Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Sub advice/Online purchasing

Hello board members.
I am looking for a sub to mesh with my M22ti's (received 2wks ago; they're truly fantastic!). My girlfriend wants to get it for my birthday, which makes her wonderful. As she is purchasing it, though, I want to save her as much $ as possible, ie, $250 or less. No HSU, Aperion, or Parts Express. Seems ridiculous, but that's the limit I'd like to impose, if at all possible.

In particular, I've found the Velodyne Vlf-810 and Atlantic Tech T70 pbm for around $200. Ebay also has a variety subs. I would hope for something that is relatively "tight" and "accurate," being willing to trade some volume for speed and musicality. I currently have a Cambridge Basscube 10 (please no ridicule) that has plenty of volume, just no subtlety. My room is approx 12 X 15 w/ 10 foot ceilings.

Finally, I must comment on these boards. Axiom Audio deserves a lot of credit to add a forum to its site; to trust those not affiliated w/ their company to post on their site speaks about their commitment to a quality product.

Also, you board members have made it a painless, easy decision to purchase these speakers. The wealth of info, objective analysis and subjective (sometimes heated!) opinions, truly make this board worth visiting. Thank you all-Jeff

Jeff I know that you will not want to hear this but, fork over the extra 200. and get the HSU VTF-2, but if that is TOTALLY out of the question check out the Adire Rava @http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio/loudspeakers/exact_series/rava.htm Good luck

Thanks for the response. If worst comes to worst, I will cover the difference. However, Could you explain why you believe in purchasing these subwoofers over the models I listed? To be perfectly frank, I don't need 20Hz performance (I live in an apartment in SF), but if there are real tangible distinctions besides dynamic output, I'm all ears.

Hsu is known to make quality subwoofers at more affordable prices.

If you do not need the 20hz extension, you may want to look into Hsu's new line coming out at the end of the month...the STF series. The STF-1, which I have heard, is a very nice 8" subwoofer for about $330.

-curtis

The Sony SA-WM40 is a well-regarded subwoofer in that price range. It's $245 at Amazon; there are currently two listed on Audiogon for quite a bit less.

Here are the reviews at audioreview.com.

If you buy the Hsu now, you're less likely to feel the need to upgrade any time soon.

Yep...Hsu's the one. Call them, maybe they've got some B-Stock models. Trust us, it's worth the extra few bucks. If you get a cheap sub, you're GOING to upgrade it later. Why pay twice? I had a Yamaha YST-60 sub before my Hsu. The difference was - well there aren't words for the difference it made with both movies AND music. I'll never buy another sub from anyone besides Hsu.

Welcome to our humble abode.. Please, make yourself comfortable..
Oh, by the way, did you notice there are no doorknobs on the inside of this room ? And that the lovely windows are actually painted on ??? Hmmmmmmm ???
As was so eloquently pointed out, "You can check out any time you want, but you can NEVER leave !!!"

i live in menlo park and have the m22's, QS8's, VP150, and VTF-2. You're welcome to come by and listen. Just PM me.

I own the Velodyne VLF810 and I really like it. I have it with the grand master (M22's). It is a great looking sub, with a high gloss finish and has a 10" downward firing woofer and an 8" forward firing woofer. I also live in an apartment in San luis Obispo and I find the bass extension to be plenty. I also think the bass is tight and not boomy at all. I am sure the HSU is better, but I did not want to spend $500 on a sub at the time.

"i live in menlo park"
Menlo Park? NJ, or is there another Menlo Park.

OLDSchool and Davey need to fill out their profiles.

Where are you guys at? What equipment do you use? Share the wealth guys.

Okay, added hometown. SINY

...It's Heaven and Hell.

Ah, Ronnie James, sigh. Good times, good times.

Sorry to those who don't get it, I just couldn't resist!

Welcome Jeff, and don't say no Parts Express. If you want to stay with a low-priced sub it's unlikely that you can do better than this .

ok, ok, i changed the profile (i think) to show Menlo Park, CA. In the SF Bay Area. I've listed my equipment in Amie's Axiom Audition list but here it is...

2 x M22's
2 x QS8's
1 x VP150
1 x VTF 2
Pioneer 45TX

Coming soon...Denon 2200 (looking for a good price and Panny 6UY display (working on the WAF..., she's breaking down slowly...)

BTW, Axioms and VTF are due in part to Sushi's recommendations here and AVS forum.

Glad to hear that my opinions contributed to your shopping decisions.

While I'm having you here, oldskoolboarder et al, I have another suggestion... Why don't you paste that equipment list into the "bio" section of your forum profile, like many people here have done?

Interestingly enough, I have a Cambridge Soundworks Subwoofer 1. I've found it to be a very good sub, quite musical, and with good power. However, it is a totally different design than the Basscube line, as it is a non-ported sub.

Hi Jeff
I have a bunch of subs and a couple of opinions, for what they're worth. Except for the SVS 39-20, which is the size of a large garbage can, much taller though, I got great deals on one and all. The SVS is the most awesome performer, tight, musical capable of true low frequency sonic violence. As to the rest -

Klipsch LF10 - 1640 watt 10" with 2 10" passive radiators. Tight, musical, incredible bass performance.

Dahlquist PDQ 1500, 15" downward firing gem. I picked one of these up from ubid back when they had great deals for about $100. Awesome performance, for the money, a total joke. If you can find one, grab it.

Velodyne CHT100 - 10" front firing sub. Very musical, very tight, very powerful. Very nice.

Velodyne CHT80 - 8" front firing sub. Very musical, integrates beautifully with M22s or M3s.

Kenwood SW300. I blew the 10" front firing driver in this modest sub to smithereens watching the Dreamworks version of the Time Machine. Picked up a Dayton II 10" driver from partsexpress. So much better than new it's also an overperforming joke.

Vance Dickason Titanic 10" subwoofer kit from partsexpress.com. Goes very low, but for some reason does not integrate as well as the Velodynes which stood in the same spot. Very powerful, maybe better for HT than stereo.

I use twin subs in 2 of my HT systems. The Klipsch and Dahlquist work together beautifully. The SVS and 10" Velodyne also work together wonderfully, these are driven by the stereo sub outputs from an Outlaw ICBM-1 bass management unit.

In my opinion, the best subs disappear (stereo subs). The bass feels like it just fills the room. The office system twin subs produce bass which appears to be a bit more localized - sort of sounds like the bass is coming from the front soundstage. The Titanic's bass appears to be coming from the subwoofer and draws a bit too much attention to itself.

Looking back at the list of subs above, I think they're listed pretty much in descending order of quality.

Good luck Jeff! Enjoy your Axioms. Enjoy the music.