Spec me a subwoofer

Th3D0n

Th3D0n

Th3D0n

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Hi iv recently got a Yamaha rx v4a with a pair of wharfedale diamond 9.1 and as a up grade to my lg soundbar witch it is sound much better i now want to but a sub woofer and with so meany out there i don't know what to go for im open to used as well as im limted on budget under 200 is a must at the minute lower if possible the better i'm looking at Wharfedale Diamond SW-150, Fenton SHFS12B and loads of Yamaha subs

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Check Mr Whites subwoofer thread on avforums. £200 isn't much though I've owned the SW-150 it's not bad for a small room or PC setup, but not good enough for living room setup. Also it's not the most reliable of subs, they do fail a bit.

As for BK, the cheapest is probably around £300 for BK Gemini type, 10" sealed box, again fine for small room /hifi, but not enough for large living room for movies.

Personally I'd rather have no sub than a really low quality one, avoid Yamaha they're pretty boomy catering to the 35hz area
 
hornetstinger said:
Check Mr Whites subwoofer thread on avforums. £200 isn't much though I've owned the SW-150 it's not bad for a small room or PC setup, but not good enough for living room setup. Also it's not the most reliable of subs, they do fail a bit.

As for BK, the cheapest is probably around £300 for BK Gemini type, 10" sealed box, again fine for small room /hifi, but not enough for large living room for movies.

Personally I'd rather have no sub than a really low quality one, avoid Yamaha they're pretty boomy catering to the 35hz area
Click to expand...
what would you say i need for a living room a 12"? like the

Fenton SHFS12B 12"​

 
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Th3D0n said:
what would you say i need for a living room a 12"? like the

Fenton SHFS12B 12"​

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What is the size of your living room? L X W X H?

Is it open to other rooms? On your AVR what is the typical volume you listen to, it'll be a negtive number ie -20db or something like that (make sure you run the AVR calibration)

For center you'll want to match the same brand/range as the L/R
 
4.8 x 4.6 x 2.4 metre not and not open to other rooms
and watchin tv normally around -20 to -15 and listing to music louder. of top of my head not sure what number lol

its my first modem reciver in years id just normally use as sound bar so i thought with just 2 speakers there not much point using the AVR calibration sounds good as i have
how important is a center speaker?
 
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12" sealed box or ported be ok in that room

Run your avr calibration it does levels, distance and room eq. Manually change crossover as usually gets it wrong

You can get away without a center but would recommend one. If you can post photo see if worth getting one

Dont get cheap sub

Something like bk xls 300 400 or svs sb2000 pro that sort of thing
 

for scale the tv is a 65"
id love bk xls 300 400 or svs sb2000 pro but sadly way out of my reach
 
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Recently went with a Polk XT12, some say it isn't the best, but it was an upgrade to my BK XLS200 and I like a nice tight bass. Was using it with some ancient Tannoy DC2000 speakers, tried some small KEF IQ1 and fell in love with them, the KEF are tiny in comparison and are everything the DC's weren't, smooth, detailed and have a fantastic soundstage.
 
Firegod said:
This. Before the sub lol.
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Not necessarily. If mains are close together (which tbh the OP is) he can get away without one. I'm not using a center in my PC rig upstairs which is 4.1

although the Wharfedale Center isn't exactly very expensive around £100 I guess you "might as well"

Ayahuasca said:
4 minimum, all fully port plugged. Don’t forget room correction, time alignment and EQ. Artex walls and ceiling are a must to absorb some of the absurdity.
Click to expand...

only four? ;-) Also you didn't say many of these

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SW-D8000PRO Dual 15" Ported (8000W Peak) Subwoofer - Subwoofers - ToneWinner UK | Audio Visual Product Reseller

Special introductory pricing! NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER. DELIVERY EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 4-6WEEKS. 5 YEAR WARRANTY AND 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE SW-D8000PRO is a dual 15 inches powered subwoofer bass speaker with 1500W (8,000W Peak) high power driving
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I'd move that Yamaha AVR, it doesn't have enough ventilation. Remove the thing below it and remove the shelf so it's got that whole area for itself, or move it outside the cupboard. Otherwise it'll bake from poor ventilation and die.

I'd save up tbh, I think if you got SW-150 or similar you may want to upgrade a bit later.

This is accurate

www.avforums.com

How much subwoofer output capability do you need in your system?

Dear AVF members The table below lists CEA-2010 output rated subwoofers in order of their estimated ability to support user listening levels (relative to reference) in rooms of varying sizes. For some it may be self-explanatory but if you would like to know how to use the table and how and why...
www.avforums.com www.avforums.com
 
hornetstinger said:
Not necessarily. If mains are close together (which tbh the OP is) he can get away without one. I'm not using a center in my PC rig upstairs which is 4.1

although the Wharfedale Center isn't exactly very expensive around £100 I guess you "might as well"
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Yeah that's kinda what I was meaning, it's usually a less expensive option than spec'ing a nice sub. And the benefits of which, as we all know, probably out weigh the need for bass. Being able to clearly hear content or boost vocal specific output. :)
 
Firegod said:
Yeah that's kinda what I was meaning, it's usually a less expensive option than spec'ing a nice sub. And the benefits of which, as we all know, probably out weigh the need for bass. Being able to clearly hear content or boost vocal specific output. :)
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The AVR will just put the center speech and FX to the L/R, and a good AVR will be able to boost speech anyway. Adjusting center level is sort of correct, but that throws out speaker level calibration- but it also boosts FX/music from the center as well.

My old AV processor had a "dialogue" enhance feature where it only boosts frequencies that human voice are- keeping music/FX the same, I had a DVD that the center speech mix was wrong, speech very low, so tested it on that. So you kept the calibrated levels as before and boosts by 3db or 6db

Some AVR's have this, but it might be for certain codecs only (I think I've seen it on my Yamaha AVR) my old av processor dialogue enhance worked with everything, analogue, digital inputs, PCM, DD, DTS.
 
hornetstinger said:
The AVR will just put the center speech and FX to the L/R, and a good AVR will be able to boost speech anyway. Adjusting center level is sort of correct, but that throws out speaker level calibration- but it also boosts FX/music from the center as well.

My old AV processor had a "dialogue" enhance feature where it only boosts frequencies that human voice are- keeping music/FX the same, I had a DVD that the center speech mix was wrong, speech very low, so tested it on that. So you kept the calibrated levels as before and boosts by 3db or 6db

Some AVR's have this, but it might be for certain codecs only (I think I've seen it on my Yamaha AVR) my old av processor dialogue enhance worked with everything, analogue, digital inputs, PCM, DD, DTS.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have the dialogue enhance feature. It's useful.
 
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That AVR has modern room EQ, so once you get the sub run calibration

Close any doors and windows, run it late at night (less noise like cars etc)
Remove any pets from the room, stay quiet don't get in the way between the mic and any speaker.
Place mic where your head is (get a tripod) and plugin.
Run EQ don't make any noise whilst it's doing this
Go back into the menu and change your speakers to small 80hz - AVR's get this wrong it'll set your speakers as large/full range

Calibration performs
Existence of the speaker yes/no
Absolute phase check
Speaker levels ( - + volume)
Speaker distance (delay)
Speaker EQ where it measures sound profile and performs EQ- if possible inspect afterwards, ensure it only cuts peaks, also Yamaha has three sound profiles so try each one.

I don't know why subs are so expensive relative to speakers, those Wharfedales are good for £150, you have to spend a lot more for a good sub tbh I'd probably recommend something like this in a 4m room. Rather than buy lesser one than wanting to upgrade get it right first time.

tonewinner-kalibrate.co.uk

SW-D2000 12" Ported 400W Subwoofer (2,000W PEAK) - Subwoofers - ToneWinner UK | Audio Visual Product Reseller

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I'd only get the SW-150 if you have plans to re-use it, ie in a PC setup later so you're not wasting money selling/buying as you upgrade
 
OP stated he/she has a budget of £200 or under yet you show him an ~£850 sub...


My advice is check out the second hand market and look over on Avforums classifieds and ask around.
 
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Wizzfizz said:
OP stated he/she has a budget of £200 or under yet you show him an ~£850 sub...


My advice is check out the second hand market and look over on Avforums classifieds and ask around.
Click to expand...

yeah but something like that I would recommend...no point getting a £200 sub tbh (pretty crap) I already owned a SW-150. It's not capable enough for a living room.
 
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