Sub Woofers...decisions decisions...

[Vossy1]

Looking for some help with sub woofers for a surround system for those inclined. My Sony amp recently went to amp heaven and was replaced with a Onkyo which has far more features than the original. My TV/lounge room is about 4m x 5m, the front/middle and rear speakers are all Mordant Short. I've never used a sub being happy with the gear 'as is', plenty of base from the front 2, but now I want to 'play' with using a sub. I don't have a big budget, more entry level plus a bit and I'm looking for some advice on sub woofers. I quite like the Mordant Short Alumni 9 however I don't like the fact they don't auto switch on when a signal is received. I also like the Cambridge Audio Minx X200, but can a SW of this size really outperform a larger box :hmm:
As the new amp can handle 2 SW's I'm thinking the Minx X200 might be ideal for faster response and tighter base.
Any help much appreciated

 

[Aleman]

Personally I've never been a fan of MS . . . but speakers are very much a personal choice.

I'd nip down to Richers and have a demo of the pair . . . personally I like the Minx taut, tight, and surprisingly deep . . . . Ok so not earthquake inducing, but for a small room they fit in well . . . . The good thing about Richers is that yo can take them home and try them and if they are not what you want/expect you can take them back and buy something else. :thumb:

 

[keith1664]

Well I've only ever bought the one sub and that was a good 6 years ago, but it's still going strong and sounding good and only occupies a cubic foot of living room space. It's more than capable of rattling the windows if need be though!
Obviously it's now been superceded but this seems to be it's replacement.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3809-mj-acoustics-xeno-pro-50-mk2-subwoofer-gloss-black.aspx

 

[Aleman]

One thing I should have said though, If you can hear the sub it's the wrong one . A good system delivers the taut bass without you knowing where it's coming from

 

[Hawks]

Not played with these for some time ( sold our old house and some things have not made it into the rented one ). I have a Tannoy mSub10 though that I am looking forward to seeing again... :thumb: It was a great buy at the time, not sure what the new version would be ?

 

[Vossy1]

One thing I should have said though, If you can hear the sub it's the wrong one . A good system delivers the taut bass without you knowing where it's coming from

Yeah, I'm led to believe that the human ear can't detect the location of a sub due to the frequency so it can be located anywhere in the room (within reason)

Personally I've never been a fan of MS . . . but speakers are very much a personal choice.

We did try a few, Richer Sounds were very helpful in lending their speakers out, the MS ones were the ones we preferred. I guess I'm just being cynical about the size of the Minx ...best to give them a try. Thanks for the help so far guys :thumb:

 

[andyh]

You could have a look here

http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/home-cinema/subwoofers

Might be of help.

 

[Vossy1]

Thanks andyh, I've been 'in and out' of that site for weeks :lol: great resource

 

[BrewDan]

I will keep an eye on this thread, once the move happens I am looking to upgrade everything and go for separates. I have seen a nice amp, which I think is also onkyo... Plenty of inputs and the reviews all seem good, can't remember the model off hand but I think it was around £350 speakers wise I am stuck, have seen a nice set of kef speakers , and I think Cambridge audio but they are pricey, I'm sure there was a set of wharfdales that looked good on paper.

Slightly off topic, what tv have you got hooked up, as I will be looking to upgrade mine around the same sort of time, but it's a bit of a minefield with the selection available

 

[Vossy1]

Slightly off topic, what tv have you got hooked up

It's a 42" Hitachi Plasma, quite old now, I think almost 10 years. We tried 2 Panasonic Viera plasmas but the picture quality was awful......players leaving trails as they ran across the pitch :shock: ...both went back to Richer Sounds who recommended the Hitachi. The new amp has up scaling for 4K TVs but those TV's are too new and expensive at the moment I've been reading a lot about 4k including that's it's already been surpassed as movies are being shot in even greater numbers :lol: ...where will it stop

 

[Fella]

Beware the brown note.

 

[Vossy1]

I love the way the technology is being released in dribs and drabs to create the need to constantly 'upgrade' I wish they'd just get on and say streaming is the future and make it cheap enough that it was affordable to all.

Another thing that really annoys me is the need to have a land line rental to get a broadband signal....most of the U.K is wireless now anyway....talk about making you pay when there is no need :nono:

Off subject but there you go :grin:

 

[anthonyUK]

Sub technology doesn't change that much as they are pretty simplistic.
I'm still using a Paradigm sub from a few years back with a set of Mission 70s which are tiny.
The combo works well.