Room Size: 22' x 12' Passive Radiator: Sansui impedance 8 OHMS Max Input 160 Watts Sony STR-DE898 Receiver Purpose: Music(Blues, Classic Rock, Jazz) and Movie
Sorry i am a totally idiot when it comes to this, please excuse me if i am not doing this right. If you need any more info please ask me. I am looking to spend around 200-300 dollars.
First off, you're not an idiot. An idiot would never ask for help.
How much do plan to spend on a sub? Is the Sansui a subwoofer or a pair of speakers? Do you plan to use the sub to take over some of the bass responsibilty or just handle what the speakers don't as in round off the bottom end?
Okay Stetson, I don't recommend simply buying a particular make or model of anything. If you can swing $369, the Mirage Omni S8 is very nice for its price range. If you can find an independent dealer in your area that can demo stuff and let you audition at home (they'll probably take a credit card #), that's your best bet. If not, you'll have to deal with chain stores like Best Buy. BB does have a 30 day return policy. I've heard it's a bit of a hassle though. Regardless of the store, going on a week day as opposed to an evening or weekend is the best way. You should take a listen to as many subs within your price range as possible. I'll have some more info asap.
Also Stetson, in looking at the receiver you have, it does not have subwoofer (LFE) output. This a line level output with an rca jack from the pre-amp that one would run coax cable from this output to the sub's rca/line level input. The Mirage S8 does have speaker level inputs, but not speaker level outputs. In otherwords, it will not filter any bass away from your speakers. So, if you use this sub, you will either have to find a way to filter out bass or have an over lap betweem your sub and speakers.
James thanks a lot in advance!!! yea i checked the receiver today and can't find the LFE output. if i buy one of those home theater from BB, will it does the job? Plymouth this sub woofer is indeed a better bargain than what BB has offer.
I wouldn't recommend running your main speakers through the speaker level outputs on a sub. Between the (typically) cheap speaker connections, filtering on the sub, and extra wire required you're going to lose some sound quality. You could power the sub this way, but I'd still run direct to the main speakers from the receiver.
Does the receiver have line level (or pre-amp) outs ? If so, an RCA connection from the L or R terminal of these outputs to the sub would be preferably to the speaker level outputs.
There are a number of subs in that price range but in that price range there is a lot of crap, so be careful. Reel Acoutics makes a decent inexpensive sub if you can find one. I'm not familiar with the others mentioned, but there are some reasonable ones out there.....as I said, you just have to weed through the junk when you're talking about $200 subs.
To get something that provides high quality bass at high volumes, you're likely going to need to spend a bit more money.
Stetson, The most important detail left out is the Height of your room. At 264 sq feet, that turns into 2640 CUBIC feet if you have a 10 foot ceiling. 12x22 is not a bad start. Adjoining spaces may be counted as well. A hall from the main room or open side rooms can effect sub performance. Placement should be thought of beforehand, too. ANY sub you buy should be bought with the REAL size of the room in mind. A too-small sub will not drive the room properly. especially if you listen to effects laden movies at louder levels.
With price / performance in mind, I bought a single sub. I could have barely afforded a PAIR of smaller subs. I have a slight helpful accident in that the listening room is really odd shaped. That helps the distribution of bass energy.
Subs increase in capability very quickly with price. Double your 300$ will get a bigtime boost in performance and capability. At that level you MAY want to look at SVS, Outlaw or HSU Research. The HSU is nice if you live in SouthernCalifornia since you can go pick it up, skip the shipping / waiting and maybe get 10% for cash....but still pay Jerry.
Since you don't have a LFE output, you will need to use the PRE OUT, located on the bottom row of RCA connectors, nearest the speaker connections. Use the crossover in the sub. You may want to look in the manual (you saved it, right?) and see just what it says about that output. The OTHER way to hook it up is to use the speaker level connections. This will allow you to cut the low frequencies from the 'main' speakers and direct them to only the sub. Your receivers amplifier will like you for that.
Let me again state that IF you can find an independent dealer nearby that carries subs in your price range, they're best bet for several reasons. Such stores are much more likely to have knowledgeable salespersons who will give demos and explain things, answer questions, etc. They are not trying to simply move stock quickly. Best Buy has sales rep flunkies who pretend to know their products, but really don't. So, if you can't find a real store, then you are stuck with BB.
My recommendation is, listen to as many subs in your price range that you can before buying. I personally find the Mirage S8 to be quite amazing. It's an 8" driver powered by a 100 watt amp. I find that it really handles music and movie sound tracks well. I listen to mostly jazz, but I've played rock, classical and even my son's metal cdd on it. It all sounds great to me. I could go on & on. You should also check out comparable Polk Audio, Definitive and other models. Check out the one Plym posted. Every pair of ears is different. You might like the Mirage or you might not.