Recommendations for a small good quality subwoofer?

Yeah but if they need a sub, that means, they're not "$300 speakers", are they? They're $800 speakers, the mains being only a smaller percentage of the total to finish the project.

I own a $250 key fob; but, without the rest of the car, it's pretty much a waste...so I don't think of it as a $250 key fob.

 

Plenty of people use their mains without a sub and are perfectly content. That is what the OP has been doing for some time and now wishes to add a sub. A specific budget was mentioned and I expect it to be honored for any of many possible reasons. If he has $300 mains and wants to spend $300 for a sub, I don't see how you're getting $800. The OP hasn't indicated he's willing to stretch his budget to a unit costing close to 70% more than what he wanted to spend.

 

I picked up a Wharfedale Diamond SW150 quite cheaply a few years ago, it's a great little sub.

 

I never use my Maines without the other Dixie Chicks. Otherwise, it's just a perfect waste of sass.

 

Subs are less critical IMHO. Find a used one or something on sale. A little goes a long way. Human ear has a hard time discerning origination point of frequencies below 100hz, which is where most speakers start to drop off. SVS is great, they got their start with subs...I've owned 2 of their huge water softener sized beasts and could have probably launched rockets with them...overkill for your needs.

Currently I use a 1oyear old Velodyne Microvee which I bought on sale for under my desk (it has a metal cone guard to protect from feet...huge selling point). I've repurposed into my main system after a downsizing, its just right with a pair of LS50s in a 15x20 room at moderate volume (<80 db). I can barely turn the knob on sub before bass output is way more than I need...so, again, a little goes a long way.

Bare minimum, don't buy a sub without:
-Volume/output control
-Adjustable crossover
-Phase adjustment
-Auto On/Off, thump killer

did I mention a little goes a long way? Definitely use an SPL meter or app for your phone for setup, check your boost. But the old advice still works...get all your speakers, amp set up, then play some music with sub off, then turn the sub up until you can just hear the sub kicking in...then back off sub volume slightly. Play a few favorite songs, you know what they should sound like.

Good luck and have fun.

 

Well thank Goodness the Forum Police are here to keep people in line. Keep up the good work, officer.

 

I wasn't aware pointing out your inability to recognize other people's budgets being different than yours made me part of the Forum Police. Interesting...

 

Further noting that the OP requested a sub that wouldn't break the bank.

Let's see, you don't like Polk and now you don't like Martin Logan.

You have nothing positive to contribute and expound on you magnificent $800 SVS sub.

The OP specifically stated that he has $300 speakers and he was not looking for a sub that cost more than his speakers.

Well, I have no Problem with modes Polk subs. The OP did not request a high end audiophile sub, just a sub that would meet his needs and his budget.

I have both of these ML subs and they have the Martin Logan name on them. They sound good, particularly the Dynamo 500 and $200 for a sub that retailed for $500, that is a pretty good deal.

The Dynamo 300, I used in my bedroom to augment the bass on the Peachtree D5 bookshelf speaker's that I used in there. For that purpose, the sub was well matched to the bookshelf speaker's and did the job that I intended for it to do.

It was not put there for massive bass to blow away anything.

 

I used to have Peachtree D5's. Wonderful speakers. I'm using a pair of cherry D4's in my office system with my SVS sub. They've never sounded better. I doubt I will ever replace them.

 

Another vote for the smallest, cheapest Polk sub here.

 

Subscribe, as I'm in the ~$300 sub market as well. (And no, I don't mean $800. )

I've been checking out some of the Dayton Audio offerings on PartsExpress, thinking it might be worth it to buy a sub driver like the RSS210HF-4 and pair with the compatible MDF cabinet and plate amp for a semi-DIY solution... anyone have experience with those kits?

 

this is great!

 

i wonder if M&K still is around?

 

I'm interested in this, too. Also looking at monoprice, polk, pioneer

 

By the time you buy the cabinet, plate amp and speaker, you may as well just buy a open box model from a well known manufacturer.

 

Maybe you could pick up a used set of Danley Matterhorn's for a good deal. But you'll need a larger cabin.

 

I have about everything that Era/Peachtree ever made. Sitting on top of the towers are some D3's.



In the rear on the right is a Era D14 tower. You do a knuckle wrap test on the cabinet, there is no hollow sound at all, it sounds and feels like you are knocking on a solid tree trunk. The D14's are some of the nicest looking tower's I have, along with the Boston Acoustics M-350's next to the TV in the photo above. Both are compact tower's that really sound nice and have a terrific W.A.F. and can be used in about any living or bedroom. The M-350's are in piano gloss black and the D14's are real cherry veneer.



Here are a pair of D4's, sitting to the left of a pair of DS4.5's.



All of these Era/Peachtree speakers are wonderful.

Many People are not aware that before they started making integrated amps and operating under the name Peachtree, they were known as Era and made compact speaker's for HT systems in small rooms. I have center channel speaker's for their entire line.

Put a sub on any of these and you have a sweet, yet compact system.

 

Those who want a real subwoofer need not look any further than Danley Sound Labs.

There is where my future subs will be coming from.

 

What is a thoroughly interesting experience is listening to a sub in the nearfield.

This sub has two front firing Emminance driver's in a sealed cabinet.

I would sometimes sit on the floor, a few feet in front of the sub, while it is playing.

It is quite an effect to be surrounded in the subs soundfield, it surrounds and encases you.

 

If I had a small system, I would not hesitate to purchase this Polk 10" sub, in fact, I would purchase one for the left channel and one for the right channel. I only purchased one to use in conjunction with my desktop computer system and it sounds very nice. I did something that tightened up the sound to my liking, I stuffed the duct port with a thick towel. At the low cost of this sub, anyone with an inexpensive system could purchase two, one for each channel and I would bet would be very happy with this Polk sub design. The sub can easily be set to turn itself on, the second it see a signal, which is a very nice feature, you never have to touch anything.

Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)

 

I don't have any issue with Polk subs. Polk has many entry level products that perform very well.

I like to encourage people getting into audio on an entry level budget. There is just no need to scare people away from audio because of high prices.

There is a lot of really decent audio gear out there for those on a budget. Being on a budget doesn't mean that you can not enjoy decent sounding audio gear.

I bought my Martin Logan Dynamo subs several years back and I didn't realize that there were any still available.

For $200, the Martin Logan Dynamo 500 is a really excellent sub, which is a step up form the Polk's I have mentioned.

You don't often find a musical quality sub this nice for only $200!

 

Get one that has all connection options, especially high level inputs. If your amp does not have a RCA sub out, you can use the left/right speaker connections to connect the high level inputs of sub. I just Purchased the HSU VTF-1 MK3 and am very happy with it. It is a ported sub, but comes with foam plugs to experiment with different sounds. I plug just one of the two ports when listening.

 

You guys are getting better.

• MSRP: $ 399.00 (+ $54 Shipping / Handling)

 

Two of these comes under budget, but I believe the OP’s powered speakers just have a mono output for subwoofer. So he could split into two channels and place them left and right, and he’d probably get better in-room response than a single sub, but he’s not going to get stereo channels (which is probably just fine). It’s a good recommendation.

 

Not sure how many posters even read the OP - some of these are just too expensive.