Musical subwoofer under $2000


I’m looking for advice on what vendors to look at as l’d really like to add a subwoofer to my 2 channel setup. The room is c. 30x15 feet or 42 square meters with low ceiling of about 7.5 feet or 2.2 meters. Budget is c.$2,000 and my 2 channel speakers are Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. My amp offers pre-out connection. I’d like REL but their S range is now too expensive, so something close in musicality would be great. 

sparksgja

Before you buy any sub read this first. https://soundoctor.com/whitepapers/subs.htm

In my opinion if you are not listening to loud bass driven rock of some type, the addition of a subwoofer to a full range speaker will not make a big enough impact to justify the expense. Also keep in mind that the ear is less sensitive to low bass so if you want to  experience 40 Hz at the same perceived loudness as 1k Hz. You need to be able to reproduce the 40 Hz. signal approximately 15 to 30 db louder the the 1k Hz signal depending on the 1k Hz overall volume level. That takes a lot of amplifier power.

Having said all of that I own four subs and I would never do it any other way. I own REL, Rythmik and SVS. The only thing REL does better than the other two is to take more money out of your wallet, otherwise very little difference between them except the REL can be a little more difficult to integrate well. I feel the Rythmik has a little better sound than the others but they seem to have slightly less power, so I would err on getting a larger size rather than the smaller. SVS in my experience has the better customer service.

Sparks 

looking at your system in your room, I have no idea how you can add more sound waves beating on the hard wood floor and the window...I suggest you should be looking  for intoxicating midrange. bass is bull sh#*

@sparksgja

Usually "musical" means enjoying the music as a whole but can also be at the expense of detail and accuracy. What you are looking for is an "articulate" subwoofer where the bottom notes sound like real instruments and not a boomy mess. Finding an "affordable" one seems difficult - I’m in the same boat.

Maybe Vandersteen 2Wq or Sub3 may fit your needs.  There's also the AudioKinesis Swarm, but I'm not sure how articulate they are.  Other articulate subwoofers are priced higher : REL, NSMT. Funk, Perlisten, JL Audio...

Good luck

I listen to a wide range of music - rock, pop, country, electronic, opera, classical orchestral and lots of piano and jazz. I had a friend around about a month ago and he has Triton speakers with built in subs and commented on how my low bass wasn’t there, not badly, but just there was more low bass I was missing. I also feel the low end will give me more presence and atmosphere. I’m not displeased with my system and the midrange and top end are both great. I play mostly CDs and the PSAudio transport and Bel Canto DAC combined with the Pathos amp is revealing but not analytically detailed, but still detailed and tends to being slightly warm, which is great as the speakers are very neutral and I do have lots of hard surfaces. Again thanks kennyc; audiorusty; and sounds-real-audio for your valuable input and I’m hoping kennyc is getting value too as what he describes he is after is the same.