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Subwoofers and Crossovers.

My system is Cary DMS-550 / Luxman L-507uxii / Spendor D7.2

 

After researching I decided to add an active crossover and two stereo subs to the system.

 

  1. I am looking at JL Audio CR-1 as the crossover.  This will take the pre-out from the Luxman and feed mains-in and setup the Luxman as separates. Is there anything else that I should look at?  I am only looking at analog solutions.
  2. After looking a REL, Rythmic, SVS, Martin Logan and JL, I am leaning towards getting two JL Dominion D110s.  Would these subs be sufficient or should I be getting JL E110s? I won’t be using the internal crossovers, so primary concern is fidelity.
  3. If I am unable to treat the room properly, I may be introducing a DSP solution just for the subwoofers.

 

I am looking for some advice from people who have walked this path before me on both the active crossover and the quality of D110s. 

I would appreciate any advice on this process of integrating subwoofers into a two channel audio system.

dimbhaka
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 

@mijostyn Thanks for the encouraging words. Also what products are similar to miniDSP up the price ladder? not too high though.

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,501 posts
 

@dimbhaka , From the MiniDSP you get into Digital Preamps like the Anthem STR and the soon to be released DEQX Pre4 and Pre8. The Trinnov Amethyst is another unit that I was considering but the Bass management is not flexible enough for my use. I plan on getting a Pre8 when it is released which is supposed to be within a couple of months. I looks to be the most advanced digital preamp on the market and is ore reasonably priced than the Trinnov. The Anthem is the best value. These units provide comprehensive subwoofer management including room control. They have digital EQ so you can tune your system exactly the way you like it and equalize each individual speaker so both channels have exactly the same frequency response. This is how you get to the best imaging your system is capable of. The Pre8 has a full function 4 way digital crossover so you can tri amp with a subwoofer. But, if it is just a subwoofer crossover you need the MiniDSP will do fine.

dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 

Bought two Rythmik FM8s and a miniDSP SHD; they should be here this Friday. Deciding on the subs was easy, but the analog/digital was more difficult and I am still not 100% convinced that it is the right decision.

Will update this thread on my progress.

m-db's avatar
m-db
969 posts
 

dimbhaka, unless your digitizing the entire bandwidth the difference between the digital processing of the SHD and the analog of the CR-1 on the extra low frequency may be slightly noticeable in a side by side comparison due to the speed of the processing. It’s not going to suck the analog out of the presentation the way most full bandwidth processing can.

I found the JL Audio CR-1 Manual to be quite informative with my subwoofer setup. It dramatically improved the presentation of my Velodyne DD Plus subwoofers using Velodyne’s extensive Manual optimization adjustments and presets. Your in the Mob now, have fun with it.

dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 

@m-db I am not getting the CR-1, so whatever signature the SHD leaves, it will be across the spectrum.

SHD looks very flexible and I am seeing myself setting two crossovers one at around 110/120 for general purpose and one around 170/180 for female vocals; there are four presets in SHD. This would have been almost impossible with CR-1 as a change in crossover frequency means new phase alignment.

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