# Looking for a budget subwoofer



## rafety58 (Jul 6, 2013)

Hello I am looking for a budget subwoofer to replace my current 8" one. The sub will be used for music 60% of the time, and for games and movies.

My max budget is around the 200-250 dollar mark

Right now I am looking at buying a few subs.

Polk Audio PSW505 $149.99 used with free shipping
Acoustic Audio HD-SUB15/ hd-SUB12 (I have heard good things about them on the blu-ray forums)

How would the 3 subs above work for music (mostly hip-hop/rap and some rock/metal)

I am open to suggestions on other subs as well

I live in Canada, but will be getting it shipped to the US (I live 20 minutes from the border)


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

rafety58 said:


> Hello I am looking for a budget subwoofer to replace my current 8" one. The sub will be used for music 60% of the time, and for games and movies.
> 
> My max budget is around the 200-250 dollar mark
> 
> ...


I wouldn't touch a Polk sub with a 10 foot pole. their "bang for the buck" ratio is very low

if you're stuck in that price range .. the Bif F12 , the Acoustech H-100 are both usually recommended for that range. 

I know this may sound like a broken record, but I'd save up just a bit more and go with the SVS PB-1000 ... the difference between their subs and the ones you can buy in the $250 range are STARTLING. especially if you like nice clean punchy bass for music


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## cr136124 (Apr 23, 2012)

Another subwoofer that you might want to consider is the Klipsch RW12D:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882780078&Tpk=RW-12d&IsVirtualParent=1

This is not the best price ever on this subwoofer (even after the $70 promo code), people at a different forums were able to purchase it close to $230 in some cases. So, if you are not in a hurry, you can subscribe to the Egg email alerts and hopefully, you will be able to buy one too.

Good luck!


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

rafety58 said:


> Polk Audio PSW505 $149.99 used with free shipping
> Acoustic Audio HD-SUB15/ hd-SUB12 (I have heard good things about them on the blu-ray forums)
> 
> How would the 3 subs above work for music (mostly hip-hop/rap and some rock/metal)


None of your listed subs would really be considered musical, but should give decent SPL levels at least. Since the type of music you listen to doesn't require much precision you would probably do fine with any of them (the hip-hop/rap anyway, some of the rock may be a bit more of a challenge). Just a clarification regarding Acoustic Audio though... they aren't really a good company.

The thread over on bluray.com is replete with folks who got taken by them. They had a run of bad amps and essentially disavowed themselves of the problem, leaving a bunch of people holding the bag. Acoustic Audio, as a company, can't be contacted directly - there website is a joke and contains no information - so they hid behind a wall of obscurity and provided no assitance. What ultimately happened was AA left TheDeepDiscount, the sole authorized distributor, holding the bag for all the amp failures, something they were ill equipped to deal with unfortunately. It was a fiasco, and a classic example of how _not_ to treat your customers, so if you do opt to buy something from AA caveat emptor.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Mike Edwards said:


> I know this may sound like a broken record, but I'd save up just a bit more and go with the SVS PB-1000 ... the difference between their subs and the ones you can buy in the $250 range are STARTLING. especially if you like nice clean punchy bass for music


Could not agree more, another company to look at is HSU. they have some subs that come close to your budget and would sound way better than the ones you listed. But that said the SVS PB1000 would be my first choice.


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

> My max budget is around the 200-250 dollar mark


JBL ES250PBK - $199, shipped, at Amazon.com.


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## rafety58 (Jul 6, 2013)

eljay said:


> JBL ES250PBK - $199, shipped, at Amazon.com.


That JBL ES250PBK looks nice, 400watts rms with 700 watts peak power.

Has anyone on here used it before, how does it sound?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

The JBL gets good reviews from what I've read.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

> My max budget is around the 200-250 dollar mark


I've owned a budget sub, while it provided Boom for movies and Thump for music I would not call it accurate at all. With that being said, save your pennies now and get something 10x better than a budget sub. SVS's entry level sub's that other here have mentioned would be a great place to start.


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Everyone is making sense try to save up and get a better sub. Then you won't feel let down and have to buy another just as you are now. Some company's like SVS have free in home trials that can really help you be more comfortable with the purchase.


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