I just have a few questions. First, when you stated "The subwoofers are simply a good investment here. You will only have to do one thing: cut a hole in each cabinet and attach the drivers," are you cutting a hole in the subwoofer cabinet and attaching the drivers from the B&W 805S right into the subwoofer cabinet?
No. You are installing the recommended JL Audio W7 subwoofer drivers in the subwoofer cabinets. It's a 'put your own sub together from parts' kind of deal. You can save huge $$ by going this route compared to equal quality pre-built/finished retail product.
Can you propose anything I can do in the $500 price range; perhaps a similar type of setup for less money? Perhaps modify an exisitng speaker that I currently have? I realize $500 is not much, but I'm willing to extend beyond that depending on what I'm getting.
Yes, you could do someting for much cheaper, though not $500. That is an unrealistic price range to accomplish what you want. I can, however, specify a list of products that could achieve SQ well beyond what you expect in that price range.
What receiver/pre-amp and/or amps do you currently have? You will need a receiver with pre-outs for the main channels or stand alone preamp. You will need two amplifiers. One for the main speakers and one for the subwoofers. If you have a STEREO receiver, some of these have pre-out and amp-in connections on the back with a bridge pin. This would allow you to skip buying the amp for the mains, as the bridge pin lets you use the internal amplifier as an external one in effect. Currently Harman Kardon has such a reciever on the factory site that is refurbished, for about $230(about half of new price) that would work for both the mains amp and pre-amp.
You would need at minimum these items:
1. Behringer B2030P 2 way monitors = $150
2. Pre-amp. =$??
3. Main speaker amp. =$??
4. Behringer DCX2496 DSP controller/eq/crossover system =$275
5. 2x Dayton P/N: 302-810 pre-finished Sealed SWC-2 2.0 ft³ Subwoofer Cabinet : = $320
6. 2x Infinity Kappa Perfect 12VQ drivers = $340
7. Amplifier for Kappa drivers= $300-$500
8. Adapters, cables, wires = $60
9. Materials for minor main channel speaker modification = $25
Total assuming you already have suitable pre-amp and amp for mains: $1470
The speakers above while being low cost, are as good as anything up to about $500-$600/pair. They are of unusual quality. You can improve on them appreciably only if you are willing to spend $800/pair. The next level starts at about $1600/pair. These are not arbitrary prices, but price points of significant measurable superiority of specific models of speakers that jump appreciably in performance. I'll specify the more expensive models if you are interested.
The other parts(subs, amps, dsp controller, etc.) beside the mains will support ANY quality of sound quality. The only variable of SQ above will be the main speakers you choose.
It is very important to note that the subwoofer drivers above are optimized for ported systems. They will work great in sealed, but only for music, as they should be limited to about 34Hz -3dB lower end response for superb dynamic range and low distortion in sealed systems. The DCX is being used here to both apply some boost at LF, and to cut energy under 33hz at the same time, providing for maximum dynamic range/lowest distortion. For HT purposes, a different and more costly driver would be required to get flat response to 20Hz or under in a sealed system with good dynamic range and low distortion. 33Hz, however, is superb for music use.
I also read about defnitive technology utilizing low resonant cabinets and their studio monitor series are within reach? Any input on those? Thanks!
Many companies claim low resonance cabinets/designs. Very few actually prove to be true when put to actual measurement.
It is possible to put together a stereo subwoofer, active system for under $1000. But this would require compromises that do not make the rest of the parts scalable for future upgrades to very high quality main speakers. The suggestions above give you top quality bass, processing, etc. right from the start for musical playback with the only lower quality part being the mains, which can be upgraded later on to any level you wish. You could for example save up and in a couple of years use the suggested B&W 805S speakers as specified in the linked thread and the rest of the parts/hardware would be already suitable and ready to go.
-Chris
