What is everyone's opinion on the best subwoofer for under $500?

Mike

The SVS 25-31PCi is just over $500 and is an excellent sub. There is also the option of building one yourself (from scratch or from a kit if you don't want to fabricate the enclosure yourself), and there are some threads and people around here with a lot more good info on that subject than I can offer.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I swear by SVS, take a look at their web site. They remind me a lot of Outlaw, that personal touch and a great product.

My SVS will be around for a very, very long time. I paid $599 for a 16-46PCi last year during the summer sale. If you continue to check the B-Stock section of the SVS website, you will probably find a 2-31PCi for $499 or less. Fantastic subs, fantastic customer service, fantastic prices.

New or used?

Don't know about anyone else's hometowns, but here in Ottawa I've had excellent luck shopping for used subs - taken in trade at top-notch home theatre stores. (I also travel to the US an awful lot and have seen many great deals on used subs at a variety of stores over the years.)

My gut feeling is that while you can get something good new for $500, you can get something great used. And except for a piece that's been abused, a used unit will probably outlive you. (Even used stuff comes with 30, 60 or 90 day warranties. If it survives that period, it will likely never fail.)

I've bought a used Velodyne Servo 1200 for $200US (new ~$1000) and a used B&W 1000 for $210US (new $600 or so). Both I would call very good performers (on a scale of poor, fair, good, very good, great, pantheon).

However while I've often mentionned good deals to be had on eBay, for some reason bidders on sub auctions seem to be nearly braindead and are paying way too much.

Nothing wrong with re-using a good piece of gear by buying used from time-to-time.

Jeff Mackwood

Mike,
for subs under $500 there are no better choices than these two sites below.
http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofers/pre_finished/

http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio/loudspeakers/exact_series/rava.htm

I built my sub from scratch using MDF board, Adire Audio’s Shiva and plate amp from Partsexpress. I couldn’t be happier with the result especially knowing that I got at least $1,200 performance out of $425. Sure, it took time to do it but you don’t have to if you get one of those kit subwoofers. You can spend $500 on a store bought commercial brand sub but you won’t get the kind of performance Shiva (and other Adire Audio drivers) can give. Why bother with B-stock or used? Get yourself a brand new one. It can shake the house for HT and yet rolls out clean and sweet base for music. I’m saying this after comparing mine to a friend’s $1,000 Klipsch sub. My Shiva pretty much splayed that fine Klipsch.

All great suggestions... thanks guys! One last (in your opinion) question. I think I have narrowed it down between the SVS PB1-ISD or the Adire Audio Dharman. Both of which are right around $599. So much for the "below $500" price point. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Mike

SVS PB1-ISD may be good but the frequency response in their spec isn’t as deep as Adire’s Dharman. Shiva driver with the enclosure and ports as shown can hit very low (below 20 HZ). I know, because my Shiva sub is about the same size. You can feel it in your chest cavity and your tail bone (sitting down) during an explosion scene in a movie. Good DVDs to do this is Star War I & II, both Lord of The Rings and some others you can find out from Favorite Demos Saloon.

Go with Adire and don’t forget to check out other Shiva combinations here (budget, performance & high output): http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofers/complete_kits/

[This message has been edited by Spiker (edited November 09, 2003).]