Subwoofer question for my set-up

[Programmer32]

Good Evening Audioholics!

I have a couple of questions regarding the appropriate subwoofer that I should purchase for my room and set-up.

I have a set of DefTech BP7006's as my fronts and I split two times from the receiver to use the LFE Inputs for the powered subs as well as send a separate signal to a standalone subwoofer (currently an old Pro-Sub 80). The room is approximately 20' x 14' X 9' with some odd alcoves, but a roughly rectangular layout. There are two doorways that make placement in the corners of the viewing/listening wall impossible. The room is carpeted as well.

I mostly listen to music in 2.1 and the BP7006 subs seem to handle that quite well. I'm interested in getting a sub with at least a 12" speaker to handle some lower frequencies, mostly for HT. So far I have been leaning towards SVS and HSU. My questions are:

1) The subwoofer will be placed on the front wall about three feet from the right-most BP7006 ( 5 feet from the rightmost wall and 12 feet from the center of the listening area. Can I use a ported there and still get good sound?

2) The models I'm interested in are the SVS PB12 NSD and the HSU VTF3 MK4 for ported. I'm not sure how I feel about the down-firing, so Outlaw is slightly in the mix. I also have heard great things about the SVS SB12 as a sealed option. Which would you recommend for my space dimensions and lack of corners?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[fuzz092888]

Your room is almost identically sized to mine, although I think mine is a little smaller (but open to the kitchen). My room is around 23.5 x 13 (and change) x 8. Currently I have the outlaw LFM EX-1 and I have the gain set to about 1.5 out of 10. Plenty of bass, although I currently have it in max output mode since I mainly use it for HT and not music. I think it's a great option and wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I wasn't dead set on having my next sub be DIY.

The placement of the sub is usually where it sounds the best (IE bass crawl)although I understand that the best placement won't always be the most convenient or even possible for normal living in some cases.

I think either either of the subs you mentioned would be fine for what you want. Ported shouldn't be a problem either. Personally I like the HSU, because it is variable tuning like the outlaw.

 

[Programmer32]

Your room is almost identically sized to mine, although I think mine is a little smaller (but open to the kitchen). My room is around 23.5 x 13 (and change) x 8. Currently I have the outlaw LFM EX-1 and I have the gain set to about 1.5 out of 10. Plenty of bass, although I currently have it in max output mode since I mainly use it for HT and not music. I think it's a great option and wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I wasn't dead set on having my next sub be DIY.

The placement of the sub is usually where it sounds the best (IE bass crawl)although I understand that the best placement won't always be the most convenient or even possible for normal living in some cases.

I think either either of the subs you mentioned would be fine for what you want. Ported shouldn't be a problem either. Personally I like the HSU, because it is variable tuning like the outlaw.

Thanks for your response fuzz092888! I had looked into the Outlaw since I had read that they were initially designed by Mr. Hsu and were more or less dressed up VTF-2 models.

I believe that most of the subs I'm looking at suggest a crossover at 80 Hz, but my Elite only allows settings down to 100 Hz.

Does the Subwoofer out LFE signal send all of the information below 100 Hz to the subs, and will frequencies from 80 -100 Hz damage the aforementioned SVS, HSU, and Outlaw subs?

 

[Programmer32]

If anyone else has any recommendations, I'd be very appreciative to hear your input! Although I favor the above for their good reviews, service, and reliability I'd be open to other subwoofer suggestions!

Most importantly, as I asked fuzz092888, will playing LFE output as high as 100 Hz hurt any of the subs mentioned above?

Thanks so much!

 

[fuzz092888]

That doesn't sound right for a crossover can you post the model of your receiver (I'm guessing pioneer since you said elite).

The crossover actually depends on the speakers the subwoofer is playing with. The BP7006's are actually rated down to 17Hz (but no mention about how many db down that is) so you could actually cross much lower than 80 if you really wanted to, but 40-80 should do it. It really depends on your own bass preferences and I'd advise to play around with it once you get your new sub.

Good subwoofers, such as the ones mentioned, can actually play up to 120Hz and even a bit beyond comfortably. Also, playing frequencies above what a subwoofer is for won't damage it, it just won't play anything.

The what goes to to the subwoofer and the speakers is determined by your crossover or the high pass and low pass filters. You always want to have the filters overlap so there is a seamless transition between your speakers and the subwoofer, but setting the crossover on your receiver does this for you.

Don't think of the crossover as a hard cutoff, it's more like a range +- around the number you set it for.

 

[Programmer32]

That doesn't sound right for a crossover can you post the model of your receiver (I'm guessing pioneer since you said elite).

The crossover actually depends on the speakers the subwoofer is playing with. The BP7006's are actually rated down to 17Hz (but no mention about how many db down that is) so you could actually cross much lower than 80 if you really wanted to, but 40-80 should do it. It really depends on your own bass preferences and I'd advise to play around with it once you get your new sub.

Good subwoofers, such as the ones mentioned, can actually play up to 120Hz and even a bit beyond comfortably. Also, playing frequencies above what a subwoofer is for won't damage it, it just won't play anything.

The what goes to to the subwoofer and the speakers is determined by your crossover or the high pass and low pass filters. You always want to have the filters overlap so there is a seamless transition between your speakers and the subwoofer, but setting the crossover on your receiver does this for you.

Don't think of the crossover as a hard cutoff, it's more like a range +- around the number you set it for.

Thanks again fuzz092888! It is a Pioneer Elite VSX-41.

Please pardon my lack of experience, but the receiver set-up seemed to only allow me to choose 100, 150, or 200Hz as my crossover points for speakers set to S. I assumed anything set to L got full frequency, S got 100 Hz and above, and the subwoofer out got 100 Hz and below?

I'm also glad to hear if 100 Hz is the lowest I can set from the receiver that the subs can handle it!

 

[fuzz092888]

Sure enough, your receiver will only set crossovers at 100-150-200 Hz. Very curious since most mid-fi and up receivers let you go much lower. THX recommends a crossover of 80Hz.

I would set your speakers to small and cross at 100Hz if you want your subwoofer to play with everything.

However if you get any of those subwoofers you have an alternate option. You can use the subwoofer as your crossover and plug your L-R RCAs from your receiver into your subwoofer. Then connect your bare wire that you have in your receiver into the bare wire outputs on your subwoofer. You can then use the subwoofers crossover or Low pass filter as the crossover.

I would experiment with this if I were you to find out which crossover point you like best. You may like your BP7006's crossed much lower than your receiver will allow.

Yes, those subs should be able to play up to 120 pretty comfortably.

 

[Programmer32]

I ended up ordering the PB12-NSD. I figure the front mount and ported would be an interesting combo with my side firing sealed tower subs.

I guess we'll see? Thanks again for all of the answers and tips!