Help me pick a SUBWOOFER. [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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RLiu818
10-12-2005, 02:46 PM
I need a powered subwoofer mainly for party use. Room is 23 x 14 feet, carpeted. But i want to shake the whole house if possible, and piss off the neighbors.

It needs to be big and powerful and people need to feel the vibrations when they are dancing and drunk.

I went to circuit city and picked up a MTX 12" sub and it sounds like crap when i turn it up. I am returning that one and im going to get a better one.

Amazone has these Klipsch KSW-12 on sale for 50% off.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009KIQNO/103-9050223-6503014?v=glance&n=172282

What do you think of those?

My budget is around $400 bucks. I don't have the time and energy to build my own sub, so what would be the best subwoofer to get in your opinion.

Thanks

EDIT: My receiver only has the wire speakers and RCA stereo out. NO subwoofer out.

Other Considerations: HSU VTF-2, SVS 20-39PCi... these other considerations cost over 2 times more.. i may drop the extra cash on these other considerations if you guys can convince me it will sound so much better.

The SVS PB10-ISD unfortunately only has a single Subwoofer In, so that is not an option available for me.

RLiu818
10-12-2005, 03:16 PM
anyone have any advice?

pelly3s
10-12-2005, 07:28 PM
go to www.partsexpress.com and get one of the Dayton kits

Woochifer
10-12-2005, 08:13 PM
Sounds like quite an ambitious goal! :rolleyes:

If you receiver has a premain output, then you can use it as an output that goes to the RCA input on a subwoofer. The transparency of the subwoofer crossover would be a consideration with audiophile applications, but frankly, your goal is just about playing loud, making things shake, and being a nuisance to your neighbors. Plenty of subwoofers can do that. Generally, in your price range, the subwoofers trade off low end extension for higher output. Lower end home subwoofers rely on the room boundary reinforcement to bump up the output on the bass and make it extend lower. How much of an effect it has depends on your room characteristics. The larger the space you want to reinforce (i.e. the other side of your house and your neighbor's living room), then the more output and air movement capacity you need from your sub; and you won't get that with a $400 subwoofer.

The SVS and Hsu subwoofers probably have among the best extension and output in their price class. Making it sound the way that you want is going to depend a lot on how you set it up and where in the room you place it, and where people listen to it (low frequencies are HIGHLY affected by the room dimensions, location, and acoustics).

If you want it both deep and extremely loud throughout the entire house, then you gotta pay for that privilege. And you'll probably need to set aside something to keep your health insurance up to date, because your hearing won't last too long with prolonged exposure to those kinds of SPLs.

Alternatively, you can go the DIY route and build a very large ventilated box and couple it with a large diameter driver (18"). It will go loud and go deep, but it won't be very accurate. Then again, accuracy does not seem to be a consideration here.

Maybe you should go to a pro audio/music store and just get a second hand PA subwoofer. Those are designed for concert level output and are built like tanks. They won't extend too deep, but they are loud.

hometheaterbug
10-12-2005, 09:00 PM
My budget is around $400 bucks. I don't have the time and energy to build my own sub, so what would be the best subwoofer to get in your opinion.

Other Considerations: HSU VTF-2, SVS 20-39PCi...



Both these subs will brind down da' house IMO.I have the 20-39 pci and it blows away my first subs KSW12 and Infnity 12 when it comes to deeeeep bass.But if your a party dog and want to save some space, I'd go with the smaller cylinder from SVS.It will give you all the bass you need in the area's where it counts.

One warning though, I tried to sell my SVS for 400 bucks and didn't get a single bite.I don't know why but there you have it.

shokhead
10-13-2005, 05:35 AM
I need a powered subwoofer mainly for party use. Room is 23 x 14 feet, carpeted. But i want to shake the whole house if possible, and piss off the neighbors.

It needs to be big and powerful and people need to feel the vibrations when they are dancing and drunk.

I went to circuit city and picked up a MTX 12" sub and it sounds like crap when i turn it up. I am returning that one and im going to get a better one.

Amazone has these Klipsch KSW-12 on sale for 50% off.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009KIQNO/103-9050223-6503014?v=glance&n=172282

What do you think of those?

My budget is around $400 bucks. I don't have the time and energy to build my own sub, so what would be the best subwoofer to get in your opinion.

Thanks

EDIT: My receiver only has the wire speakers and RCA stereo out. NO subwoofer out.

Other Considerations: HSU VTF-2, SVS 20-39PCi... these other considerations cost over 2 times more.. i may drop the extra cash on these other considerations if you guys can convince me it will sound so much better.

The SVS PB10-ISD unfortunately only has a single Subwoofer In, so that is not an option available for me.

Send SVS you room size,furniture,equipment used and music type and see what they suggest. They are good at that and wont over sell you.

mnilan
10-13-2005, 05:42 AM
RLiu:
I've been using HSU subwoofers for many years. Excellent performance and durability at reasonable prices. I had a VTF-2 for a dozen years and was very happy with it. I currently run a VTF-3 MK II in a room that is 17' X 30' and it has plenty of clean low end output.

As others have said, the SVS subwoofers also offer a good price/performance ratio. I have heard a couple of those but I don't know much about the specifics of their speakers. Both SVS and HSU will make suggestions based on your specific requirements.

Good luck!