Subwoofer for Home Cinema / Stereo listening

[Millennium]

Hi all,

Firstly my setup. I have an optical out from Xonar DX/XD sound card (which does Dolby Digital live + bitstreaming) to a Yamaha DSP-A5 Amp (DTS and Dolby Digital decoding).

The amp has options to output the bass channel to sub, mains, or both, currently set to both with no sub.

Speakers wise, I have recently got a pair of Dali Zensor bookshelf speakers as the main channels, Mission 760i SE as the rears and some random Mission speaker as a center channel. The Zensors are really nice, now they are run in a little the low end is starting to show but they are still a bit lacking on the bass front.

This, plus the fact my .1 is missing from my 5.1 setup, makes me think my next purchase will be a sub. I'm looking for new or second hand (ideally a good second hand deal), up to £250 if its worth it, doesn't need to be too loud but does need to be fairly distortion free and have a good low frequency response. I would use this on a main output so it would work with both 5.1 and 2.0 sources.

You guys seem to know a lot about this kind of thing so I thought I would ask here: what are your recommendations? Or should I save the money from the sub and upgrade something else?

Cheers

[shaithis]

I would put a wanted up on AVForums for an SVS sub in that price range.

I've seen PB10s go for ~200. It's what I have and for the money, I doubt it can be beaten.

[Hicks12]

BK electronics is always a highly recommend manufacturer of subs,http://www.bkelec.com/

Recommended is generally:

Gemini 2 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/Gemini.htm
XXLS400 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XXLS400DF.htm out of budget but if you look secondhand you might be able to find one cheap enough, unlikely though .

Any of the BK should be excellent, look over avforums for more input though

[DeludedGuy]

BK electronics is always a highly recommend manufacturer of subs,http://www.bkelec.com/

Recommended is generally:

Gemini 2 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/Gemini.htm
XXLS400 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XXLS400DF.htm out of budget but if you look secondhand you might be able to find one cheap enough, unlikely though .

Any of the BK should be excellent, look over avforums for more input though

I have the BK Gemini II and I can recommend it, its absolutely brilliant! I've had it for almost 2 years now and have no regrets or plans of upgrading. I thought about getting one of the larger BK subs but I find the Gemini II more than enough for my room (5mx3.2m).

[Hicks12]

I also plan on getting the G2 but budget limitations meant i couldnt only get the 5.0 setup , one day i will have it!

[Stoo]

I can also vouch for the BK Electronics XLS200

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofe...00-DFandFF.htm

[Millennium]

Thanks for all the replies guys. The BK subs look mighty tempting (all of them!) and as I have a large room I might have to up my budget. What would be the issue with running a smaller sub in a larger room? Would the acoustics mean I wouldn't hear the bass as much? I have a guy above me in my basement flat who sometimes complains so I would not be looking to shake the room *too* much (often )

SVS also looks good thanks Shaithis

[g8ina]

I have a Yamaha YST-SW320. Reviews say it sucks, but I beg to differ.

As an ex pro audio engineer, I am impressed by this little 250w beast.

ebay often has them very cheap, might be worth a punt.

Otherwise, I would say anything by REL is deffo worth going for.

[shaithis]

What would be the issue with running a smaller sub in a larger room? Would the acoustics mean I wouldn't hear the bass as much?

I doubt your room is going to be too large for your budget......especially if you don't want to completely alienate your neighbour!

I only turn mine on when watching films or gaming at sensible times as the rumble/thumping from it would drive my neighbours crazy if it was used at all times.

[abaxas]

BK or old skool REL.

Nice strata IIIs can be bought cheaply now and will fill almost every room with ear hurting bass for both music and films.

[Lowe]

BK made all the old RELs lol

Subs are as much about the room and position as they are the sub itself. if you were to push your budget what would you up it to?

[Millennium]

I could push to maybe £300. Probably want a monolith for that kind of money though

[abaxas]

BK made all the old RELs lol

Subs are as much about the room and position as they are the sub itself. if you were to push your budget what would you up it to?

Good/useful info. Ta.

[abaxas]

I could push to maybe £300. Probably want a monolith for that kind of money though

Size of sub needs to be relative to room.

Bigger does not always mean better.

[Millennium]

I'll measure the room later but it's pretty big. Sure, maybe not monolith big though :]

Just been doing some background reading, do you have to leave this active subs on all the time? Does that use a lot of power for standby etc?

[shaithis]

The last time I saw a test done on subs in standby mode, they were drawing around 20w IIRC.

Personally, I just turn mine on when I need it...saves both money and unnecessary aggro from neighbours when you forget how loud the system was turned up when you last switched it off!!