Subwoofer under €450 in Europe

[goodkeys]

After more than a decade, my Subwoofer went belly up. I need a replacement. The budget is €450 maximum. My room is relatively small, about 3 x 4 meters. I don't need the subwoofer to be loud, but it should go down as low as possible. 10'' or 12'' would probably fine I think.

My problem is that here on Audiosciencereview, the two subwoofers that are always recommended in that budget range are the Monoprice SW-12 and the RSL Speedwoofer 10E. Neither is easily available in Europe. Looking at sweetchaos's comparison chart, the subwoofers that come up are either US only (Monoprice, RSL, BIC America), or are considerably worse. In Europe, are there any subwoofers in this price-range that are not substantially inferior than the Monoprice/RSL?

SVS is not an option. The non-pro version is not available here in Switzerland, and the 1000 Pro is around €650. Too much over budget. If there aren't any decent options I might take the plunge and import a Speedwoofer 10E. According to RSL's website, it would set me back around €450 including shipping and taxes. However, support would be an issue. That's why I'd prefer another solution if possible.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

 

[staticV3]

The Kali WS6.2 is capable: https://youtu.be/QdblDuX1JDg

About 500€ in Switzerland.

 

[Willem]

The SVS SB1000 nonpro can still be had here for 600 euros: https://doublepoint.nl/svs-sb-1000-subwoofer-zwart. I bought a SB2000 non pro from them for that same money, some time ago. They were willing to negotiate. Until recently I thought the KEF Kube series were probaly th ebest deal in Europe, but they have gone up quite a bit. B&W also have good cheaper subs, but not as cheap as you want.

 

[staticV3]

The SB1000 I also found for 580€ shipped to Switzerland:

(random address in Switzerland)

However, that's still quite a ways off OP's 450€ limit.

 

[goodkeys]

Thank you for the inputs. €580 is outside my budget. And shipping an EOL model from abroad does not feel saver than taking the plunge with RSL. In that case, I'd definitely prefer the RSL.

The Kali WS6.2 is worth considering though. Thank you for pointing it out to me. However, it's over my budget and does not go down to 20 Hz. I'll have to weigh up whether it's worth taking the risk with the RSL in this situation.

 

[DoctorRobert]

I don't know where you are located, but in Holland this one is not bad:
Devine RX-10SA

Client Challenge

I am happy with mine in a small office. Only downside is that it does not have an automatic power-off.

 

[Oddball]

I’d actually wait until budget can be increased. Wasting 450 is worse than spending a bit more than that when time allows.

 

[Blueprint]

BK Electronics are good as long as you’re room isn’t too big. They used to make units for REL. Very low distortion which is nice when playing music. They have a couple of home theater options too, a passive radiator sub and a big ported sub, the latter of which is a bit more expensive.

In your room, which is about the same size as mine, an XXLS400 would do the job nicely. Room gain would get you to 20hz.

BK Electronics

Manufacturer of award winning Home Cinema and Hi-Fi subwoofers buy direct and save pounds

bkelectronics.co.uk

 

[Bucking]

Are you willing to buy used?

 

[caught gesture]

BK Electronics are good as long as you’re room isn’t too big. They used to make units for REL. Very low distortion which is nice when playing music. They have a couple of home theater options too, a passive radiator sub and a big ported sub, the latter of which is a bit more expensive.

In your room, which is about the same size as mine, an XXLS400 would do the job nicely. Room gain would get you to 20hz.

BK Electronics

Manufacturer of award winning Home Cinema and Hi-Fi subwoofers buy direct and save pounds

bkelectronics.co.uk

I’ve been using their Monolith Plus subwoofers for well over a decade. Never had an issue. Highly recommended as a company!

 

[Somafunk]

Is active sub ok?

KRK S10G4

Active Studio Subwoofer Equiped with: 10" glass-aramid composite woofer, Power: 160 Watt - Class D amplifier, Frequency range: 30 - 110 Hz, Maximum level: 117.2 dB, Class D amplifier with 160 Watt power, SNR: 92 dB, Adjustable crossover frequency,...

www.thomann.co.uk

 

[staticV3]

The Kali WS6.2 is worth considering though. Thank you for pointing it out to me. However, it's over my budget and does not go down to 20 Hz. I'll have to weigh up whether it's worth taking the risk with the RSL in this situation.

Here's a frequency response overlay of the Kali and RSL:


And with slightly different alignment:


Sources:
https://rslspeakers.com/pages/speedwoofer-10e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdblDuX1JDg

So out of the box, the RSL doesn't extend any deeper either.

Though it's possible that the RSL has more headroom, and if true then with DSP you can use that to extend the RSL's LFE to beyond what the Kali is capable of.

	Power [RMS]	Woofer Area [in^2]
Kali WS-6.2	400	66.4
RSL Speedwoofer 10E	300	78.5

 

[Razorhelm]

Are you comfortable with a car sub and separate amplifier?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/JBL-Stage-1200s-Subwoofer-Car/dp/B0BC1Q39HH
£170 (~€200)

I have two of these on a 150w per channel amp and they perform admirably. I do use room correction.

If you bought one, you would have €300 left over for a mono amp.
Maybe like this:

Amazon.co.uk

240w
£150 (~€175)

I'm UK based so apologies if they have significantly different prices in Switzerland

 

[kyuu]

The problem with the Kali is that they're selling professional products so their specs are more honest. RSL's specs are more... creative. You're not going to get meaningful anechoic (in-room is a different story) extension down to 20Hz with low distortion and high enough SPL to be worthwhile out of a 10" subwoofer in a relatively small enclosure.

Another option I would check out is to see if there are refurbished Kef Kube 10b available in your market. Here in the states I can readily find those for under $500.

 

[Bucking]

How are velodyne prices in Switzerland?

 

[respice finem]

Maybe this one?

ADAM Audio T10S

ADAM Audio T10S; Aktiver Subwoofer 10"; 130 Watt Class-D Verstärker; Frequenzbereich: 28 Hz - 120 Hz (-6 dB); Übergangsfrequenz: 80 Hz / 120 Hz / Bypass; Tiefpassfilter einstellbar; abgestimmt auf Adam T5V, T7V und T8V; Anschlüsse: 2x XLR Ein- und...

www.thomann.de

 

[Willem]

I would look very seriously into the B&K xls300. It is priced at about your maximum. B&K are a reputable company with a long history in subwoofers. If you want to spend less, there is also their Gemini ii.

 

[Waxx]

I never saw measurements of it, but the Yamaha NS-SW300 is quiet capable and within budget. I think it hits below 30Hz by hearing it play music that i know. It's not a top performer (for that your budget is to small) but it's the best i know below 500€ newprice in Europe. Subs cost money, because their drivers are mostly quiet expensive to build compared to drivers in non sub speakers.

Car subs are not sounding good i (and many think). The cabinet is tuned for a car, that is a very different acoustic envirroment than a room. The drivers are also mostly build different, altough with the right cabinet you can make a decent hifi sub with most. But in a standard cabinet it's not good for use in a hifi system. If you can build something yourself (not that easy) you can do a lot with your budget altough with normal subwoofer drivers.

 

[Miniyouuuu]

Maybe is not in your budget but I would never buy a sub without been able to set:
1-crossover
2-phase
3-dsp

If you don’t perfectly blend speakers and sub, you are wasting your money. If your amp or AVR has these settings you could buy any sub. If not… SVS SB1000 pro.

Low frequencies in room create huge gains and nuls, DSP is essential to get an even response below 100hz.

 

[Willem]

Maybe is not in your budget but I would never buy a sub without been able to set:
1-crossover
2-phase
3-dsp

If you don’t perfectly blend speakers and sub, you are wasting your money. If your amp or AVR has these settings you could buy any sub. If not… SVS SB1000 pro.

Low frequencies in room create huge gains and nuls, DSP is essential to get an even response below 100hz.

True. 1 and 2 are usually covered. For dsp room eq I would prefer an outboard solution. I already had two subs without dsp eq, and when I bought an SB 2000 as a third one in a sale (for 600 euros) I opted for the much cheaper classic version without dsp. For room eq I use Multi Sub Optimizer filters uploaded into a miniDSP 2x4HD.