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Adding Subs to a 2 channel system. Wiring advise

I'm considering adding 2 subs to my existing system. 

Current system is a Innuos Zen Mk3 to a PontusII and Luxman 509X out to a pair of Focal 948's. 

My thinking is that I will run speaker cable out from the Luxman into a pair of PSB 350's then out from the 350's to the Focals, setting the crossover at 80ish, 

Lots of ways to wire in subs, and lots of information and opinions, but IF I'm thinking correctly this wiring method using a pair of subs that have High Level Input and Output allows this type of wiring method to make the most sense in terms of better separation between the subs and the speakers VS wiring them through a Pre-out (Luxman only has one pre-out) 

My question is how much of the Luxman sound character will I lose (if any) by running through the sub and out to the Focals? 

I'm still pretty new at all this, so if I'm wording all of this correctly I would appreciate any advise or feedback. Thanks in advance! 

carzmaguy88
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 

In the 'no free lunch' category, DSP has limitations. You can introduce time/phase delays/inconsistencies.

YMMV.

B

audiorusty
270 posts
 

Hi Mr. 88

To answer or question more directly, my opinion is that the amount of signal degradation you would hear from your mains with the wiring scheme you have stated should be imperceptible. If you do hear a difference from your Focals,  I believe you should be able to connect two pairs of speaker cables to each of the Luxman’s outputs and run one cable to a Focal and one to a sub bypassing the pass through circuitry in the sub.

The bigger issue to me is your selected crossover point. Crossing over at 80 Hz creates a lot of frequency overlap from two separate sources which should result in quite noticeable muddy bass, that I believe would be more than just a little difficult to fix. It is generally recommended in these situations when you are not using a high pass filter, such as a miniDSP in your integration, to set the subs crossover point at approximately the main speakers 6db down point, which in your case would be 31 Hz, which depending on what type of music you listen to, could leave your subs with very little to do.

You might find the below white paper useful.

https://www.soundoctor.com/whitepapers/subs.htm

carzmaguy88 OP
25 posts
 

Thank You very much!! Great Info, and yes indeed I will set the crossover much lower as you said. Your opinion of the SVS 2000 Pro? Thinking a set of these may be the easiest to "tune" with the App. 

audiorusty
270 posts
 

Good Day Mr. 88

I apologize for the slow response. I do not frequent this site much so if you have a future question directed to me, it would be best to pm me.

In my opinion SVS makes a good product at a decent price point. I have two SVS SB4000’s in my system along with a Rythmik and a REL. Whether the SVS 2000 Pro is the best for you will depend on what you listen to and how loud, and to some extent, room size. For example in my case I listen to a lot of bass driven music and I like a strong kick drum, my room is small at 14 x 10 x 9 and I typically drive my mains to 90 db crossed over at 173 Hz. (Subs handle everything below 173 Hz.) Since I like a solid kick and to have it at a balanced or equal sounding level to the mains or maybe even slightly louder I need to drive my subs to 112 db, so even though I have a small room I need large subs.

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