Best powered sub

[lucasbuck2]

Again, I want to thank the guys who helped me set up my surround for gaming. It's working great! Next question is, I have a very old Pioneer powered sub that I've had for 10+ years. It doesn't put out much anymore. I doubt if I could get a new speaker or amp or diagnose the problem. Can anyone suggest a new one to buy? I have a wireless Butkicker which is great, but the low booming would be awesome. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[astrallite]

Are you asking for the best sub under a certain budget or are you asking for the best sub, period?

At most people's price range, SVS, HSU, and Rthymik are the most popular brands, with subwoofers between $300 and $1800. If you are talking about true high end, that would be the Paradigm Sub 2, or JL Fathom F212, if you are willing to spend $6,000-$8,000 on a single subwoofer.

Now if you give a price range and room size, I can offer you more precise suggestions.

 

[lucasbuck2]

Thanks! It's a small room, an office. No, I don't want to get into thousands. I have a nice Hardon that's in my TV room.The Pioneer has just wore out (I guess, doesn'tdo much). I'd only like to spend a few hundred, but it's just for gaming so I figured I could find something. I'm just not 'in the loop' anymore on what's new and good.

 

[saaiello]

Is the amp still good in the pioneer?

 

[Petrofsky]

Right. I too am puzzled how it can not "do much". A blown speaker does nothing at best, makes a horrible noise at worst. Same goes for a bad amp, usually. Are you sure it's hooked up right and is being fed the proper signal?

 

[lucasbuck2]

I really don't know how to test if it's the speakr or the amp (any advice appriciated). I just don't hear sound out of it. But it was a goood sub, it was the big one before they started putting 2 10's on the pioneer. Like I said, 10+ years old.

 

[astrallite]

Hsu STF-1 to me is the entry-level hifi subwoofer. It is flat to 30hz, has low cycle times, and is optimal for music or movies in a small room. $299.

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

 

[Petrofsky]

I really don't know how to test if it's the speakr or the amp (any advice appriciated). I just don't hear sound out of it. But it was a goood sub, it was the big one before they started putting 2 10's on the pioneer. Like I said, 10+ years old.

My subwoofer is a thirty-year-old 15-inch speaker (in a three-way cabinet that I rewired to eliminate the tweeter and the midrange) being driven by the right side of an equally old 60-watt X2 MOSFET power amp in a stereo receiver. It's lifting the asphalt tiles from my concrete floor and setting off car alarms in the next county. I've tested it (the subwoofer) down to 7 hertz with the audio test tones at audiocheck.net (Beware the Brown Note!). The "swept sine" from 20 to 200 Hz should tell you what's happening with the subwoofer in general. The Loudspeakers Low Frequency Response (10Hz-200Hz) test on their "Audio Tests" page is good, too, and even lower.

As for whether it's the amp or the speaker, I'd have to be there, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a speaker can't go "weak", so it's the amp somehow. Unless it's silent, and then you have to look at both parts and what's driving it, too, and the wiring. The way to test the subwoofer speaker vs. amp is to substitute. Open the box and power the speaker from a different amp. What model number is the Pioneer subwoofer?