Best powered Subwoofer for HT only... Under 1000

If you want very inexpensive and good sound for the money, the Energy ES-8 goes for about $300 each. you could get two of them and believe me, because I owned one, you'll be amazed at the sound. I'll admit it's not the best, I own all M&K's right now, but on a budget energy subs are pretty good.

Get the Mirage BPS-400. I shopped for several months and listened to everything and could NOT find a better BANG for the buck then the Mirage. This thing is tight in home theater and fairly good with music. This is my second sub and my last for a while until I can afford to spend 2400 for a Revel.

If you are willing to push the $1000 envelope, then you may want to look at the M&K MX700. It has two 8" drivers and has a total size of 14" H x 17" W x 11" D (approx). This is about the fastest sub that I have ever heard, and was designed to be shoe-horned into a very small area. At my local "High End" audio / home theater store, they have this sub in their "million dollar room" (all McIntosh, Revel and Madrigal equipment) even though they have other subs (such as the Revel B-15) that cost 2 to 4 times as much. The only drawback to the M&K is that it is very sensitive to room placement....put it in the right place, jaw drops....put it in the wrong place, you will wonder where the money went. Any dealer worth their salt will let you audition in your own home (though beware of restocking fees if you return the item). If you have a local M&K dealer available, try the little MX700 out....

Check out http://www.svsubwoofers.com

Some great stuff for the cash and people swear by them

I own the Mirage BPS400, bought it from Tweeter for $799 (originally $1299). It has (2) active 12 inch drivers and a 400 watt amp. It's rated down to 16 hz. I also only use it for movies. It really rocks the house, I don't see how you could do any better for the price. Nevermind, I just checked the height, it's 21" high. I use mine as an end table, 12 feet away from the TV. This may be too much bass for you. If you're planning on enclosing a sub in a cabinet, it will have boundary reinforcement, which means you won't need a very powerful sub.

John

Tweeter is currently selling the Mirage BPS 400 for $800 (originally $1200). This is a 110 pound unit with two active 12" drivers. Richard Hardesty (Dr. Boom) says it is one of the very best LFE subs available. It has a beautiful black enamel finish. Check out the height, though.

The paradigm PW2200 is the sub I recommend under $1000. I have used the HSU and didn't care for it. and it was UGLY. A HSU TN1225 would be a better choice from that company if you are willing to go to $1000.

how big is the room for one thing? also,used or new price under $1000? is the room open or closed configuration as well(thus acoustically the sub would be seing a larger acoustic space if the room is open to other spaces)?
That being said, your main challenge once getting a good sub, and you should certainly be able to find an adequate sub at that price(especially used),is to get the subwoofer integrated well, and get reasonably flat frequency response and phase!
I'd say 99% of the people, easily, get lousy results with subs, simply because they don't set them up well, and don't know how frankly!
There's plenty of subs with power out there that can move air well for movies for sure. Some might be inherently quicker than others, or have more impact. But that doesn't matter if you can't get the thing set up right in the first place! I've sold and hooked up 100's of sub based systems, and can vouch for this first hand
For most peoples applications for HT, I'd recommed looking in to something like a Def Tech PF15tl+ at $700 retail (cheaper on the net), I've sold/used quite a few of these guy's, and they hit hard or HT dubties in even massive home rooms! Even better, if you can find a good price on the M&K subs, they're built the bes

Check out the Adire Rava, and the ACI Quake and Titan II. The Rava is only 400, and from what I have heard, is amazing, and is a sealed design that goes down to 20 Hz with a 250W amp. Cheers!