is there a sub for this huge room?

my neighbor is finishing his basement and i'm helping him do a 5.1 HT. He's been willing to pay for some decent gear, but now we're at the subwoofer purchase and the budget is thin. I need a sub that can fill his room. He watches alot of movies and hockey.

room is huge....like 35' x 24' x 8' and is a completely open game room.

HT setup:
Harman Kardon AVR 525 (used for $275)
Directv HD receiver (free from Directv)
6 Infinity Primus 150s (using one for the center) ($82/pair on closeout)
Pioneer DV-563 DVD player (already owns)
Sony 5 disc CD changer (already owns)
57" JVC HD rear projection TV (older model) ($500)

Problem is... his remaining budget is $400, maybe $450 shipped and he wants to buy a new subwoofer, not used.

I've done some research and the best i can find online is the JBL S120PII
This is an older model, but still available online. J&R has it for $298 plus shipping.

Anyone else have a recommendation?

For a room that size you may look at getting two sub's. You can go with one, but the point I'm making is how hard will he need to push it to fill the room. You don't want to create a booming sound by over driving it. Ideally you want that tight punch sound, so to get that type of response he may need to go with two. and nothing smaller than a 10".

also what type of flooring is use and wall covering? When I hear basement I think concerte floor or some type of hard floor covering and block walls. Which will add to the boomingness (if that even a word) lol.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-770

This may help on your sub hunt

Oh man. My first thought was of thisw model: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-762
but it looks like they've had a price increase. I picked up the 15" about what they want for the 12" now. Bummer! Still a great deal at 536.70 though.

i hear ya on the two sub front....but his budget would never allow. The JBL i mentioned is a 12" with a 400watt amp, but he really needs at least 15" (i guessing).

The room is sheetrock walls and get this....tile floor. So, boominess is defintely going to be a problem.

I'll check partsexpress, but it's back to budget again.


the sub recoveryone listed is a 15" partsexpress sub w/ a 240 watt amp. Would this fill a this room verses the JBL 12" w/ 400 watt sub??? The price is right....$295 plus shipping.

You may want to talk to Kex or do a search on Titanic. If I'm not mistaken, there was a thread awhile back that had some tweaks to get better performance out of that PE sub that Recoveryone mentioned.

Yeah, I believe that Kex talks about the Quatro drivers sounding better than the Titanics.
But, here is another link that I left off. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-770

It's has 15" driver, 240 watt amp, and only costs 294.50.

L.J.
the link you provided is tweaking the Titanic model. It does not mention the lower cost 15" sub. I would like to read some reviews on this model, but cannot find much out there.

Does anyone on this board have Titanic's little bro?

The guy will pull the trigger in the next few weeks so i have time to research. He's not a critical listener so which sub can fill this huge room and still be tight should be the winner. I'm guessing a 15" will produce more spl's than a 12". Is this accurate?

I mean a 15" sub for $300, seems too good to be true. I just don't want to steer this guy wrong. Hard to return subs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

L.J.
the link you provided is tweaking the Titanic model. It does not mention the lower cost 15" sub. I would like to read some reviews on this model, but cannot find much out there.

Does anyone on this board have Titanic's little bro?

The guy will pull the trigger in the next few weeks so i have time to research. He's not a critical listener so which sub can fill this huge room and still be tight should be the winner. I'm guessing a 15" will produce more spl's than a 12". Is this accurate?

I mean a 15" sub for $300, seems too good to be true. I just don't want to steer this guy wrong. Hard to return subs.

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Tarheel, it was discussed in this thread.

GM already pointed it out. The tweak was to replace the driver with a 15" Quatro. It was brought out in post #34 by Kex.

You can get the Dayton DVC 15", 3cu ft enclosure, and the 240w amp for about $370 at partsexpress. That sub would be very good. I would be very surprised if it didn't fill that room well. The price may be had to believe but purchasing a sub this way yields very good results.

Instead of the Dayton DVC 15" you could also consider the Adire Tempest Classic 15" from Acoustic-visions.com. I have this sub in my setup and it is completely overkill for my setup.

HEy Jeff, what do you have the Bass Shakers attached to. And how well do they work.

I have three amps connected to my subwoofer out on my receiver. The Soundstream amps power my subwoofer and I have an audiosource 5.2 amp for my 4 bass shakers. I like them during action movies because they add a little impact to the movie. My sub is able to do the same thing if I were to turn it up more. I live in an apartment so my neighbors would appreciate it if I didn't do that.

I've always wanted to try one of these transducers.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-864

I had thought about upgrading to the silver version of those but the Auras give me enough shake. I have the regular Auras, not even the Pro ones. Three of them are on my sectional and one on the chair.

The ONLY sub for what you are looking for, see the HSU VTF-3 with a turbocharger, this baby will move the hair on your head. www.hsuresearch.com

Howdy Buff, Not sure if you read some of the earlier post, but a more powerful sub is not the real answer here. The floors are tile so the sound will carry. What we are looking at is maintaining a tight bass sound and cutting down on reflective boom. along with staying within a $400 budget.

Its always nice to go with top of the line items if money was no object and even then one must consider the enviroment (walls. flooring), sometimes less will give you better results. I can testify to that fact in my own HT building efforts. I started with a pair of floor standing speakers and my current surrounds (about 10 yrs ago). And I thought all this surround stuff was a big wash, cause I did not hear the effects that I had heard about.

After doing more research in forums like this I learn that using speakers that are match will yield a better sound. I had an old pair of my 2 channel DJ speakers as my fronts and they were killing the surrounds. The floor standing speakers had a much higher SPL (96) than the surrounds (87). Once I figured this out I made the change and started really enjoying HT. I hated giving up those floor speakers (had them since college), but they were made for House party's and very loud listening, not for HT. So at times and budget we must select what would fit best and gain the real satisfaction of having setup that allows us to hear/feel what the sound engineer intended for us to hear.

Too bad the guy didn't put a lot of thought into the process. I had finished my basement and used Home Theatre carpet on the floor then bought a HSU Sub, for $775 with the turbo charger it would be a the cheapest subwoofer on the market..I am sure if he had money to finish the basement another $300 wouldn't break the bank.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HT BUFF

Too bad the guy didn't put a lot of thought into the process. I had finished my basement and used Home Theatre carpet on the floor then bought a HSU Sub, for $775 with the turbo charger it would be a the cheapest subwoofer on the market..I am sure if he had money to finish the basement another $300 wouldn't break the bank.

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well you have to keep in mind most people buy a HTIB and never really care about quality. I give this guy credit, he watched a few movies at my house and really wanted to the most sound out of x money. He did prewire for 5.1 before the sheetrock went up.

plus, he has to spend money on other stuff like a pool table and most importantly...stocking the bar!!!

i can't decide on recommending the partsexpress 15" sub or the JBL???

Before he spends his money, can he borrow a sub from someone before he makes a purchase. Can he buy from Circuit City or Best Buys and then take it back? I don't believe that a 35x24x8 room can be filled by (1) 15" or (2) 12"s. We have all purchased an audio product only to find out we needed more, this would give him a idea of what he is looking for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cjpremierfour

Before he spends his money, can he borrow a sub from someone before he makes a purchase. Can he buy from Circuit City or Best Buys and then take it back? I don't believe that a 35x24x8 room can be filled by (1) 15" or (2) 12"s. We have all purchased an audio product only to find out we needed more, this would give him a idea of what he is looking for.

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that is good advise...we live an hour away from any BB or CC, but it may be worth it. I just don't think any sub at those places can do his room justice. Although, after he hears a 12" sub in that room, maybe his budget will change.

I do think however that a good 15" sub can fill this room, just not at the $400 budget.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

that is good advise...we live an hour away from any BB or CC, but it may be worth it. I just don't think any sub at those places can do his room justice. Although, after he hears a 12" sub in that room, maybe his budget will change.

I do think however that a good 15" sub can fill this room, just not at the $400 budget.

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I think you should send a PM to Kex. I'm not sure why he hasn't chimed in already.
Hello? Kex? Are you out there? STOP NODDING!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cjpremierfour

Before he spends his money, can he borrow a sub from someone before he makes a purchase. Can he buy from Circuit City or Best Buys and then take it back? I don't believe that a 35x24x8 room can be filled by (1) 15" or (2) 12"s. We have all purchased an audio product only to find out we needed more, this would give him a idea of what he is looking for.

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You guys may be surpised how much a sub can carry. I run the audio board at my church and we have 2 yammie 18" subs along with a pair of Yammie 2 ways horn/15" woofer, an center riser speaker (thats about to die) and all the generic ceiling speakers.

The room is 250' long and 115 wide 17' high, my sound booth sits in the rear. the walls are block (I'm pushing for treatments) and the floor is carpeted and we have the standard drop ceiling tiles. When playing recorded music I can feel the subs. So don't think that a 12" can't handle a room that size and 2 12" would do the trick and maintain that tight bass sound you should be looking for. Most people still think that good bass is that type that linger on (boomines) NOT! your sub should hit like a punch in the chest, not a rumbling in your stomach.

The fact of it is that the standing waves of bass frequencies can bounce all over the place(especially with tile floors *shivers*) and for a long distance so I think the matter of room placement would be more important especially with a single sub. From what Tarheel_ has said, the room is still rectangular so that does give the room bias to length (I'm assuming here) So moving the sub halfway up the room may give great results for both music while playing pool and also for the movies that are watched (Once again, assuming that your viewing distance is under half the room length) Hard to say without a visual reference but you may be able to make due with a single 12. Good luck

Shane

this is the best i can do....the room is entirely open, no interior walls or poles. I'll recommend a large rug between the tv/center and couch. I thought about placing the subwoof next to the RF speaker by tucking it in the corner to help produce more bass. what do you think? I don't think he'll like a sub sitting along a wall exposed. The Right side wall has a fireplace between the RF and RR plus a glass door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
x LF C RF x
x x
x x
x x
xxxxxxx x
x couch x
x x
x LR RR x
x x
x pooltable x
x x
x x
x bar x
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not sure why this layout isn't posting correctly...the Right wall keeps moving to the Left!!!! ahhhh

OK, his speakers arrive today and the AVR receiver is in place. All we need now is the subwoofer. He's pressuring me to make a decision, but i can't decide.

So, i want this board to make the decision for me.

Both are $300.

thanks everyone who votes!!

Here are their specs.....
JBL:
*Amplifier Power (RMS): 400 Watts
*Low-Frequency Driver: 12" PolyPlas™ cone
*Inputs: Line Level (switchable to LFE), BassQ™ and Speaker Level with gold-plated, 5-way binding posts
*Outputs: BassQ™ and Speaker Level (High-Pass with gold-plated, 5-way binding posts)
*Low-Pass Frequency: Continuously variable from 50Hz – to 150Hz
*High-Pass Frequency: 150Hz when using speaker-level outputs
*Frequency Response: 22Hz – Low-pass crossover setting
*Dimensions (H x W x D): 17-3/16" (with feet, without spikes) x 16-3/16" x 18" (19" with grille) 437mm (with feet, without spikes) x 411mm x 457mm (483mm with grille)
*Weight: 56 lb (25.5kg)

Dayton:
Specifications:
*15” long-throw subwoofer driver
*240 watt amplifier
*Frequency range: 25–180 Hz
*Adjustable 40–180 Hz low-pass filter
*Line-level and speaker-level inputs
*Auto-on
*Dimensions: 18-3/4” H x 18” W x 19” D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

OK, his speakers arrive today and the AVR receiver is in place. All we need now is the subwoofer. He's pressuring me to make a decision, but i can't decide.

So, i want this board to make the decision for me.

Both are $300.

thanks everyone who votes!!

Here are their specs.....
JBL:
*Amplifier Power (RMS): 400 Watts
*Low-Frequency Driver: 12" PolyPlas™ cone
*Inputs: Line Level (switchable to LFE), BassQ™ and Speaker Level with gold-plated, 5-way binding posts
*Outputs: BassQ™ and Speaker Level (High-Pass with gold-plated, 5-way binding posts)
*Low-Pass Frequency: Continuously variable from 50Hz – to 150Hz
*High-Pass Frequency: 150Hz when using speaker-level outputs
*Frequency Response: 22Hz – Low-pass crossover setting
*Dimensions (H x W x D): 17-3/16" (with feet, without spikes) x 16-3/16" x 18" (19" with grille) 437mm (with feet, without spikes) x 411mm x 457mm (483mm with grille)
*Weight: 56 lb (25.5kg)

Dayton:
Specifications:
*15” long-throw subwoofer driver
*240 watt amplifier
*Frequency range: 25–180 Hz
*Adjustable 40–180 Hz low-pass filter
*Line-level and speaker-level inputs
*Auto-on
*Dimensions: 18-3/4” H x 18” W x 19” D

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I think you just crossed the line into SVI land. Sorry, no offense meant. Just having a little fun.

I'll vote for the PE sub. I feel that they are a great bang for the buck.