Improving Velodyne Sub?

[dblackey]

I have a Velodyne DSP-10 Sub and while it is not all that bad for the price point it really leaves me wanting more definition and snap. I didn't really notice it as before but I just got Maggniepans and because they have no bass whatsoever I now must rely on the sub to augment a lot more. The problem is I can't aford to upgrade for another year or so. Is there anything I can do to make any low cost improvements?

e.g.:

1.) Can I buy an new and more powerful plate amplifier off of ebay, say one for a more powerful Velodyne sub, or an aftermaket unit like Kega makes? I don't mind spending a few hundred buck. What should I look for to ensure compatibility? Or am I asking for trouble altogether?

2.) Can I, (should I) plug the port to try to tighten up the bass?

3.) Should I open her up and try to add more bracing or sound deadening material?

4.) Anything else?

THX-Dean

 

[gene]

I don't recommend modding your sub in any way. Try experimenting on placement and setup. Eventually you may wish to add a second sub and run them as a stereo pair to better supplement your mains and even out bass response in your room.

 

[highfihoney]

When i was still running magnepan's i had one heck of a time getting the bass right,maggies are the hardest speaker ive ever owned to intergrate with a sub,with that being said you may not even need a different sub,placement of your sub will more than likely yeild the biggest pay off.

Try sending a full range signal to the maggies & adjusting your sub from that point.

 

[dblackey]

Thanks guys!

I asume I should be connecting the Maggies via the Speaker level input/output on the sub with the reciver set to large?

 

[j_garcia]

I would say no, connect the Maggies directly to the receiver which is what Highfihoney is saying - run them full range and dial the sub in to blend. If you connect them to the sub, they will be filtered by the sub's fixed high pass x-over which may be too high for them. What that fixed high pass is, wasn't listed on their website. The speaker level outputs are NOT adjusted by the sub's crossover adjustment, that only affects the low pass to the sub itself.

 

[WmAx]

If you want the best possible integration, you should not run the Maggies full range. An active crossover with a steep crossover rate(24db/octave at least) at about 50-60Hz should be used on both the full range speakers and the sub woofer. If you have two sub woofers, you can place them symmetrically placed on each side of the room, the same distance from each sub woofer, and achieve better integration, and raise the crossover frequency to about 80Hz. A delay should be set electronically to adjust the acoustic phase alignment at the crossover point of the sub woofer and main speakers as closely as possible. If you are using separate preamplifier and amplifier components as opposed to a receiver, it will be easy to add the appropriate device. If you have a receiver, things are less certain. Some receivers have sufficient built in active crossovers, and some do not. Some receivers even have loop jacks in the back where you can add in external devices between the preamplifier and amplifier stages. Most do not have such a feature.

-Chris

 

[Matt34]

DIY bass traps in the corners.

 

[JimP]

Be sure that you have properly time aligned your current sub into your system. Physical distance may not be the same as the correct accoustical distance. When this setting is off, you can have cancellation in both your sub and your main speakers.