in regard to the audiophile quesiton: I need a suggestion

[markmosk]

I'm an audiophile-lite, driven by not wanting to drop too much money. I buy good middle-road stuff that's affordable and not just what some salesperson at Bestbuy says; I listen, form conclusions, etc. I guess it's comparable to how I am with cameras. Don't feel I need a Leica although I'm sure it's amazing so I have a hexar RF for example.

...anyhow, my point is, does anyone have a suggestion for a good slimline subwoofer, in other words, one that will fit under my couch versus the classic 14" boxy ones.

Thanks very much.

m.

 

[grainhound]

When I thought I wanted one, my audio dealer, an honest, knowledgeable guy I can trust, told me that only the most expensive ones approach hi-fi. He doesn't like those so much either, & doesn't carry them, though I suppose he'd order one if someone insisted. He deals exclusively with British audio gear & will also install the very good to expensive systems he sells (like Naim Audio), & I think he said that subwoofers are difficult to set up properly. His advice was to buy the best full range speaker you can afford. If you want better sound than what they offer, save your money & trade up. From my experience, good deep bass is expensive. That's just 2 cents from me & my dealer.

 

[IGMeanwell]

Honestly it depends on the size of the room

I have an old Passive KLH subwoofer that is slimline fits under our end table with no problem, that in my small living room is more than enough to shake the walls ....

Also how are you looking to use it? For action movies with lots of rumble or to just supplement the low end of music just to make up the loss of your more midrange minded speakers?

unfortunately just like questions with cameras, its an answer of ... it depends

 

[foto_fool]

I listened to a lot of active subs and finally came to the conclusion that they are fine for home theater when I want to feel the dino tramps in Jurassic Park, but too bloomy and boomy for the bass in a good recording of Charlie Mingus or Corelli by Philharmonia Baroque. I went to a bi-amped solution with an electronic crossover between my pre-amp and the two power amps and a stereo pair of dedicated low frequency drivers. Mark, if you already have a pre-amp (or linestage) /power amp setup, you could do the same for under a grand with careful buying.

- John

 

[markmosk]

Thanks. To answer some of the answers. It's a very small area, basically a breakfast nook I converted to small viewing area with flat panel and loveseat. I currently have a aegis ego subwoofer/satellite system in there but the sub doesn't fit under the couch. The sub is the amp too which is great b/c there isn't really any room for components either (I like a minimal look). The downside of the current system which sounds plenty good for me (i'm not a wall shaking, surround sound type and mainly need a solution in there b/c the speaker onboard the samsung flat screen is a joke) is that to adjust the volume, you need to twist a knob on the sub. This is b/c, again, there is no amp/tuner in the set-up and the tv doesn't allow volume adjustment w/ remote when you use external speakers.

So my ideal solution is a hidden sub with satellites that I can maybe control volume with a remote. Again, being an audiophile-lite and the fact that it's a tiny space, and the fact that I don't need the walls to rattle, I guess I'm looking for the best suggestion around $300.00 USD. I may just see if the Acoustic Energy aego's newer woofer is slimmer but otherwise, I'm still interested in suggestions. Thanks very much to all. Happy New Year.