How do I add a sub to active speakers?

John_Dius

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Greetings Everyone,
To keep it short and sweet. I own a pair of Fluance ai40s, they’re an active set of bookshelf speakers. 2-way with a 5.25” woofer and a 1” soft dome. Since they aren’t the ai60s they dont have a sub out. Which after hearing you weren’t able to create a crossover I went with the 40s (plus they fit perfect in my situation). My question though is how am I able to add a sub to my system and “create” a crossover 1. Removing some of the heft off the woofers when dealing with low frequencies. 2. So I wont have to feel concerned about watching movies which may have intense bass. And also adding some bass.
Do I need to add a dac and dsp to my system? A preamp? And is it possible for the subwoofer to be active aswell. I looking to not spend too much on gear, I enjoy finding excellent components that are “budget” (owning a pair of tin t2’s).

Also my listening room isn’t the largest. I believe it’s about 10x10. So an 8” subwoofer would do me just fine with some tuning

If anyone can help that would be excellent, there may be another thread that may have an answer but I haven’t been able to understand if there’s a clear straight forward method I can use.
 

jonathanRD

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You need a couple of splitters on the inputs of the speakers to feed the sub. An active sub has a built in crossover..
Unless I am missing something, this won't affect the signal to the 40's though, they will still get the full frequency range.
The OP has not said what equipment is feeding the powered speakers.

@John_Dius what are you using to feed the 40's?
 

TrevC

Well-known member
Unless I am missing something, this won't affect the signal to the 40's though, they will still get the full frequency range.
The OP has not said what equipment is feeding the powered speakers.

@John_Dius what are you using to feed the 40's?
On a hifi setup it's normal to have the full frequency range sent to the main speakers. You set the sub to fill in where the bass rolls off on the main speakers. Some sort of preamplifier must be feeding them. What else?

I recommend one of these is used. DSP.
 
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jonathanRD

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On a hifi setup it's normal to have the full frequency range sent to the main speakers. You set the sub to fill in where the bass rolls off on the main speakers. Some sort of preamplifier must be feeding them. What else?

I recommend one of these is used. DSP.
Maybe I could have explained better, but I just wanted to tease out this point for the OP's understanding, as he was mentioning crossovers.
 

John_Dius

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On a hifi setup it's normal to have the full frequency range sent to the main speakers. You set the sub to fill in where the bass rolls off on the main speakers. Some sort of preamplifier must be feeding them. What else?

I recommend one of these is used. DSP.

Oh okay, I didn't know about that. I thought normallyyou would want to find a crossover frequency, around 75-80hz that you can cutnoff for your main speakers to your subwoofer. My only concern is the 40’s will play down to 40hz, so I dont want them trying to do that, and then trying to mid range. I would rather the subwoofer deal with 80hz and below and the speakers deal with 80hz and above. And then set a slope for smooth transition, which is probably why I would need a dsp.

Also to answer the question of the other user on this thread. It depends on the occasion. If I’m merely doing stuff in my room, it’s nice to just have a bluetooth connection. However when I’m really concentrating on the music I use spotify from my computer, wired to the speakers. The computer I have has an upgraded soundcard inside of it. But I’m wanted to get a standalone one for when I wish to watch movies and shows.

^another question I have is if I get a dac/amp. With that mess up the speakers if I connect it to them. Since they’re self powered?
 

TrevC

Well-known member
If your speakers go down to 40hz there’s little point in adding a small sub because small subs don’t go very deep. IMO. You could add a USB DAC and control it from the computer, but you don’t need an amp with a DAC because your amplification happens in the speakers.
 

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