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Affordable subwoofer for music cont'd

So a while back I posted a thread asking for opinions for a sub that would go well with audio as opposed to home theater. I laid out my system, NAD w/ MA Silver 3i speakers, and that I've spend well under $1000 on it all so far. Many people suggested that the only suitable sub for music would be a $1500+ sub; well out of my price range.
So, I did some thinking, and realized that if I either limited the cone mass/size, or had a sealed enclosure, I would have a tighter sounding, more musical subwoofer.

In light of these simple observations, I've been looking at some used subs on here and ebaY. So far I've found the following, all within my price range.

My question is this: assuming the same price on all of these, which one would you choose?
Paradigm PDR-8
Defintive Technology ProSub 80
M&K K9

I am asking for this advice because I have no way of auditioning any of these subs. The Paradigm seems like a decent affordable sub that is a compromise between the DefTech and the M&K. The DefTech has really low bass response (21Hz) and a decent amount of power, but I'm not sure how musical it is. The M&K only is rated down to 35Hz (I think) and has only 75W, but is probably really musical. Any comments are appreciated!
erikkellison

Showing 5 responses by reubent

reubent
6,935 posts
 
I've owned several moderately priced subs and the two I liked best were:

Pinnacle Baby Boomer-Tiny, sealed box with 2 8" drivers. Nice!

NHT SubOne(i)- This is a great sub for the price. It is not sealed, but I found it to be fast enough to keep up with every monitor I've owned. It also has some nice features via its seperate controller, like the ability to be attached to an HT system via LFE port and attached to a music system via sub-in port, at the same time. "LFE" and "sub" have independant gain settings so you can customize for both with no need to touch the knobs again! Set it and forget it!

My $.02 worth.........

Enjoy,

TIC
reubent
6,935 posts
 
Erik,

It seems the "voice of reason" has taken over the later part of this thread. Bravo! It's great that you have a budget and aren't going to let others talk you into spending more money than you have readily available to you at this time. I commend you for sticking to your guns!

If you are going to stick to around $200, you might want to look at the PartsExpress DIY sub. They sometimes show up here or you could buy a new one and assemble it. I think it is $200, but it may be a bit more. Sorry if I'm recommending something over your budget.

Both the NHT and Pinnacle Baby Boomer will be out of your budget at about $350-450 used.

I do sometimes see a less expensive Pinnacle sub on AudiogoN for $199 new. I'm not familiar with it myself, but I've heard good things about it.

Good luck and enjoy,

TIC
reubent
6,935 posts
 
Erik,

I stopped in my local Best Buy today and they were closing out the Celestion s20 Sub for $99. I have not heard this sub, but Celestion has a good reputation and you could always return the sub to Best Buy for a refund if you don't like it.

Enjoy,

TIC
reubent
6,935 posts
 
The Celestion is sealed, is only $99 (closeout) and is easily returnable for a full refund...

Enjoy,

TIC
reubent
6,935 posts
 
Tunz,

What sub are you talking about?

Thanks,

TIC
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