what to do for budget HT sub?

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

im wanting to upgrade my pos onkyo htib sub, but i dont want to spend over 300, and less would be better than that

some subs recc. from avsforums

HSU stf1/stf2

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

ed

http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=406

http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=407

onyx Xsub

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=subwoofers&product=12.1

bic h-100

http://www.bicacoustechspeakers.com/closeup.asp?cid=57&pid=125&offset=0

athena as-p6000

http://www.athenaspeakers.com/v2/product.php?ident=AS-P6000

jbl venue 12

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/428984-REG/JBL_SUB12_SUB_12_Venue_Series.html

and ive thought about putting one together my self, but i dont know too much about box xpecs for HT wise, just go big and tune low, where is best place to get plate amp and sub/s (partsexpress?)

but which of the powered subs above will give the best bang for buck and how will it compare to me making my own with plate amp and sub

thanks

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[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

Mach 5 Audio MAW 15, get it from the SSA Shop ( http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com ), then get yourself a plate amp and you should be good to go. I've got one sealed in my basement and it gets downright mean for music and pretty decent for movies, I'd highly recommend it for a budget.

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

None of those will be better than a properly designed sub that you can build for yourself. Every commercial speaker cuts corners in one way or another. It may be size, material costs, driver or amp selection, or construction technique. They have to in order to sell something for $300 and still make a profit. If you buy direct from a manufacturer, the markup is still roughly 200%. So a $300 sub costs probably around $150 for them to make. If you buy through a reseller, then it's usually around 400%. 2x from the manufacturer, then 1.5-2x at the reseller. So it would be impossible to compete with them due to their production capabilities and the fact that they buy OE parts in tens of thousands. However it is very possible to build an excellent sub at or slightly above the MSRP of a good commercial product (such as the ones you listed). It is hard to build a cheap sub for less than a cheap commerical sub, but it is easier to build a great sub for about the same as a decent commercial sub.

If you do your own enclosures for car audio, then an HT sub is essentially the same. If you want a plate amp, then they are available at Parts Express, Rythmik Audio, Madisound, O-Audio.com, and others. If you want a pro amp, a good Behringer setup can be found for less than $200 if you shop around (try ebay). Good drivers are available at the same sources as listed above. Fi, TC Sounds, Soundsplinter, Mach5, Eclipse, etc. also make some drivers suitable for HT use.

Look for a sub with low Fs and low Qts numbers. You can also start by modeling responses with a program like Unibox for WinISD pro, to see how changing box size and tuning affects theoretical frequency response for certain drivers. In general a large low tuned box will give you the flattest and lowest response good for HT.

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

something about the bic and athena, bic can be had for 230shipped off ebay

both 12" ers

im thinking about picking up the bic, reading some reviews it looks nice, was designed by HSU