I have been looking for a moderately priced subwoofer to go with my KEF iQ5s, iQ1s, and iQ2 home theatre system. My room is 17 ft by 10 ft and used mostly for TV and movies, not much for music. It doesn’t have to be a KEF subwoofer but I just discovered they are on sale half price. Regular $640 U.S. for $320 U.S. for the KEF PSW2500. I reproduce below a paragraph of description for those not familiar with this model.

As the lower frequencies play such an integral part in recreating the 3-D soundscape encoded in digital formats, your choice of subwoofer is critical -- especially if you want to enjoy the level of sonic immersion you experience in a modern cinema. And really, who doesn't? With a high efficiency 250W on-board amplifier driving a 10" down-firing woofer, the KEF PSW2500 has the power to deliver heavyweight bass effects without sacrificing clarity, and, perhaps more importantly, without lurking in the corner of your living room like a mini-fridge with intent to kill. 33 – 150 Hz. With ground lift switching and movie/music modes, output is easily adjustable to match the main speakers and room acoustics. The attractively-styled, elliptical-section cabinet is massively internally braced to eliminate unwanted internal resonance, and finished in gloss black, matte black, dark apple, maple, and silver to complement the rest of your KEF iQ Series system.

So, my question is, does this sound like a good deal for $320 or are there better subs in that price range? And sorry, I don’t want to spend more.
A couple of related questions: Is “down firing” a good thing, and do I need a subwoofer cable or will any RCA connector do?

I think this would be a good sub for you to try out. At least the price knocks out most of the middle men.

Your room is not overly big, but if you like high volume, teeth rattling bass, I don't think this will do. Those 250 watts will run out pretty fast. But, if you just want to add a little more bass foundation at sane levels, then jump on this deal before it's gone.

Place the sub in a corner. I would even try it at the back of the room. And keep the x-over setting at around 80Hz. Any higher, and you will be able to localize it. You want that shuddering effect, but not be able to tell where it's coming from.

Any RCA cable will work. Stereo inputs or mono, it's all the same. It's a line level input.

Many respectable sub mfg's use down-firing woofers. SVS is one that comes to mind, although they do make box type subs, as well. The concern used to be that gravity would eventually pull the woofer down. Apparently, this has been addressed and solved.

Hope this helps, and, good luck!

You could always buy 2 if one isnt enough. and place at different ends of the room

You could always buy 2 if one isnt enough. and place at different ends of the room

+1 :yes:

HSU Research makes some killer subs at great prices if you want to poke around.

Hi Punman.

My only concern about the KEF is that the 3dB FR goes down to only 30Hz. For realy visceral LFE movie effects, I like to gat down to at least 25Hz.

For my home theater, I use 2 Sony PSW 2500s (same model # as the KEF). The Sony is a 10" x 100w sub that gets down to 28Hz. They cost only $100 each. I have them stacked and ther sound belies their cheap price. They do shake my couch. :grnbounce

Mike

HSU Research makes some killer subs at great prices if you want to poke around.

Ditto.

I just picked up the KEF PSW2500 ten inch subwoofer. They had it hooked up to a system with other KEFs and it sound decent enough to my ears. A Soundstage 12 inch and a JBL 10 inch in the same price range were options too, but did not blow me away.
If the KEF subwoofer was not on sale (reg. $800 Canadian or $640 U.S.) I would not have bought it as there are better $800 subs out there; plus $800 was out of my price range. For the $400 I spent ($320 U.S.) I feel I should be happy. The store is good too, as they have a decent "try it and return" policy so I can give a few good days of testing.

I suspect you're very happy with this sub, yes?

I have two 10" subs, but not because the output of one was not enough (there were other reasons).

For most folks, a single 10" sub and response down to ~30Hz is plenty.

But let's hear about your experience with the Kef in your own home.