Any interest in a budget ($100-200) subwoofer “shootout”?

[hardisj]

Hey, guys. I’m considering ordering a few different budget-friendly powered subwoofers from Amazon and conducting a shootout of sorts to kind of give my YouTube channel a good kick in the butt. FR and max SPL data (CEA-2010, most likely) will be part of the data set. Is there any interest from you guys in this sort of thing?

I am specifically targeting Amazon because I want to test the most common subs. The kind where someone says “I need a subwoofer this weekend, so let’s see what Amazon Prime has”. And with Prime, I can send them back without eating the full cost. These are the ones I have keyed in on:

Polk Audio PSW10 10" Powered Subwoofer
Klipsch Reference R-10SW
Elac SUB1010
Sony SACS9 10-Inch Active Subwoofer
Yamaha NS-SW100BL 10"

These are all 10-inch subwoofers. That just seems to be what is in this target price range. I am trying to keep the list relatively small and limited to the best sellers. I plan to test them all the exact same day so the test conditions are all 100% the same. And if this has enough positive feedback then maybe I can expand the test to 12" subs. As it is, these 5 would be close to $1k and that's quite an investment (if only temporary) but if there is one that really needs to be considered then I might add it or replace one of the ones above.

Thoughts?

 

[amirm]

Erin, are these sponsored links? If so, please delete them.

 

[hardisj]

Erin, are these sponsored links? If so, please delete them.

if they are, they are not intentionally. I didn't click the amazon affiliate link (short link), specifically avoided that because of your PM last month. I just clicked the link from the web address bar.

Edit: I logged out of Amazon and got the links again. Should be affiliate-free. If they still show the affiliate then I got nothin'.

 

[spacevector]

Here are cleaned up links if interested:
Polk: https://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-PSW10-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B0002KVQBA/
Klipsch: https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Reference-R-10SW-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B00MH42BBI/
Elac: https://www.amazon.com/Elac-SUB1010-SUB1010-BK-Subwoofer-10-0/dp/B07WHTXFWV
Sony: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SACS9-10-Inch-Active-Subwoofer/dp/B00O8YLIY6/
Yamaha: https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-SW100BL-Powered-Subwoofer-Black/dp/B06XRB1JZS/

For sake of completeness may also consider Dayton and Monoprice offerings:
https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1000-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B0063NU3AA/
This is a 12 incher: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=9723

I personally am not too interested in these options but definitely will drive up YouTube views.

 

[Chrispy]

Personally not too interested in such "subs" but could be interesting, maybe for budget recommendations....

Not a big fan of retailer links generally for looking at product details other than price anyways, so:
Polk PSW 10
Klipsch R-10SW
Elac Sub 1010
Sony SACS9
Yamaha NS-SW100

Was going to suggest the Dayton/Monoprice offerings, too, but as Monoprice only has their own page to work with:
Dayton SUB1000

ps Well dang thought I fixed that SUB1000 link to the SUB1000 instead of the SUB1000L.....but here it is https://www.daytonaudio.com/product/1049/sub-1000-10-100-watt-powered-subwoofer

 

[daftcombo]

Really interested in that!
If there was a cheapo to go with Aria 906, that would be nice!

 

[hardisj]

I'll throw that Dayton in the possible pile.

I am quite interested in the Yamaha. It looks sleek and seems like something that would be an 'impulse' buy for some people.

The Polk having the front-firing port seems like a nice plus for someone wanting to stick the speaker in the corner of their living room.

 

[hardisj]

Was going to suggest the Dayton/Monoprice offerings, too, but as Monoprice only has their own page to work with:
Dayton SUB1000

That monoprice/dayton is pretty neat! I haven't seen that one before.

 

[MZKM]

Dayton sub-1200/1500 vs BIC F12; these are the most suggested cheap subs on /r/hometheater.

EDIT: The F12 has risen in price since Covid.

 

[hardisj]

BIC F12

Amazon shows it's delayed delivery. And it's a 12". But, I like it... and it's right on the edge of that budget range. I'll keep an eye on it. If not this round, then maybe a future round.

 

[Chrispy]

That monoprice/dayton is pretty neat! I haven't seen that one before.

LOL just meant that Monoprice doesn't have a separate product only page....but sorry about the wrong Dayton SUB1000, fixed now.

 

[LTig]

Hey, guys. I’m considering ordering a few different budget-friendly powered subwoofers from Amazon and conducting a shootout of sorts to kind of give my YouTube channel a good kick in the butt. FR and max SPL data (CEA-2010, most likely) will be part of the data set. Is there any interest from you guys in this sort of thing?

I am specifically targeting Amazon because I want to test the most common subs. The kind where someone says “I need a subwoofer this weekend, so let’s see what Amazon Prime has”. And with Prime, I can send them back without eating the full cost. These are the ones I have keyed in on:

Polk Audio PSW10 10" Powered Subwoofer
Klipsch Reference R-10SW
Elac SUB1010
Sony SACS9 10-Inch Active Subwoofer
Yamaha NS-SW100BL 10"

These are all 10-inch subwoofers. That just seems to be what is in this target price range. I am trying to keep the list relatively small and limited to the best sellers. I plan to test them all the exact same day so the test conditions are all 100% the same. And if this has enough positive feedback then maybe I can expand the test to 12" subs. As it is, these 5 would be close to $1k and that's quite an investment (if only temporary) but if there is one that really needs to be considered then I might add it or replace one of the ones above.

Thoughts?

I know it's over budget but a I'd like to see the JBL LSR 310s, due to its XLR IOs with highpass for the sats.Would be a perfect companion to small active monitors.

 

[q3cpma]

The Yamaha's blurb talking about servo and the port makes it interesting, but I fear that unlike the SW200/300, the amplifier will be the bottleneck.
Personally, I'd say we lack data about subs in general, so I can't say I'm not interested.

 

[Beershaun]

I would be interested in creating a subwoofer index similar to amir's speaker index across wide range of prices. Then see where there is a large group that measure well to tell me what the price to perfomace "sweet spot" is. Looking at just one price range is too narrow a view and will not really give an understanding of value proposition. For example if I look at the speaker index attribute comparison graph there is a large cluster of recommended speakers with high preference ratings around the $800+$1000 range. And a large cluster of not recommended poor scoring speakers in the $100-$400 range.

That tells me I want a shootout in the $800-$1000 per speaker category. Not the $100-$400 category.

 

[q3cpma]

I would be interested in creating a subwoofer index similar to amir's speaker index across wide range of prices. Then see where there is a large group that measure well to tell me what the price to perfomace "sweet spot" is. Looking at just one price range is too narrow a view and will not really give an understanding of value proposition. For example if I look at the speaker index attribute comparison graph there is a large cluster of recommended speakers with high preference ratings around the $800+$1000 range. And a large cluster of not recommended poor scoring speakers in the $100-$400 range.

That tells me I want a shootout in the $800-$1000 per speaker category. Not the $100-$400 category.

There's databass already, but it's small and mostly DIY models or US only brands.

 

[bravomail]

wirecutter already tests cheap subs. check them out

 

[hardisj]

What got me interested in this idea initially was a friend of mine asked me my input on a small sub woofer for his living room. So I did what most people do and I pulled up Amazon to see what was available in his budget. I was overwhelmed by the number of subs in that price range and that got me thinking that we need solid data to help us make a determination and to weed through all the fluff. That’s why I call it a shoot out. Take some of the more popular ones objectively.

FWIW, He wound up purchasing a Sony sound bar and wireless sub set up from Walmart. LOL

 

[misterdog]

databass

LOL.

 

[Beershaun]

It's a good idea to see about adding it to Amir's plate if he can measure them accurately with his system. I think picking a size range rather than price range would be a better starting point. Because we are learning with his speaker index that there is a bunch of stuff that is not worth your money in the lower price range and you are better saving up to get into a certain price point.

 

[q3cpma]

It's a good idea to see about adding it to Amir's plate if he can measure them accurately with his system. I think picking a size range rather than price range would be a better starting point. Because we are learning with his speaker index that there is a bunch of stuff that is not worth your money in the lower price range and you are better saving up to get into a certain price point.

He already said in the Rythmik review that he can't do CEA-2010 because it'll annoy the neighbors and probably wife.