Paradigm PS-1200 No Longer Working

[Estrong1]

Hello all, I am new to Audioholics and I have a few questions. I recently acquired an old PS-1200 Subwoofer from a friend and when I plugged it in the "Auto On" light did not turn on and I am not hearing any sound. I went ahead and took off the back panel to see if there was anything out of place or that looked broken, but I have extremely limited knowledge about any of this. Any Suggestions?

I've included pictures that may help.

Thanks.

 

[rojo]

Is there a Paradigm dealer nearby? There's one near me, and they can often repair fried electronics. If it can't be repaired, they could probably get you a replacement amp from Paradigm for less than the cost of replacing the whole sub. There's probably some sort of proprietary DSP, so using an aftermarket Bash amp or similar would most likely not sound as good as the original, even if you found one with the same physical dimensions. If nothing else, we can help you find a worthwhile new sub if you wish.

 

[Estrong1]

Thanks for the reply rojo, the closest dealer to me is over 90 miles away 180 round trip so I don't think it would really be worth it. Where else would be a good place to find a replacement amp?

 

[lovinthehd]

You can try the plate amp selection at parts-express.com or perhaps consider an external amp at this point, they have those as well.

 

[Estrong1]

You can try the plate amp selection at parts-express.com or perhaps consider an external amp at this point, they have those as well.

If I went for an external amp, what should I look for, or what would you recommend?

 

[lovinthehd]

How noisy can the amp be where you would use it? Do you have an eq device such as a miniDSP?

Behringer's iNuke DSP series amps are popular with some diyers for ported subs particularly with the ability to set a protective HPF, but the fans tend to be fairly noisy and mods can be problematic. I use Crown XLS Drivecore amps as sub amps but with sealed subs as well as the aid of outside eq (both miniDSP as well as that my avr with Audyssey SubEQ/XT32 provides); the fans are very quiet with these and when gen1 was being cleared out the prices were excellent but the onboard dsp they have is only suitable for crossovers, not protecting drivers below tuning in a ported sub.

The Dayton rack sub amps might be worth a look, not sure what dsp they offer.

 

[Estrong1]

How noisy can the amp be where you would use it? Do you have an eq device such as a miniDSP?

Behringer's iNuke DSP series amps are popular with some diyers for ported subs particularly with the ability to set a protective HPF, but the fans tend to be fairly noisy and mods can be problematic. I use Crown XLS Drivecore amps as sub amps but with sealed subs as well as the aid of outside eq (both miniDSP as well as that my avr with Audyssey SubEQ/XT32 provides); the fans are very quiet with these and when gen1 was being cleared out the prices were excellent but the onboard dsp they have is only suitable for crossovers, not protecting drivers below tuning in a ported sub.

The Dayton rack sub amps might be worth a look, not sure what dsp they offer.

For noise the louder the better, I don't have any eq devices. My goal here is to be able to plug the sub into my PC nothing fancy.

 

[Estrong1]

I've gone ahead and taken off the base and it looks like the Subwoofer is fine.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah far more often the amp will fail before the driver. By louder I mean fan noise.

 

[Estrong1]

Yeah far more often the amp will fail before the driver. By louder I mean fan noise.

Oh ok, that wouldn't bother me, it sounds stupid but I plan to actually wear headphones with the subwoofer. Just love the feeling of the bass.

 

[lovinthehd]

Oh ok, that wouldn't bother me, it sounds stupid but I plan to actually wear headphones with the subwoofer. Just love the feeling of the bass.

I don't see that as a particularly bad way to go....not a headphone guy, tho. Do you use it nearfield to maximize the tactile feel?

 

[Estrong1]

Yeah it adds a whole new depth to movies, music and gaming.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah it adds a whole new depth to movies, music and gaming.

Yeah, I have an 18" sub sitting right in back of my seat and a tactile transducer mounted in it....the other subs are further away

 

[TLS Guy]

Did you check the fuses?

I have looked into that sub which was produced about 20 years ago.

They had a poor reputation because they were boomy.

The reason for that is simple. They are a coupled cavity design with a bandwidth of two and a half octaves.

Unfortunately is is a function of those subs that you have a design choice you can't escape. You have to choose between bandwidth and Q, which is resonance. A coupled cavity sub with that kind of bandwidth will be high Q and be a dreadful boomer.

A bandwidth of 1.5 octaves usually gets you a Q arounf 0.7. I really tight design makes the unit only acceptable for filling out the very lower end of an already capable speakers.

I would not advise expending resources on that sub.

 

[Estrong1]

Did you check the fuses?

I have looked into that sub which was produced about 20 years ago.

They had a poor reputation because they were boomy.

The reason for that is simple. They are a coupled cavity design with a bandwidth of two and a half octaves.

Unfortunately is is a function of those subs that you have a design choice you can't escape. You have to choose between bandwidth and Q, which is resonance. A coupled cavity sub with that kind of bandwidth will be high Q and be a dreadful boomer.

A bandwidth of 1.5 octaves usually gets you a Q arounf 0.7. I really tight design makes the unit only acceptable for filling out the very lower end of an already capable speakers.

I would not advise expending resources on that sub.

Thanks for the reply TLS Guy, I took a look at the fuse and it looks perfect, only saw one though. Even just taking out the woofer and hooking it up by itself?

 

[Sheep]

You should be able to find a decent used sub, one that can school that old paradigm unit. I see lots of those on craigslist and they are worth roughly $150 dollars maximum.

SheepStar

 

[lovinthehd]

Nice thing about an external amp is you can then build yourself a good subwoofer and use the amp with it I don't know anything about the sub you have currently as far as quality/value....