe that is the difference?

But seriously, if you can swing an extra hundred or 2 or 3, by all means there is ALOT out there. BEST bang for your buck is to build one yourself. Check out Dayton stuff. Audiophile quality on a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich budget. Look for an amp, a driver and a cabinet and for the same price or less than the HSU or Klipsch, you will have a sub that those two can't touch at that price point.

Anywho, the info is there for you should you decide to do a little further investigating.

I get a barely audible "thump" from my RW12 d when I change sources on my receiver. It is a good Mediabridges insulated cable. My F12 never did this. Gain too high maybe? Sounds great otherwise. Not a big deal as much as I am just curious. Thoughts? Also I want to ask again if anyone has any other version than 1.14 on their Klipsch RW12-d.

It is the nature of the amplifier in the sub...Nadda can be done other than to keep the volume down when switching sources...

Are you saying all RW12s do it?

mine does that when I shut them off. It gives a low slow rumble sound.

I get no thump with my RW-12D. None at all.
Version 1.14

Volume is set to -12db. and I bump it up +3.0 db on the receiver. It might thump if I bumped it up more but I'm happy right where it's at.
Edited by XStanleyX - 11/30/12 at 6:27pm

I noticed mine do that too when I turned it off to change the cable.

I tried that with mine. No rumble. I haven't a clue why yours does and mine doesn't. Maybe you guys have your gain a lot higher? I dunno.

I think that's probably right. I have receiver at 0 and the RW at -2.

Audissey put mine at -1.5 db for my receiver so your gain is quite a bit higher than mine.

I would REALLY appreciate if somebody would further help me with my budget sub choice.

I've had a few subs in mind but never took the size of my room into account. I have a budget of up to $300. The sub will be strictly used for music (Hip-Hop and occasional Dubstep). I have a Denon 1613 receiver and a pair of Klipsch KB-15 speakers. The room is approximately 11.5ft x 11.5 ft. I'm moving in to a different house soon that will have a slightly bigger room (Probably only by 2 foot max on each side). I had previously been.looking at the BIC F12 or PSW505.

Please make suggestions based on the size of the room.

For 3 bills I'd wait til the Klipsch RW-12D goes on sale again on newegg. I have that one and the PSW505. The PSW is a good sub for the $190 it's selling for
but the Klipsch is the better sub if you don't mind spending the extra money.

+1. Cant beat it for $299 and it will shame the F12 and 505. btw I have the RW12 and F12.

Just setup my RW12d yesterday with a Denon AVR-3311. I noticed FW is at 1.14 like yours. I do get a mild, quick thump from the sub when powering everything up with my Harmony One, but I never notice it when changing inputs. I have the sub set at 0db and Audyssey set the receiver at -12db. I also have the sub set to auto-on if that matters with the thump.

Very happy with the sub so far.

-12 is waaaaaaaaay too low for proper Audyssey calibration. Turn the gain on the sub amp DOWN and re rum Audyssey to get the level as close to zero as possible in the AVR.

Thanks... I'll rerun Audyssey to see if I can tell a difference, but can you explain why it would matter? With a previous sub I had (Energy ES8) Audyssey popped up an error telling me to lower the sub and rerun. That did not happen this time.

Are you having trouble with the auto on with receiver at -12? It is best to have the receiver as close to 0 as you can regardless of where you have to set the sub. I am not an engineer but that is what everyone says. I do know if you set the rceiver at 0 and the sub at -9 for example the auto on should work better.

Auto on seems to be working fine. I just went to rerun Audyssey only to find my wife has turned on the dishwasher. Now waiting for it to finish.

Because you're bumping up against the limits and your subwoofer gain setting is outside the limits of Audyssey to measure and deal with what the subwoofer gain is set at.

Thanks for the explanation. I just would have thought Audyssey would have thrown the error message like I got before with the Energy sub.

-12 is the display limit. For all you know you may be at -16. Get as close to 0 as you can. -3.5 to +3.5 is considered acceptable.

Got it... that make sense. Thank you