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Where are the subs?

In listening to the Bach Toccata and Fugue BMV 565, I was struck by how well the organ pedal notes are reproduced since I moved my primary setup to another room. I complemented myself on a fine job of integrating the Velodyne HGS-10 subs with the KEF Ref 1s, using 40 Hz low-pass with 24 dB/octave. But as I thought about it, I didn’t recall connecting the SMS-1 bass manager to the Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamp. I checked. The subs were not connected. The Ref 1s alone where reproducing that satisfying bass. Amazing for stand mounted monitors. I sure as hell didn’t expect that. To confirm, I played the Saint-Seans 3rd Symphony. Same result. Makes me wonder if I need bother connecting the subs.
dbphd

Showing 1 response by wspohn

wspohn's avatar
wspohn
620 posts
 
My main speakers are 3 dB down at 20 Hz and I really need no bass reinforcement for audio use, but most of today's movies have artificially enhanced bottom end for impact so I use a pair of powered subs (3dB down at 16 Hz)  and cross the mains over at around 80 Hz.  But playing organ music with 16 Hz content and no subs on is no issue with the mains alone.

BTW, everyone should grab a test Cd at least once - the ones where they play increasingly low tones for a few seconds each so you can see whether your speakers are really reproducing the tones or not. Very interesting results in many cases.
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