DescentBB

I'm looking for a subwoofer for home theater and music listening.

For home theater I have a set of Bose satellites and for music I have an inexpensive pair of Boston Acoustics bookshelves. Both will have to be upgraded eventually, but my immediate problem right now is the awful Bose "bass module" which puts out almost no sound since it's passive.

I'm looking for a subwoofer
- for a medium-sized room
- that's got more punch than rumble
- isn't too big
- probably with an 8" cone
- is forward-firing
- has farily high freq. response to help my satellites/bookshelves
- is between $200 and $300

I'm currently eyeing the following models:

Velodyne CHT-8
PSB Alpha SubZero i 8"
Paradigm PDR-8
Polk PSW303

I've heard bad things about:

Cerwin Vega
KLH

Any reviews, positive or negative, on the above are welcome. Any additional suggestions are as well. Please keep in mind I'm in the audiophile market (although the low end of it), not the PC market. I don't listen to music or theater loud, but I do like it to at least have a full sound.

Velodyne gets my vote.

I use the Mirage OM200 for my home theater system. It's a bit more expensive than your posted price range, but Mirage has some other subs that are a bit cheaper in price.

http://www.miragespeakers.com/om200.shtml

That OM-200 is a beauty, I just read a review of it. As you suspect, however, it's outta my price range for this round of upgrades.

I just ordered the Velodyne. I'm looking forward to actually hearing some bass for a change!

What did you hear bad about Cerwin Vega? I have them, and would like to see if my speakers have said problem(s).

Actually the negatives I heard about CV's were about their subwoofers, not their speakers. I've always thought CV speakers were darn good. I just think that CV's subwoofers don't compete with those that are made by companies that specialize in subs.

x2 on the Velodyne. My homey has one and it's nice and punchy.