Subwoofer - What Fraction of Speaker Budget?

**punman** · **04-11-09, 09:46 AM**

In a 5.1 system, the subwoofer represents one-sixth or 17% of the speakers.
Would you allot one-sixth of your budget for the subwoofer, or more, or less?
For example, if you had a budget of $2000, your budget would be about $340 for the subwoofer. Would you spend around that, or more than that at the expense of cheaper speakers for the other five, or would you say that the subwoofer is not as important as the other five and spend less than the $340?
If you have a 5.1 system, what cost is your subwoofer, as a percent of your total speaker cost?

**tonyvdb** · **04-11-09, 10:57 AM**

I would say you should spend about half your budget on a sub due to the fact that most people expect a sub to shake the very foundation they stand on and that is unrealistic to expect a $400 sub to accomplish that in any size room. I also would not recommend spending anything less than $500 on a sub or you will be disappointed.
The amount of impact a sub has in a room relies allot on driver and enclosure size and the amount of air it moves you cant expect a 10" driver that only has 1-2"s of excursion to reproduce the frequencies in the lower 15-30Hz range where it really starts to work.

**hjones4841** · **04-11-09, 11:45 AM**

Striking the right balance with your budget for speakers is a challenge for sure. Certainly you want a center that does very well with dialog, since that is such an important part of anything you watch. Then there is the need to match the other speakers to the center's sound as closely as possible for more realistic and smooth surround pans.

Then there is the sub. I agree that spending less than $500 and you won't be satisfied unless your expectations are low. Get into the $750 or so range for the sub opens Hsu and SVS possibilities, both of which are fine performers.

**punman** · **04-12-09, 06:00 PM**

Thank you for taking the time to respond, and for your suggestions.

**drdoan** · **04-13-09, 01:45 PM**

Remember that price usually doesn't equal quality. This is where our forum can be of help. By doing enough research, you can narrow your choices to get the best bang for the buck. Have fun. Dennis

**fredm** · **04-15-09, 01:19 PM**

The % of the budget needed for a subwoofer is totally dependant on the total cost of your setup. If you find that 5 speakers are perfectly fine for you and they cost 500 bucks, I would suggest you still need to spend 500 for a good subwoofer.

however if you go and find some speakers you love for 3000 for the speakers, there is no reason to spend 3K on the sub. Depending on the room size, a 1K sub will probably be more than you need.

In another words the subwoofer is more of a you need a certain volume of bass and beyond that no more money really needs to be thrown at it. Once you get the bass extension down to the low frequency you want, your money is better spent on speaker improvements.

**evac31111** · **05-23-09, 12:39 AM**

I would also suggest buying two subs if you can afford two subs that can play to 20 to 25 hz. You about double the output and this also smooths out your response a lot. Get subs with parametric eq built in, or save money in your budget to incorporate an outboard eq, because every room has frequency peaks in the deep bass. (By the way, the secret to amazing bass is bass traps)

**theelviscerator** · **05-27-09, 01:14 PM**

I went about 50/50 myself, with excellent results....as far as I am concerned...

**bone215** · **06-20-09, 08:47 PM**

my sub was about the same cost as my six speakers.

**brandonnash** · **07-08-09, 08:17 PM**

Easy, DIY sub, about 10-15%. A commercially made sub that gets the same performance, 3-4 times that cost, if your DIY sub is planned well enough.

**Ray in Kingwood** · **07-16-09, 08:09 PM**

I spent around 2500 on my package from emotiva, and i am looking at 2 svs 13 ultras and the processor for around 4 grand....so 6500 on speakers.... boy now that I think about it....I am getting depressed!

**ggallaway** · **07-19-09, 10:06 AM**

I spent about 450 on my sub and 600 on 7 speakers (NHT SuperZero XU's on clearance) I am pleased with the sub (MFW-15) now that all my AMP issues have been resolved. and the speakers are decent in my room.

**Ray in Kingwood** · **10-09-09, 08:50 PM**

I am 50 50, about 2600 on speakers and 2800 on sub.....gee.....thanks now I am depressed.

**recruit** · **10-10-09, 04:17 AM**

50/50 is probably about right for speakers and sub, but a good subwoofer can really transform a system, I know from experience with sat/sub systems that the better the sub the better the satelites can sound, remember any make sub can be also paired with different makes of speakers, which leaves plenty of choices when choosing a subwoofer..

**Ray in Kingwood** · **10-10-09, 03:20 PM**

I ended up getting a pair of Epik Dynastys......

**recruit** · **10-10-09, 03:24 PM**

Very nice Ray

they look very intimidating

**Ray in Kingwood** · **10-10-09, 04:14 PM**

Cant wait till they get here. Will be here next week......

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