Best bang for the buck subwoofer according to ASR

[MZKM]

Only familiar with JTR and Seaton somewhat

PowerSoundAudio was created by one of the founders of SVS (he’s the V), and his speakers and subs get really good reviews, though they are more focused on high SPL home theater usage, but I doubt they’ll perform poorly for music. The owner is also pretty active on Reddit and other forums.

 

[gattaca]

HSU is hard to beat across most of the price ranges and he makes good, solid products. I've owned a pair for 25+ years.
Dr. Hsu has been designing building subs long before the ID were even conceived. Check out their forums. You are lucky, the sub market is full of good choices for any price range today. Peace.

 

[bigx5murf]

Speaking of HSU, parts express has a bunch of their overstock old stock 10-12" woofers, and plate amps for cheap.

 

[Bear123]

For dual subs under $400, I think you can't beat a pair of JBL550P. $599 each but currently on sale for $189 each. Without the sale price they wouldn't be my pick.

 

[Sal1950]

HSU is hard to beat across most of the price ranges and he makes good, solid products. I've owned a pair for 25+ years.
Dr. Hsu has been designing building subs long before the ID were even conceived. Check out their forums. You are lucky, the sub market is full of good choices for any price range today. Peace.

Agreed. I bought my first pair of subs from Dr Hsu around 1990, one of his first products, the 7' tall cylindrical guys. Ran them for the next 20 years.
Currently have a pair of his older products that have given me trouble free use for close to 5 years. I've talked to him on the phone personally a couple times over the years and you couldn't ask for a nicer gentleman to do business with.

 

[Zoomer]

How important is it to use identical twins/triplets etc.?
I suppose proper integration will be easier, but is a stellar deal on a non-identical second sub a definite no-no?

 

[CDMC]

How important is it to use identical twins/triplets etc.?
I suppose proper integration will be easier, but is a stellar deal on a non-identical second sub a definite no-no?

My OCD says no, mismatch problems and phase issues. Very knowledgeable people say it works just fine and the benefits of mode smoothing far outweigh any potential mismatch in theory and in practice. If I were you, I would trust the knowledgable people and not worry about mixing subs over my OCD.

 

[Sal1950]

How important is it to use identical twins/triplets etc.?
I suppose proper integration will be easier, but is a stellar deal on a non-identical second sub a definite no-no?

If you have room correction that does individual subs it might work out OK
But if not I'd be worried the differing FR of them would draw attention to one of the other in the areas of the curves where they differ?
Bottom line is it's not the optimal way to do it. IMO

 

[HammerSandwich]

PowerSoundAudio

PSA's subwoofers start at $1100. Are they really a contender for "best bang for the buck"?

 

[617]

Highly recommend Dayton subwoofer kits. They have both very affordable kits and kits with pretty advanced dsp amplifiers. Dayton drivers are probably the best value in standalone drivers right now.

I did some calculations on the HSU drivers I saw mentioned earlier and they also offer great value.

 

[MZKM]

PSA's subwoofers start at $1100. Are they really a contender for "best bang for the buck"?

I was just adding some info about the company to that user, not replying to OP.

Dayton subs are the best bang for buck, $150/$200 gets you much better performance than no sub, and then you need to spend $500-$1000 for an entry level or midrange sub from the better brands.

 

[that1guyinwi]

Probably not what you want but does have true room correction.

https://www.safeandsoundhq.com/coll...q-8-dual-8-high-performance-powered-subwoofer

 

[jhaider]

How important is it to use identical twins/triplets etc.?
I suppose proper integration will be easier, but is a stellar deal on a non-identical second sub a definite no-no?

COMPLETELY unimportant. The room will make each one perform radically different, so the only possible benefit of identical is that they look the same.

 

[Bear123]

COMPLETELY unimportant. The room will make each one perform radically different, so the only possible benefit of identical is that they look the same.

I would have to disagree here. Above 40 Hz, mismatched subs with different low frequency rolloff and extension can be integrated just fine for improved frequency response and sound quality. However, two subs with different low frequency roll off, such as a ported and sealed sub, or two different ported subs, will result in cancellation down in the lower frequencies. I've had *identical* subs that caused cancellation in the lower frequencies when they were not setup properly....out of phase. And not a little bit of cancellation...a lot.

Subs will completely mutually couple in the lower frequencies....regardless of the room. So phase issues will cause you to end up with less output in this area with two subs than with one.

 

[typericey]

Going multiple subs lowers WAF significantly. According to my "measurements" the WAF of 2 subs is <0.1%.

Kudos to the other guys here who are able to do it.

 

[Sal1950]

Going multiple subs lowers WAF significantly. According to my "measurements" the WAF of 2 subs is <0.1%.

Be a man, Send her to the kitchen, that's her room to play in.

 

[Willem]

Dual subs can be smaller and their location is less critical than with a single sub.

 

[MSNWatch]

A pair of the currently available SVS SV-12NSD ($399 each shipped) will be very hard to beat for performance, size and placement flexibility. I am currently using a pair and they measure to 20hz flat in room. If you have a super large room or listen at very high levels to action packed movies then a pair of the SVS PB-12NSD ($499 each shipped) is for you.

 

[Bear123]

A pair of the currently available SVS SV-12NSD ($399 each shipped) will be very hard to beat for performance, size and placement flexibility. I am currently using a pair and they measure to 20hz flat in room. If you have a super large room or listen at very high levels to action packed movies then a pair of the SVS PB-12NSD ($499 each shipped) is for you.

At regular price, probably not, but at the sale price of $189, the JBL550p is probably at least twice as good, since two would cost less than a single SB12. The JBL is a 10" but I'd be very surprised if it isn't at least as capable if not more so than the SVS.

For a larger, more powerful sub, Hsu's VTF3 MK5 is the best value under $1k....I'd take one over dual PB12's. I demo'd the PB12NSD, returned for the PB2000 (was released a week later) which is the same thing with a couple dB more output, and returned it too when I realized it had mediocre mid and upper bass output. It hit its limits very clean and unobtrusively, but moving up to a more capable sub was drastically noticeable at spirited levels.

 

[MSNWatch]

At regular price, probably not, but at the sale price of $189, the JBL550p is probably at least twice as good, since two would cost less than a single SB12. The JBL is a 10" but I'd be very surprised if it isn't at least as capable if not more so than the SVS.

For a larger, more powerful sub, Hsu's VTF3 MK5 is the best value under $1k....I'd take one over dual PB12's. I demo'd the PB12NSD, returned for the PB2000 (was released a week later) which is the same thing with a couple dB more output, and returned it too when I realized it had mediocre mid and upper bass output. It hit its limits very clean and unobtrusively, but moving up to a more capable sub was drastically noticeable at spirited levels.

PB12NSD performance as per sound and vision:


Test Bench
Frequency response

19 to 272 Hz ±3 dB

Bass output, subwoofer (CEA-2010 standard)

• Ultra-low bass (20-31.5 Hz) average: 111.0 dB

20 Hz 110.2 dB

25 Hz 110.8 dB

31.5 Hz 112.1 dB

• Low bass (40-63 Hz) average: 118.1 dB

40 Hz 119.0 dB

50 Hz 120.3 dB

63 Hz 115.1 dB


Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/content/review-svs-pb12-nsd-subwoofer-page-3#Wr5YRrrYusVivQHT.99

A pair of PB12s crossed over at 80hz will not bottom out with music - the mains or the amp will likely give out first.

I like spirited bass as much as the next guy - blew out the woofer on my Hsu VTF 15mk 2 and have been happy for music with a pair of SB12s at sound levels that are very loud.