"Perfect" subwoofer for small basement room

[FluffyGTX]

Thank you all very much!
Regarding the space requirements: The sub does not need to be super small. I could easily fit the mentioned Arendal 1723 1S.
The major constraint is the width. I could get away with 35 cm or even a bit wider without my wife butchering me.
But many of the SVS and comparable have this square design of a compact fridge and tend to be wider like 45cm which is definitely too big.
The perfect place for a sub would be directly between the front speakers If I am not mistaken. However, my TV is resting on a TV shelf and I don't know of any tv shelves that would accommodate a sub without problems.

So next to my couch I can fit a sub that is not too wide such as the Arendal 1723 1S or even something like the B&W DB2D (which would be crazy expensive and exceed my budget).

I understand in such a small room two subs would be the better solution.

Regarding getting something built from a carpenter: I am living in Munich, Germany. And getting something for 150$ is totally impossible. Any custom made housings would be getting really expensive quickly.

 

[staticV3]

The perfect place for a sub would be directly between the front speakers If I am not mistaken.

The perfect place for a sub would be the one resulting in the smoothest in-room response, irrespective of the distance to the front speakers.

You can use the Room sim built into Room EQ Wizard to explore your options.

 

[asibbald]

I'm a fan of the BK Acoustics Subs. Direct sale only, from the UK, which may not be great for you. They are the original producers of the REL range of subs. They've developed their own very capable subwoofer drivers and they are extremely good value for money. To the extent you could easily buy multiple BK subs for the price of some of the more "Boutique" brands.
Let's face it - a sub is pretty basic in what it needs to do. If it has enough low-distortion excursion and cone area, that's pretty much it.

B.K. Electronics Homepage

 

[Willem]

If extremely small size is not necessary, you get more bang for the buck with slightly larger models. How about two KEF Kube 10b? I think they look better than most, and measure (and look) better than a comparable SVS SB1000.

 

[FluffyGTX]

They are only available in black unfortunately. And small size not really that important. The dimensions like 33cm wide, 50 deep and 50 or 60 cm high would be no problem.

 

[Peterinvan]

Welcome to ASR.

Do you have access to SVS stuff where you're located? Great bang for the buck and several options to choose from.

I am enjoying my SVS1000 sub in my small den/office. The only issue is that it does not wake up (from standby mode) when I turn on my KEF LS50s (which drive the sub).

I am unsure if the issue is in the LFE input on the sub or the KEF amplifier, but I wake up the sub by unplugging/replugging the RCA cable at the back of the KEFs.

 

[Palmspar]

@Peterinvan the sub awakes to play something, not only turn the amp on.
It can but you wil need a trigger input sub and output on the amp

 

[Peterinvan]

@Peterinvan the sub awakes to play something, not only turn the amp on.
It can but you wil need a trigger input sub and output on the amp

I get your point, but even with the KEF is playing, most times the sub doesn't wake up. It used to automatically detect it.. cant explain why it has developed this inconsistency.

 

[NEDD]

Hello @FluffyGTX , I have almost identical room and set up. Its like 98% copy, maybe 1.5-2 m2 bigger. I have tried 2 XTZ Sub 8's in there. First is at exactly same location by the couch, the other WAS on the right wall infront of the couch. However I didn't like the result. I have removed the later one and keep using just the "back"one. I did try some things in this room, like sub crawling to find good location without much success. I have been using this subs in a smaller room with bookshelf speeker ant they felt great, but not as good in the current room with bigger Heco Aurora 700 towers... Let me know how was your experience, thanks!

 

[Wolf11Man]

If you have the problem to put a conventional, industrial build sub in your room, consider to build one that fit's your room.
Any Baumarkt will cut 19mm MDF exactly as you need it. Some self adheasive foil will make a nice finish. You don't need any tools, just some extra strength Baukleber and your hands. The only problem is to cut a hole for the driver and drill a small one for the loudspeaker cable.
You sure know someone who owns a jig saw and a drill and will be happy to help you with the holes. You can do them (it's even better) before assembling the box. So no need to move the whole thing.
There are many people here that can help you with such a construction and calculating the outcome. A roughly 500 € DIYS sub will easily put any 1500 € commercial sub to shame. You already have a DSP, if you can use it for the sub, too, things get even simpler and better.
If you don't want to take much risk and don't trust DIYS, I can think of some high quality solution for less than 250 €.
A 250mm /10" Reckhorn driver plus a TDA3255 based mini amp. You only have to supply the outer dimension you can hide in your room. The DSP will do the room correction to your taste.

 

[GXAlan]

That said, another option that’s less expensive and worth considering is Paradigm MilleniaSub. I have one on my desk behind the monitor and it probably could be used by itself with some boundary reinforcement.

Ooh… that is on my radar right now since I bought an Earthquake CP8 on a whim for a visually constrained room. Do you have any measurements?

I have tried the CP8 crossed over at 40 Hz and the output is silly for the price and size. The MilleniaSub is the other small sub that boasts low end extension.

I posted my measurements here, hoping Amir will want to try one on a whim too.

A wishlist of gear to be reviewed by Amir

@amirm this isn’t worth shipping back and forth and would be interesting to measure. https://a.co/d/aAwKhBI $230, 8” Earthquake subwoofer. Just like Chinese hi-fi had a bad reputation until measured, car audio hifi has had a bad reputation too. Earthquake’s history is all car audio… I...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Heinrich]

Instead of one larger sub I would recommend two smaller ones to give you a wider listening area. With one sub you can really only equalize successfully for one quite narrow listening position. The best model would be a function of the budget. To get the same performance out of a small sized sub, you have to pay more. Examples are the SVS micro3000 or even more so the KEF KC62.

Exactly! The best sub is two, or more. I've experienced subs that exhibited "breathing noises" if that makes sense, which pretty much invalidates the use of subs. The position, mostly out of the stereo image makes itself known, the noises adding too much drama to the playback and other funny things happen.

Small subs are better of sealed design, while even for bigger ones, the currently available cone excursion could hardly be exploited other than in significantly bigger boxes** - the port and its noises is the limiting factor. (Something people didn't care about two decades back.) Of course small and sealed need bigger power, but that is darn cheap today. An equalizer, wich dials in the desired frequency response is cheap also, and anyway mandatory for best room integration.

** meant as "internal volume versus membrane area"

 

[jhaider]

Ooh… that is on my radar right now since I bought an Earthquake CP8 on a whim for a visually constrained room. Do you have any measurements?

I’m out of town now but will check.

Edit: published here: https://www.soundandvision.com/cont...eniaone-speakers-milleniasub-subwoofer-page-4

Note that ARC Genesis is onboard, though you need an ARC or PBK mic.

Another is Sonance D8. This one uses 7.5” square drivers (look similar to the old Infinity Cascade sub’s woofers) in an extruded aluminum enclosure. IMO a little nicer than KEF 62 but the DSP isn’t tuned to go as low at nothing volume levels.