Sub Amp failing - Repair or Replace with..........?

[Silver Smudger]

I have a Paradigm PDR 10 active sub-woofer, which was not new when I got it and is getting long in the tooth. It has developed a fault where it produces an alarming popping-thud noise at random but long intervals (took some time to pin down the source of the noise, as it sounds just like something being dropped in the room above!).

The unit is on its second amplifier, the first one just started blowing its internal fuse 15 months ago and I found a used amp on ebay which has lasted till now. I still have the old amp.

I now need to either find a longer-lasting repair solution, or buy a replacement - New or used.

So - Has anyone got a recommendation for a suitable repairer in London / Kent / East Sussex area, and any idea how much is it going to cost me?

Or - If repair is going to be much more than £150, what else is available as a replacement?

I have seen a B&W ASW 1000 and a Mordaunt-Short 309W, either of which look like a reasonable second-hand bargain - What else is there that I may not have heard of that will happily step into the Paradigm's shoes? Anything worth looking at brand-new for up to £250-ish?

I have an Onkyo TX-SR605 amp (single co-axial output for sub) driving Mission floor-standers and bookshelf rears for 5.1 surround - My set-up is used for watching Bluray movies on the projector, and listening in 2.1 stereo to music CDs, I am happy with the sound but wouldn't mind a little bit more 'thump' on action movies as long as playback of proper music does not suffer - The room is nearly 20 square metres, with no adjoining neighbours!

Where should I spend my money?

[Crackie]

I'd go S/H from one of the bass 'specialists'. S/H Velodynes, RELs or Miller & Kreisels are all available below £200. Far more RELs about though.

REL ~ Ebay

Edited by Crackie on Saturday 16th June 21:08

[OldSkoolRS]

I've posted similar before (so hop enot to come across as too much of a fan boy), but you can buy direct from a British manufacturer (who also supplies OEM to some of the bigger names). Your budget should cover a Gemini or stretch a little to an XLS200:

http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers.htm

Or if you're lucky a used one (or other make) might come up on AVforum's classifieds:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-c...

[Silver Smudger]

OldSkoolRS said:

I've posted similar before (so hop enot to come across as too much of a fan boy), but you can buy direct from a British manufacturer (who also supplies OEM to some of the bigger names). Your budget should cover a Gemini or stretch a little to an XLS200:

http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers.htm

I saw those advertised on ebay, but had never heard of them so wasn't sure - Will look into those, thanks

[clived]

I had a similar issue with my Rel Strata III. Out of warranty, REL repaired for free "as it should not have failed". Worth asking...

[shocks]

Silver Smudger said:

I saw those advertised on ebay, but had never heard of them so wasn't sure - Will look into those, thanks

Can't see past them myself, had KEF till I found these a few years back. Have both Monolith DF and XLS. They really are quite good. AVforum's led me to them when looking to replace the KEF, went with the XLS first time round.

[IforB]

I'd second the BK subs. For the money, there's little to touch them.

[heisthegaffer]

Another one for BK here. Got a Gemini 2 in March and it is superb. Controlled with music yet punchy for movies (it has a filter for both music and movies so you get the best of both worlds.).

Recently watched some Band of Brothers where there was a scene in a forest, a gun shot was heard in the distance so was not particularly loud but I could feel the pressure of the shot so it's great for subtlety too.

[Silver Smudger]

Well you, and many other reviews on the net, won me over and I bought an XLS200 - Thanks to all who recommended one - I have to agree with all that was said - Very happy with the sound (and amazed by its performance as it is only about two-thirds the size of the Paradigm!)

Crisp and flexible enough on music with just enough thump for movie effects - Exactly what I asked for. It was even available in a colour that matches our furniture, so Mrs Smudger approves too!

[IforB]

Good stuff.