Connecting two subwoofers

M

mvp

Junior Audioholic
Hi, I have a Bose acousticmass 15 series 11. Right now it is blowing fuses and will not work but I will be sending it to Bose to repair it. My question is can you connect a Bose CineMate 15 subwoofer model 415488 to the Acousticmass 15 via a splitter on the line from the receiver to the subwoofer? Or can I connect it another way? I was hoping to boost my bass by doing this. What do you all think? Have any of you tried this before? Did it work? Thanks!!
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
If the bose bass module is connected by a typical subwoofer pre-out from the receiver, you can typically split that signal no problem to multiple subs. Curious, is Bose repairing that under warranty or are they charging you for it, and if the latter, how much?
 
M

mvp

Junior Audioholic
This would not be repaired under warranty. They are charging $140 plus tax to repair it. You have to ship it to their repair facility. It takes about 10 days of shipping, 3-4 weeks to repair, and about 10 days of shipping back to you. I am debating now whether to pay the money to repair or to buy a new 5.1 system. My Bose acousticmass 15 series 11 is about 15 years old now. I am wondering if I fix this, will something else break after that. Plus others are telling me to buy a new subwoofer with more base. My Acousticmass 15 had three 5.25" subwoofers and 400 W of power. What do you think?
 
M

mvp

Junior Audioholic
If the bose bass module is connected by a typical subwoofer pre-out from the receiver, you can typically split that signal no problem to multiple subs. Curious, is Bose repairing that under warranty or are they charging you for it, and if the latter, how much?
BTW, Bose tech support said that you couldn't do it. I asked them why not and they didn't have a good response. They said I could connect another bose subwoofer if the receiver had a second channel for it to hook into. But I asked about putting a splinter in the line from the receiver to the subwoofer, they didn't know why but said you couldn't do it.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I'd say now is a good time to update and get better speakers and a real sub. :) That repair cost isn't too horrible, but I wouldn't pay that much for a new Bose anything myself. 5.25" drivers are extremely small in subwoofer world, just not typically what's used and the wattage of the amp doesn't mean much without other pertinent information they simply don't provide with their speakers/bass modules (and they vigorously go after people with litigation who want to measure/publish tests of their gear). I'd go no less than a 10" and would generally look only at 12" or 15" subs. How big a room do you have? How much can you spend?

Do those units you have now use some proprietary connectors (typical of Bose) or rca cords? Are they fed by the receiver's sub pre-out or ? If an rca cord it's fairly easy to split the signal. Wouldn't surprise me this is beyond a customer service person at Bose in any case....
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I'd say now is a good time to update and get better speakers and a real sub. :) That repair cost isn't too horrible, but I wouldn't pay that much for a new Bose anything myself. 5.25" drivers are extremely small in subwoofer world, just not typically what's used and the wattage of the amp doesn't mean much without other pertinent information they simply don't provide with their speakers/bass modules (and they vigorously go after people with litigation who want to measure/publish tests of their gear). I'd go no less than a 10" and would generally look only at 12" or 15" subs. How big a room do you have? How much can you spend?

Do those units you have now use some proprietary connectors (typical of Bose) or rca cords? Are they fed by the receiver's sub pre-out or ? If an rca cord it's fairly easy to split the signal. Wouldn't surprise me this is beyond a customer service person at Bose in any case....
Agreed. Good time to get into a big boy system. Of course a big factor is how much it matters overall, and what kind of budget there is.
 
M

mvp

Junior Audioholic
I'd say now is a good time to update and get better speakers and a real sub. :) That repair cost isn't too horrible, but I wouldn't pay that much for a new Bose anything myself. 5.25" drivers are extremely small in subwoofer world, just not typically what's used and the wattage of the amp doesn't mean much without other pertinent information they simply don't provide with their speakers/bass modules (and they vigorously go after people with litigation who want to measure/publish tests of their gear). I'd go no less than a 10" and would generally look only at 12" or 15" subs. How big a room do you have? How much can you spend?

Do those units you have now use some proprietary connectors (typical of Bose) or rca cords? Are they fed by the receiver's sub pre-out or ? If an rca cord it's fairly easy to split the signal. Wouldn't surprise me this is beyond a customer service person at Bose in any case....
I was looking at the SVS SB 3000. It is about $1100-$1200. It has a single 13" subwoofer and 800W of power. Some reviews said it had great bass. Have you heard that one? Do you think it is good? If I only need one subwoofer I could get it. If I need two, that might be a bit too pricey for me. The room is about 560 square feet. What do you think? Will 1 subwoofer do??
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I was looking at the SVS SB 3000. It is about $1100-$1200. It has a single 13" subwoofer and 800W of power. Some reviews said it had great bass. Have you heard that one? Do you think it is good? If I only need one subwoofer I could get it. If I need two, that might be a bit too pricey for me. The room is about 560 square feet. What do you think? Will 1 subwoofer do??
I'd look at the ported models first, only get a sealed sub if you need the smaller form factor (at SVS SB means sealed, PB ported box, PC ported column). SVS makes very good subs. Auditioning a sub isn't particularly important, especially as your particular room is a great factor (vs some showroom let alone how well the showroom did setup), plus you don't hear subwoofer frequency range like you do a speaker....you can generally go with good test results/specs alone with subs. I've not owned an SVS sub myself, have several others and generally just build my own these days. SVS also has an awesome at-home trial period you can explore.

How subs sound will depend more on your placement, the room and how you integrate the sub (what is your receiver/hardware ?). One sub may work well enough, particularly for just one seat, but room modal issues are generally better addressed by multiple subs. If budget is limited one way is to get one good sub now and save up for another.

Rooms in terms of subs are more about volume than square footage, and whether the room is open to others or sealed to an extent....might try this article on subs vs room size here https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size . If typical 8 ft ceilings, you have a fairly large room there....

Forget about the amp power for now, good subs will have an appropriate amp for their needs generally; without knowing the sensitivity of the system or the impedance characteristics, the wattage of the amp is just not very meaningful.
 
M

mvp

Junior Audioholic
I'd look at the ported models first, only get a sealed sub if you need the smaller form factor (at SVS SB means sealed, PB ported box, PC ported column). SVS makes very good subs. Auditioning a sub isn't particularly important, especially as your particular room is a great factor (vs some showroom let alone how well the showroom did setup), plus you don't hear subwoofer frequency range like you do a speaker....you can generally go with good test results/specs alone with subs. I've not owned an SVS sub myself, have several others and generally just build my own these days. SVS also has an awesome at-home trial period you can explore.

How subs sound will depend more on your placement, the room and how you integrate the sub (what is your receiver/hardware ?). One sub may work well enough, particularly for just one seat, but room modal issues are generally better addressed by multiple subs. If budget is limited one way is to get one good sub now and save up for another.

Rooms in terms of subs are more about volume than square footage, and whether the room is open to others or sealed to an extent....might try this article on subs vs room size here https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size . If typical 8 ft ceilings, you have a fairly large room there....

Forget about the amp power for now, good subs will have an appropriate amp for their needs generally; without knowing the sensitivity of the system or the impedance characteristics, the wattage of the amp is just not very meaningful.
Wow! Lots of great information!! I don't know how best to learn quick enough to figure out what I should buy. About the room the ceiling is about 20' high. It is a cathedral ceiling to the second floor and it is open to the open floor, so lots of volume. I wonder if there is an audio expert that I might find to come to the house to help me pick what equipment I need for the room size and be able to setup the equipment so the bass is in the right location in the room???
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Wow! Lots of great information!! I don't know how best to learn quick enough to figure out what I should buy. About the room the ceiling is about 20' high. It is a cathedral ceiling to the second floor and it is open to the open floor, so lots of volume. I wonder if there is an audio expert that I might find to come to the house to help me pick what equipment I need for the room size and be able to setup the equipment so the bass is in the right location in the room???
Yow that's a huge room! I'd first explore what you can do for yourself before hiring some guy who may or may not know what he's doing (there really aren't a lot of them IMO, but not impossible). I'd definitely be considering bigger subs, tho :)
 
G

Golfx

Senior Audioholic
Wow! Lots of great information!! I don't know how best to learn quick enough to figure out what I should buy. About the room the ceiling is about 20' high. It is a cathedral ceiling to the second floor and it is open to the open floor, so lots of volume. I wonder if there is an audio expert that I might find to come to the house to help me pick what equipment I need for the room size and be able to setup the equipment so the bass is in the right location in the room???
The owner of this website @gene does consult work by the hour over the phone for reasonable prices. Once you contact him by Private Message you can connect. There is a lot of information you can get in an hour’s time. He can help you immensely especially in avoiding mistakes and buying the best equipment for your investment.
 

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