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Is it a subgrade? Absolutely, you're going from 8" to 12" and 50hz low to 29hz low! Is it the one deep down we want you to get? No, that would be from SVS, HSU, Rythmik or PSA which will all go below 20hz but those aren't even close to that $125 price point. So if ~$125 is all you're willing to spend I'd go for it but you're not getting a $325 savings since you can buy that exact subwoofer brand new with a warranty for $190 straight from Amazon.
The internet fully prepared me to be blown away by Magnepan MMGs, until I auditioned them in a dealer's dedicated listening room with nice NAD components. The bass (their one acknowledged shortcoming) actually exceeded my expectations, but everything else fell short. They sounded fine for the price and everything, but it wasn't a revelation. And while they did have that great open, airy quality when playing stripped-bare low-effort "audiophile" tracks, complex music sounded pretty lifeless.
But the MMGs weren't bad. Unlike the Amazon-reviewed king of budget subwoofers, the Polk PSW10. I bought one on sale to see what the hype was about. Below about 50Hz the port turbulence is actually louder than the bass it fails to produce. It is a shockingly bad sub.
I'd encourage you to stay away from Klipsch subwoofers.
If you just care about big action movie bass, the BIC America F12 ($209) is the cheapest sub I'd recommend. It's a little "boomy" / inaccurate, which is fine for movies but not very good for music. Unfortunately, it's very big (H: 21" W: 19" D: 22:).
For more accuracy, deeper bass extension, and a smaller footprint, I'd recommend the very good RSL Speedwoofer 10S ($399) (H: 16” W: 15” D: 16 3/4”).
A couple of "budget' powered sub options that I own and would recommend for these are:
1) $110 Polk Audio PSW10 10"
2 $130 Elac SUB1010 120 Watt 10" Powered Subwoofer, Black, SUB1010-BK
This: https://www.amazon.com/Polk-10-Inch-Powered-Subwoofer-Single/dp/B0002KVQBA is a perfect example as to why Polk is hated in HT and Audiophile communities.
This subwoofer is incapable of producing sound that doesn't detract from a home theater experience. Any type of sound during a movie that reaches below 60Hz is just turned into something that can only be described as someone slapping two pieces of wet cardboard together really fast.
You would literally have a better experience just using your built in TV speakers. Yet.... look at the reviews.
The same can be seen on a lot of Polk's cheaper speakers/subs. They are just trash and for some reason have rave reviews on mass market sites. Some of Polk's higher end speakers are OK but much better can be had for the prices. Some of their vintage gear can be OK.
Dunno if they fit but these: https://www.amazon.com/SVS-SoundPath-Subwoofer-Isolation-System/dp/B00NCSQ5GK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36AE32V512V3S&keywords=SVS+isolating&qid=1661259256&sprefix=svs+isolating%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-1
I assume they work, although I use them on a 1200w PB4000 subwoofer sitting on a carpeted concrete floor so who knows. Either way I cannot hear the floor rattling, the rattling windows drowns that out.
Good for the price if you don't need bluetooth. has sub out. Solid sound upto about 2 o'clock on the volume knob. Pairs very well with the $110 Polk 10 inch sub and already comes with a 3.5mm to RCA cable so it will be plug and play for the sub.
I am on a Series X and have the Buttkicker Gamer as well as Two Dayton Audio BST-1 Pro Bass Shakers, I power them with a Nobsound G2 PRO Amp.
TheMartinDobson is correct in saying that you cannot separate the sounds.
But I wouldn't go without them now that I have used them, it still adds to the immersion, being able to feel the motor and road surface adds quite a bit.
Instead of buying the Buttkicker, which I feel is overpriced, simply buy something like the Dayton and the Nobsound for Much Less than the Buttkicker. Then when you upgrade to a PC, you will already have them.
That's fair, but desparate times call for desparate measures.
E.g. I have sone headphones that extend well below 20Hz and you could easily augment your listening chair with a tactile transducer. You probably want to isolate your chair from the floor if you are concerned about vibrations in the rest of your residence.
ahh gotcha check out this sub. It is very good bang for the buck imo!
In this budget range, I can see why Klipsch on sale is attractive. This BIC America sub could be good. At least it has the inputs.
It depends.
The ProMedia set I mentioned is integrated. That is, the amplifier is built into the subwoofer and the speakers plug into it. The subwoofer has it's own on/off switch and so do the speakers. You can turn off the subwoofer and keep the speakers on.
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When you start to spend a bit more money (or just differently even) you can get an amp/receiver and passive speakers- you're doing this right now. You can just buy a subwoofer like this: Polk Powered Subwoofer.
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The amp you want to purchase does not have a sub (subwoofer) out. But what you can do (if you want a sub) is to get the Polk sub above (or something similar). Output from your amp goes to the input of the sub. You would attach your speakers to the speaker outputs on the sub. It would be "cleaner" (e.g. easier) if you had an amp or stereo receiver with a sub out. This way you would have only one output going directly to the sub (amp/rec sub out to sub subwoofer in).
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You certainly don't have to spend a lot to get nice sound. Spending more money will get you better components, more powerful with cleaner power (e.g. differing classes of amps) with less distortion. Also, there are people here who have way more experience with hi-fi stuff than I do; so they can probably offer really specific advice for you.
But remember, as long as your stuff fits into your budget and you're happy with the sound that's all that ultimately matters.
I have the x1300w, and just bought a BIC PL-200 II sub off of Amazon a month ago and I love it.
DoF realy are expensive, unless you are capable of folowing DIY (there are alot of them for simulators), expect to pay +3000$ for a off the shelf basic 2axys.
Base shaker are like subwoofers, but produce no sound, just the vibration, and usually alot stronger.
Normally they are use in 4D movies, they are put in the chairs of movie theatres and home theatres.
A good way to describe it is when i use VR in Elite for the first time, after droling for +15minutes, and got out of a coriolis, and boosted, but nothing happen, weird did i forgot to put the lading gear up? lets try again, nop still nothing, but then i look at the speed and i was actualy boosting, somehow i was expecting to fell the rumble of the engines.
When you put some base shakers in your chair you can feel the engine moving, the mechanical parts of the Gatling shaking the shiip, and you can defenely feel a hull impact vs a shield one.
Elite does not give telemetri for a base shaker so its all base on sound output from the game, some games like driving simulators can actually use dedicated extra soundcards to reproduce expecific vibrations like Left/right tyre, engine, gears, etc.
In elite you are limited to left/right sound output, but its realy cool to fell my ship (aka my chair) shake from the left side when i fire my multicannon of my vulture vs the bean on the right side.
example of a base shaker on amazon https://www.amazon.com/AuraSound-AST-2B-4-Shaker-Tactile-Transducer/dp/B0002ZPTBI
My build (cost around 50€ for the 2 base shakers + amplifier) https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/6lpdry/this_is_my_simchair/
edit, do not buy off the shelf base shakers like "ButtKicker", they are way overprice, you will be much better served with several <30$ shakers + 30$ amp.
The BIC F12 is also going to be a better, more capable option at $20 more from Amazon.
You can get an open box SVS pb1000 on amazon for $429. I’m not sure what the RSl costs. I tried to google it quick and it looks like maybe $399? If so, I’d think the pb1000 would be an upgrade for about the same price. I just recently bought my sub from the place selling the open box pb1000 and they’re an authorized SVS dealer so you get the full warranty. https://www.amazon.com/SVS-PB-1000-Subwoofer-Black-Ash/dp/B00K88UMPW
I use four of these from Amazon. I bought two amps to and a separate sound card to drive them. I have a wooden rig so they screwed right in, not exactly sure how you mount them to a prefab or 80/20 rig though.
I've been looking into it, trying to put together an affordable plan. Looks like a way to go is to use a dedicated chair(I'm mostly interested in this for driving/space flight games)and attach a few "bass shakers" to it. I've been checking out a couple of brands; Aura and Dayton. Aura seems to be the better reviewed brand of the 2.
I'm really hoping to start putting together a steering wheel/hotas/haptics combo before the end of the year.
You are gonna be hard pressed to find a decent downfiring sub. No idea where you are in EU but looks like you may be able to get SVS subs delivered for reasonable price. This PB-1000 is what I have and it is an absolute beast.
I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned this.
There are products for this situation
Either of those should make a significant difference if OP is getting vibrations in his walls without impacting the neighbors perceived sound.
Not sure if you can get it working on the AVR with out modifying the sub. I think your best bet is to buy a sub like the Polk PSW10. It gets good reviews in its price bracket, works with your AVR, and will sound even better then your old sub.
What is your budget? SVS is a common recommendation. SVS SB-1000 is great for music. If you want ported you can go with their PB line such as the PB-1000. Ported is good if you are using for home theater.
The best part of the amp is you can connect any sub you like to it. The Sonos sub wouldn’t make sense for you because some of the cost is due to the wireless connectivity you wouldn’t be using.
If you don’t want the bass travelling through the house, your best option is a sealed design and not a ported.
Additionally, sub isolation feet like these: https://www.amazon.ca/SVS-SoundPath-Subwoofer-Isolation-Pack/dp/B00NCSQ5GK go a long way to eliminate the rattling and general unwanted travel of bass sound to other areas of the home. They’re really great.
In your circumstance I would not use the Sonos sub. You can get much better performance for the same money, or save a bunch.
Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.
1 - Physically clean that plug please, some alcohol and a qtip will do wonders
2 - you need to connect a POWERED sub to that output with a good cable.
3 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KVQBA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I live in a small apartment and also needed something cost effective and not huge in size and landed on the above and it works great.
If you want earth shattering bass, add these to your headphone setup:
It's a tactile shaker, and instead of using a speaker cone to move air, you attach it to a solid surface, ideally a couch, chair, or desk that you make contact with, and it sends the vibrations into your body, almost silently.
It feels like having a 12-15" subwoofer cranked. The only issue is you'll need to have 2 outputs on whatever your sound source is; one for the headphones, one for the shaker.
S760 - 400 or hopefully less. Kef q150s - $300 Sub - Bic 12 https://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M
Start with 2.1 and get a center later. the kefs are better than all those speakers and sub is too. If you could stretch over 1k you could get a better sub at $500
A decibel meter that you can film with your phone as you walk around your house is great evidence to have in this case.
Otherwise, an 18" Skar SDR 18 is 150$, get a used power amp capable of putting out about 1000w, maybe an old Crown or QSC, used Behringer iNuke or NX series. 150-200$ there.
For now, you can just point the cone at the floor, elevating the speaker so it has just enough room to not hit the floor from excursion.
Adding tactile exciters drilled into structural beams would be a nice touch too:
Once they're gone, you can build an enclosure for the 18" sub and have more bass than you'll ever need, and an amp to drive it, so there's some good out of the situation aside from sending the offenders packing.
I used a 10" Dayton years ago, still have it but it's not hooked up. Don't remember the model and when I got it, probably around 2005. It had some shortcomings but served it's purpose. I'm sure they've improved them by now. I replaced it with a Klipsch R-12SW. It was on sale at the time, got it for $150. Currently $250. No high level inputs though. Sounds great.
I have a pair and love them as well. I went with a purify amp as the price difference wasnt much more than the Hypex.
If you are interested in replacing the pads your towers are currently on you can buy two of these kits. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NCSQ5GK/
You also need eight M8-1.25x35mm bolts if you want to use the SVS pads. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZF6KT8C
The SVS SB1000 doesn't have Bluetooth, but the Pro model does. I found it open box, like new on amazon.
Everyone here has given great advice for tower speakers so far. I'd like to add PSB Alpha T20 to the list. Also, if you're into DIY, check out the Amigas