powered subwoofer?

[DhruV]

hi noob here!
i recently bough a creative soundblaster audigy soundcard for my pc.it has 3 output jacks for front ,rear and subwoofer!
now i have a 12" sony subwoofer lying around,but for it to work i need a powered subwoofer!
i would like a your suggestions on what to do.should i go in for a amp,which type??..or is there any way of converting the sub to a powered one!
thanks all your help is greatly appriciated!

also since i have no real knowledge about subwoofers,i might as well ask really dumb questions!
i have seperate amps for front and rear speakers!for the subwoofer,i used a htib subwoofer for a while but it worked like a speaker and and the subwoofer volume in the control panel dint do anything!

so in simpler words,will using an amp just produce bass?which is what i require,i need to know how to make my 12 " sub work!

 

[jinjuku]

Honestly, by the time you put money into an amp to drive a SONY sub of all things, which is going to be considered by many here a piece of junk, you would be better off just buying another sub.

For giggles, post the model/part # of the sub.

There is another great thread going on about subs from $150 to $350 shipped here

Not meaning to bash on your Sony, just that you can most likely do better on all fronts by getting a powered sub outright.

 

[DhruV]

i do understand what ure trying to say,but i cant afford a powered sub!!
i know my sony will give me a shitty sound but this is how i have to start!

so i want to know about what amp to use as i have no clue!
im not very sure but wont the amp make it work like another speaker,are there different kinds of amps for this?
i just know of 2 and 4 channel ones!

can i use a crossover for this?
active or passive?

any pictures would be greatly appriciated

thanks a million!

 

[jinjuku]

What is the Sony model and part # of what you currently have. Need to know the spec on this before an amp can be suggested.

The cheapest sub plate amp that Parts Express has is a 70 watt unit at $53.
I don't know if it will drive your sub or not until we know the specs on it.

Alternately you can check out the topic thread linked to and see that you can get a 12" powered sub for $148 shipped.

 

[DhruV]

the subwoofer is actually a car subwoofer a sony xplod 12" 1000watts!
im not sure what rms it is though,i reckon it shud be atleast 350-400
more details about the amp?
what is it known as?
since im not frm around here i dont think shipping is an option!
so i need to know what is the amp called ?
pictures wud be appriciated!
thanks again!

 

[jinjuku]

the subwoofer is actually a car subwoofer a sony xplod 12" 1000watts!
im not sure what rms it is though,i reckon it shud be atleast 350-400
more details about the amp?
what is it known as?
since im not frm around here i dont think shipping is an option!
so i need to know what is the amp called ?
pictures wud be appriciated!
thanks again!

The speaker is 350 watt RMS, so you need to get an amp that either matches or exceeds RMS rating of the sub. If you get an under rated amp, you run the risk of driving the amp too hard and sending a clipped signal to the woofer ruining it.

So:

The Parts Express BASH 500W

Or

HPSA500W


You will need to cut the box to integrate these amps, or mount the amps in an external box and run the speaker cable to the woofer.

or

GEM Sound XP-350 good for 450W RMS @ 4 ohms in bridged mode and it's $90 vs. $200+ for the plate amps.

This would be the way I would go if your audio card has features an adjustable cross over. Which Audigy do you have?

Otherwise the plate amps have all the adjustments right there.

 

[no. 5]

im not very sure but wont the amp make it work like another speaker...

The crossover will prevent the subwoofer from 'working like another speaker'. Subwoofer plate amplifiers have crossovers built in, and as your sound card has a dedicated subwoofer out, it may have a crossover too.

What I'm concerned about is that the sub driver you want to use was made for car audio; it is designed to be used in a very small space, and so may not work too well in the much larger space of a room.

 

[DhruV]

thanks a million guys!
i had a very very cheap and small htib 2.1 which i previousely used for the subwoofer jack,it used to work but only as the center speaker,the sub volume in the pc was useless.

the audigy i have is sounblaster audigy value!i cant post the link here ,but its on the soubblaster webpage!soundblaster.com
i use a pre amp and amp for the front speakers and another amp for the rear ones!
advice?

 

[jinjuku]

I checked the help guide for your sound card, and or course it was no help.

I would imagine that there is sub management as part of the software suite with that card. You will be better off sending Creative Labs an email about sub woofer management with that product as they obviously know their product best.

Good luck in this...