Hello! What Subwoofer? TS2.8? TS2.10? BK Gemini 2? Velodyne Impact?

J

JMF

Audiophyte
Hello Everyone!

I have just joined this forum to get some help in my next purchase.

I recently bought the following:

- Cambridge Audio CXA6
- Tannoy XT6F

I mostly use this to listen to music (occasionally some movies and gaming) and I quite enjoy this setup.

I am now looking for a subwoofer, from my research and price range (no more than £300) I have shortlisted the following:
- Tannoy TS2.8
- Tannoy TS2.10
- BK Gemini 2
- Velodyne Impact 12

In your experience, what is the best sub I can get (not necessarily listed above).

Many thanks - I look forward to learning and sharing my experience.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Hi, welcome to the forum. I suspect you're in the UK? Your location will have a great bearing on sub recommendations.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
None of those will be high-output monsters. From only looking at the specs, I think I would go with the Velodyne from that bunch.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Hello and thank you! Yes I am in the UK!
LOL the pound symbol (and budget) I completely missed, was just going by the brands mentioned. :rolleyes:

I'd want at least a 12" driver so the Velodyne would appeal most to me out of that group.

How big a room do you have? You're planning on just filling in the bottom end by adjusting the low pass filter on the sub since you don't have bass management in your integrated amp (assuming you have the CXA60)? Or do you want to have some bass management via the sub so you can high-pass your speakers?
 
J

JMF

Audiophyte
LOL the pound symbol (and budget) I completely missed, was just going by the brands mentioned. :rolleyes:

I'd want at least a 12" driver so the Velodyne would appeal most to me out of that group.

How big a room do you have? You're planning on just filling in the bottom end by adjusting the low pass filter on the sub since you don't have bass management in your integrated amp (assuming you have the CXA60)? Or do you want to have some bass management via the sub so you can high-pass your speakers?
interesting that you thought of the UK by the brands. Are these brands not popular in the US? In UK audio circles these are pretty standard names.

The room is a decently sized living room (9x5 metres) which is getting filled up fast with furniture and other boring stuff : )

Can't really answer the question on bass management (you can tell this is the first setup I buy), I was planning on adjusting bass level in the subwoofer itself and to play around with the bass level of the amplifier until I get a decent result.

I am surprised to learn that there is a preference here for powerful subwoofers, in my mind this needed not be a large powerful unit as the speakers themselves already have decent bass - I have a lot to learn.

Thanks again
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Only one sub brand in UK is worth considering if you want great performance product for not a lot of pounds and it's BKElec
 
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rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
interesting that you thought of the UK by the brands. Are these brands not popular in the US? In UK audio circles these are pretty standard names.

The room is a decently sized living room (9x5 metres) which is getting filled up fast with furniture and other boring stuff : )

Can't really answer the question on bass management (you can tell this is the first setup I buy), I was planning on adjusting bass level in the subwoofer itself and to play around with the bass level of the amplifier until I get a decent result.

I am surprised to learn that there is a preference here for powerful subwoofers, in my mind this needed not be a large powerful unit as the speakers themselves already have decent bass - I have a lot to learn.

Thanks again
I'm guessing your room is about 4,000 cubic feet (I guessed at 2.5 meters from floor to ceiling). On the Bassaholic scale that room is solidly "large". Especially for movies with profound low frequency effects, I think you'll appreciate a larger sub. If you could save up for a BK Monolith or Monolith+, your LFE would be much more satisfying. There's not a lot of music content below 30 Hz, but for movies and even for games you'd be surprised at how satisfying and exciting the occasional pressurization of your ear canals can be. Your Tannoys can do chest thump I have no doubt; but the depth charges supplied by a grown-up subwoofer will be a bit beyond their capabilities.

The desire for power in subwoofage is not so much in the ability to shake things off the shelves. I prefer to keep my subwoofers dialed reasonably conservatively so that a sweep from the depths to the mids is seamless. For me, it's the increased range that warrants a more grown up subwoofer.
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I've never heard of a BK Elec product here in the US but haven't really looked for one; Tannoy has a better presence, but rather for speakers. Velodyne was a sub company but is now more concentrating on autonomous vehicles/lidar applications IIRC, but seems they're still around for now. There may be some subs available here from other UK speaker companies like B&W or Wharfedale, and some carry Rel. I wouldn't look to any of them in any case, altho BK Elec and XTZ for european brands seem to have some solid subs.

Here in the US we have several internet direct sub specialists like SVS, Rythmik, Power Sound Audio, Hsu Research and a few others that will get the bulk of the recommendations, and some solid DIY/AIY offerings as well. You might be able to get SVS but the others I don't think have any regular distribution there.

Your room is fairly large (and would depend on your ceiling height and if your living room is open to other rooms) and subs work off the volume of the space available to them. I have a similar sized floor area in my living room (with 2.4m ceiling height) and it's open to other rooms, so I use four fairly powerful subs (much more so than the Velodyne) to get what I want. I don't think the 8" or 10" subs you list would do a lot in your size room, even if the room is sealed off from others, and especially not if open to other rooms. Depends on how much you want, tho :) I'm somewhat a bassoholic.

I prefer having the ability to set a crossover between my subs and speakers and generally use AVRs with bass management features for such; diddling only with a low pass filter to "blend" with the speakers isn't my preference. It works for some, and those who have no choice with older 2ch gear don't have a choice unless they find a sub that can provide the functionality; some subs offer speaker level connections with a high pass filter for the speakers (i.e. provide a crossover) so as not to duplicate frequencies but you need to check the sub manual carefully to see if they have such.
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Your room is quite big and subs you listed would fall short trying to fill that space. You are better of saving until you can get BK Monolith / Monolith Plus for that space.
 
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