Guidelines for choosing subwoofer size/power?
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New member Username: Jack_cWinona, MN United States Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-08 | I've never had a subwoofer before, and am planning on adding one to my system later this summer. I'm wondering if there are any guidelines for choosing how large one needs to be, based on room size? Or is it more a matter of a 10" one sounding one way, while a 12" one sounds another way? I don't want one that's too small obviously, but at the same time I don't want one that's going to rattle every window in the house whenever I watch TV - there are other people living here too  My room is 15' X 30', but the "family room" portion of it is 15' X 15'. There's no wall separating it from the rest of the room. I only need to fill the 15' X 15' portion of it with sound. My price range is $200 - $250. I was thinking of getting an Infinity PS212 (12", 400 watts). I base that solely on the idea that Infinity is a good brand and I dunno, that sounds like it would be plenty of power. And it's in my price range. Does that sound like a good choice? I'll just be using it for watching movies and TV, not listening to music. Like I say, I don't want something that's going to annoy everyone in the house, however I want realistic low frequency effects - the way the movie makers intended - while watching stuff. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks! |
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Silver Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 812 Registered: Feb-07 | Infinity is not a bad choice at all. At that price point you could look one of the lower end Velodyne subs as well. |
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Silver Member Username: MccambleyBREEZY POINT, NY USA Post Number: 480 Registered: Jun-05 | The Infinity PS212 is selling at Vanns for $400 so if you can get one for $200-400 go for it. Butif your price is wrong come back befor purchasing and maybe we can do beter |
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New member Username: Jack_cWinona, MN United States Post Number: 2 Registered: Apr-08 | Amazon has the PS212 for $245, from a place called Electronics Expo. Their feedback is 95% positive. Hopefully they'll still have some by the time I have the money to buy one, because otherwise the lowest price seems to be $400 and above. |
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New member Username: Jack_cWinona, MN United States Post Number: 10 Registered: Apr-08 | Well, they don't have it for $245 anymore. And I still haven't saved up enough money  Now I'm kind of debating between an Elemental Designs A2-300 or an AV123 X-sub. The A2-300 sounds like it would be fantastic. Goes down to 18 hz, plenty of power to shake the whole room, gets great reviews. But I'm not really looking for something that would rattle the windows at the other end of the house whenever I watch a movie. And, it's expensive (for me) at $315, and from what I hear it's going up to $375 in the next week or two. So it would take me until August to save up for. The X-sub rates better for music, and I've been listening to a lot of music lately. Bought a new receiver and it's reinvigorated my love for music and also there's nothing on TV. On the other hand it only goes down to 28 hz. My fronts go down to 40, and would the extra 12 really make a $250 difference? It rates poor for home theater, especially in a large room like mine, but with its small size I could put it right behind my La-Z-boy. And like I say, I don't want to rattle the windows, just get some solid bottom end and relieve my receiver and speakers from having to power and produce low end bass, which will hopefully get rid of the muddiness in the mids when playing music at higher volumes. If the X-sub proved way too small, I could always buy a second one next year. Decisions, decisions... Maybe I should continue saving for the A2-300, kind of the obvious choice with more power, much lower bottom end, and I'm sure I'd never want anything more. But the X-sub is so much less expensive, and supposedly fantastic for music. Any advice? Maybe I should just quit prattling and keep saving. |
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Silver Member Username: JrbayLivonia [Detroit area], Michigan USA Post Number: 248 Registered: Feb-08 | With the idea that something is better than nothing.. I think you have answered your own question. If you put the sub behind your Lazy Boy you should get sufficient "kick" from it to make a major improvement to your system even with the lower cost X-Sub for both music and movies. The idea that you could buy a second one later on is my kind of thinking!!!  If you need help setting up your speakers check this out: http://customconnectionsonline.com/faq4.html |
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Silver Member Username: MccambleyBREEZY POINT, NY USA Post Number: 501 Registered: Jun-05 | I understand that you have a limited budget but a $250 sub is usually a waste of money. You have a big room and there is no "I only need to fill the 15' X 15' portion of it with sound" in a 15 x 30 room. The room is 15 x 30 and you can argue all you want about only filling 15 x 15 portion but sound does not work that way. Save up some more money and check out HSU Research sub or Outlaw Audio subs (built by HSU) these are more like $500. You talk about your mains going down to 40 Hz but again that is not how it works you set your crossover in the receiver usually at 80Hz. If you find a $300 sub that goes down to 18Hz I would be leery of those stats. |
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Silver Member Username: MccambleyBREEZY POINT, NY USA Post Number: 502 Registered: Jun-05 | I know you want to stay in your budget so check out this sub from HSU Research http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html |
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Bronze Member Username: Jack_cWinona, MN United States Post Number: 11 Registered: Apr-08 | Those HSU subs look like a really nice middle-ground, probably better with movies than the X-sub, and perhaps better with music than the eD A2-300. I read the review at Audioholics and was very impressed. So, that's another great option. I could afford the STF-1 pretty soon, or save a bit for the VTF-1. Thanks for the advice! |
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