trog69
Fantastic Member
Good morning. I posted here before, or rather at the former iteration of the Windows Forum, about how I wanted to replace the sound card with a digital receiver and some regular bookshelf speakers, because I found the Klipsch Pro-Media powered speaker systems ( I have both the 2.1 and the 4.1 systems) lacking in both bass and mid-range sound qualities. I don't fault Klipsch, since they're not really targeting audiophiles with these systems but rather those who want better sound quality than the normal speakers supplied with PCs.
So anyway, I figured out how to hook up a digital receiver, at present using the optical output, and had hooked up two beautiful sets of used bookshelf speakers, the highly-acclaimed B&W 601se and a set of perfectly kept, vintage KEF C-40 mini-towers with dual 8" drivers; both sets for $400. That's cheaper than any offers from EBay then or since, and I got them from a speaker-repair guy, so I had no worries about the tweeter fluid being dried out in the KEF's.
I have been using a Polk Audio PSW505 subwoofer, rated at 300watts RMS and 460watts peak power. It is another great deal, purchased on the same day as the Sony 7.1channel receiver, and both of them were on deep discount via Newegg, priced at $150 each. Incredible, since I've never seen that 505 for under $200 since then, and the receiver has been replaced with a less-powerful 5.1channel instead, for $70 more, so I lucked out with both of them.
The 505 is a great little ported sub for the price, but it certainly isn't capable of producing clean bass to match the exquisite bookshelf speakers, and believe me, I've done plenty of sub-crawls and dialing in to get the best sound from the sub as possible. So, I went to the SVS website because it's the #1 recommended online subwoofer site on many audio-visual fora. Being not rich, I found a sealed sub in their Outlet, the SB12-NSD. It's a tiny enclosure compared to the 505 and most other subs in its class, but man, it's a phenom. It revealed so much detail from teh bookshelf's and really helped them sing. But, it had one flaw I could not ignore; it couldn't give me the "thump" I crave in my blues/rock music. Oh, it could thump, and really rumbled nicely in games and movies, but while it made the kick-drums sound perfect, I couldn't get it to give me that visceral impact. Well, actually it could, but it required running the sub a bit hotter than necessary, and when I found the limiter lighting up and cutting off the bass, that settled that. I regretted having to send it back, because it was so much better than the 505 in every other aspect.
So, just now I went back to their website and got lucky once again. The sub I knew would give me that impact was their lowest priced ported sub, the popular PB-1000, and I was able to grab the very last one in their Outlet for $25 off due to miniscule scratches on the back. I'm like a kid at Christmas waiting for that baby.
SVS has not only the most generous warrantee online-5 years for both amp and driver, but they also have an upgrade program for one year after purchase; they'll give you full price for the sub, and you pay shipping there and back in exchange for the better sub. I'll be taking advantage of that in about 3 months, as again. I'm not rich, so I'll have to save up. But I'm ultimately going to enjoy two of the PB-2000's, which are 12" with 500watts RMS/1100 peak power. Then I'll be in nirvana. In the meantime, in such a tiny room, the 1000 will be more than enough for everything I need it for. Here's the page for the PB-1000.
http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/PB-1000#.U9ukrflr7vY
So anyway, I figured out how to hook up a digital receiver, at present using the optical output, and had hooked up two beautiful sets of used bookshelf speakers, the highly-acclaimed B&W 601se and a set of perfectly kept, vintage KEF C-40 mini-towers with dual 8" drivers; both sets for $400. That's cheaper than any offers from EBay then or since, and I got them from a speaker-repair guy, so I had no worries about the tweeter fluid being dried out in the KEF's.
I have been using a Polk Audio PSW505 subwoofer, rated at 300watts RMS and 460watts peak power. It is another great deal, purchased on the same day as the Sony 7.1channel receiver, and both of them were on deep discount via Newegg, priced at $150 each. Incredible, since I've never seen that 505 for under $200 since then, and the receiver has been replaced with a less-powerful 5.1channel instead, for $70 more, so I lucked out with both of them.
The 505 is a great little ported sub for the price, but it certainly isn't capable of producing clean bass to match the exquisite bookshelf speakers, and believe me, I've done plenty of sub-crawls and dialing in to get the best sound from the sub as possible. So, I went to the SVS website because it's the #1 recommended online subwoofer site on many audio-visual fora. Being not rich, I found a sealed sub in their Outlet, the SB12-NSD. It's a tiny enclosure compared to the 505 and most other subs in its class, but man, it's a phenom. It revealed so much detail from teh bookshelf's and really helped them sing. But, it had one flaw I could not ignore; it couldn't give me the "thump" I crave in my blues/rock music. Oh, it could thump, and really rumbled nicely in games and movies, but while it made the kick-drums sound perfect, I couldn't get it to give me that visceral impact. Well, actually it could, but it required running the sub a bit hotter than necessary, and when I found the limiter lighting up and cutting off the bass, that settled that. I regretted having to send it back, because it was so much better than the 505 in every other aspect.
So, just now I went back to their website and got lucky once again. The sub I knew would give me that impact was their lowest priced ported sub, the popular PB-1000, and I was able to grab the very last one in their Outlet for $25 off due to miniscule scratches on the back. I'm like a kid at Christmas waiting for that baby.
SVS has not only the most generous warrantee online-5 years for both amp and driver, but they also have an upgrade program for one year after purchase; they'll give you full price for the sub, and you pay shipping there and back in exchange for the better sub. I'll be taking advantage of that in about 3 months, as again. I'm not rich, so I'll have to save up. But I'm ultimately going to enjoy two of the PB-2000's, which are 12" with 500watts RMS/1100 peak power. Then I'll be in nirvana. In the meantime, in such a tiny room, the 1000 will be more than enough for everything I need it for. Here's the page for the PB-1000.
http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/PB-1000#.U9ukrflr7vY
