Subwoofer Help needed

[bothra]

Hello fellow members,
Good day to you all. I need some help in deciding a subwoofer. My apologies for the long post in advance.

1. I have a living room of size about 650 Sq Ft., with glass windows all around. This room has minimalistic furniture for the room size and is fairly open. I have two Klipsch RP 280s in this living room. The source is an Oppo 105D Blu-ray player attached to a NAD C 375BEE amplifier feeding these Klipsch speakers. Two Speakers are easily able to fill the complete room and can go down to 37Hz, I think. Even without any additional subwoofer, this system sounds very good but as I need that extra punch, I am thinking of adding a sub to this setup. My stereo amp has no sub out so I will have to go either by Y cable route through my amp or I can run an LFE cable from oppo to sub. Oppos will supposedly take care of crossover too. Budget is not a limitation here but let's put a cap of 2 Lacs

2. In another place, in a small bedroom of about 175 Sq ft (with a double bed and side tables as furniture), have two very cheap powered speakers Obage DT-51 (2.1 setup with inbuilt woofers of 5.25") which can go down to 50Hz as per manufacturer claim. The product link is here

Product-DT51 – Obage

obage.in

This system is a powered one and has no way of adding a subwoofer. Right now I am using VLC player on my Android TV to listen to CD-quality music from my USB Hard Drive. The speakers are connected to the TV with an optical cable. A Bluesound node 130 is on the way and will replace the TV/ VLC Player as a source/ transport for music listening. Now I will have the possibility to run a subwoofer through the LFE channel on the Bluesound node and set crossover from Node 130 itself. Since these are inexpensive speakers, I do not want to buy a very very expensive sub. A budget sub is what I am looking for, which will integrate properly into the existing setup, and that is why I am considering used subs as well. However, I am open to suggestions and will put the budget aside if a good sub makes a huge difference to my music listening experience and buy an expensive sub.

Now I need recommendations for subwoofers for both places. For me, it is 50% Bollywood Music and 50% Hollywood Movies. I listen to stored music on an external hard drive or through NAS (in WAV/Flac/SACD quality) One question is what kind of frequency low range is suitable for Bollywood music as it is not very bass-heavy. Music up to the 90's lacks the heavy bass completely. Should I buy a subwoofer that goes down to 20HZ or low or even up to 30 Hz it is good?

I have spoken to some of the dealers in Delhi/Mumbai/ Bangalore and they all came out with different suggestions, I am really confused now. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Let me know if you need more information.

Thank you for your patience in reading such a long post but I wanted to include all information that can help in making a decision.

rgds,

 

[efernand1]

Hello fellow members,
Good day to you all. I need some help in deciding a subwoofer. My apologies for the long post in advance.

1. I have a living room of size about 650 Sq Ft., with glass windows all around. This room has minimalistic furniture for the room size and is fairly open. I have two Klipsch RP 280s in this living room. The source is an Oppo 105D Blu-ray player attached to a NAD C 375BEE amplifier feeding these Klipsch speakers. Two Speakers are easily able to fill the complete room and can go down to 37Hz, I think. Even without any additional subwoofer, this system sounds very good but as I need that extra punch, I am thinking of adding a sub to this setup. My stereo amp has no sub out so I will have to go either by Y cable route through my amp or I can run an LFE cable from oppo to sub. Oppos will supposedly take care of crossover too. Budget is not a limitation here but let's put a cap of 2 Lacs

2. In another place, in a small bedroom of about 175 Sq ft (with a double bed and side tables as furniture), have two very cheap powered speakers Obage DT-51 (2.1 setup with inbuilt woofers of 5.25") which can go down to 50Hz as per manufacturer claim. The product link is here

Product-DT51 – Obage

obage.in

This system is a powered one and has no way of adding a subwoofer. Right now I am using VLC player on my Android TV to listen to CD-quality music from my USB Hard Drive. The speakers are connected to the TV with an optical cable. A Bluesound node 130 is on the way and will replace the TV/ VLC Player as a source/ transport for music listening. Now I will have the possibility to run a subwoofer through the LFE channel on the Bluesound node and set crossover from Node 130 itself. Since these are inexpensive speakers, I do not want to buy a very very expensive sub. A budget sub is what I am looking for, which will integrate properly into the existing setup, and that is why I am considering used subs as well. However, I am open to suggestions and will put the budget aside if a good sub makes a huge difference to my music listening experience and buy an expensive sub.

Now I need recommendations for subwoofers for both places. For me, it is 50% Bollywood Music and 50% Hollywood Movies. I listen to stored music on an external hard drive or through NAS (in WAV/Flac/SACD quality) One question is what kind of frequency low range is suitable for Bollywood music as it is not very bass-heavy. Music up to the 90's lacks the heavy bass completely. Should I buy a subwoofer that goes down to 20HZ or low or even up to 30 Hz it is good?

I have spoken to some of the dealers in Delhi/Mumbai/ Bangalore and they all came out with different suggestions, I am really confused now. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Let me know if you need more information.

Thank you for your patience in reading such a long post but I wanted to include all information that can help in making a decision.

rgds,

Look at Sealed subwoofers which would be compact and give good punch. SVS, REL, Definitive Technology are brands to look at. It would be best to audition before purchase. These subs will definitely go as low as 20hz and provide the required punch to whatever you listen too. Ported subs also may help but its best you audition different subs available which match your budget and size requirements.

 

[bothra]

Thank you efernand1 for your kind reply. I am, however looking for specific recommendations for my room sizes. Another question that comes to mind for the second room is whether an 8" sealed sub from Yahama/ Polk (I am getting used ones for around 10K) will be sufficient for a good music experience.

 

[efernand1]

Thank you efernand1 for your kind reply. I am, however looking for specific recommendations for my room sizes. Another question that comes to mind for the second room is whether an 8" sealed sub from Yahama/ Polk (I am getting used ones for around 10K) will be sufficient for a good music experience.

We can suggest models / brands, end of the day the decision lies with you. Most want a subwoofer to rattle the place and some want a subwoofer which can provide punch and presence delivering the missing frequencies which the front / other speakers cant emit.

I have not tried SEALED subs from Yamaha or Polk but heard they are ok. I have tried Definitive Technology Pro Sub 800 which is a 8 inch and it does perform and deliver output like a decent 12 inch sealed sub. Audition is key and so carry your favourite music / movie scene and check the potential subs you are interested in and take a call to purchase

 

[fLUX]

The 10k Yamaha & Polk subs won't do much justice & will likely not integrate well with your stereo setup.

A key part of adding a sub to a stereo setup is to have it well integrated with the speakers in picture, it should feel like the sub is off & tbe speakers themselves are extending to the desired frequency & extending it's output which is easier said than done.

The most commonly recommended sub are
i) REL T9X/T9i ( S series also have been tried by quiet a few - These are known to integrate seamlessly & many FMs have done the same into various setups.

ii) Rhytmik Sealed variants ( F12/L12 etc) - Not many have picked it specially for stereo but for HT. But these are very adept at stereo too IMO. I have a ported version of F12 & they do fine for stereo ( better than all ported subs I have had in past)


Also considering your room size not sure if one sub would do the trick ( hopefully.it will). So once you pick a sub don't discount incase you feel the output a little low in your living room.

 

[greendream]

Thank you efernand1 for your kind reply. I am, however looking for specific recommendations for my room sizes. Another question that comes to mind for the second room is whether an 8" sealed sub from Yahama/ Polk (I am getting used ones for around 10K) will be sufficient for a good music experience.

For the smaller room the used 8" sub can be considered. Anyways the speakers are not great, so don't go for a expensive sub. Another point if you get the speaker and sub placement right and happy with what you hear an inexpensive setup can also give good pleasure.
Further if the output is not great you can sell the used sub and consider other options. You won't loose much money.

 

[caspian1985]

Hello fellow members,
Good day to you all. I need some help in deciding a subwoofer. My apologies for the long post in advance.

1. I have a living room of size about 650 Sq Ft., with glass windows all around. This room has minimalistic furniture for the room size and is fairly open. I have two Klipsch RP 280s in this living room. The source is an Oppo 105D Blu-ray player attached to a NAD C 375BEE amplifier feeding these Klipsch speakers. Two Speakers are easily able to fill the complete room and can go down to 37Hz, I think. Even without any additional subwoofer, this system sounds very good but as I need that extra punch, I am thinking of adding a sub to this setup. My stereo amp has no sub out so I will have to go either by Y cable route through my amp or I can run an LFE cable from oppo to sub. Oppos will supposedly take care of crossover too. Budget is not a limitation here but let's put a cap of 2 Lacs

2. In another place, in a small bedroom of about 175 Sq ft (with a double bed and side tables as furniture), have two very cheap powered speakers Obage DT-51 (2.1 setup with inbuilt woofers of 5.25") which can go down to 50Hz as per manufacturer claim. The product link is here

Product-DT51 – Obage

obage.in

This system is a powered one and has no way of adding a subwoofer. Right now I am using VLC player on my Android TV to listen to CD-quality music from my USB Hard Drive. The speakers are connected to the TV with an optical cable. A Bluesound node 130 is on the way and will replace the TV/ VLC Player as a source/ transport for music listening. Now I will have the possibility to run a subwoofer through the LFE channel on the Bluesound node and set crossover from Node 130 itself. Since these are inexpensive speakers, I do not want to buy a very very expensive sub. A budget sub is what I am looking for, which will integrate properly into the existing setup, and that is why I am considering used subs as well. However, I am open to suggestions and will put the budget aside if a good sub makes a huge difference to my music listening experience and buy an expensive sub.

Now I need recommendations for subwoofers for both places. For me, it is 50% Bollywood Music and 50% Hollywood Movies. I listen to stored music on an external hard drive or through NAS (in WAV/Flac/SACD quality) One question is what kind of frequency low range is suitable for Bollywood music as it is not very bass-heavy. Music up to the 90's lacks the heavy bass completely. Should I buy a subwoofer that goes down to 20HZ or low or even up to 30 Hz it is good?

I have spoken to some of the dealers in Delhi/Mumbai/ Bangalore and they all came out with different suggestions, I am really confused now. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Let me know if you need more information.

Thank you for your patience in reading such a long post but I wanted to include all information that can help in making a decision.

rgds,

For the living room check out the new Klipsch RP-1400SW. The new RP subwoofers have been very well reviewed and should go well woth your Klipsch RP speakers

 

[bothra]

We can suggest models / brands, end of the day the decision lies with you. Most want a subwoofer to rattle the place and some want a subwoofer which can provide punch and presence delivering the missing frequencies which the front / other speakers cant emit.

I have not tried SEALED subs from Yamaha or Polk but heard they are ok. I have tried Definitive Technology Pro Sub 800 which is a 8 inch and it does perform and deliver output like a decent 12 inch sealed sub. Audition is key and so carry your favourite music / movie scene and check the potential subs you are interested in and take a call to purchase

Thanks for your reply. Very difficult to get auditions in Delhi. However, I have bought an SVS SB1000 Pro last night. Still need to set it up.

 

[bothra]

The 10k Yamaha & Polk subs won't do much justice & will likely not integrate well with your stereo setup.

A key part of adding a sub to a stereo setup is to have it well integrated with the speakers in picture, it should feel like the sub is off & tbe speakers themselves are extending to the desired frequency & extending it's output which is easier said than done.

The most commonly recommended sub are
i) REL T9X/T9i ( S series also have been tried by quiet a few - These are known to integrate seamlessly & many FMs have done the same into various setups.

ii) Rhytmik Sealed variants ( F12/L12 etc) - Not many have picked it specially for stereo but for HT. But these are very adept at stereo too IMO. I have a ported version of F12 & they do fine for stereo ( better than all ported subs I have had in past)


Also considering your room size not sure if one sub would do the trick ( hopefully.it will). So once you pick a sub don't discount incase you feel the output a little low in your living room.

Thanks for your reply. Bought an SVS SB1000 Pro based on its reputation as I wasn't getting any auditions anywhere in Delhi

 

[bothra]

For the living room check out the new Klipsch RP-1400SW. The new RP subwoofers have been very well reviewed and should go well woth your Klipsch RP speakers

yes, I will check that for my living room. Another option I am thinking of is to go for dual PB 3000s. thanks

 

[bothra]

Posting my experience with SVS SB1000 Pro here. I have only one word to say about this sub. "Fantastic". It did take a lot of tinkering to get the right placement and setting but after 50 hours of playback, it sounds lovely. App-based controls are a boon, otherwise, it would be impossible to change the volume on the fly with every single album. Hopefully, it will open up more after some more use. My inexpensive Obage speakers are well-matched with the sub and sound lovely. Now I am looking forward to getting a pair of SVS PB 3000s / Ultras in the coming days to go with my Klipsch RP 280s