Finding the right Subwoofer

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think I may go for it with an SVS sub purely for their return policy and free shipping. That way I can really hear what a sub of this power sounds like in my room. Looked further into them and from reviews it seems the SB-1000 is more suited for music than the PB-1000... any thoughts on this or should I go ahead and order the pb1000?

Best to call SVS and ask for advice. They should know their subs better than everyone else
Imo SB1000 might be great for music in smaller rooms, but pb1000 packs more punch and it's as "musical" as sb1000

 

[JohnnyM22]

Ordered the pb1000 should be here sometime next week. Pretty psyched . Only question I have now is how exactly will I connect it to my Rotel 1062? Right and left Pre-Outs with RCA to the right and left inputs on the pb1000? Or can I just use a single RCA cable like this http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3795?

 

[JohnnyM22]

Ordered the PB1000 and it should be here sometime next week. I'm pumped. Hopefully it will serve my needs musically and movie-wise. Not sure what I should set the low pass filter to or the phase to but I'll play with it. I plan to put it in the corner of my room with the most wall space next to it.

 

[JohnnyM22]

K so been a while since I posted. I got my PB 1000 late last week and I've been rearranging speakers, testing, etc since then. I got my speakers on stands and relocated them which has made a significant improvement in the sound. I can't really tell if I like the PB1000 or not, on some songs it sounds great, others just alright, which too me is a sign that maybe 500$ isn't worth it on something that leaves me wanting. The most impressive thing about it is bass depth and the clarity at these levels (hip hop/rap sounds the best) .. but for some reason it just doesn't blend nicely with my speakers like I had hoped (I've played with the low pass filter alot). Maybe its a little lagged behind them (maybe this can be fixed with wiring I dunno) or maybe what I really need is to spend my money on some quality speakers that have more punch. I'm stuck with this hifi 2 channel Rotel so I'm guessing my best bet is to invest in some real nice speakers and set them up correctly. Or maybe trade it for an SB1000 if that is tighter and blends better with my speakers. Or maybe just go for the VTF2.. Any advice appreciated

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Did you configure the crossover, did you crawled for bass etc... ? You mentioned your "receiver" ? (2 chan rotel) - I assume it doesn't have bass management.
If you have a sub then you should not send full-range signal to speakers. At-least get a hi-pass fmod adapter
FMOD Crossover Pair 100 Hz High Pass 266-274
This greatly will help integrating the system

 

[JohnnyM22]

The Rotel ra 1062 has a 'Contour' control which has 5 settings and I frequently keep it on the LH setting (thats the sound I like) which is 2x boosted bass and 1x boosted treble. I don't know what the actually frequencies it boosts at are and how much but its probably in the specs. The High pass thing sounds like it might help possibly but the issue of the sub sounding like its slow or behind the speakers might still be a problem. Maybe I need a better cable (have like an 18' Monster cable) or just a better sub like the VTF2

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Johnny, I think you need a bit of education first.
Subwoofer Setup and Calibration for Best Bass | Audioholics
PB1000 is an excellent sub.
Cables has nothing to do with it.
Your Rotel is an Integrated Amplifier - it's not designed to be used with subwoofer, therefor you need to take few extra steps to integrate it properly, like getting the FMOD to stop bass from going into the speakers.
"Contour" has nothing to do with bass management - it's simply an EQ function, literally to shape or "contour" the sound the way you like it or to fix some room issue in some cases. but this is not exact instrument at all.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

you could also feed your source to sub line level inputs and then connect line level outputs to your Rotel amp inputs. Sub will do the crossover in that case.
I would recommend setting the crossover at 90-100Hz

 

[shadyJ]

The PB1000 already has 80 Hz high passed outputs. My advice would be to try different placements. Try the sub right next to your listening position, try it next to a wall, up front, in back. Subwoofer placement makes a huge difference in sound.

 

[JohnnyM22]

Thanks for the responses. Yea I probably do need some education thats why Im on here lol. Since I dont have an FMOD currently, I might try connecting my source (ipod) to the sub inputs and then I guess I run it from the line level out with both right and lefts to one of the inputs on the amp? Im confused though, wouldn't the fliter on the sub just filter everything above the cutoff if i put it on any setting other than LFE?

As for placement, is it possible to put a sub on its side instead of upright? Then it would fit right at center under my setup.

 

[JohnnyM22]

Again I have little experience with this but, my Rotel is rated at only 60 watts per channel (2) (this is pretty conservative since I usually only turn the volume to 1/3 before it gets very loud) vs the PB at 300watts, what does this do to the sound if anything? Would wiring the source through the sub first be dangerous for the amp?

 

[shadyJ]

It wouldn't be dangerous for the amp. It would simply save the amp the trouble of trying to reproduce lower frequency signals. It will probably free up a lot of headroom for the amp because so much amplitude is spent on bass.

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks for the responses. Yea I probably do need some education thats why Im on here lol. Since I dont have an FMOD currently, I might try connecting my source (ipod) to the sub inputs and then I guess I run it from the line level out with both right and lefts to one of the inputs on the amp? Im confused though, wouldn't the fliter on the sub just filter everything above the cutoff if i put it on any setting other than LFE?

As for placement, is it possible to put a sub on its side instead of upright? Then it would fit right at center under my setup.

Setting the sub on it's side won't hurt it or affect its performance. The RCA outs on the sub filters out bass below 80 Hz, according to SVS.

 

[JohnnyM22]

OK so connected it up like you said. I can only turn the sub to about 1/3 volume now or I'm afraid to damage it lol. So if i get this right its only sending frequencies higher than 80Hz to the amp now? And I can still adjust the low pass on the sub to blend better with my speakers i guess. Not sure where to set this maybe just preference?

 

[JohnnyM22]

Ok yea so i set the low pass on the sub to around 80 Hz and so far I definitely like the way its blending better. Improvement for sure.. gunna keep listening

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Next stage is to get SPL meter and adjust Sub and speakers to same level - typically 75db. You'd need a laptop with REW Software (free) or find pink level sound files which you could u/l to your ipod
REW - Room EQ Wizard Room Acoustics Software

 

[JohnnyM22]

I actually really like to be able to adjust them independently but yea I might look into that. Huge Huge difference though from that change, all my music sounds like music again. lol Thanks for all the help

 

[JohnnyM22]

Alright so this is a less technical question haha but how loud do you think I can turn this thing? Anyone have one of these personally? As I said I can only get it to around 1/3 volume before I think I might damage it. Any warning signs that a sub is being pushed too hard?

 

[JohnnyM22]

Realizing my music sounds so much better as a whole that I don't even crave the loud bass haha. I played with my speaker positioning more and the balance on my amp and the atmosphere is amazing.

 

[ARES24]

Alright so this is a less technical question haha but how loud do you think I can turn this thing? Anyone have one of these personally? As I said I can only get it to around 1/3 volume before I think I might damage it. Any warning signs that a sub is being pushed too hard?

The easiest way to tell if a sub is starting to be pushed to hard is if it starts to sound bad. That sub shouldn't have any problems hurting itself, especially at the levels you are talking about.