2. speakers
  3. 1197295662

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
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
Ag insider logo xs@2x
itball
103 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.
More to discover