Do's and don't for serious bass

[Adam]

For receivers, the new Onkyos (805 and 875 in particular) have caught my attention. If you haven't looked at them, I'd say check them out before buying. The 805 is out now, and the 875 should be out soon (later this month, I think).

 

[cruiseoveride]

What about speakers?
What do people use with a plus2?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Dont worry about what speakers to mate with the sub these are two different animals. Go audition as many speakers as you can and then get the ones you like the sound of. This is a list of my favorite that I auditioned:
Paradigm studio series
Warefedale Evo series
PSB Image series
KEF IQ series
Monitor Audio RS series
Ascend CMT-340
AV123 Rockets
Aperion Intimus 633

Once you get over the initial awe of your sub will more than likely calibrate it properly to blend in with the rest of your system. Like Nick was saying; the sub should add an extension to your set-up and you should only notice when it's not on.

What about speakers?
What do people use with a plus2?

 

[cruiseoveride]

RMS is not a gimmic to whoever said that, proper RMS and ohm matching is vital.

@Greg Gable. Just noticed your yammy and studio40 combo, How far on the dial would you ever turn your amp up to? Just for me to get an estimate on power balancing on that kind of setup.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

What about speakers?
What do people use with a plus2?

What you'll find is anything.....and everything under the sun.

You don't need a specific brand of speaker to mate with a subwoofer.

 

[cruiseoveride]

The problem is that, the plus2 is REALLY freakin' powerful. Currently my 120RMS floor standing speakers are being drown by it quite easily.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

The problem is that, the plus2 is REALLY freakin' powerful. Currently my 120RMS floor standing speakers are being drown by it quite easily.

That's because your subwoofer gain is turned too high relative to your loudspeakers. Turn your subwoofer gain down until the subwoofer SPL matches your mains. Your mains shouldnt have any problems producing reference sound levels. When they're matched.... you'll be in audio bliss. Only then..... crank the movie to theater reference levels

Keep in mind, even a cheap entry level subwoofer can be turned too loud relative to your mains if you crank the sub-gain too far. The big difference between your SVS and a cheapo...... is performance!! Your sub will hit notes inferior models could never dream of hitting, and the SVS will perform through even the most demanding movie segments without a hiccup or breaking a sweat. Not to mention..... it will do it in a manner quite unlike any inferior models.

Then there are room acoustic issues, but thats an entirely different topic.

PS.... 120rms rated loudspeakers has nothing do do with loudness. Speaker efficiency, on the other hand..... does.

 

[billy p]

Well, it was designed for the extreme audio enthusiast. Keep in mind you could return it and get the the pb12 plus which is plenty good, as well.

 

[cruiseoveride]

Yes i think the SPL meter is a must for this kind of hardware

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Yes i think the SPL meter is a must for this kind of hardware

That's something you can certainly do at some point.....

How high is your sub gain? I have very efficient speakers, and I keep my sub-gain turned to 25-35% for movies. Just remember... every sub can be turned too loud. Just turn the gain knob down until you feel it's not burying everything else.... and you'll probably have it pretty close to the correct setting.

Then..... crank the movie

I can understand why you'd run a subwoofer "HOT" relative to everything else at first, because you want to see what it can do....LOL

Once you set the sub-gain properly, then you can crank the master volume and experience true audio bliss.

 

[j_garcia]

I use bookshelf speakers with my 15" and they have no problem keeping up. All that is really needed is a good calibration.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

My sub gain is set between 1/3 and 1/2. This is what is required to match the rest of my system as calibrated at 75db in a 8000 cubic ft room. It is a perfect blend and for movies I turn up the 60hz range on the sub by 3db.

My set-up will in no way help you decide where to set your gain. Go get a SPL and a cal disc and set your up properly.

RMS is not a gimmic to whoever said that, proper RMS and ohm matching is vital.

@Greg Gable. Just noticed your yammy and studio40 combo, How far on the dial would you ever turn your amp up to? Just for me to get an estimate on power balancing on that kind of setup.

 

[cruiseoveride]

Ok i got the Xover working and now things are really sounding a lot better. No more drowning of main speakers.
But still need some work, i'm thinking of using a set of High level outputs from the amp to the sub's High level input, which i'll then use the sub's Xover to shape the signal. This way i will be able to control the volume from the reciever.

Because at the moment, i have

PC->Mixer->Sub-(X over'ed)->Reciever

Hence the sub input is fixed and cannot adjust it (well i could use the mixer, but thats not practical)

So the new setup would be;

PC->Mixer->Reciever->Sub

Hopefully this will work, I wonder how "high" the high level inputs will handle, cos i have never done this before.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Your gonna tear up something. Go get a SPL and disc and set this thing up properly. Once it is calibrated, you never have to turn it up or down again.

 

[cruiseoveride]

I think you misunderstood, The current setup doesnt allow me to adjust the volume level for the sub, ie the Main speakers are independent.

 

[Davemcc]

You should have one rca cable from the subwoofer output of the reciever into either the L or R input on the SVS. That should cure what ails you. You shouldn't just use any old line level output as a sub input.

 

[cruiseoveride]

The only cross-over capable device I have is the sub, the amp cannot upmix stereo into 2.1 So i'm stil trying to figure out how to get things set up.

 

[Davemcc]

Try running the speaker wires from the reciever to the sub and then from the sub to the speakers. That should give you some element of control.

 

[cruiseoveride]

Thats what i was thinking of doing, but not sure how high the high level inputs are allowed to go, there is no mention of it in the manual

 

[ski2xblack]

Thats what i was thinking of doing, but not sure how high the high level inputs are allowed to go, there is no mention of it in the manual

If you don't have a dedicated sub out, or pre-out/main in capability on your receiver, using speaker level signal works fine, with the exception of sending your mains a full range signal. The speaker level imputs on your sub should handle whatever your receiver puts out, just make sure you calibrate your system so as to avoid permanent hearing loss.

Get the Rives disc or some other calibration disc and an SPL meter. (You may be surprised at where you end up setting the gain and low pass on your sub. My mains are actively crossed at 80hz, but to get flat in room response I had to set my low pass all the way down to 35hz! And the gain on my sub is at about 9 o'clock on the dial. This yeilded a board flat response anywhere below 100 hz, and the sub did not drown out the mid-bass from my mains.)

Enjoy your super sub!