Good musical sub under $500


I need to replace my crappy old AudioSource sub, my listening room is 12'X14' x9', hardwood floors (livingroom, not sure if furniture such as couches effect subs in absorbing sound as it does with mids & tweeters) . It will be 70% music so a accurate tight bass is a must,. It will be matched up with my NAD T752 A/V and Paradigm Studio 20v3s up front. MY present Audiosource I've had for years has to be turned to full volume just to add some low-end (Crossed over at 80, anything higher and you get vocals and such coming out of it, really crappy as I said lol). I had ordered a Velodyne DLS-3750R earlier in the week(cancelled my order) the more I read up on them it seems they are rather boomy and velodyne's good subs are the higher end stuff which are out of my price range. Used is ok as long as it's from a reputable dealer or owner (ebay is definitely out, really don't trust high end stuff from there). Suggestions?
pmt1209
Pmt1209...I have been using a UFW-10 for over a year (got one used on agon before they became so popular) in a room approximately the size of yours, with a pair of VonSchweikert VR-1s. FWIW, I have been a bass player, and am somewhat sensitive to how low frequency gets reproduced in home systems. I agree entirely with Rysa4's opinion of this sub. I think you made a good choice, and you should enjoy your purchase.
Ajn22 it's funny you should mention the VR-1s I came sooo close to pulling the trigger on a pair of them when I bought the Paradigm Studios, the reviews for them were just incredible but I couldn't track down any dealers remotely close to me to give them a listen and still just on reviews by mags and owners I almost ordered them sight unseen but decided $1000 was just too much $$ to take that chance.. I bet they are as good as they say huh?? Even to give the Paradigms a listen I had to drive an hour and a half to find a dealer. Sadly Best Buy and Circuit City put all our local mid to hi fi dealers out of business. Thanks for the reassurance on the UFW-10, If the UFW-10 works with your VR-1s they should be a good fit for my Studio 20v3s.. Who would know more about a good tight musical low end then a bass player :) What amp/receiver are you using with them if I may ask?
you might want to consider a kit ,,,i just assembled a kit sold by parts express..at a cost of 356 including shipping....took about an hour to assemble...has a solid plate amp and a dayton titanic 111 driver...one heavy sucker 60+ pounds...small footprint 14 sq...using in a small kiss- of- death square room...have tried fullrange and have had nightmare with the standing waves so i finally bought a pair of von scheikert vr 1 and am driving them with a modified shanling integrated and running them full range with the sub located in a corner and finally got rid of standing wave...sub is very quick and musical....hard beat it for less than 400-am considering buying another and running 2 channels
I was going to start my own thread, but I think mine fits nicely in this one:


Basically, I wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations for a good, smallish musical sub around $500 (not necessarily under) to pair with my KEF Reference 1's. I noticed that folks like the Onix, but haven't seen any reccs on HSU or SVS.

I have been using a Paradigm PW2200, which sounded great, but was far too big for the rooms in which I used it. Also, I move a lot and I have had enough of moving it. Oh, and it recently stopped working, so I'm done with it.

Anyway, I was hoping someone could recommend a good match for the KEF's. Alternatively, I would love to hear reccs on speakers that could match the KEFs paired with a sub.

If helps at all, my system is:
KEF Ref 1
Karan Acoutics i180 Integrated Amp
Marantz DR 700 CD
MSB DAC

Thanks and, if anyone objects, I'll move this to a new thread. - M.
I bought a pair of Entec SW-5 subs (servo controlled) here on Audiogon for $700. Entec went out of business some time ago, but their subs were (and still are) very highly regarded. There were considered one of the few subs that were fast enough to integrate well with electrostatic and planar magnetic main speakers. I can tell you that they are very musical, and probably much better than anything you can certainly buy new for that price. They probably wouldn't make great HT subs, as there power handling isn't high enough for high excursion movements such as earthquakes and cannons, but for music they are fantastic. Although they don't come up all that often, you might be able to find a single for within your price range.