Subwoofer solution?

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Once upon a time I had a good quality budget HiFi...but that was a long time ago! I recently forked out on a new Amplifier in the hope that I could afford some B&W 704 spkrs before too long......but it's taking too long to save enough to buy them! So, with the core of my system being an Arcam A80 amp, and Arcam Alpha 5 CD player and, wait for it, Celestion Ditton 15 spkrs I hit on the idea of a subwoofer to bridge the wait for some B&W 704's or whatever they are by the time that I can afford them? Yes, I know that new spkrs would be better but unless you are my Bank Manager, keep that to yourself!

The Celestions sound a whole lot clearer driven by the A80 but have lost all the Bass that I enjoyed with my aging Sony Tuner/amp. I run my TV through the system and there's plenty of bass on that.... but hardly HiFi!

So what budget Sub could I get to work with this amp and how would I connect it? Don't get too technical now or I may doze off!
 

gregory

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hello john,why not have a demo of a different make of speaker.i used to have arcam gear and though not the deepest bass around its not that short in the bass department.by adding a sub you will just be masking the sound you already have. epos are nice with arcam gear and the kef iq5 are quite deep.the dittons are a good speaker and not that short in the bass,how about a change of interconnect or speaker cable.i do not hold with expensive cables but relise that some makes can affect the sound somewhat,bassier,brighter, etc, also just my opinion but i don't hold with subs either if there is bass there's bass and if not theres not,i think it is artificial.other members may disagree and even point you in thre right direction but i'm sure your local dealer can help.good luck,gregory.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks Gregory, but I've waited a long time to get some really good spkrs and loved the B&W's when they were demonstrated, with some competitors, using my A80. I would rather use a non too ideal short term solution, so that I can bear listening to my system in the short term, and then buy the B&W's in a year or two's time.
 

gregory

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fair enough john they must be nice speakers but how much are you proposing to spend on a sub,£500.00 is about the limit i would think for a decent one and will it be up to the task of working with the b&w's,unless you plan to sell it on when you get your hands on the b&w's.just wondering if you can find some ex dem models for a fair price on the net.
 
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Anonymous

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Velodine are making some cracking small subs. But how would you connect it. Is there a tape loop line out you could use on your amp? I doubt there's a specific Sub out.
 

Anton90125

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It been a long time since I had subwoofers (2x Audio Pro B2-40 s in the mid 90's). My current speakers dont need them. I have though in the past been impressed with the Rel range. What is the opinion of the forum members of Rel subwoohers. There are always units on sale on ebay.
 
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Anonymous

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They sold an absolute shed load of them. For years they were the mid range subs of choice, so nothing sinister!
 
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Anonymous

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Does anyone know the MJ Acoustics Pro 50 Mk2 sub? Looks like a real possibility. My local dealer recommended Rell because it has a bare wire connector which can go back direct to the amp. He was serving 3 people at once so I didn't get all the detail I wanted (but then I wasn't buying!) and eventually meandered out the door!

The Rell's are expensive, bearing in mind this is a 1 or 2 year stop gap, and the Pro 50 is cheap at £299. The Pro 50 seems to have the same connector at the top of the rear panel, but this is where I disappear into the mud of wiring rules!

I'm hoping that I only need one and can connect to the Speaker 2 outputs on the amp?

Come on, I bet one of you knows how to do it and can explain it to me in words of one syllable??
 
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Anonymous

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I added the MJ Acoustics Ref 100 to my system* just a few weeks ago and it really has added the bass that was a bit weak and has lifted the whole sound. Found it on Ebay for under £250.

*Arcam CD92 Cd Player; Arcam A75+ Amp; Linn Katan Speakers; Linn LP12 Sondeck.

However if your thinking of some 'cheap' speakers to fill in for a while...

I went to the Home Entertainment show in Manchester this weekend and was very impressed with the B&W 686 speakers - for £280 they sounded incredable with pretty good bass which stayed controlled even when pushed to high volume. My first reaction was that it must be driven by some fancy expensive CD player and Amp but they were both Nad - total system included speaker stands under £1000 - a bargain!!!

Brian
 

Thaiman

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I am joining in a bit late in the thread but the only time I ever used sub for music system was because of I had too much bass!
 

Anton90125

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I used my pair of AudioPro's with a pair of Linn Kans followed by Roger LS6, followed by Celestion SL600, followed by Sonas Faber Electa. My Glastoburys didn't need them.

I found with every speaker (excuding the Glastoburys) that the sound was better with the pair of subwoofers then a single despite bass being mono. Maybe the act of keeping the channels as seperate as possible ( not having the L & R going through one active crosover prior to being mono'd for the sub woofer amp) must have made a difference.

I remember I used to show them off using The Planets Suite By Holst conducted by Charles Dutoit. I think it was "The Mystic" which had a wicked very deep bass from an organ.

From what I remember of using a bass bin, by diverting the extream bass away from your primary speaker allowed it to perform more efficiently. Having a cleaner mid band with no bass over hang creeping in. My Glastoburys were the first speaker that the AudioPro had little positive effect.
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Will Harris"]Velodine are making some cracking small subs. But how would you connect it. Is there a tape loop line out you could use on your amp? I doubt there's a specific Sub out.[/quote]

It's simple. You just use the high level inputs straight from the speakers. The record out doesn't vary with the volume so obviously can't be used for a sub.

I use this one. It's a cracker and less that £300 delivered. Thunderous. Scroll down and check out the in room frequency response.

http://www.avtalk.co.uk/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=20039&start=0&rid=0&SQ=0

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XLS200-DF.htm#order
 
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Anonymous

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The XLS200's look good! Your technical data passed over my head!! But reading the Manual it looks as though I would be using the High Level connection to my Arcam A80 amp. My 8 ohm Celestion spkrs are connected using the Spkr 1 connectors. Would I use these for the sub as well or would I be better using the Spkr 2 connectors which are currently unused? Does it matter that my Celestions are 8 ohm and the sub is 4 ohm?
 
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Anonymous

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I emailed BK the same questions last night and received their reply at 08.50 today.Wow!

All seems ok and I should use the same Spkr 1 output................. I feel an order coming on!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="johndriver"]
The XLS200's look good! Your technical data passed over my head!! But reading the Manual it looks as though I would be using the High Level connection to my Arcam A80 amp. My 8 ohm Celestion spkrs are connected using the Spkr 1 connectors. Would I use these for the sub as well or would I be better using the Spkr 2 connectors which are currently unused? Does it matter that my Celestions are 8 ohm and the sub is 4 ohm?
[/quote]

You can use whatever method of connection is easier, both will work the same. The impedance of the sub's speaker is irrelevant because it's connected to its own internal amplifier. I don't really know why they bother to mention it in the spec.
 
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Anonymous

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I use this one. It's a cracker and less that £300 delivered. Thunderous. Scroll down and check out the in room frequency response.
Hi Zoot,
How does this sub measure against the MJ Acoustics ref100 & Velodyne 800i ?
Gents,
Does the fact that the 800i having 1000w make a difference?
Regards
Danny
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Saund77"]
I use this one. It's a cracker and less that £300 delivered. Thunderous. Scroll down and check out the in room frequency response.

Hi Zoot,

How does this sub measure against the MJ Acoustics ref100 & Velodyne 800i ?

Gents,

Does the fact that the 800i having 1000w make a difference?

Regards

Danny
[/quote]

They look good too, but are more expensive due to dealer mark up. For that sort of money you might as well, providing you have the room, buy the BK Monolith which would completely blow them all away. The Velo needs the extra power primarily to compensate for its size.

http://www.avtalk.co.uk/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=18347&start=0&rid=0&SQ=0
 
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Anonymous

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Well that's it then! One XLS200 in Cherry ordered and paid for......... watch this space!!

Thanks for all the comments guys. I will report later.
 

Robert Daniels

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I have a similar problem with my aged active Linn Kaber speakers, run from a Linn sondek system including LK1 pre-amp and 3 LK280 amps. When I bought them new many moons ago they sounded great, but time and speaker technology has moved on... Having retrieved them from storage and set up again I still love the sound of the treble and mid-range but the bass output, never strong, now sounds frankly feeble or even non-existent in this digital age.

I know you folks are going to say get some new speakers, but I don't want to dump the Kabers if I can get something which will provide a bit more muscle without unbalancing or masking what they still have to offer in the higher frequencies.

Any ideas, or is this a lost cause? I mainly use this system to play my old vinyl plus some CDs and my ipod occasionally, although I have decided that my old analogue system isn't too keen on the digital format! I don't want to spend too much in case it doesn't work out and I am left with a superfluous woofer (although I do have a pair of Kans in the basement which might benefit...).

The other problem is the pecular plug connections for the LK1 and LK 2080s which Linn probably thought seemed like a good idea at the time but are so unique I can't believe are still used any more (although someone out there may know different). It cost me £20 to get a lead made up to plug in connect my ipod!
 

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