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looking for a sub $1000 sub

6K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  thetman 
#1 ·
Ok here's the situation guys. I have a bedroom setup that I use to watch movies when I'm not on my main system, and while I don't mind turning the volume down, I'm a bass head to the core. My main system in the front room are dual 18 inch martys and there is almost nothing those things can't do (insane). But for the bedroom I have a single SVS PB-10 ISD (at least 14 or 15 years old). Now this bedroom is 12 wide, 14 deep and 8 foot tall (about 1350 sq feet) and a PB-10 does decently well. HOWEVER, I do get some strain cuz a 10 incher can only go so far since I like to listen at wall shaking levels. I've got it calibrated well enough and level matched, but on super low frequency things like End of Tomorrow and A Quiet Place (that thing has a frighteningly low sonic dip) and I get port chuffing on it, meaning I'm straining it just a bit more than it should be (the SVS-PB 10 drops like a rock past 25 hz, so anything low will strain it a tad). NOW, here's the conundrum. I have VERY limited areas to put the subs, but the front left of the room is pretty much my only spots. LUCKILY it's also one of the better spots in the room to put the sub when doing the sub crawl so I lucked out. But what that means is I only have that front left of the room to put subs so multiple subs to smooth nodes is out of the question, so I need to upgrade my old PB-10 to something beefier. Now I'm not going to afford a PB-13 or something, but I was looking around saw the PB-2000 and PC-2000 (I like the PC-2000 due to the footprint) which should be a substantial increase, but I've been out of the ID sub world for so long I have NO IDEA what the competitors offer.

my question is, besides the PB/PC 2000, are there any other subs in the $700-$900 range I should be looking at that would exclipse their performance? Also would the PC-2000/PB-2000 be enough of an upgrade over the old PB-10? I'm wanting to play lower without straining my PB-10 so much, and while it does great in that small of a room, I want to give it more breathing room and go lower
 
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#2 ·
Your opening line made me instantly think of this. Okay here's the situation......my parents went away on a weeks vacation. :D



I would be looking at the Monolith THX Ultra 12. You can run it in various port modes, including sealed. It's just a beastly sub and about as bullet-proof resistant to distortion and port noise as you can get. I've had the PB-2000 and PC-200o and while they are really nice subs, the Monolith 12 is just more impressive in every aspect. It is a bit on the large size, but that enables it to do pretty well in extension. Monoprice has an ebay store and you can get the Monolith 12 about once a month for around $700 with the ebay codes they offer.
 
#3 ·
Your opening line made me instantly think of this. Okay here's the situation......my parents went away for a weeks vacation. :D



I would be looking at the Monolith THX Ultra 12. You can run it in various port modes, including sealed. It's just a beastly sub and about as bullet-proof resistant to distortion and port noise as you can get. I've had the PB-2000 and PC-200o and while they are really nice subs, the Monolith 12 is just more impressive in every aspect. It is a bit on the large size, but that enables it to do pretty well in extension. Monoprice has an ebay store and you can get the Monolith 12 about once a month for around $700 with the ebay codes they offer.
oh, I forgot about the new Monolith 12s! Todd Anderson over at another forum reviewed it and thought the thing was a beast. One thing I haven't heard though is the parts quality on the Monolith 12 (specifically the amp) and the customer service. I've just always kept my SVS subs (when I wasn't building my own) because of their legendary support. But for $700 I'd be willing to take a gamble. Sadly it's out of stock right now but I'm in no hurry. it's not like I'm subless
 
#5 ·
The standard list of sub $1000 subs is: Monolith 12, Hsu VTF 3 Mk 5, and PSA V1510DF. Each of these has their own fan club, but really any of the three will do what you want. I admit I'm slightly partial to PSA as an owner myself. I went from a PB-10 to an XV15SE which is a predecessor model to the V1510DF. PSA is owned by former SVS guys with Tom V being the V in SVS. They also US source as much components as possible and Tom is generally considered to be outstanding for customer service and support and I can vouch for that myself.

Really, you can't go wrong with any of these three so do some research on them and see which you think will work best for you.
 
#6 ·
Agree these are the usual suspects you should be choosing from under $1000. While I'm an SVS fan and own dual PC-4000s they are not the output value leader. The Monolith gets rave reviews and seems to be a small step above the PB/PC 2000. The Hsu and PSA are a class above the PB/PC 2000 and are probably closer to the SVS ported 4000 series than they are to the 2000 series. I would get the PSA in your shoes but they would all be fantastic in that room. Always liked the look of that down-firing enclosure and they seem to have SVS level support. All that being said if you are more comfortable with SVS or like the small footprint of the cylinder you have a rather small room so the 2000 series would still be more than adequate and a significant step up from what you have. I used to have a PC-2000 and it did a decent job in a 3200 cu ft living room with a fixed 4.5 ft opening.
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
HSU Research VTF-3 MK5 HP
Rythmik Audio LVX-12
Monoprice Monolith 12

If you can stretch your budget $50 the Power Sound Audio V1510DF.

Monoprice has good service but is not going to have the same level of support as the others.

For a bedroom setup, size matters to me. I am using a Monolith 10 but with your budget I would have chosen the Rythmik LVX12.
 
#9 ·
For just $32 more my vote would be HSU VTF-15H mk2. Hands down this would be your best option :D
 
#10 ·
I would disagree. Owning both the Monolith 12 and VTF-15H.2, If I had a smaller sized room and wanted to spend $700-$900 I would go with the Monolith. It will have more than enough output and is less susceptible to port noise. The Monolith, IMO, is a better made sub and has a better sound to it. I would imagine the Monolith 15 would be flat out incredible, but that's out of the budget and really more sub than needed for a smaller sized room.
 
#19 ·
PSA is an awesome company, take it from me I have dual V1801 subs and would not trade them in for anything :D
 
#22 ·
interesting... I'll keep on looking ,but I like what I see from Monolith for the price, and the HSU looks whicked too (but a bit on my high end for price, still doable though). How is HSU's CS compared to SVS and PSA? I hear good things from PSA, but I bought my ID subs before they were a thing and had always stuck with SVS because of their legendary service (although the PC2000 is looking a bit underperforming at the PRICE POINT compared to the competition)
 
#24 ·
Why don’t you build some DIY enclosures to slide under the bed?
 
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