2. speakers
  3. 127605-5284

You were right about adding a sub.

I've had subs around the house, but used them mostly for home theater.

From time to time, some of you have encouraged me to use a sub in my 2 channel setup. Curiosity got the best of me over the Holidays and I hooked up a sub using speaker level connections and used the sub's crossover.

My speakers are Usher 6311 and my Integrated is an Anthem 225.

What a difference it made to not only the bass line, but cutting the lows increased the soundstage, improved detail, etc. I feel like I have new speakers, And the bug to try other speakers is gone.

Thanks for the tip- wish I would have tried it before now! For those of you that are tempted, it may be worth a try, it certainly was is my case. I'm using a Svs Sound Cylinder, fwiw. 

Regards,
gary

uncledemp

Showing 4 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

Gary, the Rythmik F8 (dual 8" woofers) or FM8 (the same, but with a midrange x/o frequency for those wanting not just bass, but also midbass from the sub) at around $850 would be a great choice for your speakers.

As for high-filtering your mains, you could consider the First Watt B-4, a reasonably priced (Reno Hi-Fi sells it for a grand I believe) great sounding active x/o offering incredible flexibility in frequency (every 20Hz up to around 1250Hz iirc) and slope (1st/2nd/3rd/4th order-6/12/18/24dB per octave)! Nelson Pass builds it with discrete components, no IC's or OpAmps.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
A great way to high-pass filter your mains is to install a single capacitor at the input of the power amp (or power amp section of an integrated). The value of the capacitor determines the corner frequency of the filter (3dB down point), and the roll-off rate will be 6dB/octave (1st order). The formula for frequency versus capacitor value can be found on the net, and includes the power amp's input impedance. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

I’ve had a few pretty good subs, including an early HSU (in a cylinder enclosure, similar to your SVS), a KEF B-139 driver (the one Dave Wilson used in his original WAMM) in a transmission-line, and the bass columns of the Infinity RS-1b loudspeaker (six 8" servo-feedback controlled woofers per side) I used to own. I now have a pair of Rythmik F15HP subs (each containing a 15" servo-feedback controlled woofer and 600w amp), as well as the very unique Rythmik Audio/GR Research OB/Dipole sub, which is not for everyone. Rythmik is becoming popular with Maggie owners, they’re that good. I also have a pair of Magneplanar Tympani T-IV’s, which have two 16" x 6’ panels per side just for bass! They produce a very different kind of bass than boxed subs do (leaner, very "percussive". They do drums better than anything else I have ever heard), and were a favorite of Harry Pearson.

If you want to stick with SVS, their SB13 Ultra (13" driver in a sealed enclosure) is a great sub, priced at $1600. SVS has just introduced the SB16 Ultra, so used SB13’s are popping up.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

Relieved of having to reproduce very low frequencies, the loudspeaker is now better able to reproduce the higher ones. One of the benefit of subs! The power amplifier is also relieved of the same duty, leaving far more power with lower distortion for the speakers.

You’ve heard the benefits afforded by an average sub, wait until you hear a great one. No offence intended!

More to discover