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Are tiny subwoofers worthwhile?

I have several systems set up, in both medium sized and small rooms. I'm wondering about some of the really tiny subs like Velodyne MiniVee 8 or 10. In principle they should be perfect for a small room, but, I've noticed that generally smaller subs seem to sound a lot less relaxed than larger ones. Certainly they go less deep, but that might be good in a small room where a large sub might overpower it. I guess the breakthrough in size comes from a combination of using a high power class D amp and a smaller driver, but how well does this work in practice?

Do any of you have experience trying out latest generation of high quality VERY small subs in small rooms (e.g. 10 x 12).

Thanks,
Art
artmaltman
14 responses Add your response
reubent
7,005 posts
 
Art,

Although it is not a latest generation model, I've used the Pinnacle Baby Boomer in a small/med room with good results.

TIC
starcon
98 posts
 
i used a velodyne hgs 10 in a 10 x 8 room with a small theatre setup with great results. too much bass if you wanted it! the trick is to set it up with a sound meter to keep it in check.
leedistad
104 posts
 
I have a Sunfire True Super Jr in a room that's 11'x22' with a 9' ceiling, and it sounds more than big enough.
dserran
8 posts
 
I had a similar need for a system I have at a second home. In the middle of looking and considering several options I can across SOUNDMATTERS. They have a sub product that is small, flat and with the optional mounting kit can be wall mounted and out of the way. A wall mounted sub? That can't be any good I thought. Well, I wanted to know and ordered one which arrived in 3 days and it took seconds to set-up and adjust. I have to say I was surprised by the sound quality I heard from this sub out of the box and it has only gotten better. At $300 I never thought it would sound that good. I am happy with it in my system.
hifidreams
109 posts
 
The REL Q-108 is a great small sub.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I use a Velodyne SPL800II in a small room with good results. To alleviate what I considered a sluggish output I moved the sub out into the room centered between and even with the speakers. The sub adds just the right amount of bottom, filling in room ambiance. This Velodyne is also easy to integrate, I imagine the newer model with remote control would be even easier.
lokie's avatar
lokie
528 posts
 
Check out Boston Accoustics PV1000. I thought it sounded pretty good in a demo.
schipo
1,268 posts
 
In a small room with music fine. Big room big rig you need most of the time larger cones to push out greater amounts of air.
garryh
94 posts
 
Artmaltman,

I've had great success with the Velodyne SPLR 1000s (2 in the LR 2 channel / HT) and also the newer REL R series (3 in different systems).

Although a bit pricey, the RELs are simply fantastic with music and are very fast and mate well with just about any speaker and especially so with a quick single driver speaker. The Velos are no slouch either and, while they have different modes (Rock & Pop / Games / HT / Jazz), for music I always run them in Jazz mode. This keeps things nice and tight with no flab or exaggeration whatsoever.

Cheers,
Garry
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itball
104 posts
 
I have a fairly big room but couldn't get a big sub past my wife into the decor. I use two Velodyne SPL-800R - one beside each speaker and while it has taken a lot of trial and error, I have them integrated reasonably well. I don't get much south of about 27Hz but on most music they sure flesh out the sound nicely.
xiekitchen
821 posts
 
Rega Vulcan no longer made, contracted with REL, with 8" driver but oh what an 8" driver! This small sub is not rock concert level but will go very deep.
artmaltman OP
769 posts
 
Hmm, sounds promising. Any comments on the other REL Q series like the 150?
beemerrider
63 posts
 
My room isn't especially small (22.5' x 24.5') but I am having good luck with a pair of small Hsu ST2 subs (10" drivers) filling out the bottoms of my Apogee Slant 6's. I measured them as flat down to 30 Hz which I consider adequate, and excellent in the "best bang for the buck" department.
fredr
1 posts
 
I have a similar set up to Itball.
2 PSB subzero's (8"). For music it works very well once you have them dialed in.
2 subs helps avoid nulls.
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