Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics inside)

[jycho]

I'm looking to upgrade my PC audio system by adding in a quality subwoofer and would like some recommendations for which subwoofer would be best to invest in for my set-up and needs. I have Swan M200 MKIII speakers on 36 inch speaker stands located 4 and a half feet apart on either side of my computer desk and they're run through the onboard sound on my ASUS P9X79 WS Motherboard.

The room measures 21 feet 5 inches in length, 12 feet 9 inches in width and the ceiling is 9 feet tall. Most of the time I'll be sitting in front of my computer at my desk so the speakers will be a little under 4 feet away from me on either side. Here are a few pictures of the room and my set-up (these were taken a year ago but the set up now is more or less the same).


I'm going to be using this 90% for music, and while I do watch some TV/movies on my PC, the purpose of the subwoofer is not for a home theater set up. Basically I want to add extra bass and volume to my sound system while still retaining high end sound quality. Im not an extreme basshead and only 30% of the music I listen to is hip-hop/bass-heavy, but it would be nice to get a subwoofer I could really feel and that would rattle the pictures on the wallsor, for example, make a song like this really pop, something I believe a quality subwoofer would help substantially.

My subwoofer budget is ideally under $400 but I'm willing to make an exception up to $500 if it's absolutely heads and shoulders above the rest in quality.

These are the 9 subwoofers (mostly) under $400 that I've found highly recommended after a few hours of research tonight, but I'm not at all sure which would be the best to go with for my setup and needs so any help/advice would be much appreciated. Also, if there's another option not listed here that would be better I'd be very open to considering that as well.
(not in any particular order.)

1. HSU STF-2 - $375 new
2. BIC Acoustech PL-200 - $329 new
3. Klipsch RW-12d - $325 used (discontinued)
4. Outlaw M8 - $249 new
5. Elemental Designs A2-300 - $215 - $250 used (discontinued)
6. SVS SB-1000 - $499 new
7. SVS PB-1000 - $499 new
8. Emotiva X-Ref 10 - $399 new (discontinued - can't find any links to used ones for sale)
9. Paradigm PW2200 - $430 used (discontinued)

The other thing to take into consideration is I'm not sure how to hook up the Swan M200 MKIII speakers to the subwoofer/my PC. Some of the options I've seen for how to hook up speakers such as these with a subwoofer and a PC seem quite complicated and pricey, and while I dont want to go with a cheapo way that will degrade the sound quality any, I also dont want to spend hundreds on simply connecting the speakers/subwoofer and PC, either.

So, with all this taken into consideration, what would be my best option? Thanks in advance for any help!

P.S.
Given the pictures of the room above, what would be the best placement for the sub? I was thinking under the center of the desk but maybe some more experienced audio pros could help me out there as well.

 

[grubyhalo]

Re: Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics ins

Hello

Here's what I would do in your situation:

Sub selection

Among the list of the subs you have short-listed, my vote would be for the SVS SB-1000. This is taking into account your preference for music over movies and ease of integration in your environment. The SVS is also simpler to hook-up, considering the speakers you're using.

Sub hookup

Since the Swans do not have a sub-out, you would need to connect your stereo out from the motherboard to the line-ins of your sub (the red lines in the diagram) and connect the line-outs of your sub to the line-ins of the speakers. You would need the following cables as well to make the necessary connections:

a. Mobo to Sub:

6ft Premium 3.5mm Stereo Male to 2RCA Male 22AWG Cable (Gold Plated) - Black - Monoprice.com

b. Sub to speaker:

6ft Premium 2 RCA Plug/2 RCA Plug M/M 22AWG Cable - Black - Monoprice.com

Sub placement

The optimal position for the sub would need a bit of experimenting different possible positions and see which sounds the best from your seating position. I'd probably start from the corner, behind the TV and try different positions along the wall.

P.S: I would also suggest getting an external sound-card/DAC for your setup. The following are 2 good options:

JDS Labs - Standalone ODAC

High Resolution Technologies - Music Streamer II+

 

[Santy]

Re: Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics ins

Your room is fairly large and I doubt if any of the sub in that list can rattle the windows. My choice would also be SVS SB1000 for music. However I strongly suggest you to increase your budget and so for SVS SB12 again a sealed sub but goes louder and deeper than the former one.

 

[jycho]

Re: Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics ins

Hello

Here's what I would do in your situation:

Sub selection

Among the list of the subs you have short-listed, my vote would be for the SVS SB-1000. This is taking into account your preference for music over movies and ease of integration in your environment. The SVS is also simpler to hook-up, considering the speakers you're using.

Sub hookup

Since the Swans do not have a sub-out, you would need to connect your stereo out from the motherboard to the line-ins of your sub (the red lines in the diagram) and connect the line-outs of your sub to the line-ins of the speakers. You would need the following cables as well to make the necessary connections:

a. Mobo to Sub:

6ft Premium 3.5mm Stereo Male to 2RCA Male 22AWG Cable (Gold Plated) - Black - Monoprice.com

b. Sub to speaker:

6ft Premium 2 RCA Plug/2 RCA Plug M/M 22AWG Cable - Black - Monoprice.com

Sub placement

The optimal position for the sub would need a bit of experimenting different possible positions and see which sounds the best from your seating position. I'd probably start from the corner, behind the TV and try different positions along the wall.

P.S: I would also suggest getting an external sound-card/DAC for your setup. The following are 2 good options:

JDS Labs - Standalone ODAC

High Resolution Technologies - Music Streamer II+

Thanks for the help. Though I am a bit concerned about keeping the budget fairly light (or at least moderately in range) unless it's absolutely necessary to spend more - and since you selected the most expensive sub on that list that would make the addition of either of the sound cards/DACs you recommended stretch the budget even more, at an extra $172.56 or $279.00 respectively. How necessary is either of these products for this set-up? How much of a difference would it make with or without them?

Your room is fairly large and I doubt if any of the sub in that list can rattle the windows. My choice would also be SVS SB1000 for music. However I strongly suggest you to increase your budget and so for SVS SB12 again a sealed sub but goes louder and deeper than the former one.

Best price I can find on this currently is $560 for a used one (so no guarantees about performance and no returns), which is about $160 above my budget or $586.27 new but from a no-name website with zero reviews or reputation, which I'm a bit hesitant about. The rest I've found are around $700 new from (mostly) reputable vendors. Would it hook up in the same way that the SVS SB1000 would or would I need to do something else for hookups? Would it really be worth the extra cost (for a used model) over a new SB-1000 and especially the $260 over the rest of the models listed?

 

[Santy]

Re: Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics ins

The rest I've found are around $700 new from (mostly) reputable vendors. Would it hook up in the same way that the SVS SB1000 would or would I need to do something else for hookups? Would it really be worth the extra cost (for a used model) over a new SB-1000 and especially the $260 over the rest of the models listed?

Yes, it is hooked up the same way.

Whether it is worth the additional cost is purely subjective. It depends if you are willing to pay that much for the additional gain in SPL. In subwoofer, law of diminishing returns kicks in pretty early in the graph of cost to output.

It also depends on the room size. In a small room once you have matched the sub levels with your main speakers, at moderate volumes, both would be similar. For larger rooms, when you listen at higher volumes, the difference would become fairly evident.

If you are willing to buy another sub in the future, then you can go for SB1000 and later on add another one. Whatever the brand is, dual sealed sub for music is a dream for many.

 

[cyber_cat]

Re: Best subwoofer for music for my Swan M200 MKIII speakers/PC/room setup? (Pics ins

Hi, since you are going to spend 6 Benjamin's. I would suggest you sell your swans and use that money and go for these: Amazon.com : KRK Rokit RP10-3 Mid-Field 10-Inch 3-Way Powered Studio Monitor : Studio Audio Monitors : Musical Instruments. Guaranteed to rattle your chair.

You will save your self a lot of hassle of sub matching, bundle of cables, etc.

Cheers