need help / opinions on subs £500-£600 range.

alagermound

Established Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
381
Reaction score
16
Points
107
Age
43
So looking to upgrade my sub, going into a carpeted room size - 165.79 sq ft, 15.5ft x 10.11ft.
AV consists of panasonic vt 50 55", Onkyo 805 receiver with Mordaunt short 906i fronts 902i rears, 302 backs, and 905i centre.
Usage will almost be 100% movies tv etc, as I use a seperate set up for music in another room, I know the general consensus is a ported box is preferable for this type of use, however I have very limited placement options due to room layout so I was looking at sealed units which I understand are a bit more flexible, but wont reach the very lowest Hz range, also size is an issue so would prefer it not to be much bigger thank 14-15" square.

ones I have been considering so far.

SVS SB2000
BK XXLS400
Velodyne ?

I singled these out as they go very low for a sealed unit (20Hz or there abouts) but hopefully still fulfil my other criteria, I have no experiance of the above brands as I started with a Gale storm 8, then moved onto a Pioneer W160K which is actually worse than the Gale oh and house is detached so not worried about neighbours.
 
Don't know if you are looking at secondhand or only new, but i'd have a look at the Paradigm Seismic 110 too.
 
Seismic will be at less £600-700 used as they are £1200 new.
 
Appreciate the suggestion, just checked the Paradigm out as had not really considered them previously due to them not really coming up a lot in my research, the seismic is £1350 new so I think I would struggle to get it second had within budget, and from a purely aesthetic consideration I am not really keen on it.
 
well I have decided to go for the bk400, i figured that should be man enough for 1300 cubic foot of space, I almost pulled the trigger on a monolith plus in a moment of whimsy but then realised it would not physically fit in the room even if changed stuff around as I thought I would at the time.

it was always between the svs and bk but i decided i prefered the finish of the bk over the gadgets on the svs, plus the £200+ difference has just funded a few new blu's.
 
Last edited:
Only thing with BK is seem to suffer from hum/buzz. Maybe down to class AB design, toroid? SMPS and digital switching amps are silent.
 
balls!, I had read a few comment across the net on that but was hoping they were relatively isolated examples, is this more common than I thought then?
 
Can't say I have heard anyone moaning about hum or buzz on BK subs in the past.
 
Can't say I have heard anyone moaning about hum or buzz on BK subs in the past.

Not been paying too much attention? At least three

Constant buzzing PSU
DC blocker fixes it
Changes when you adjust crossover

"hoping they were relatively isolated examples, is this more common than I thought then?"

No way of getting the figures, of course so don't know how widespread it is.

It's a shame as put me off one. Does seem to be more common, than uncommon tbh
 
Problem is as with most things like this. you tend to only hear the negatives, people who don't have a problem tend not to post!
 
Have the BK and no issues at all, very happy.
 
I had a BK 200 for about seven years, no hums or buzzes from it.
 
You won't be disappointed by the BK400. My room is around 1200cubic ft and BK handles very well. I have now upgraded to svs sb2000. Just got it today. Still early days but BK has the edge in music. Sounds quite sweeter. The SVS sb2000 definitely has the edge in movies. Goes lower, louder and cleaner. But the bk400 is not that far behind. For the price the BK is a bargain. The xxls400 cabinet is made with high quality materials as well so good luck with your purchase.
 
I very nearly went for the SVS but in the location my sub needs to occupy, the SVS is just too much of an eyesore (in my opinion) plus the £200 saving on the BK does not hurt either, I rarely listen at refernance level and just want some quality low end extention so its good to hear the BK's getting some positive feedback.
 
@ stevebarnes The SVS's seem to have a high failure rate on sub amps (many more than 3) that not put you off then.:)
 
@ stevebarnes The SVS's seem to have a high failure rate on sub amps (many more than 3) that not put you off then.:)

Bash amps, been a couple.

But humming/buzzing problems seem to be more common
 
More than a couple of bash amps gone down ( 2 since Nov) quite a few more over the last few years, not keeping up then:) cuts both ways if you want a dig
 
Been a few faulty JL sub amps too.
 
over in avs yeah I think one guy had 2, or even 3 die on him
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom