Need help with Subwoofer Purchase under 700$

[generalxxxstark]

Dear FM's,

So I finally have the funds for a sub upgrade. Fortunately, for me an uncle is moving from the US to India and being light on luggage they will carry the sub for me.

My current setup is a DIY Infinity 12" subwoofer with 500W RMS and 2000W peaks powered by a Sony Class D amplifier.

I've narrowed down my search to these.

1. HSU VTF2-Mk5 for 600$ Shipped.
2. SVS PB2000 for 700$ Shipped.
3. Rythmik LVX12 for 800$ Shipped.

The SVS seems more powerful at 500W than the other two. I haven't heard any of these and am purely going by the review online.

Are there any other alternatives? Looking for suggestions. I have less than a week to finalize and place an order so kinda short on time.

EDIT : I may have to pay about 100 to 150$ for the extra luggage. Is the price combined in this case competitive to Indian prices? Specifically for the rythmik ones?

Thanks in advance.

 

[elangoas]

Are there any other alternatives? Looking for suggestions.

What are your room dimensions?.. Do you also plan to use the DIY subwoofer together with new one in the room?..

 

[Tuhin Lavania]

Prices are always amazing in the USA.
Also, i did not know if you can bring a sub from USA to India...considering the heavy weight of the Sub. ( Around 30-35kgs )
Are you sure you have to spend only 150$ for extra luggage ?

 

[Nitin K]

Dear FM's,

So I finally have the funds for a sub upgrade. Fortunately, for me an uncle is moving from the US to India and being light on luggage they will carry the sub for me.

My current setup is a DIY Infinity 12" subwoofer with 500W RMS and 2000W peaks powered by a Sony Class D amplifier.

I've narrowed down my search to these.

1. HSU VTF2-Mk5 for 600$ Shipped.
2. SVS PB2000 for 700$ Shipped.
3. Rythmik LVX12 for 800$ Shipped.

The SVS seems more powerful at 500W than the other two. I haven't heard any of these and am purely going by the review online.

Are there any other alternatives? Looking for suggestions. I have less than a week to finalize and place an order so kinda short on time.

EDIT : I may have to pay about 100 to 150$ for the extra luggage. Is the price combined in this case competitive to Indian prices? Specifically for the rythmik ones?

Thanks in advance.

You will be happy with either of the 3 subs since all the 3 are good brands. But if you want port flexibility, then the above HSU & the Rythmik will have it. If you are more inclined towards music then the Rythmik is the favourite & will be good for movies too.
If you are concerned about weight where SVS is concerned you can go for the PC 2000 which is much lighter at approx 23 Kgs as compared to the
PB 2000 & goes 1 hz deeper at 16 hz. But it is tall at 34 inches. I have the PC 2000 & if I am not mistaken it is much lighter than the above HSU & Rythmik models.
If you can stretch your budget a little SB 3000 is a worthy contender in performance & very compact in size than all of the above.
Whichever of the above subwoofers you buy from the US, you can request them to preset the voltage to Indian 230 V. Your room size & music/movie preference will also play an important role in subwoofer selection.
All the best.

 

[generalxxxstark]

What are your room dimensions?.. Do you also plan to use the DIY subwoofer together with new one in the room?..

Nah will just be using only 1 sub. Room dimensions are 12ft x 15ft x 12ft. My usage is 70% Movies and 30% music btw.

Prices are always amazing in the USA.
Also, i did not know if you can bring a sub from USA to India...considering the heavy weight of the Sub. ( Around 30-35kgs )
Are you sure you have to spend only 150$ for extra luggage ?

Yeah after inquiry pre-paying for it that's what it comes down to for extra 15kgs. Already have some 20 kgs available. Hopefully, that's enough.

You will be happy with either of the 3 subs since all the 3 are good brands. But if you want port flexibility, then the above HSU & the Rythmik will have it. If you are more inclined towards music then the Rythmik is the favourite & will be good for movies too.
If you are concerned about weight where SVS is concerned you can go for the PC 2000 which is much lighter at approx 23 Kgs as compared to the
PB 2000 & goes 1 hz deeper at 16 hz. But it is tall at 34 inches. I have the PC 2000 & if I am not mistaken it is much lighter than the above HSU & Rythmik models.
If you can stretch your budget a little SB 3000 is a worthy contender in performance & very compact in size than all of the above.
Whichever of the above subwoofers you buy from the US, you can request them to preset the voltage to Indian 230 V. Your room size & music/movie preference will also play an important role in subwoofer selection.
All the best.

I think SB3000 might be outta reach and I have my reservation about sealed subs in general.. All the subs above should work with Indian 220 -240v out of the box no?

Also, I found the PC2000 retailing for 679$ shipped. How's your experience with it? Any port noise etc under 20hz? Also wondering where you positioned in your setup. Finding a good place for its shape might be tricky?

 

[Nitin K]

Nah will just be using only 1 sub. Room dimensions are 12ft x 15ft x 12ft. My usage is 70% Movies and 30% music btw.



Yeah after inquiry pre-paying for it that's what it comes down to for extra 15kgs. Already have some 20 kgs available. Hopefully, that's enough.



I think SB3000 might be outta reach and I have my reservation about sealed subs in general.. All the subs above should work with Indian 220 -240v out of the box no?

Also, I found the PC2000 retailing for 679$ shipped. How's your experience with it? Any port noise etc under 20hz? Also wondering where you positioned in your setup. Finding a good place for its shape might be tricky?

For me the PC 2000 is excellent since my preference is 60% music & 40% movies., no port noise. I have attached a pic for the position what works for me. My room size is 14 ft L X 11 Ft width & height. It fills the room with spl easily at half volume. Good for music & excellent for movies. Didn't find an issue at all for integrating with the rest of the system. Just keep them a little away from corners. The front & surround speakers are Dali Oberon 1 & are wall mounted. They come with the sound path isolators unlike PB 2000.
By default subwoofers purchased in US are at 120 V geared to their voltage if I am not mistaken but the companies reset it to 230 V if you intimate them while buying. Their plugs may be different though. I bought the PC 2000 from Mumbai so no issues with the plug & 5 years warranty on the subwoofer.

Some professional reviews

SVS PC-2000 Cylinder Subwoofer Review

The SVS PC-2000 Cylinder Subwoofer light weight and clean, linear performance earned our Large Bassaholic rating. Their generous risk-free trial policy makes it an easy purchasing decision. Read on.

www.audioholics.com

SVS PC-2000 Subwoofer Official AVS Forum Review - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews

Subs come in many shapes and sizes, including cylinders. The latest model from SVS is a great alternative to the cube-shaped PB-2000. ------ The PC-200

www.avsforum.com

Reference Home Theater - Bring Your Imaginations Into Reality

Looking for trending t-shirt? Huge collection of Men and Women's, Youth Tshirts. 100% cotton. Available low price offers and discounts.

referencehometheater.com

SVS PC-2000 Home Theater Subwoofer Review

With all of our hectic daily lives, movies are a way we can get away for a short time and have some quality entertainment. It’s easy to thin...

www.stereowiseplus.com

Pls consider customs duty too. Hope this helps.

 

[rpanand25]

Dear FM's,

So I finally have the funds for a sub upgrade. Fortunately, for me an uncle is moving from the US to India and being light on luggage they will carry the sub for me.

My current setup is a DIY Infinity 12" subwoofer with 500W RMS and 2000W peaks powered by a Sony Class D amplifier.

I've narrowed down my search to these.

1. HSU VTF2-Mk5 for 600$ Shipped.
2. SVS PB2000 for 700$ Shipped.
3. Rythmik LVX12 for 800$ Shipped.

The SVS seems more powerful at 500W than the other two. I haven't heard any of these and am purely going by the review online.

Are there any other alternatives? Looking for suggestions. I have less than a week to finalize and place an order so kinda short on time.

EDIT : I may have to pay about 100 to 150$ for the extra luggage. Is the price combined in this case competitive to Indian prices? Specifically for the rythmik ones?

Thanks in advance.

Couple of years back I brought Emotiva S10 sub woofer from USA during my visit there. Lufthansa allowed two baggage. I used one of them for the sub. I received the sub the day before i was leaving through Amazon as they delivered faster. The sub was carried in its original packing but i kept a copy of the invoice inside the carton. As it happened the US customs inspected it but did not proceed beyond the invoice kept on the subwoofer. A inspection note was also found. The Delhi customs didnot bother.
The sub is good for both music and HT. The bass is not bloated maybe because of rear slot port. No issue so far. Works in 240 volts also. What i found was that Emotiva delivers as specified and they donot claim unrealistic figures as per reviews.
Now this improved version is available. You can checkout at https://emotiva.com/collections/all/products/airmotiv-s12

 

[sijusid]

Dear FM's,

So I finally have the funds for a sub upgrade. Fortunately, for me an uncle is moving from the US to India and being light on luggage they will carry the sub for me.

My current setup is a DIY Infinity 12" subwoofer with 500W RMS and 2000W peaks powered by a Sony Class D amplifier.

I've narrowed down my search to these.

1. HSU VTF2-Mk5 for 600$ Shipped.
2. SVS PB2000 for 700$ Shipped.
3. Rythmik LVX12 for 800$ Shipped.

The SVS seems more powerful at 500W than the other two. I haven't heard any of these and am purely going by the review online.

Are there any other alternatives? Looking for suggestions. I have less than a week to finalize and place an order so kinda short on time.

EDIT : I may have to pay about 100 to 150$ for the extra luggage. Is the price combined in this case competitive to Indian prices? Specifically for the rythmik ones?

Thanks in advance.

I had taken audition for lvx12 but was not impressed. I wouldn't recommend this.

I haven't heard HSU so can't comment.

Pb2000 is a good option. During black friday pb12 was on sale, which would have been excellent value for money.

Do also consider monoprice sub. They have excellent value....

 

[Trishtalian]

Hi,

I have been looking out to buy a sub-woofer and I was in Mumbai recently where I have demoed the Rythmik at their authorized dealer "Avenue Sound". I have heard a lot of Rythmik and I was amazed by their performance. I have heard the L12 and the LVX 12. I loved both of them, but I liked the L12 better. L12 is equally good for both movies and music though it is sealed.

Now a few things that need to be considered -
a. Rythmik website says the shipping weight is 80 lbs which is 36.28 kgs. I would recommend adding extra padding and the weight might increase further.
b. Anything above 50k INR brought through a flight will attract a customs duty which has to be factored in your overall cost. Anything below 50k with a valid bill should not attract customs duty. A friend has given me this info. Please verify the authenticity before taking my word on this. So your cost will be 800$ + 150$ + customs.
c. I have recently brought an AV receiver from the US to Hyderabad. I have observed that unusually sized packages that are marked fragile are directly being shown to the customs officer near the baggage claim. So assume that you have to pay the customs duty. Now I am unaware if this is a daily exercise or a random one. I thought I will still give you a heads up.
d. No warranty for the product. Check out this Question I asked on Reddit -

https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/dxo8id

Since you have not demoed any of them, for your room size I would suggest LV12F it is 31.2 kgs and is less than 50k INR which might not attract customs duty. Think about it.

You can even consider the PB 12 NSD - https://www.svsound.com/products/pb12-nsd which is on a holiday sale at 500$. It seems to be very similar to the PB-2000. Unfortunately in Hyd, there is no demo of PB-2000. They only have the demo of PB-3000 with the authorized dealer.

Lastly, you should call the HSU folks, their advisors are extremely helpful by giving you the right recommendations. I called a couple of weeks ago regarding the same choice you have mentioned.

I am thinking of either getting the L12 when I visit the US during the next month. If not frustrated by the lack of options in India, I might go the DIY route. Feel free to PM me in case you have questions.

All the best!

 

[sud98]

Most subs in the US will be 120V. Rythmik, you need to tell them its for India and they will give the 240V version when you purchase from their website.

I had got my subwoofer from the US. It was below 23 kgs, so no weight issue and customs didnt bother as the cost was less than 50k.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

I am curious if you are satisfied with the output from your DIY Infinity sub.

 

[generalxxxstark]

Couple of years back I brought Emotiva S10 sub woofer from USA during my visit there. Lufthansa allowed two baggage. I used one of them for the sub. I received the sub the day before i was leaving through Amazon as they delivered faster. The sub was carried in its original packing but i kept a copy of the invoice inside the carton. As it happened the US customs inspected it but did not proceed beyond the invoice kept on the subwoofer. A inspection note was also found. The Delhi customs didnot bother.
The sub is good for both music and HT. The bass is not bloated maybe because of rear slot port. No issue so far. Works in 240 volts also. What i found was that Emotiva delivers as specified and they donot claim unrealistic figures as per reviews.
Now this improved version is available. You can checkout at https://emotiva.com/collections/all/products/airmotiv-s12

Yeah, I remember customs being more easy-going even about 2-3 years ago. Since I haven't heard any of my choices, emotiva might be a risky buy since returning is pretty much impossible if I'm not satisfied..

I had taken audition for lvx12 but was not impressed. I wouldn't recommend this.

I haven't heard HSU so can't comment.

Pb2000 is a good option. During black friday pb12 was on sale, which would have been excellent value for money.

Do also consider monoprice sub. They have excellent value....

What did you think was lacking with the lvx12? The PB12 is still on for 500$ but I feel HSU might be better at 600$.

 

[Nitin K]

Don't want to add to the confusion but you can also look at PSA subwoofers.

 

[generalxxxstark]

Hi,

I have been looking out to buy a sub-woofer and I was in Mumbai recently where I have demoed the Rythmik at their authorized dealer "Avenue Sound". I have heard a lot of Rythmik and I was amazed by their performance. I have heard the L12 and the LVX 12. I loved both of them, but I liked the L12 better. L12 is equally good for both movies and music though it is sealed.

Now a few things that need to be considered -
a. Rythmik website says the shipping weight is 80 lbs which is 36.28 kgs. I would recommend adding extra padding and the weight might increase further.
b. Anything above 50k INR brought through a flight will attract a customs duty which has to be factored in your overall cost. Anything below 50k with a valid bill should not attract customs duty. A friend has given me this info. Please verify the authenticity before taking my word on this. So your cost will be 800$ + 150$ + customs.
c. I have recently brought an AV receiver from the US to Hyderabad. I have observed that unusually sized packages that are marked fragile are directly being shown to the customs officer near the baggage claim. So assume that you have to pay the customs duty. Now I am unaware if this is a daily exercise or a random one. I thought I will still give you a heads up.
d. No warranty for the product. Check out this Question I asked on Reddit -

https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/dxo8id

Since you have not demoed any of them, for your room size I would suggest LV12F it is 31.2 kgs and is less than 50k INR which might not attract customs duty. Think about it.

You can even consider the PB 12 NSD - https://www.svsound.com/products/pb12-nsd which is on a holiday sale at 500$. It seems to be very similar to the PB-2000. Unfortunately in Hyd, there is no demo of PB-2000. They only have the demo of PB-3000 with the authorized dealer.

Lastly, you should call the HSU folks, their advisors are extremely helpful by giving you the right recommendations. I called a couple of weeks ago regarding the same choice you have mentioned.

I am thinking of either getting the L12 when I visit the US during the next month. If not frustrated by the lack of options in India, I might go the DIY route. Feel free to PM me in case you have questions.

All the best!

Thanks for your insights! What I've noticed is Mumbai and Hyderabad are much stricter at stopping you compared to Delhi/Bangalore especially the middle east inbound flights compared to the European ones, not sure why or how that changes per the airport.

Where is the LV12F under 50k? Lowest I could see was on their website for 799$ Shipped.

Most subs in the US will be 120V. Rythmik, you need to tell them its for India and they will give the 240V version when you purchase from their website.

I had got my subwoofer from the US. It was below 23 kgs, so no weight issue and customs didnt bother as the cost was less than 50k.

Which one did you get?

I am curious if you are satisfied with the output from your DIY Infinity sub.

Well sort of.. I kinda messed up the enclosure design and get very annoying port noise below 30Hz. For music, its excellent but for movies it's just can't handle it well. Considering I put it together for under 25k it's definitely better than the other ones i've owned and tried like the Taga 200, A few yamahas and a tad bit louder than the BIC pl200.

 

[generalxxxstark]

Don't want to add to the confusion but you can also look at PSA subwoofers.

I've seen them but too expensive.. They start from like 1000$++

 

[sijusid]

What did you think was lacking with the lvx12? The PB12 is still on for 500$ but I feel HSU might be better at 600$.
[/QUOTE]

The output of lvx12 was nothing special for a 12" driver and for me has not so good price to performance ratio. If you buy it, you will be satisfied, but you can get better/equivalent performance for less. That's what i had meant to say.

I haven't heard HSU, but it's spec do look impressive for the price. The graph posted on its official website also indicates very good performance and some tweaks are also possible. I guess at 600$ and with positive reviews, is a very good choice.

 

[generalxxxstark]

The output of lvx12 was nothing special for a 12" driver and for me has not so good price to performance ratio. If you buy it, you will be satisfied, but you can get better/equivalent performance for less. That's what i had meant to say.

I haven't heard HSU, but it's spec do look impressive for the price. The graph posted on its official website also indicates very good performance and some tweaks are also possible. I guess at 600$ and with positive reviews, is a very good choice.

Yeah, it's the most expensive of the bunch.

 

[rpanand25]

Yeah, I remember customs being more easy-going even about 2-3 years ago. Since I haven't heard any of my choices, emotiva might be a risky buy since returning is pretty much impossible if I'm not satisfied..

I bought it blind as I didnot want to spend a huge amount for sub in India and it was $300 at that time. It made sense to get a sub with indian voltage operation. Further the distributor is Acoustic Arts in India and it is sold in India. Pl check with them for dealers in your area.
http://www.acoustic-arts.com/
The real advantage with Emotiva was they were responsive to my queries reg service charges for the US bought sub during warranty in case of problem in India. They gave in writing the Acoustic Arts will take care of free service and parts will be charged depending on parts at reasonable rates inplying for simple repairs it may not be chargeable during warranty. However there has been no need for that so far for the sub.
So you can try to demo Emotiva for wider choice if it is possible in your area.

 

[generalxxxstark]

I bought it blind as I didnot want to spend a huge amount for sub in India and it was $300 at that time. It made sense to get a sub with indian voltage operation. Further the distributor is Acoustic Arts in India and it is sold in India. Pl check with them for dealers in your area.
http://www.acoustic-arts.com/
The real advantage with Emotiva was they were responsive to my queries reg service charges for the US bought sub during warranty in case of problem in India. They gave in writing the Acoustic Arts will take care of free service and parts will be charged depending on parts at reasonable rates inplying for simple repairs it may not be chargeable during warranty. However there has been no need for that so far for the sub.
So you can try to demo Emotiva for wider choice if it is possible in your area.

That warranty honor is quite intriguing. I'll try if I can demo them. Thanks!

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

I see, could you link to the Infinity 12" driver's T/S and the specs page for the Sony amp?