Subwoofer for music recommendations

[ttjt_99]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for a subwoofer upgrade to my current 50 watt Sony. The Sony is about 15 years old and can sound a little muddy at times. My living room is approx. 13x35’ so not very large.
Music tastes are anything from rock to jazz.
Preferably I’d like the sub to be more on the small side but still have clean tight punch. Also prefer to stay below $500.

I was looking at the Cambridge Minx x301 since size and price seemed reasonable.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Cheers

[mmcmonster]

Also prefer to stay below $500.
[...]
Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Just the obvious: Stay strictly below your price ceiling. You have many great options under $500. There's no need to go higher. The trade magazines (and review websites) are garbage and pander to whoever gave them their latest toy.

[dollarbillz]

It is at the top of your budget, but you may like to check out the SVS (svsound.com) SB-1000. I have the SB-2000 and it is wonderful, as is the company.

Also, will it be used for home theater as well, or music only? Given your taste in music, and depending on your speakers, they may not need much help reaching lower frequencies. Have you tried listening without your subwoofer to see if it's adequate?

Finally if you do want to check out the SVS, you can save a few bucks by buying from their outlet, which is what I did: https://www.svsound.com/collections/out ... subwoofers

[Bacchus01]

SVS is the best.

[samsdad]

It is at the top of your budget, but you may like to check out the SVS (svsound.com) SB-1000. I have the SB-2000 and it is wonderful, as is the company.

+1

I have an SB-1000 fed by a Decware Torii Jr. amplifier through the high-level-speaker connections and it is pure bliss with my Klipsch RB-81 mk. II speakers. The sub matches very well. It’s a very affordable sub and all the power you’ll need. My speakers and amp can get to rock-concert levels and the sub doesn’t have any problem keeping up. But where the sub shines is at low-level listening because it preserves the lower frequencies that are otherwise lost due to the equal-loudness contours at those levels all the way through the mid-bass: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour.

The SB-1000 is the only SVS sub that has the high-level connections FYI.

[ttjt_99]

It is at the top of your budget, but you may like to check out the SVS (svsound.com) SB-1000. I have the SB-2000 and it is wonderful, as is the company.

Also, will it be used for home theater as well, or music only? Given your taste in music, and depending on your speakers, they may not need much help reaching lower frequencies. Have you tried listening without your subwoofer to see if it's adequate?

Finally if you do want to check out the SVS, you can save a few bucks by buying from their outlet, which is what I did: https://www.svsound.com/collections/out ... subwoofers

Yes, my setup is also for home theater. I have Bose 301s as my mains with a Polk center and generally keep my listening levels moderate due to living in a condo with neighbors. I have looked at svs as they seem really nice. The low level listening with the svs seems to be exactly what I’m looking for. My receiver is a Sony. I’m not listening at audiophile levels as most of my music is streamed via Bluetooth over my echo dot with Amazon music unlimited. The sound is surprisingly good for my ears considering.

[lack_ey]

Apparently this is an SVS hype thread, so I am here to report I am satisfied with my SB-1000 as well. Am I done? Can I leave now?

[blaugranamd]

Love the SVS love. My budget was around yours when I was looking for a new sub. We have the PB-1000 and it's an absolute monster for games and movies, which was our main use. Our room is 18x40x8 and it can shake nails out of the drywall . I have heard great things about the SB version for music. No regrets about hitting the top of our budget.

[Bacchus01]

Apparently this is an SVS hype thread, so I am here to report I am satisfied with my SB-1000 as well. Am I done? Can I leave now?

There really is no better value in subs. When you start getting into multi-sub massive home theater setups you might be able to find better, but not for the money.

[TomatoTomahto]

It’s all about the integration between sub and mains. I happen to be a big fan of how Anthem Room Correction (ARC) works with my Martin Logans (mains and sub), but there are other solutions. That, and acoustic treatments, are a much bigger ROI than the particular sub you use.

Just my 2 cents; you may now go back to your regularly scheduled SVS love fest.

[afatcat]

If your current sub sounds muddy you might try experimenting with placement if you have not already.

https://www.svsound.com/blogs/svs/75365 ... -placement

[TomatoTomahto]

If your current sub sounds muddy you might try experimenting with placement if you have not already.

https://www.svsound.com/blogs/svs/75365 ... -placement

Placement, and maybe some bass traps (cheap ones work well in corners).

[iamlucky13]

If your current sub sounds muddy you might try experimenting with placement if you have not already.

https://www.svsound.com/blogs/svs/75365 ... -placement

That may well be part of it, but I'd guess that his current 50W Sony is not likely to be anything designed with clear, tight sound specifically in mind.

A little more experimentation with placement is certainly a cost-effective start, but if that doesn't yield the desired results, the entry level SVS sealed unit is supposed to be one of the best out there for music. It should have far more power than need to pair with medium-sized Bose speakers, but still sound good when turned down to match.

Not only do they go down to something like 25Hz (beating a lot of decent ported subs for bass extension), but they also have a good response up to around 200 Hz, which can be helpful for pairing with a main pair of speakers that don't go very low.

That said, I don't own one. I'm still biding my time while figuring out how to justify it to my wife, since I'm normally very tight with my home entertainment budget.

In the meantime, I use a Pioneer SW-8MK2, which gets the job done, especially for the price. It's not powerful or particularly deep, but produces a good clear sound across the volume range I've tried in my somewhat small living room. Definitely not muddy or boomy. Its flat response range is about 35-100 Hz, so it's best paired with decent mains.

[Teague]

Bang-for-buck I'm partial to Hsu. http://www.hsuresearch.com/subwoofers.html This is a factory-direct company run by an engineer who basically eats, sleeps, breathes subwoofer design. I have two of their units and am quite pleased, particularly for the money. There's a $399 model that should suit your needs.

Muddy bass can be from a poorly designed subwoofer, or other things. Often it's really the mid-bass frequencies, unwanted reflections, and unruly standing waves causing the problem. Sub location is important (yes... I know bass is "non directional" but location within the room is important.)

Here's a trick: place your subwoofer wherever you will be sitting when listening. Yes, put it right in that chair or on the couch. Turn on some music at a normal listening level. Now, get down on your hands and knees and crawl around on the floor of the room the sub will be in. Find the place where the bass is loudest. It's probably in a corner of the room, but maybe not. Now move the sub to that spot. Better?

[NewOldGuy]

+1 https://www.svsound.com/

I own two. One looks like a small water heater, the other is conventional box. Both are outstanding at what they do. I purchased about 10-15 years ago and they are still going strong. Can vibrate room on movies, still very musical for casual listening. Placement is critical for all subs to maximize sounds without cancelling.

Don't see the cylindrical style available. They were very popular, unfortunately the were very large. I own this one... http://www.audioreview.com/product/spea ... 39pci.html

[azanon]

For music and small size, SVS SB-2000 (I own one). But if you can find the room, and watch movies, SVS PB-2000 is much better (I own one of these too), and still good enough for music unless you're doing some very critical listening and want really precise sound.

SVS occasionally has VERY good sales though (such a black friday), so it's better to wait until one of those. They're usually significant discounts (30-40% range, going on memory).

[ttjt_99]

Thanks everyone, I just ordered the SVS sb1000 from SVS's outlet. based on everyone's recommendation. I was hesitant until my wife said "just buy the damn thing already, you've been wanting it long enough". I guess that's a sign my frugality is driving her nuts. Who am I to argue? I'll be working on placement once it comes and I rearrange some livingroom furniture.

I will be watching movies with it and am sure this will more than suffice. There were definitely tons of good reviews for this model.

I appreciate everyone's help!

[ttjt_99]

Holy crap you guys were spot on with the SVS sb1000. Just got it delivered set up this evening. Still getting it dialed in but I wish I had bought it sooner!