Will a sub improve my hi fi performance?

[admin_exported]

I have just purchased a pair of Q Acoustics 2010 bookshelf speakers and have noticed that there is less bass compared to the very old Mission 700LE stand mounters that they replaced. This is quite understandable due to much smaller size of the 2010s. Having said that, the 2010s cope very well with my very old Nad 3020 amp (still going strong). I am now considering what to upgrade next. The dilemma is whether to stick with a stereo amp or buy an A/V amp with a sub (i.e. move to a 2.1 system). The TV is in the same room so I could also consider buying a centre speaker for TV watching. I'd be interested in what you would recommend. I have about £500 to spend and realise that it will be difficult to upgrade both music and home cinema for this budget. My main priority is to improve the stereo sound and although I'm less interested in full 5.1 surround sound I'd still like to improve TV/DVD quality at some point if possible. I am considering the Boston Acoustics XS sub and a Sony STR-DH810 amp but not sure whether this sub comes as a separate item. Would the SONY offer an improvement in stereo sound over the NAD?. If I buy a centre speaker (or plan for it in the future), the obvious choice would be the Q Acoustics 2010 centre but again I'd appreciate your advice.

My options seem to be:

Buy a sub and A/V amp to go with the 2010s and set them up as a 2.1 system (mainly for music)

Add a centre speaker to make a 3.1 system (for both music and TV/DVD)

Keep the music and TV systems separate and buy different systems for each

Are these options viable? Would you stick with Q Acoustics for the sub and centre speaker or would you recommend other models?

 

[Timbot]

The NAD should work better for music than most AV amplifiers so if you use it mainly for this, I'd keep the NAD.

Have you considered a sub with a high level input (e.g. BK Electric's XLS200?) wired into your stereo amp?

You could still run the TV through this setup for stereo sound with the sub.

 

[fayeanddavid]

Timbot:
The NAD should work better for music than most AV amplifiers so if you use it mainly for this, I'd keep the NAD.

Have you considered a sub with a high level input (e.g. BK Electric's XLS200?) wired into your stereo amp?

You could still run the TV through this setup for stereo sound with the sub.

+1

 

[Anonymous]

Ok thanks, that's useful as I didn't know my ancient NAD amp could drive a modern sub.

 

[Timbot]

Av receivers tend to have a phono out for subs. Some subs also support a high level input which connects to the speaker terminals. To be honest, I've never tried this so am not best placed to advise but this will work with any amp. Just make sure the sub has a high level input and you should be fine. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience will back this up...!

 

[fayeanddavid]

Timbot:Av receivers tend to have a phono out for subs. Some subs also support a high level input which connects to the speaker terminals. To be honest, I've never tried this so am not best placed to advise but this will work with any amp. Just make sure the sub has a high level input and you should be fine. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience will back this up...!

Yep, quite correct, high level input is required as you describe.