help with subwoofer selection

doors666

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Hi,

I am looking for a subwoofer. I have small kids, so this has to be a down firing one. This will be used a lot for movies (action, scifi, comedy) and some music too (classic rock, rock and roll, some heavy metal, some indian and western classical, jazz, blues). The sub should not be boomy. It has to be good with movies and music both.

I went through a lot of posts, but still cant decide which one to go for.

My budget is around 35k, with an upper hard limit of 40K.

My existing system is B&W 602 s2 as fronts, LCR600 as center, B&W rock solid 150W for the rears. Yamaha RX-V596 is the avr (might replace with rxv663 or marantz sr5003 in near future). Cheapo Samsung dvd player and HTPC as sources.

The layout of the room is below.



Please advise as to what would be some good subwoofers for this and I will start with the auditioning. Also, while purchasing a subwoofer, should I consider this room to be a 17x14 room or a 34x14 room. Please also give me a rough idea as to what specs I should be looking at for my needs with respect to the driver size, wattage, frequency range etc.

Thanx
doors
 
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I tried the MS 409 yesterday, its the one that comes with the genie package. Cost quoted was 23k. Its 10" 200W downfiring subwoofer. Does not have speaker level inputs, only rca style input and output, has the notch filter, crossover etc.

I liked it for the music, tried AC/DC and doors. Initially I could not even make out if the sub is on or not, then went and increased the volume to about 75% and then the sub could be felt. Did not tinker with the amp settings though. Bass was nice and tight and not boomy.

Although for movies, I found this sub to be lacking. Tried kill bill 1 that I took with me, it never looked like its going to do a great job with movies.

In the small acoustically treated/padded/carpeted room, if it failed to impress with movies, I guess it might do a pathetic job at my large and badly designed living/dining/kitchen combo room. Another concern was the lack of horsepower as I had to go all the way upto 75% on volume. So I guess this one is ruled out.

Also went to check out wharfdale, saw the sw150 and wharfdale pc cube 12+ and 15+. Could not really audition though as the person who sets it up was not there.
sw150 kinda looked small, also with only 150watts, not sure if it can do a good job with movies in a large room. Its also front firing, but I was told that the grill is really hard to take off. Any idea about the performance of wf pc cube 12+ and 15+.

I am also considering polk dsw pro 600. I heard its good for movies. Can anyone tell me how good it is with music. Dont want it to overpower my main speakers for music.

Any other decent down firing subs that I can consider? How do people protect their front firing subs from kids attack
 
Try wharfedale SW-250 down firing sub with remote control, goes very well with both music and movies, adn also fits in your budget, you can also go for pc12 and pc15.
 
Hi Doors,
For the Price , I strongly suggest the Klipsch Sub12.
BASH digital amplifier with 300 watts RMS continuous & 650 watts peak.12" down-firing with 4.5" bass port at the rear.For less than 30K no other sub comes close.A friend of mine has a polk Rti setup. He too was looking at the Pro600, until we had a demo of the Sub12 and it was barely turned halfway.
It it just so very powerful ,it sends shockwaves through the floor.
Just watch the Transformers & you'll know what I'm talkin'bout.:cool:
Just audition it before you decide buddy.

Yes there are better subs but the price to performance factor is what makes me crazy about the Sub12.It's that good.
Just for your ref have a look at this link.
Best Buy Klipsch 12" 650W Powered Subwoofer Customer Ratings & Reviews - Top & Best Rated Products
:thumbsup:
Regards,
Samuel
 
Try wharfedale SW-250 down firing sub with remote control, goes very well with both music and movies, adn also fits in your budget, you can also go for pc12 and pc15.

sw250 has been discontinued by wharfdale. One guy is selling it for 36K for a scratched demo piece. It used to go new for 39K, but it seems the base price has gone upto 50K:sad:
 
Doors,

You could try the newly released Velodyne Impact 12, this recently got a 5 star rating in the latest issue of What Hi-Fi. Its costs around 36k and in terms of performance compares to the hugely successful CHT 12R from Velodyne.

Another of my fav brand on sub is Paradigm, they have some great line. Their latest DSP series are a very good VFM.
 
Well, I am going to add to the ecletic mix here. In the price range you have mentioned, the EPOS ELS3 Sub will be a pretty hard one to beat - especially if you value musicality as well as brute power in a sub.

I felt that the Polks (DSW series) do a bit more than the EPOS in terms of impact in movies but they are no match to the EPOS when it comes to music.

Lastly I dont get as to what children have to do with preferring a downfiring subwoofer. Surely a front firing sub will not harm children!
 
Lots of responses:) will try to answer all in one post.

klipsch sub 12 - will check it out tomorrow. available for 25k at modern world.

sw250 - at decibels for 42k, shop will not open for another couple of weeks as anand's father has passed away. Is it worth buying a discontinued model at full price. Will there be a problem with spares later. vector doesnt have one. Any other wharfdale dealer?

Polk dsw 600 - yet to try at profx

Energy and paradigm - where to check, which model, prices?

Velodyne impact 12 - havent tried yet, did try the cht10r at arn systems today. sub was fine, but the front non removable grill was thinner than a baniyan, my son can even poke it with his fingers. ARN didnt even mention the impact 12. Will ask tomorrow.

Epos ELS - went to reference point, as usual venky wasnt available. His associates dont know anything about probably anything... Anyway, its been discontinued and production has been stopped. it seems it was going for like 180 pounds in UK recently, even from the epos site I believe. If the dealer does not give any discounts, is it still a good buy?
 
Paradigms are quite decent. I got the price quotes from their dealer in Kolkata (in mail might be negotiable) here is the price list
1.DSP-3100 Rs.29,500.00
2)DSP-3200 Rs.43,500.00
3) DSP-3400 Rs.56,500.00
4) Studio Sub12 v5 Rs.106,000.00
5) Studio Sub15 v5 Rs132,000.00

I did listen to the DSP-3200 and sounded pretty good.The bass seemed less boomy(and quite tight) compared to other ones like Energy subs that I tried.

I know its difficult to find a HSU or SVS in India, no harm in trying (I am planning to get one of these from Canada if possible) Heard a SVS and was completely blown away.

Best of luck in Sub hunting.
 
doors - I also heard that the ELS series is being phased out. More likely that they are going to introduce new models (including sub) to match the new ELS 8 speakers. But the outgoing ELS 3 speakers as well as the ELS Sub are outstanding pieces in terms of sound reproduction as well as value for money.

Do audition the equipment and let us know what you decide on.
 
doors - I also heard that the ELS series is being phased out. More likely that they are going to introduce new models (including sub) to match the new ELS 8 speakers. But the outgoing ELS 3 speakers as well as the ELS Sub are outstanding pieces in terms of sound reproduction as well as value for money.

Do audition the equipment and let us know what you decide on.

I called up reference point yesterday, they are the distributors for epos. Venky told me that the price for the EPOS ELS is around 37-38K. How the hell do they really expect that people will pay that kind of dough for a discontinued model? And then they have the gall to crib about people who purchase equipment from US/UK:mad:

I also went to modern world to try klipsch. He quoted 25k for the sub-12 and when I went there, he told me its 29K. In the middle of the audition, he kicked me out because their lunch time is from 2.30 to 4pm. Wtf happened to professionalism:mad:

This is such a frustrating process to buy things, especially on a budget. I wish I had the kinda money where I could just go and buy the biggest and the baddest sub out there is.:D
 
Oops! A determined child bent on having fun will mess up anything - front or down or around:). But I get the point.

Front firing ones may have ports that kids put stuff into, the downfiring ones mostly dont so you wont hear the painful sounds of a toy vibration at lower frequencies :)
 
I also went to modern world to try klipsch. He quoted 25k for the sub-12 and when I went there, he told me its 29K. In the middle of the audition, he kicked me out because their lunch time is from 2.30 to 4pm. Wtf happened to professionalism:mad:

This is such a frustrating process to buy things, especially on a budget. I wish I had the kinda money where I could just go and buy the biggest and the baddest sub out there is.:D

Don't lose your enthusiasm. Irrespective of the budget, an unprofessional dealer employee will always be unprofessional. This has to do more with training and his interest level than anything else.

Today, excepting a few places, wherever I go, I expect unprofessional behaviour. I wait patiently, and harass the employee to show me what I want. I don't see any other option. Sometimes I think we are too well behaved. I have seen may potential clients insulting and being rude to dealers. Maybe that is what they expect. Maybe the don't expect you to be well behaved.

Cheers
 
Don't lose your enthusiasm. Irrespective of the budget, an unprofessional dealer employee will always be unprofessional. This has to do more with training and his interest level than anything else.

Today, excepting a few places, wherever I go, I expect unprofessional behaviour. I wait patiently, and harass the employee to show me what I want. I don't see any other option. Sometimes I think we are too well behaved. I have seen may potential clients insulting and being rude to dealers. Maybe that is what they expect. Maybe the don't expect you to be well behaved.

Cheers

Food for thought, Venkat. I have been thinking on the same lines for some time now. So you are not alone:)
 
I called up reference point yesterday, they are the distributors for epos. Venky told me that the price for the EPOS ELS is around 37-38K. How the hell do they really expect that people will pay that kind of dough for a discontinued model? And then they have the gall to crib about people who purchase equipment from US/UK:mad:

I also went to modern world to try klipsch. He quoted 25k for the sub-12 and when I went there, he told me its 29K. In the middle of the audition, he kicked me out because their lunch time is from 2.30 to 4pm. Wtf happened to professionalism:mad:

This is such a frustrating process to buy things, especially on a budget. I wish I had the kinda money where I could just go and buy the biggest and the baddest sub out there is.:D

Hmmm...if I remember right I got the same ELS sub for something close to 30K. Unless there have been major price revisions, I dont think a 38K price is justifiable.
 
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