Played Out Question, but here we go: Best Sub Around $600.

[JJ]

And I mean $600. Please, please - don't say save up $400 more and get a so and so. I've got to eat and gas is getting expensive!

I'm thinking something along the lines of the Martin Logan Dynamo, the fella at Sound Advice highly recommended it, especially since my first choice was the Klipsch RW-10 - and from what I've read on the forums here, the Klipsch subs can't hold a candle to the Dynamo. Powerful little bugger.

[supersix4]

the best sub around $600 is to use the search function.

[Johk]

The 20-39 PCi cylinder subwoofer

It's 599$!


That's what I'm getting!

[JJ]

Originally Posted by supersix4

the best sub around $600 is to use the search function.

I wish that along with the "Quote" button next to your post, there was also a "Smack in the Face" button. I've done that. But opinions change every now and then, and not everyone replies to every thread.

Originally Posted by Johk

The 20-39 PCi cylinder subwoofer

It's 599$!


That's what I'm getting!

I read about these cylindrical subs in another forum...excellent, I've always wanted to shake the foundations of my house.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by Johk

The 20-39 PCi cylinder subwoofer

It's 599$!


That's what I'm getting!

Hold on to your seat, those things drop a low note for sure. I have it's big brother and it is probably more than I needed!

[Beta Man]

Martin Logan Dynamo.


That's my vote. Friend has one, and it's GREAT!

[fronn]

Ever thought of a DIY project?

For $600 you can make something that'd be pretty unbeatable by anything less than $1500.

The hardest part is probably finishing the cabinet, especially if you go sealed (veneer, paint, or even stuff like Rhino Liner for trucks works well).

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by fronn

Ever thought of a DIY project?

For $600 you can make something that'd be pretty unbeatable by anything less than $1500.

The hardest part is probably finishing the cabinet, especially if you go sealed (veneer, paint, or even stuff like Rhino Liner for trucks works well).

I would (I've never done this) use the Self-Leveling sealant that is supposed to be used as a finish for tables etc... it's supposed to fill in cracks etc. and it's clear.... I'd do one side at a time, and fill the cabinet with that.

Anyways... just a thought.


EDIT:

This stuff.

http://www.systemthree.com/p_mirror_coat.asp

[MacDaddyOJack]

You generally cannot make a great home theater subwoofer, and to say that you can make one equal to or better than a $1500 sub is a stretch. There is a lot that goes into making the proper enclosure size and calculating port lengths etc. Not to mention finishes on some of the cabinates. I have made plenty of subwoofer enclosures for various cars, and none of them hold a candle to the SVS that resides in my living room.

The SVS is a steal at $600. Plus you get an in-home trial, all you have to do is pay shipping if you don't like it(but you will more than likely love it!)

[phastm3]

MFW-15, hands down! This thing will rock your socks off. Better get it quick as prices are about to jump on this puppy.

http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop...mart&Itemid=37

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by phastm3

MFW-15, hands down! This thing will rock your socks off. Better get it quick as prices are about to jump on this puppy.

http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop...mart&Itemid=37

Listen to the man he is right! THE BEST SUB FOR THE MONEY!!!!

[JJ]

Down to MFW-15, Dynamo, and that SVS. I don't want to include aesthetics as part of the equation, simply performance...but that SVS is looking mighty attractive. I demo'd the Dynamo at Sound Advice and it filled up a room bigger than my living room...from a box barely a foot cubed! Aaaargh...decisions.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Down to MFW-15, Dynamo, and that SVS. I don't want to include aesthetics as part of the equation, simply performance...but that SVS is looking mighty attractive. I demo'd the Dynamo at Sound Advice and it filled up a room bigger than my living room...from a box barely a foot cubed! Aaaargh...decisions.

Trust me, the AV123 beats out many other subs that cost a lot more money. Doby can probably link you to the tests. He's got all the hook ups!

[MacDaddyOJack]

The SVS is deceiving, its fairly large. The pics on their website don't have anything to compare it to. Here is a pic of me holding it after it was delivered:



There are a couple more in my sig if you want to see it. The footprint is pretty small, but it stands a full 39" tall. I like the way it looks though, and I love the way it sounds. That MFW-15 gets good reviews as well, but I have never heard it so I can't comment there.

Edit: that is the 20-39 PC+, but it is the same size as the 20-39 PCi.

[JJ]

Dear lord, that is deceiving - I thought it would be 1.5' tall at the most, that beast looks to be almost 4' (check - 3'3") - beastly! Near the size of a tower speaker.

[Jordan]

How about adding the Epik Knight to your list?
www.epiksubwoofers.com

[phastm3]

Here is the scoring summary with the Home Theater score and Music score, respectively shown as (HT-M).

Prices and whether the items are available Internet Direct or from a store are now included. Keep in mind that ID pricing will usually be firm, or slightly discounted, where some BM products will see substantial discounts. BM = Brick and Mortar. ID = Internet Direct. ID/SI = shipping included.

Elemental Designs A7-900 ($2200 ID/SI): 116 points (63-53)
Epik Conquest ($1599 ID): 112 points (60-52)
SVS PB13-Ultra ($1499 ID): 109 points (57-52)
Epik Castle ($999 ID): 109 points (59-50)
AV123 MFW-15 Duals: 109 points (56-53) (note, duals were tested as duals are offered as a package)
Creative Sounds Dual SDX-15 driver + Behringer EP-2500 Amp + Behringer DEQ2496 ($1630 ID): 105 points (57-48)
JL Audio Fathom 113 ($3500 BM): 103 points (53-50)
AV123 MFW-15 ($599 ID): 103 points (53-50)
Def Tech Trinity ($3000 BM): 102 points (54-48)
Velodyne DD-18 ($5000 BM): 100 points (50-50)
ACI Maestro ($2400 ID): 97 points (47-50)
eD A5-350 ($715 ID/SI): 96 points (50-46)
JL Audio Fathom 112 ($2600 BM): 95 points (45-50)
Hsu VTF-3 HO + Turbo ($999 ID): 94 points (47-47)
Hsu VTF-3 HO w/o Turbo ($899 ID): 92 points (45-47)
Hsu VTF-3 Mark III + Turbo ($799 ID): 92 points (45-47)
Epik Valor ($549 ID): 91 points (44-47)
Hsu VTF-3 Mark III w/o Turbo ($699 ID): 91 points (45-46)
SVS PB12-Ultra: 90 points (47-43)
Axiom EP-500 ($1230 ID/SI): 90 points (43-47)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III + Turbo ($599 ID): 88 points (42-46)
SVS PB12-Plus/2 ($1299 ID): 87 points (47-40)
SVS PB12-NSD ($599 ID): 86 points (43-43)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)
Rocket UFW-12 ($999 ID): 85 points (provisional) (35-50)
Elemental Designs A2-300 ($350 ID/SI): 83 points (44-39)
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)
Dana Audio 600 ($869 ID): 83 points (36-47)
Rocket X-Sub ($199 ID): 78 points (34-44)
BIC H-100 ($229 eBay): 78 points (40-38)

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Martin Logan Dynamo.


That's my vote. Friend has one, and it's GREAT!

+1

[fronn]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

You generally cannot make a great home theater subwoofer, and to say that you can make one equal to or better than a $1500 sub is a stretch. There is a lot that goes into making the proper enclosure size and calculating port lengths etc. Not to mention finishes on some of the cabinates. I have made plenty of subwoofer enclosures for various cars, and none of them hold a candle to the SVS that resides in my living room.

The SVS is a steal at $600. Plus you get an in-home trial, all you have to do is pay shipping if you don't like it(but you will more than likely love it!)

I haven't heard any car subs that hold a candle in sound quality to any mid to high end sub from a company like SVS (there's obviously other things that come into play). Most people seem to make car subs for SPL.

You can make a perfectly awesome sub for ~600 that'll have a flatter response, more spl, etc. than anything in it's price range, at least (depending on what you go with, under $1500 isn't too far of a stretch -- it could certainly be competition in that range, maybe not flat out beat everything in every way) and there's plenty of plans around the net along with programs that can model the driver and give you the cabinet volume if you don't want to do the math yourself. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's perfectly possible with some research, even for someone who's never done it before.

I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the subs mentioned though, I was just throwing out the possibility for the crafty minded -- the hardest thing to match going DIY is the cabinet finish, not the actual sound quality. Speakers/subs in that range don't have a ton of engineering time put in and many times the drivers are just slightly modified off the shelf parts from one of the various driver makers -- Making a sub/speaker at home isn't something that's out of the realm of possibility like making a car at home from some blocks of metal or something. The same information that they have is available to the consumer and the tools required aren't outrageous (can get mdf cut at Home Depot, get some wood glue, some clamps, finishing supplies and you're set). I don't think anyone really recommends doing a DIY job for less than 5-600 monies, as that's where you can really start beating the brand names if you put in the effort (especially if you don't care about being reasonable with size - I prefer smaller, personally).

Just to clarify, I'm not saying it's worth it for everyone... but quality drivers (just as good as the ones available to manufacturers) are available to consumers, same with amps and the modeling information to go along with it. The information and parts are all there -- the brand names make money by charging for time and experience... they are going to charge more to make up for that, as they have to profit; DIY projects aren't done for profit usually.

I'm in the process of building a Sealed box Rythmik 12" kit (spending my stimulus check on it), but SVS, HSU, AV123, Axiom, Velodyne (I think they do), etc. are all going to have pretty rocking subs in that range (it'd be hard to be disappointed with any of those, if you ask me).

SVS and HSU are safe bets for your money, but DIY is an option.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by phastm3

Here is the scoring summary with the Home Theater score and Music score, respectively shown as (HT-M).

Prices and whether the items are available Internet Direct or from a store are now included. Keep in mind that ID pricing will usually be firm, or slightly discounted, where some BM products will see substantial discounts. BM = Brick and Mortar. ID = Internet Direct. ID/SI = shipping included.

Elemental Designs A7-900 ($2200 ID/SI): 116 points (63-53)
Epik Conquest ($1599 ID): 112 points (60-52)
SVS PB13-Ultra ($1499 ID): 109 points (57-52)
Epik Castle ($999 ID): 109 points (59-50)
AV123 MFW-15 Duals: 109 points (56-53) (note, duals were tested as duals are offered as a package)
Creative Sounds Dual SDX-15 driver + Behringer EP-2500 Amp + Behringer DEQ2496 ($1630 ID): 105 points (57-48)
JL Audio Fathom 113 ($3500 BM): 103 points (53-50)
AV123 MFW-15 ($599 ID): 103 points (53-50)
Def Tech Trinity ($3000 BM): 102 points (54-48)
Velodyne DD-18 ($5000 BM): 100 points (50-50)
ACI Maestro ($2400 ID): 97 points (47-50)
eD A5-350 ($715 ID/SI): 96 points (50-46)
JL Audio Fathom 112 ($2600 BM): 95 points (45-50)
Hsu VTF-3 HO + Turbo ($999 ID): 94 points (47-47)
Hsu VTF-3 HO w/o Turbo ($899 ID): 92 points (45-47)
Hsu VTF-3 Mark III + Turbo ($799 ID): 92 points (45-47)
Epik Valor ($549 ID): 91 points (44-47)
Hsu VTF-3 Mark III w/o Turbo ($699 ID): 91 points (45-46)
SVS PB12-Ultra: 90 points (47-43)
Axiom EP-500 ($1230 ID/SI): 90 points (43-47)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III + Turbo ($599 ID): 88 points (42-46)
SVS PB12-Plus/2 ($1299 ID): 87 points (47-40)
SVS PB12-NSD ($599 ID): 86 points (43-43)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)
Rocket UFW-12 ($999 ID): 85 points (provisional) (35-50)
Elemental Designs A2-300 ($350 ID/SI): 83 points (44-39)
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)
Dana Audio 600 ($869 ID): 83 points (36-47)
Rocket X-Sub ($199 ID): 78 points (34-44)
BIC H-100 ($229 eBay): 78 points (40-38)

That's the list I was looking for. Look at the AV123 price to performance ratio....