Sub for my bedroom?

[PAT.P]

Hey guys, any suggestions on a sub. My bedroom is 11x13 with 8ft ceilings. I'm not sure if I should be looking for a sealed sub or not. I really don't have a budget, but I don't need to over do it. I just need enough to fill the room with some clean bass. Thanks

Are you going to remove all the furniture (bed ,dresser ) put polar bear carpet on floor with pillows?The sub going to bounce sound all over the place. I would go with one with driver at the bottom,at least the sound will travel.

[kexodusc]

I've built a lot of subs of both types this past year. The more subs I listen to the more I prefer sealed subs, so it's safe to say I have a certain bias here.
That said, I think a sealed sub might be best for your small bedroom here. It'll benefit more from the room's transfer function (room gain) and should provide a bit tighter, and more accurate response. This should compensate for any loss in SPL a sealed design has compared to a ported. It probably won't play quite as low as a ported sub could, though.
Let's see, some quick math here:
13 ft is your longest dimension so,
565/13 = 43 Hz...where room gain starts...Then theoretical room gain will be +12 dB at 21.5Hz.
Won't exactly work that way, but it gives you an idea. Your sealed sub rolls off at a the rate the room gain adds, so it effectively extends the output. Great in small rooms!!! A ported sub rolls off so fast that room gains contribution is minimal, but the ported design extends response. Some argue a sealed sub actually sounds more "full" or deeper because of this. I'd say it's close, with the edge going to porteds in my experience.
I don't think high - mid 20's Hz response is out of the question for you if you go with the 10" Titanic kit.

You up for building one? I could think of some better options that would be a bit more customized to your needs.

[L.J.]

You up for building one? I could think of some better options that would be a bit more customized to your needs.

Whadaya thinking Kex?

I'd perfer to do a kit, rather than having to cut wood and what not. The kit that Topspeed and GM suggested seems perfect, nice price too.

[kexodusc]

I built the 12" Titanic for my parents (my first DIY project a few years ago). It's a super nice sub for sure. It is a bit pricey for 2 reasons. The woofer is a high output design, good quality throughout, but doesn't come cheap. The cabinet is also pretty pricey, but it is pre-finished/cut.

Still, I had a Paradigm PW-2200 at the time that couldn't keep up, not even close. The Titanic sounded much stronger, tighter, more accurate, whatever you want to call it.

You could buy the cabinet from PE and sub in a different woofer/amp combo and save some money, but you'd probably need to cut holes in the cabinet. If that's not an option, then you're probably best off with something like the Titanic Kit.

Normally I don't recommend the 10" version. But your small room is the exception. It should thrive in there.

[L.J.]

You could buy the cabinet from PE and sub in a different woofer/amp combo and save some money, but you'd probably need to cut holes in the cabinet. If that's not an option, then you're probably best off with something like the Titanic Kit.

I really just don't want to bother with the cutting. I don't have the proper tools anyways. So I'm looking at $420 including shipping. Kex, if you think this kit is enough, than I'll trust your judgement. Can you think of any other subs in that price range that will match the performance of the 10" Titanic Kit?

[kexodusc]

I really just don't want to bother with the cutting. I don't have the proper tools anyways. So I'm looking at $420 including shipping. Kex, if you think this kit is enough, than I'll trust your judgement. Can you think of any other subs in that price range that will match the performance of the 10" Titanic Kit?

I can't think of any "kits" of the top of my head with cabinets that are close in price that I've heard myself or from relibable sources that I'd compare to the Titanic. If you had a router I could think of alternative woofers that would work in that box and do as well or better for less money. The Titanic woofer are good woofers, but they tend to me "jacks of all trades, masters of none", as the saying goes. Are you looking for max SPL? Good sound quality? Low frequency extension? Wll this be used for music or movies exclusively? A bit of both?

I'm confident you'll be happy either way. If you're not, I'm sure PE would take it back under their return policy.

No worries though. As a complete kit it's a great deal. I thought shipping was free on this thing?

I haven't heard the 10" version in the kit included cabinet. I've heard it in 2 other cabinets, one larger ported, one larger sealed. The sealed one I heard was designed exlusively to integrate with the owners stereo speakers. It played down to 29 Hz or so, but was all that he needed for his music. He sold a $700 Velodyne and used the money to buy the parts.
I seriously doubt you'll find an SVS or Hsu sub for that money that would sound as good. It might play lower or louder though. Maybe different, but I doubt better. I know the closest thing Paradigm would have would be the PW-2100. I owned one briefly. My parents 12" Titanic was better than my PW-2200 in just about every way. The PW-2200 played a tiny bit louder, but I never pushed it that hard anyway. I'm suspecting the PW-2100 would perform similarly against the 10" version.
Vance Dickason had a hand in designing these. He's no stranger to designing subs, does a lot of consulting work for companies like Velodyne and TC Sounds. He wrote the DIY speaker builder's "bible".

Adire use to sell the Rava for $400, which might have been a better option for you. You might be able to find one used?

Or if you can be patient, those Titanic subs get sold by PE on ebay quite often...I'm sure one would turn up soon enough at a bit of a discount.

[L.J.]

I can't think of any "kits" of the top of my head with cabinets that are close in price that I've heard myself or from relibable sources that I'd compare to the Titanic. If you had a router I could think of alternative woofers that would work in that box and do as well or better for less money. The Titanic woofer are good woofers, but they tend to me "jacks of all trades, masters of none", as the saying goes. Are you looking for max SPL? Good sound quality? Low frequency extension? Wll this be used for music or movies exclusively? A bit of both?

I'm confident you'll be happy either way. If you're not, I'm sure PE would take it back under their return policy.

No worries though. As a complete kit it's a great deal. I thought shipping was free on this thing?

I haven't heard the 10" version in the kit included cabinet. I've heard it in 2 other cabinets, one larger ported, one larger sealed. The sealed one I heard was designed exlusively to integrate with the owners stereo speakers. It played down to 29 Hz or so, but was all that he needed for his music. He sold a $700 Velodyne and used the money to buy the parts.
I seriously doubt you'll find an SVS or Hsu sub for that money that would sound as good. It might play lower or louder though. Maybe different, but I doubt better. I know the closest thing Paradigm would have would be the PW-2100. I owned one briefly. My parents 12" Titanic was better than my PW-2200 in just about every way. The PW-2200 played a tiny bit louder, but I never pushed it that hard anyway. I'm suspecting the PW-2100 would perform similarly against the 10" version.
Vance Dickason had a hand in designing these. He's no stranger to designing subs, does a lot of consulting work for companies like Velodyne and TC Sounds. He wrote the DIY speaker builder's "bible".

Adire use to sell the Rava for $400, which might have been a better option for you. You might be able to find one used?

Or if you can be patient, those Titanic subs get sold by PE on ebay quite often...I'm sure one would turn up soon enough at a bit of a discount.

Does PE ever do a free shipping offer or something like that?

I looked up the estimated shipping and it was about $60. That brings the price up to $420. The sub will be mostly for movies, with music going along for the ride. I will do some peeping around and hopefully something will pop up on ebay or something. I picked up some surrounds on Audiogon today, so that kinda put the sub thing on hold for a little bit. (WAF. Funny how wifee never cared about my HT habits, until it moved into the bedroom)

The Titanic seems to offer alot for $358 and that's probably a good price point for a bedroom sub. I have a few buddies with the tools I would need so maybe building one is a good idea. Especially since I'm under radar now. I guess I cant blame her since the 2.0 project somehow morphed into 5.1. Perhaps I should play it like Pat P and slip new speakers in on the quiet.

Anyways, if you have time Kex, perhaps you can provide some links to that orginal money saving plan you had so I can put that on my options list when the time is right.

Thanks for all the replies everyone