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

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wirecutter already tests cheap subs. check them out

They provide measurements? Can't say I've ever noticed that in one of their reviews...


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.

It's discontinued, tho....or did they reverse that?
 
I personally have no interest for subs in that range, but I think that's probably the hottest range for more normal folks, and I think it's a great idea to drive traffic towards your youtube channel. Honestly, your reviews are the best on youtube. I just don't think anyone knows about you.

Would be really cool if you could include Infinity Reference Sub R12. They're $499 normally, but Harman often runs super deep sales on them(if you're willing wait). You'd have to wait, but would be interesting to see what they're really worth. The fact that Harman can run these 70% sales so often makes me skeptical of their value at normal price.

I recently bought 4 of them from up for my office at $179 each, which would be in your budget. Honestly wasn't expecting much from them. They're better than I thought they'd be, though still not great. Sound quality is not the best(compared to my other subs), but they do dig deeper than I thought they would in here.

M105 w:Sub.jpg
 
I think this would be pretty cool.

It would be useful for making recs for single subs to normies and budget multisub setups for small rooms for the crazies like us.
 
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 wouldn't recommend any of the above. My friend recently got a very good deal on two new SVS SB-2000 (non pro) subs for only 660$ (330$ per unit). You better off with no sub that with a low budget one...
 
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Definitely hit up Monoprice. I have been impressed with some of their speakers in the past.

They were really good about sending out review products in the past. It has been awhile, so unfortunately I don't have any people for you to contact there.
 
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Should be a popular series on the tube. I'll definitely watch , in depth objective reviews are thin on the ground there.
 
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'm curious how port chuff issues might show up in the measurements. Heightened distortion?
 
I wouldn't recommend any of the above. My friend recently got a very good deal on two new SVS SB-2000 (non pro) subs for only 660$ (330$ per unit). You better off with no sub that with a low budget one...
Or perhaps a few cheap subs? @RayDunzl and his "cheesewoofers". Dayton IIRC
 
I could be in the minority. My personal experience with 3 El Cheapo subwoofers has led me to believe that these can rightlfully serve as the support for inexpensive but accurate systems.
The recipe could be:
High Pass crossover the Mains at 80~100Hz. Use 3 El Cheapo subwoofers ( <$200), measure, learn, EQ and enjoy.

I can seriously see such El Cheapo with great sounding mains/powered monitor such as the Genelec 8030C in a real full range midfield system.

The Rationale:

Music Enthusiasts do not have the capabilities or knowledge to correctly test subwoofers. Amir ( and a few other , I did not mention in the unedited post ) know how and have the means. I surmise that, If those El Cheapo are kept within their linear operating range, they may provide , great low end for a modest cash outlay. I would dare say that most audiophiles would be pleased with a flat-ish, smooth response from 20 to 120 Hz and the capability to push 100 dB at 20 Hz at 10% THD at a 3 meters listening position.. I believe, I have that kind of response, save for the THD which I don't know how to measure. Paging @RayDunzl to come with his own careful measurements of his cheesewoofers, a pair of Parts Express Dayton SUB-1500 , current price $200 each.
We have to keep in mind that in the low frequencies the room response dominates. It is one of the few times when the word "synergy" dreaded by most objectivists, can come in play. The room is seen , often as a wrecker of a smooth FR. This is true, in the lows frequencies it does, but judicious use of multiple subwoofers, strategically positioned and EQ can mitigate and improve tremendously, the in-room of the overall subwoofers system.
Stay tuned.
 
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I think it's an awesome idea, Erin.

Above $400usd, there's well-known and measured subs like RSL Speedwoofer 10s ($400usd) and SVS SB-1000 ($500usd).
But below $400, there's a lot of options that are never tested.
Audioholics doesnt measure budget subwoofers.
Brent Butterworth from Wirecutter tested the most budget subwoofers of anyone. Here's a list of his tested models.
Another source is data-bass.com, but they don't seem to be measuring anymore.
Overall, there's a lot of budget subs that were never tested.

I see recommendation guides like this from reddit and I shake my head.
They just give blank recommendations based on woofer size, so the user is left wondering what model to choose from (there's 14 options for 15" subwoofer, for example).
Are these subwoofers for a small room, medium or large room?
It's anyone's guess.

What I do like is that Audioholics created the "Bassaholic" rating, which ranks the ability of subwoofer to a reference level of SPL in relation to the size of the room.
This is a much better indicator of a good subwoofer, as it shows that the subwoofer can hit a certain SPL for a given size of room.
 
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Not that I know of .. and nothing to see on their homepage.
Saw that posted as a comment before with a post about a closeout sale....could have been someone misinterpreting out of stock? I see no indication on a coupla JBL sites....
 
I'm sure there is lots of interest.

There is a one man show web site that has a pretty large list of subs. He has tested them at least for loudness capability and lowest output frequencies along with some basic responses. Probably less extensive than what you plan, but it could eliminate some not worthy of trying as they grossly miss claimed output or low end response

I'll be danged if I can remember the name of it. I hope someone else does. OKAY here it is.

www.data-bass.com
https://data-bass.com/#/systems?_k=8x2uei

The old version of the site had more listed and many very affordable models. There is a link to the legacy site, but it won't load up right now.

And yeah, please do a Dayton 10 or maybe 12 incher. They are compromised a bit on loudness, but go low and are cheap enough you can buy almost double. 2 spaced subs usually work out better than one big one.
 
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I'm sure there is lots of interest.

There is a one man show web site that has a pretty large list of subs. He has tested them at least for loudness capability and lowest output frequencies along with some basic responses. Probably less extensive than what you plan, but it could eliminate some not worthy of trying as they grossly miss claimed output or low end response

I'll be danged if I can remember the name of it. I hope someone else does. OKAY here it is.

www.data-bass.com
https://data-bass.com/#/systems?_k=8x2uei

The old version of the site had more listed and many very affordable models. There is a link to the legacy site, but it won't load up right now.

And yeah, please do a Dayton 10 or maybe 12 incher. They are compromised a bit on loudness, but go low and are cheap enough you can buy almost double. 2 spaced subs usually work out better than one big one.

You aware of anyone who does more than Josh?
 
I kind of feel like you have to throw The Wire Cutter recommended ones in there, unless they are obvious crap. I don't have a reason to believe they are. They are a juggernaut and you will probably get some cross hits to your reviews if people are looking for other sources to guide their purchase.

I think this is a great idea. As someone else said I would love to know where the knee point of diminishing returns is in this area. I suspect for my target it's a higher price point, but I won't know without the data. Also giving quantitative info to regular consumers at regular price points is a worthy endeavor. I personally think more so than info for the few of us who are looking for the best multi thousand dollar setup.
 
We certainly can't expect Amir to even come close....
No, not any time soon. But I think Erin is doing these himself. And testing a few likely candidates to maybe find one or two over-achievers is very much worthwhile.
 
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