What inexpensive subwoofer to get? Polk PSW10 for $98? Or???

This particular application is not for the ultimate hi-fi, it is to add bass to a pair of Bluetooth speakers, rigged up to play stereo. Like in a dorm room, for example. (For possible transportation, that means a 10" is probably the biggest thing I want to get into).

This
Amazon.com: Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black): Home Audio & Theater »
sure seems like an amazing value leader for that purpose at $98 (which is about the limit of what this project is worth, maybe $120-130 tops). The only niggle I have with it is it would sure be nice to have a built-in highpass crossover (the crude alternative being some Harrison Labs F-Mods, imprecise devices at best).

Am I dreaming? Does such a thing exist?

I would note that I don't expect ultra low bass, but do NOT want a boomy kind of sound, that would drive me nuts hearing it reverberate throughout the house...I'm also not opposed to DIY but it would have to have cabinets or flat packs, I'm not set up to cut any more.

 

I have one for my 2.1 system for watching television and it is plenty good. Plenty of boom but if you want hi-fi look elsewhere.
From the sounds of it, it would be a solid purchase. You can set the volume and crossover. I recommend it if your looking for an inexpensive sub.

 

I just needed a little 'depth' and the Polk provided

 

Can you explain more what you mean by

 

Provides plenty of bass for watching movies or streaming music. I think it works well for listening to music providing that low end I however don't think it provides the cleanest tone of bass. Too much volume and it can get muddy sounding. I have mine maybe half volume but provides that low end needed with a pair of bookshelf Sony speakers.

 

Perfect for what your looking for and great price!

I use mine to add a bit more low end to my mission speakers and it does the trick!

 

I have this PSW10 subwoofer and I enjoy the sound of it; however, all my others are Polk speakers so they're all more or less voice matched.

It is a good value.

 

I've got the PSW505 and think it's pretty good. I see it's currently at $199, I got it for around $179 some time ago. I specifically purchased this for it's high pass connection, it's being used with KEF LS50 speakers.

 

I recently added the Pioneer SW-8mk2 subwoofer to my system to fill the low end in around my Rega RS1's and really like the result. It's a smaller sub with an 8" speaker so it won't shake the earth in a video system but I'm listening to music only and really enjoying the result. If you time it right you can get them for around 100 bucks on Amazon.

 

That looks like a great Polk sub for the money. In fact, I just ordered one. Thanks for the tip!

 

Best bang-for the-back for non-critical bass augmentation.

 

have a look at the wirecutter site. iirc theres something similar on there, where they recommended a monoprice sub

 

For "real" sub use, this sale pricing is so cheap you could have multiples all around the room!

Myself, I might be leaning more towards the
"Dayton Audio SUB-1000L 10" 100 Watt Low-Profile Powered Subwoofer" from www.parts-express.com! »
as the shape would be more usable in a variety of spaces. Yeah, less hi-fi, but I can always improve the bracing and such myself.

Actually I am now getting tempted to make a DIY project, except for that niggle that I'm really not set up to build enclosures any more. It would be so cool to once again say "I designed it!"

 

Parts Express has a few different options too. I had 2 of their 10 inch subs and 2 of their 12 inch subs. I still have one of each, though I'm not using them now.

But, overall, they sound pretty decent.

 

I have 2 of these. They mate well with my MMGs I use them more like a powered woofer than a sub-woofer.

 

I am using Yamaha YST-SW216 (~$120) in my bedroom system - it sounds nice and can play pretty loud despite its low nominal power rating. It adds much needed bottom end to my Polk RTi A1s.

 

No. Don't get a Polk sub. They aren't very good at least the smaller cheaper ones aren't..

The best cheap sub to get is the Dayton. Either the Dayton 1200 or the Dayton 1500. I have the 1500 and it was something like $180 delivered.

It is a beast - 15" driver 150 Watt amp (It's plenty, because it is really quite large). I've had cheap subs (Yamaha, KLH, Fluance, Pioneer) and I've had very expensive subs (KEF R400b). This Dayton has no right to be as good as it is for that price. I don't think you can find a 15" sub used for that price. I think the 1000 and 1200 might not be as satisfying, but a 15" sub is what you want!

 

I recently bought a B&W ASW 608 it cost me 80€ and couldn't be happier with it. It has great bass extension for its price and size, it's a small subwoofer that behaves like bigger and more expensive subs. It's a closed enclosure subwoofer, it may not give the amount of bass that bass reflex designs give, but it's bass is thight, very controlled and not boomy at all. It's rated at 200 watts.

 

There's is no way any subwoofer for under $100 is going to produce any low bass (forget what frequency response curve it lies having) That's 80hz and below. beware when you demo these cheap subwoofers. (woofer really) A lot of bass energy at 100 or 150hz can fool the untrained ear into thinking they are getting a lot of deep bass. ..."No, no, no, no, no. Won't get fooled again!"

 

It is true there is a difference between frequency response, and actually generating enough sound pressure to actually be audible.
On the other hand, any of these will generate more bass than the 2" drivers in a Bluetooth speaker

 

No argument there sir.

 

Yep. on most reputable speakers they will be measured plus minus 3db.. or lowest bass point being 6db below.

Decibel is a logarithmic system. I had an argument with someone not too long ago who believed 3" drivers on their soundbar put a decent amount of bass out at 40hz... even though it was over 30db below the general frequency response over the speaker.

 

But again, as a professional loudspeaker design engineer, I can sadly say none of that is useful. Even reputable brands can have different methodologies they use to get those measurements, under different measurement conditions. Some manufacturers would measure at 1/2 meter, or at 2 meters, then shift their curves to compensate. But the curves themselves won't be quite the same, because the distance from the drivers to the microphone has changed. Also some might adjust the voltage into a "6 ohm" speaker to get 1 watt, and some might keep 2.83 volts because the 6 ohms is closer to the standard 8 ohms.

Speakers are often not measured in anechoic chambers any more, they are more commonly measured with systems that cut off reflections from the room instead, and calculate the response. But the physical setups and the calculation systems are full of ways that you could get differing curves out of the exact same speakers.

THEN, to get a "true" low frequency response, some kind of near field or ground plane measurement is spliced to the main curve, which splicing also has uncertainty. Much as I admire Stereophile they drive me nuts because the speaker measurements always say that the bump in the midbass is caused by a room effect...hey! that means the curves are all WRONG!!?! (and makes me wonder why John Atkinson doesn't calibrate it out...I should ask him someday...maybe it's just for historical continuity?)

THEN THEN, some manufacturers just lie. Or exaggerate. Or add some kind of "room gain" amount or other nonsense. For instance, to pick on Klipsch, I simply don't believe their sensitivity measurements without being able to verify myself (Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-160M = 95 dB? And goes down to 45 Hz in that size box? Color me highly skeptical. Must be "room gain" or something). But Klipsch are hardly the only offenders-Stereophile routinely measures lower sensitivity than what is specified...though again, how calibrated is their setup?

So do not EVER buy a speaker based on frequency response specifications, or even or curves. It's just not meaningful. Actually since there IS some room gain at higher frequencies, what you really want is a shallower cutoff that goes lower-the room gain will flatten things out, depending highly on placement.

As for power handling, ugh. Similar situation, pretty useless.

 

What was I thinking when I posted this? Since I started having those damm anti-epilepsy pills (I'm being honest) I'm not myself. The B&W ASW 608 cost me 450 €. Sorry.

 

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