# Best sized subwoofer for small room?



## mdocod

Within the same "series" of sub-woofer line, larger will pretty well always play lower and louder regardless of the space in which it is used. A small room is advantageous as you get a lot of room gain, and, depending on sub placement, 2PI or even 1PI space loading that will allow you to get more bass for a give amount of sub.

Exactly how much sub you should invest in is based on personal listening tastes and program material. Some people would be perfectly happy with a pretty ordinary 8" sub, while others in the same listening environment might use a 1000W crown amp to power a pair of radical long-throw 10-12" jobs.

In a room that size, I'm sure you have some space limitations to be concerned about as well, so you may find that a higher wattage long-throw style unit in a tiny sealed box may help give you the listening levels you want without consuming a lot of space in the room.


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## Remonster

Bigger will still play lower, regardless of the room but I wouldn't get either of those. I've had my share of Polk subs including that PSW110 (and its bigger brothers the PSW125 and PSW505) and have no replaced them with a HSU.

http://hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

Amazon's listing for the Polk PSW110 claims 23Hz but if you look on Polk's site, the -3dB number is actually 30Hz. The HSU will go all the way down to 25Hz at -2dB and will have usable output all the way down to the lowest limits of human hearing. Even the PSW505 I have (which is one of the biggest subs Polk has ever made) pales in comparison to my HSU, the Polk is mainly boomy, you'll hear the bass it puts out but you won't really feel it. Play the same movie with the HSU and it will rattle your teeth, It actually rattled a ceiling vent to the point that paint was chipping off but that was at really ridiculous volumes.

The best part about the HSU, however, and this cannot be said about the Polk, is that it's also amazing for music. The Polk is, as I said, boomy and never sounds right with music but the HSU is superb. The only sub I've heard that sounds better was a $1000+ Velodyne.


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## Remonster

I wasn't paying attention to the dimensions of your room, the STF-2 may be a bit too big (physically) for you, but the STF-1 sound fit the bill nicely. If you can sacrifice the space though, go for the 2 it's an amazing subwoofer.


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## alienguts

Overkillllllll is the best way to go... get a 12.

It's not the size that matters, its how you use it... until it gets really loud. then size can matter.


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## Mygaffer

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Remonster*
> 
> Bigger will still play lower, regardless of the room but I wouldn't get either of those. I've had my share of Polk subs including that PSW110 (and its bigger brothers the PSW125 and PSW505) and have no replaced them with a HSU.
> http://hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html
> Amazon's listing for the Polk PSW110 claims 23Hz but if you look on Polk's site, the -3dB number is actually 30Hz. The HSU will go all the way down to 25Hz at -2dB and will have usable output all the way down to the lowest limits of human hearing. Even the PSW505 I have (which is one of the biggest subs Polk has ever made) pales in comparison to my HSU, the Polk is mainly boomy, you'll hear the bass it puts out but you won't really feel it. Play the same movie with the HSU and it will rattle your teeth, It actually rattled a ceiling vent to the point that paint was chipping off but that was at really ridiculous volumes.
> The best part about the HSU, however, and this cannot be said about the Polk, is that it's also amazing for music. The Polk is, as I said, boomy and never sounds right with music but the HSU is superb. The only sub I've heard that sounds better was a $1000+ Velodyne.


Bigger will not always play louder. I have a 10" CSW BaseCube 10 (a very mediocre entry level sub) and an Energy 8" sub (also entry level but better quality all around than the BasecCube). Basically the Basecube has a 70watt amp (don't trust the stated number but check the ampxvoltage) and the Energy 8" has a 110watt amp. The Energy plays louder and thumps the walls harder. The power of the amp and the characters of the woofer play a big role. The Basecube was paper cone, the Energy was a stiffer plastic material. All these things make a bigger difference than woofer size.

Woofer size will typically dictate just how low the sub can go.

EDIT:Haha, you said lower, not louder. So yeah, I look like an idiot, but I'll leave my info up. I agree with everything you said.


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## Mudfrog

If your on a budget check out the BIC F12. It's a 12" and is on Amazon for around $190 or so. It plays deep and loud.


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## madbrayniak

if you want a 12 but still want to save floor space the SVS PC12-NSD is a very good sub. I have one and love it.

However, for the absolute best bang for your dollar the best way to go in subs is the DIY route. Especially if you already have the tools to build a box. avsforum.com has a diy section that is helpful and there are some designs on there that may suit you. There is also diyaudio.com that can help alot.

however, smaller subs can also be helpful. Geddes theory suggests to have multiple subs of differnent sizes to smooth the base response out too.

I am currently running an 8" with my 12" with good results


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## swarm87

i have a polk rm6880 with a 65w 10" side-fireing slim sub. if your worried about power i watched the *DVD* version of Rambo: the fight continues at reference level volume on my pioneer 1018 at the part where Rambo goes nuts for 5 minutes with a .50cal and my entire building shook. in other words a powered 10" should be fine


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## TG_bigboss

Go to radioshack and buy a gigware speakers system. I know you gunna say dude that's crap but for 60 bucks it comes with amazing speakers and subwoofer for its size and price. I was amazed at how well the sub-woofer sounded and the speakers. Comes with a bass control setting too. You can remove the speaker mesh cover for a nicer look too.


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## mdocod

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TG_bigboss*
> 
> Go to radioshack and buy a gigware speakers system. I know you gunna say dude that's crap but for 60 bucks it comes with amazing speakers and subwoofer for its size and price. I was amazed at how well the sub-woofer sounded and the speakers. Comes with a bass control setting too. You can remove the speaker mesh cover for a nicer look too.


A 5" sub in a tiny little poorly made particle board box and a pair of sats with 2x2" full range drivers? Sounds like a very poor idea to me, not worth $50-60 asking price, however, the smaller version with the single 2" full range drivers and 4" sub for $15 probably sounds better in many ways and at 1/4th the price represents a good value for some basic PC speakers.

Dual full range drivers in a single channel is a huge no-no as it causes very nasty lobing and practically un-usable off axis response.

Neither gigaware system would even begin to compete with the scope of the products being discussed in this thread.


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