Suggest a Subwoofer for Under 18K

[k_ajay]

Hi Members,

I'm visiting here after a real long time and I'm here now, for a friend of mine, posting a question on his behalf [he wanted expert advice, so I resorted to coming here to take your expert suggestions and comments to him].

My friend is in requirement of a subwoofer for his HT setup [front, surround and center all wharfedale 8. series itseems and a Yamaha 663 a/v receiver amp I'm told].

He's in a dilemma since he shortlisted to go with Wharfedale 150 subwoofer for about 18K [he says there is a better 250] that he cannot afford. In between this, he has an offer for a brand new Athena Technologies P.5 subwoofer for about 25K, from a contact of his.

Can you gentlemen please comment on the following:

1. Is Wharfedale's 150watts sub a good product producing good quality bass?
2. Is Athena P.5 sub a good product and worth 25K? [I haven't found many reviews on the web myself nor Jay has]
3. What other subwoofer can you recommend [abt 10"] that produces good, clean bass [not just boomy] and around 18 thousand rupees?

Kindly pour in your suggestions and I'll pass them along to my mate.

Many thanks. aK

 

[jeevabobby26]

hi ajay,

wharfedale sw-150 is very good subwoofer under 20k and its also very good at music and for movies. sw-150 won many awards for many years continously. many of our forum members are very proud owners of this sub including myself. it produces very clean, punchy, and tight bass for the value for money. if you need to go for an additional sub in future, sw-150 has both stereo line in and stereo line out provisions to connect addditional sub, just add(add another sw-150 itself) an additional sub for more bass, if your room is big enough.

 

[spirovious]

Totally agree with Jeevabobby26,another option is MS avant sub for same price & admired by Whatshifi.

 

[madbullram]

Also, given your friends setup, the Whar sub should pair really well. We also have to think how it would whole setup would sound together. So I would suggest Whar 150.

If you want to give more options, I suggest you give us what kind of Music/Movie does your friend listen to ? What does he like in his sound, as in boomy base or tight one, dramatic mid or realistic mid, pls post more details about his preference which is an important factor.

 

[spirovious]

Wharf Power cubes are downfiring & good too ,but dont know the price.

 

[square_wave]

If you want tight clean bass, try this one. Not sure about pricing. May be bit mre expensive. It comes with an outboard amp.

Q-BIC from Lithos.
qbic

 

[k_ajay]

Jeeva, Spirovious and MB Ram,

Thank you for your responses. All your recommendations are retty much what I'd thought would be a good buy too, since Jay [friend in reference here] has already got the entire Wharfedale package [front, rear and center channel speakers].

The HT he says would be subject equally between movies and music, with music touching almost all genre like rock, classic rock, pop and pop rock, punk rock, grunge rock, gospel music, tamil and hindi movie soundtracks, some hip-hop and raggae, etc.. He says he listens to almost anything that sounds great to him.

Spirovious: My friend isn't aware of Wharfedale Power Cubes [nor am I] so I'll ask him to check them and their price.

Square_wave: I'll ask Jay to have a look into these too, if they happen to fall in his price bracket [18k max].

Most recommendations he is getting [from me, through you folks] and from outside the forum seem to be towards Wharfedale 150 subwoofer.

I'll come back if he has more questions, if not, I'll keep you gents posted on what his final purchase is.

Thanks a lot everyone... Jay states he is indebted to you all for the excellent recommendation. aK

 

[jeevabobby26]

hi ajay,

You can get the wharfedale sw-150 subwoofer at very reasonable price than MRP in bangalore.

 

[k_ajay]

Hi Jeeva,

The price quote he has got is 18K. Is there a price cheaper than is..

The 18K was an old price he got about 5 months back, and now the prices have increased due to increase in dollar prices, but he's getting the 150 sub for 18K, at old price, after discounting the increase.

Any deals lower than 18K, please let me know and I will pass him the info...

 

[jeevabobby26]

yeah you can get the sw-150 in grey market, if u wish. its available for less than 18k, unless you can go for some wharfedale dealers in your city before purchasing. Try as many as wharfedale dealers in your city to have very good deal before you purchase. I will try for you to have best deal for sw-150 in bangalore.

 

[jeevabobby26]

VECTOR SYSTEMS PVT. LTD. (for Wharfedale, Vanguard, DAC)
# 97, Sai Brigades, Brigade Road,
(After St.Joseph College Of Commerce)
Next To Brigade Prince Bar, Bangalore - 25.
Tel: 25543287, 9341717966

TOTAL SOUND (for Wharfedale, Quad, DAC)
# 2, Lakshmi Towers, # 200, R.V. Road,
South End Circle, Bangalore - 4.
Tel: 9845522937

These are the authorized dealers for above mentioned brands in bangalore. siure u can get a good deal with them . just check it out who is giving you good price and after sales service.

 

[mahiruha]

Hello Ajay,
I was in a similar situation last week. I wanted a sub and my budget was max 20 k. After some research I shortlisted polkaudio PSW 150 and wharfedale sw 150. Since my room size is 25" by 16" so it didn't make much sense to me to audition them at the shop. I asked them to bring the sub to my home and I decided for the wharfedale sw 150. Polk sounded too boomy for me and the wharfedale sw 150 sounded really nice and musical as I read in various reviews. So I got this sub on sunday for 17500 and really pleased with the performence.
thanks,
Mahi.

 

[afroni]

Hi friends
I ma so proud of this forum and all the treads it is tailor made to people like us in India.keep up the good work!!
My requirement has been also almost same , I am looking for a active sub woofer below 20k. My room size is 24X16 would the sub u guys suggesting be sufficient.At present i am using Onkyo SLW 320 which is not sufficient enough for this room.Some of my friends suggested using sub woofers from PA system manufactures as they a very cheap but very powerful and suffix the purpose.
regards
afroni

 

[venkatcr]

My room size is 24X16 would the sub u guys suggesting be sufficient.At present i am using Onkyo SLW 320 which is not sufficient enough for this room.Some of my friends suggested using sub woofers from PA system manufactures as they a very cheap but very powerful and suffix the purpose.

Perish the thought of buying a PA sub. They cannot be used at home.

By SLW 320 I am assuming you are referring to the SKW 320. What is wrong with your Onkyo sub. The SKW 320 seems decent enough with a frequency range of 25-200Hz and a power of 100 watts. Have you tried setting it up properly? Have you tried the various frequency crossovers, phase, and power settings. Do you have decent sub woofer cable connected?

It might be worthwhile to see if you can get the Onkyo sub deliver better performance before going out and buying a new one.

Cheers

 

[afroni]

Thanks a lot venkat.
I am actually thought of an upgrade as my sister who has a home theater set up in her house asked me to get a sub for her. I asked her if u wouldn't mind taking my old sub. so i thought of upgrading my old sub.
My onkyo is working really fine. i don't have hassles and it works very well with the Onkyo505 set up well.
May be u guys can suggest a better upgrade.
regards
afroni

 

[anm]

venkat - have you auditioned craftel's subs? they may fit in this budget, and he may get 15 incher in this price. what do u say?

 

[venkatcr]

venkat - have you auditioned craftel's subs? they may fit in this budget, and he may get 15 incher in this price. what do u say?

Yes, I have auditioned Craftel subs. They are huge and sound very nice for movies. The bass is tight and deep. I was expecting a lot of vibration and resonance, but thankfully, they were absent.

Yes, Craftel subs are a good option at their price.

Cheers.

 

[k_ajay]

Hi Folks,

Update: My friend has preferred to go in with Wharfedale SW 150 subwoofer. He made up his mind after the recommendations from here, and also from his own contacts.

I've logged in a little late in here, to review details on Craftel and recommend the same to him, but I think he told me that he's already ordered for the SW 150 subwoofer.

Thanks a lot for all your help here mates. It makes 'me' look like an expert. Ha!

aK

 

[jeevabobby26]

Hi buddy,
cangratz for the wharfedale sw-150 sub purchase :clapping:

 

[jaudere]

hi,

i have tried something totally different. i use Yamaha rx V 361 as AV receiver. I can select crossover frequency to sub out. i have selected it to 60hz and given sub out to my older amp ( Taiwa : locally made, god knows what is its output). i have connected two locally made boxes with one 10" Ahuja woofer in each. total cost for sub set up: rs 4500/- I did this as the older amp and speaker boxes were lying idle at my home anyways.

result: at least at par with sonodyne Roar which i heard at Atria mall, Mumbai ( can't remember the exact model no.)and a jamo sub ( again can't remember the model no.)which i heard at Sixth sense in dadar.

I didn't buy my speakers and sub in a single go due to budget. and now i am happy that i didn't spend on my sub. this combo is giving very good effect. of course this is totally subjective.