Urgent Feedback/Expert opinion needed on Sonodyne Roarr 108 Subwoofer

[manindra.mukherjee]

Due to budget constraint , I am planning to go for sonodyne roarr 108 for my yamaha YHT196 HTiB. Is this worth an upgrade from Yamaha stock sub . Will the sonodyne 108 perform better than the passive stock sub. Also need expert opinion if this will also help in improving the mid and highs of the front / center speakers.

 

[koushik]

Will the sonodyne 108 perform better than the passive stock sub

I haven't heard the Yamaha's sub but going by the trend, budget passive sub are power starved and hence what I can guess would be inferior to a good active sub.

I am planning to go for sonodyne roarr 108 for my yamaha YHT196 HTiB.

I have auditioned Sonodyne Roarr 108 last year and found that they are quite good for the money - Tight and controlled.

Is this worth an upgrade from Yamaha stock sub

So, as I told you that I can't say whether it will be better than Yamaha's stock or not, as I haven't heard 196's sub, but what is sure is adding a 108 along with keeping the stock passive will definitely should work wonder.

Also need expert opinion if this will also help in improving the mid and highs of the front / center speakers.

If you remove the passive stock sub, it should improve the overall performance of the AVR. Improvement in performance of fronts and center depend on many factors like the quality of the speakers and whether they were been starved for power. But yes, the overall performance will be better if you detach the power hungry, sub driver from the AVR.

At your budget, also consider Polk Audio PSW110.

 

[drkaushik]

Due to budget constraint , I am planning to go for sonodyne roarr 108 for my yamaha YHT196 HTiB. Is this worth an upgrade from Yamaha stock sub . Will the sonodyne 108 perform better than the passive stock sub. Also need expert opinion if this will also help in improving the mid and highs of the front / center speakers.

I have auditioned all yamaha subs and found Roar 108 to be better than even the costlier subs of Yamaha.It seems you haven't auditioned 108.
My suggestion: Remove the sub and go for Roar 108 and get blown apart.

If you can stretch, then obviously Polk DSW 550/660.

 

[RMCWS]

Between Roar 108 and Polk psw110, which one suits better for Yamaha 373? (existing fronts and centre is Sonodyne)

 

[manindra.mukherjee]

I have auditioned all yamaha subs and found Roar 108 to be better than even the costlier subs of Yamaha.It seems you haven't auditioned 108.
My suggestion: Remove the sub and go for Roar 108 and get blown apart.

If you can stretch, then obviously Polk DSW 550/660.

Thanks for your advise. Local sonodyne dealer has quoted 14552 INR for the same. Do you think this is a good deal. This is under the exchange offer going on in kolkata (20% discount). Its retailing around ~18K without the offer

 

[RMCWS]

Thanks for your advise. Local sonodyne dealer has quoted 14552 INR for the same. Do you think this is a good deal. This is under the exchange offer going on in kolkata (20% discount). Its retailing around ~18K without the offer

Yes, this price is correct after 20% discount. MPR is 18,190. However, you decide to buy after the offer, then you can buy directly from hifimart which offers 10% discount through out the year.

 

[drkaushik]

During my auditioning, I was not impressed with polk subs other than DSW 550 & 660. Roar 108 is better than the other Polks, in my opinion. Now roar 108 has a better driver, which makes it even better.
As for price, if you want a greater discount wait till Jan'26th when there will be 26% discount. But, prices can go up also.Therefore take the plunge and set your foot on heart shaking bass.

 

[RMCWS]

Now roar 108 has a better driver, which makes it even better.

Can you clarify on this? What do you mean by a better driver now?

 

[manindra.mukherjee]

During my auditioning, I was not impressed with polk subs other than DSW 550 & 660. Roar 108 is better than the other Polks, in my opinion. Now roar 108 has a better driver, which makes it even better.
As for price, if you want a greater discount wait till Jan'26th when there will be 26% discount. But, prices can go up also.Therefore take the plunge and set your foot on heart shaking bass.

Placed an order today . Expecting delivery tomorrow. Will post feedback tomorrow.

 

[prosenjit]

have you planned how will you connect...this active sub..
as you are saying yamaha HT 196 has a passive sub..
even if this active sub..do has speaker level input bypassing its own amp..
dont do this..

you need speaker level to line level converter..around 1000/-......

 

[manindra.mukherjee]

have you planned how will you connect...this active sub..
as you are saying yamaha HT 196 has a passive sub..
even if this active sub..do has speaker level input bypassing its own amp..
dont do this..

you need speaker level to line level converter..around 1000/-......

Yamaha YHT 196 has dedicated sub woofer out for connecting powered sub

 

[Santy]

have you planned how will you connect...this active sub..
as you are saying yamaha HT 196 has a passive sub..
even if this active sub..do has speaker level input bypassing its own amp..
dont do this..

you need speaker level to line level converter..around 1000/-......

prosenjit
Any active sub with speaker input uses that signal to convert into line level before amplification. I am yet to come across one which powers the driver using speaker level input by by-passing the internal amp.

 

[manindra.mukherjee]

Connected the Roarr 108 to Yamaha YHT196 and removed the stock sub. Initial observation as below

1. Pretty hefty sub weighing around 14Kgs with decent look and finish.
2. It has 2 line in (L+R) and I have connected it with the default RCA cable supplied (2 Nos) to the amp sub out
3. Set crossover to max (150Hz) and volume halfway in between on the sub. Set crossover at 80Hz on amp
4. As far as movies is concerned the woofer is good enough to shake window panes in 200 sq feet room. Very good and true reproduction of deep lows. Thumping deep bass effects to the extent u can imagine from this entry level budget sub
5. Music : Good Lows with tight and deep bass from the sub. Still experimenting by playing around with the crossover.

Pretty happy with my decision for going ahead with this sub. Thanks to all forum members for helping me on this. Btw I also auditioned POLK PSW 110 and Yamaha SW 215. Both of them will sound bit flat when compared to Roarr 108. Really couldnot find the difference with that 10" driver on the Polk .....both of them costing around 4K more .

Improvements : Massive when I compare the passive sub with the 108. I had to set the crossover as high as 160Hz -200Hz to get some sort of good bass.

Initial Impression : The Roarr 108 is actually roaring and is absolutely a VFM. Recommended for casual listeners who want to buy a powered sub at tight budget. Good that I didnot go ahead with 210. That would have been an overkill for a 200 sq feet room. With full volume I am sure I will be asked to leave my society compound !

 

[RMCWS]

Really couldnot find the difference with that 10" driver on the Polk .....both of them costing around 4K more .

Price of 108 roar and and pws110 is almost similar (18K), but you got the roar with 20% discount.

With full volume I am sure I will be asked to leave my society compound !

:clapping::clapping:hyeah:

 

[drkaushik]

Can you clarify on this? What do you mean by a better driver now?

My roar 210 has a black driver(Woofer). The recent subs have a silver one. which is supposed to be a upgrade in terms of quality.

 

[koushik]

Congratulations! I would say that 108 is a better sub than 210. Enjoy your music and movies.

 

[drkaushik]

Congratulations! I would say that 108 is a better sub than 210. Enjoy your music and movies.

Many people feel the same.Could be for music, though.
But for LFE during movies like DIE Hard 4, 210 packs a superior punch.
My personal experience only.Others might differ.