PSW10 vs. Dayton 10" subs

[Jumby]

Putting together a budget system for myself, so far I have an onkyo tx-sr503, just picked up 4 polk r15's, and a csi25 center. Grand total shipped so far is $377.77, I'm pretty proud of the deals I have found. But now I need a sub. For a budget sub I always hear the Dayton 10" from partsexpress is about the best deal, but they have a psw10 at crutchfield in the scratch and dent section for $155. So opinions on which might be better? I'm not in the least hung up on all the speakers being polk....

[caniac]

Get the Dayton.

I had one of the Polks for about a week, but I returned it for the 12" version. The PSW10 is not a bad sub, but it was a little underpowered for my needs.

Of course, if you have a small, closed-in room, it would do OK. I would still recommend the Dayton though.

[Jumby]

Thanks... how about the Velodyne vx10? Found those sell for about the same and seem to recall they were fairly well regarded but I thought they started at a much more expensive price.....

[zepman1]

Velodyne makes a lot of good subs. The vx10 ($170 at Vann's) is one of their budget models and is a little underpowered at 100 watts. I'd probably try the Dayton since it has 150 watts. Never heard one, but everyone who has seems to think they are the best budget sub out there.

[kexodusc]

When you're buying a sub, power is important, but don't get too carried away with watts. The difference between 100 and 200 watts isn't nearly as much as much as you'd think, especially for subwoofers. Pay attention to the sensitivity/efficiency spec if the manufacturer even quotes it. I've seen some subwoofers that have 400 watts, but an 86 dB efficient woofer. The same ouput could be achieved by a 100 watt sub matched with a 92 dB efficient woofer.

I recently built a small 8" subwoofer of about 88 dB efficiency and matched it with a 70 watt plate amp. I have no problem getting an in room response of 90 dB with peaks 6-9 dB higher. I'm only using a few watts of power here. I could get more, but the tiny 8" woofer runs out of excursion and will bottom out below 24 Hz pretty fast. But that's pretty loud for a medium size room.

[Jumby]

I just checked the 10" Dayton and it is only $124, I think I'll give it a swing. Thanks for all the help. Dumb question though.... my onkyo tx-sr503 only has a composite preout for sub, and looking at the back of the dayton I see line level and a right/left composite in... how do I hook this sucker up when I get it?

[kexodusc]

The manual will probably tell you to connect the cable to the left (or right) input on the sub's plate amp, but you can get a Y-splitter and plug the two ends of the "Y" into both L and R inputs.
This increases output. If you find it too loud, take one out.

[jocko_nc]

I believe the L and R are combined in the amp. To use one of them is fine.

jocko

[kexodusc]

I believe the L and R are combined in the amp. To use one of them is fine.

jocko

Yes, they are combined, what happens is voltage remains constant as you split a signal (parallel), and is then added together when they meet again in the amp, this strengthens the input voltage, and boosts the signal.

Jock is right, using one is fine, the same effect can be accomplished by just increasing the volume knob a bit or boosting the LFE level in your receiver.

[Jumby]

seemed to me I could do that, just wanted to make sure, thanks for all the help. all the goodies should be here in the next day or so, I'm way overdue replacing the ancient htib that I have been using....

[jocko_nc]

Have fun with that sub. You will enjoy.

[Jumby]

thanks again for the help, now it is time to wander over to the cable section and figure that part of the puzzle out...