Subwoofer noob, please recommend uber budget, and setup

They're both right, bass is bass no matter what you do it'll travel. A less thunderous sub won't shake the room as much as a big sub.

However the rel t has tiny driver, barely better than your speakers in low frequency ability, and expensive.

If you just want a cheap but decent build sub look at bk subs. There's the Gemini, double Gemini, xls 200 and xls400. Monolith and monolith plus

Yeah see what you mean both statements are correct but both counteract each answer to the question - which one is going to be noticeably bassy but less neighboury. 😂

The answer I was expecting was something like "the lower the sound frequency, the more likely it is to travel through walls".

I am purely guessing if a 6" sub or a 12" sub produce the same frequency, then it makes no difference the size of the sub:they both produce the same frequency/sound wave???

However the 10" sub I would expect to go lower, when called upon, and therefore LIKELY to be more neighboury. Would anyone agree?
 
Ok guys so I was gonna go pick up a bk xls200 as suggested above for £150 but unfortunately was sold.

The b grade look great but my budget unfortunately has become tighter, £200 being the limit. Will keep the number though gasp thanks!

Going to pick up a mint b&w asw608 tomorrow for £190, deposit paid this time.
Read 100's of reviews and hardly a single non 5 star review.
Descriptions sounds perfect for my needs: compact, not powerful enough for medium/large rooms as 8" but everyone is saying how articulate, fast, responsive, immersive it is and how it blends in well and produces individual sounding tones rather than flat/samey or boomy bass tones common on even good subwoofer. The b&w seems quality over quantity, great for neighbours, I'm just looking for a small fill in for the KEFs.
Also has loads of features/options "only before found on much more expensive subs" , and testers could not believe it even goes down to 15hz.
What are your thoughts guys? And how should I cable it in? Use speaker terminals or a single to dual phono Y cable or single phono rca cable? Specs below.

Haven't listened to the wharfdale sw150 but doubt I'll even open it to compare to b&w as audio visual online have a terrible returns policy FYI (you can't even open the box and then return it, even if you can return you need to pay fees, adding to my lower budget).

Was gonna get some qed silver anniversary for the KEFs but due to budget I'm gonna have to split one of my old bi wire cables in half: audio innovations ultra bi wire silver which is maybe still OK.

Again thanks for your input guys, been a great help
 
b&w asw608...
£190 (£350 new/£450rrp?)
8" longthrow, Forward fire, sealed
23-140hz
200w class d
+incredible reviews (fast, lively, punchy, seamless integration)
+loads of adjustment options
+small (26 x 26 x 33cm).
+digs very low for its size, several reviews confirming it'll produce 15hz tones (they never heard of in an 8" sub before).
-reviewer estimates only 100w rms (but then states its a plenty powerful/quality amp, and in bigger rooms just to get another 1 2 or 3 of them 😂 😂 😂 ).
 
b&w asw608...
£190 (£350 new/£450rrp?)
8" longthrow, Forward fire, sealed
23-140hz
200w class d
+incredible reviews (fast, lively, punchy, seamless integration)
+loads of adjustment options
+small (26 x 26 x 33cm).
+digs very low for its size, several reviews confirming it'll produce 15hz tones (they never heard of in an 8" sub before).
-reviewer estimates only 100w rms (but then states its a plenty powerful/quality amp, and in bigger rooms just to get another 1 2 or 3 of them 😂 😂 😂 ).

I would rather wait for BK XLS200 to pop up. Some amp failures with B&W ASW subs and those specs are nonsense for 8" sub. Good marketing though. Reviews are always positive, you don`t bite the hand that feeds you! ;)

Even the 500w ASW610XP was big let down. Poor performance for price!

Buy from company that specializes in woofers. Save up if you have to! Go cheap = buy twice!
 
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I would rather wait for BK XLS200 to pop up. Some amp failures with B&W ASW subs and those specs are nonsense for 8" sub. Good marketing though. Reviews are always positive, you don`t bit the hand that feeds you! ;)

Even the 500w ASW610XP was big let down. Poor performance for price!

Buy from company that specializes in woofers. Save up if you have to! Go cheap = buy twice!
Wait? 😂 😂 😂 Bass waits for nobody my friend! esp after spending almost £700 on the other kit and being stuck at home.


Ahhhhh No I mean people that have tested and reviewed them (as well as) the customer reviews sorry.
Lol I couldn't give a monkeys about marketing, but the people who tested them called bs on the specs before testing, and the marketing is actually underspeced as (apparently) it goes lower than the rated 23hz which they'd "never ever seen before in a 8 inch". Some of these guys had some quite pricey kit (quads, roksan, reference stuff) Inc sbl subs and still chose the b&w for their music room. Tbh I'm not really interested in anything below like 35-40 anyway as a) I can't really hear/notice it anyway and b).... Neighbours.

I'll probs use the number you gave me though when I've paid off the black Friday cred cards (oled TV and rtx 3080 graphics card) and probs try a bigger bk one in that gorgeous looking high gloss white if the b&w is not loud enough or as accurate as people say.
I actually read a few people here on the forums say the bk is rubbish for dance music which is a worry as that's like 98% of what I listen to) but, well, there's always a few neysayers right?
Might demo a REL as well, must be a reason they're so well talked about.

I like the sound of a sealed unit with two bass radiators for accuracy. Ported sounds bad for my needs.
 
You can save money by vynil wrapping in gloss black yourself. I've wrapped my subs and speakers. Very easy to do as it's only a box.
 
You can save money by vynil wrapping in gloss black yourself. I've wrapped my subs and speakers. Very easy to do as it's only a box.
Yeah wouldn't mind giving it a bash that's a great shout actually. I guess with viyl you can take it off as well quite easily if you wanted to sell as stock colour?

Might give it a go, where you buy your viynl from?
 
Off ebay. I would avoid the really cheap ones. All the gloss black vynil I've used have peeled off but some of the reviews of the woodgrain vynil wrap leave a sticky residual after years, similar to most things sticky.

You can buy the vynil without the sticky back and use double sided acrylic tape (off ebay) which doesn't leave any trace.
 
Wait? 😂 😂 😂 Bass waits for nobody my friend! esp after spending almost £700 on the other kit and being stuck at home.


Ahhhhh No I mean people that have tested and reviewed them (as well as) the customer reviews sorry.
Lol I couldn't give a monkeys about marketing, but the people who tested them called bs on the specs before testing, and the marketing is actually underspeced as (apparently) it goes lower than the rated 23hz which they'd "never ever seen before in a 8 inch". Some of these guys had some quite pricey kit (quads, roksan, reference stuff) Inc sbl subs and still chose the b&w for their music room. Tbh I'm not really interested in anything below like 35-40 anyway as a) I can't really hear/notice it anyway and b).... Neighbours.

I'll probs use the number you gave me though when I've paid off the black Friday cred cards (oled TV and rtx 3080 graphics card) and probs try a bigger bk one in that gorgeous looking high gloss white if the b&w is not loud enough or as accurate as people say.
I actually read a few people here on the forums say the bk is rubbish for dance music which is a worry as that's like 98% of what I listen to) but, well, there's always a few neysayers right?
Might demo a REL as well, must be a reason they're so well talked about.

I like the sound of a sealed unit with two bass radiators for accuracy. Ported sounds bad for my needs.

Let`s hope it blows you away then! :) For music it should be good, but for certain type of movies there is clear limits what it can do. You won`t be getting much of deep notes with it and i mean with good impact, however you mentioned neighbours so maybe it´s for best. As you haven´t owned subwoofer for while then you are in for treat of course as it adds so much and your speakers are likely to sound better crossed 80-100hz (speaker size Small for all) vs. running full range and letting the sub do heavy lifting. Placement will be key point so make sure you try few spots as it can make dramatic difference how the sub sounds.

From the manual:

Home Theatre Settings

Set the VOLUME (LINE or SPEAKER) control initially to the 12 o’clock position.
Set the LOW-PASS FILTER switch to OUT.
Set the EQ switch initially to position A.
Set the BASS EXTENSION switch to A.
Set the PHASE switch initially to 0°.
Set the LOW-PASS FREQ (frequency) control to 140 if the speaker level inputs are used. The setting is irrelevant if the line level inputs are used.
 
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Could you stretch your budget a little.

A brand new BK Gemini 2 is £255 and it comes with 2 years warranty and all the accessories/cables.

It's only an extra £65 over the 8 inch BW.
 
Let`s hope it blows you away then! :) For music it should be good, but for certain type of movies there is clear limits what it can do. You won`t be getting much of deep notes with it and i mean with good impact, however you mentioned neighbours so maybe it´s for best. As you haven´t owned subwoofer for while then you are in for treat of course as it adds so much and your speakers are likely to sound better crossed 80-100hz (speaker size Small for all) vs. running full range and letting the sub do heavy lifting. Placement will be key point so make sure you try few spots as it can make dramatic difference how the sub sounds.

From the manual:

Home Theatre Settings

Set the VOLUME (LINE or SPEAKER) control initially to the 12 o’clock position.
Set the LOW-PASS FILTER switch to OUT.
Set the EQ switch initially to position A.
Set the PHASE switch initially to 0°.
Set the LOW-PASS FREQ (frequency) control to 140 if the speaker level inputs are used. The setting is irrelevant if the line level inputs are used.
Ahhh man that's awesome thanks, will try in a few days because...

Just picked up the b&w and I'm propper annoyed. Thought I had a phono jack that'd fit but I don't so no testing tonight. I've only got dual to dual phono, and one with a dual to 3.5mm jack.
The guy threw in like an amazon basics phono y adapter, which I thought was 3.5mm but its like a female phono one end and dual phono plugged into sub.
so I think I could just buy one of those single to single phono "subwoofer cables" (they all just look like single phono/rca to me). Or get an actual y cable without the adapter I don't like using adapters. Is it best with y cable my amp and with a dual (l/r) phono connection on the b&w?

Had a nice demo though, and comparison to his new £700 svs 800w beasty looking thing, well ill comment later but yeah think ill be happy with the b&w for a while tbh! Wow! When he turned it off :D
 
Ahhh man that's awesome thanks, will try in a few days because...

Just picked up the b&w and I'm propper annoyed. Thought I had a phono jack that'd fit but I don't so no testing tonight. I've only got dual to dual phono, and one with a dual to 3.5mm jack.
The guy threw in like an amazon basics phono y adapter, which I thought was 3.5mm but its like a female phono one end and dual phono plugged into sub.
so I think I could just buy one of those single to single phono "subwoofer cables" (they all just look like single phono/rca to me). Or get an actual y cable without the adapter I don't like using adapters. Is it best with y cable my amp and with a dual (l/r) phono connection on the b&w?

Had a nice demo though, and comparison to his new £700 svs 800w beasty looking thing, well ill comment later but yeah think ill be happy with the b&w for a while tbh! Wow! When he turned it off :D

No adapters, order basic shielded subwoofer cable with one male head each end. We have members using this Amazon one with 6000£ worth of subs so i think you will be fine too. Pick length that allows you to move the sub the places that are possible.

amazonbasics.jpg


Amazon product ASIN B01D5H8GYG
If you have some store near you that sells cables then you can go shopping tomorrow as i would hate to wait over weekend with new toy waiting. Doesn`t need to be any exotic brand, but i wouldn´t buy some 1£ china ultra thin crap either.
 
No adapters, order basic shielded subwoofer cable with one male head each end. We have members using this Amazon one with 6000£ worth of subs so i think you will be fine too. Pick length that allows you to move the sub the places that are possible.

View attachment 1632112

Amazon product ASIN B01D5H8GYG
If you have some store near you that sells cables then you can go shopping tomorrow as i would hate to wait over weekend with new toy waiting. Doesn`t need to be any exotic brand, but i wouldn´t buy some 1£ china ultra thin crap either.

Yeah I just woke up. Told my Mrs I want to go for an Italian breakfast... Secretly it has a richer sounds by it 😂 😂 😂

But excuse me for asking a dumb question... If the input on the b&w has l+r connection, don't I need a y cable?
Is that normal to plug a single subwoofer cable into just one of the l or r Jack's? It won't matter if I use the l or r?

This will have to go under a rug (unless it's like 12m long) so I'm hoping richer sounds have something flat.
Maybe 12m is not an issue for length, I try to keep cables short when possible though.
 
Some subs have stereo phono input. Most usually have one of the two inputs labeled 'mono' or 'lfe' for single sub cable connection from the avr. Does the BW have any labelling next to the inputs?
 
Yeah I just woke up. Told my Mrs I want to go for an Italian breakfast... Secretly it has a richer sounds by it 😂 😂 😂

But excuse me for asking a dumb question... If the input on the b&w has l+r connection, don't I need a y cable?
Is that normal to plug a single subwoofer cable into just one of the l or r Jack's? It won't matter if I use the l or r?

This will have to go under a rug (unless it's like 12m long) so I'm hoping richer sounds have something flat.
Maybe 12m is not an issue for length, I try to keep cables short when possible though.

You going to pay over 100£ if you buy +10m sub cable from RS. Don´t do that. There is these hardware stores that sells different cheap electronics and mixed stuff, they should have something affordable. But if not then order from Amazon.

I would rather buy some trunking to hide the wires than some uber slim cable especially if you require over 10meters.

Connect to Line In as below. In the manual the cable is connected to L, this picture to R. It shouldn´t matter as neither one isn´t marked as LFE.

608Rear2.jpg.2da324c7529e44df83fde6c97cd36469.jpg
 
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Some subs have stereo phono input. Most usually have one of the two inputs labeled 'mono' or 'lfe' for single sub cable connection from the avr. Does the BW have any labelling next to the inputs?
Nope it just has line in then l + r

Guy did give me a y splitter though, maybe that's why, and using a splitter is OK
 
I always use a Y splitter if there is no mono or lfe or sub input marked. No need to unless you have OCD.
 
You will usually find that most woofers with a left and right channel inputs will be joined behind the two RCA inputs as the woofer is a mono product and stereo isn't anything it needs to worry about. Owning two woofers creates a stereo set. I love the fact that bass is also omnidirectional meaning it shouldn't matter where you place it in the room (so long as its not booming) and I suspect this is also why it works in a stereo configuration even though its a mono product

The only stipulation most manufacturers mentioned is to use the left RCA input over the right (not sure why if they're connected internally) which is usually called the LFE
 
Just going into richer sounds now I'm hoping they have this ins stock, only like an extra 8 quid over the amazon basics one in a 6m

Amazon product ASIN B003N8B8PC
 
Ok so guys I have a problem...

(This is on the kef q55 haven't got the q550 in yet,)
Turned amp to subwoofer on, turned on the sub (med volume), chucked YouTube on 'bass test music" and was like JESUS Holy hell it sounds amazing! Wow! whole body buzzing, like being in the back of my mates car with twin 10"ers in the boot........... The sub isn't even on guys. Its doing nothing. Max volume, tried moving all the knobs and switches. Nothing.

The only time I can get it to move/make a noise is the testing sound that plays when setting speaking calibration on the amp, or pc surround sound 5.1 test with (pc sound card) or the windows 5.1 test.
And that makes it fart.

What am I doing wrong?
 
BTW
picked up some of this Cambridge audio 100 stuff for £20. Guy at richer said can return if I don't like it, no idea if it's any good or not though.
At least I'll be able to play with the sub and move it around, if that's next to the receiver (which I'm thinking will be the best place as will be right in the middle of the soundstage) guess I'll only need like a 1m one then.

Cambridge Audio AUD100 7.5m
 
Ok so guys I have a problem...

(This is on the kef q55 haven't got the q550 in yet,)
Turned amp to subwoofer on, turned on the sub (med volume), chucked YouTube on 'bass test music" and was like JESUS Holy hell it sounds amazing! Wow! whole body buzzing, like being in the back of my mates car with twin 10"ers in the boot........... The sub isn't even on guys. Its doing nothing. Max volume, tried moving all the knobs and switches. Nothing.

The only time I can get it to move/make a noise is the testing sound that plays when setting speaking calibration on the amp, or pc surround sound 5.1 test with (pc sound card) or the windows 5.1 test.
And that makes it fart.

What am I doing wrong?

What are your crossover settings on your avr?
 
It's been a while since I played with a 508, but you if you are running the amp in direct or puredirect mode, then this disables the subwoofer output. Changing the sound format to stereo on the remote will reengage it. Looking at the manual, there is also an option for Double Bass. Consult the manual (page 36/37). Also on page 37, Onkyo mention Multiplex, so have a read of it and find it in the settings

This is only for stereo sounds. If you are find the same with surround sound formats, then you may need to look at the crossover settings as @rccarguy2. With this also look at what the speakers are set to. They should be set to small and I would have expect the frequency to read 80Hz
 

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