Subwoofer - where to start?

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

I don't know much about HiFi. But I like listening to it. Currently I have a pair of Marcury Tannoy V1 speakers being driven by a C-Audio RA1001 studio amp with around 350watts per channel, fed by a NAD 910 pre-amp. (Yes, I know a studio amp isn't the sort of thing you usually find in home HiFi but it was available and quite powerful and seems to do a good enough job. The gains on it are turned right down and it still moves the speakers tidily enough.)

I like the overall effect. But I am aware that there is little in the way of bass, and my thoughts have been turning to subwoofers. From my teenage days of playing with in-car HiFi, I know the difference between active and passive subwoofers and have a vague grasp of the difference between sealed and ported systems (not that that's much help, probably.) I know that the NAD 910 has a subwoofer output (but have no idea how it is filtered - or how the 'main' output is filtered, come to mention it) so am guessing that this could be hooked up to another studio amp I have (another RA1001), which can be readily run in single-channel mode and hence produce around 600watts. I guess I then need to find a passive sub to put on the end of that.

And therein lie my questions; is this the best plan or should I think about an active sub instead? Wiring a passive sub would be a doddle so there is no convenience advantage to active, but is there a sound quality advantage? I am guessing that, given that an active sub would come with an amp which I don't need, my money would go further with a passive sub, non?

So, if I am looking for a passive sub, how much should I spend? eBay offers me things between £4.02p and about £1500. I am not keen to look at either end of that spectrum, but would a £50 budget seem stupid? Bear in mind that it is replacing a big hole in the sound spectrum, so anything would be an improvement.

Next question is placement. I understand that placement is something that can make a huge difference to sub performance, although I will be quite limited in the options here given the layout of the lounge. I guess this is simply something I need to try out to see what works and what doesn't.

Given my situation, what advice would anyone have? FWIW, my music taste is pretty eclectic. Classical through to eighties electronic to pop to trance. Nothing R&B-esque tho', and I suspect my tastes will be more towards a 'subtle and tuneful' sub than a 'loud' one.

Thanks,


Oli.

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

Thanks for the answers. That's quite a big vote in favour of an active subwoofer - which slightly surprises me. I'll have a look for them on eBay. Yes, the advice to buy one locally is good; thankfully I live in London and there seem to be quite a lot of people selling HiFi stuff near to me.

Camelot, yes, it's an AV preamp that I have. Good idea to look at the settings to see whether something is being filtered off. Is a sub not normally needed for regular music listening then? The same speaker system is also used for the TV, so is used for films and whatnot.

Thanks for your inputs chaps.


Oli.

[zcacogp]

Well, it's interesting what you find out. Many thanks to Tony for this suggestion;

TonyRPH said:

But first.. check that your speakers are in phase - e.g. + from the amp goes to + on the speaker and - to - respectively.

I was sure I had checked and double-checked the speaker polarity to make sure it was correct but I swapped the terminals on one over and the bass was more noticeable, and the higher notes seemed crisper as well, making the 'directionality' of the sound better. I don't know whether I have moved them from out-of-phase to in-phase, or whether I have a setup that rewards out-of-phase speakers, but the improvement has made me smile! It has also left me wondering whether I really need a sub or not, and I'm kinda inclined to enjoy the gain I have just made before dashing into something new.

So, to answer the original question "Subwoofer - where to start?", the answer seems to be "by making sure that you are getting the most out of your current kit".

Thanks again Tony. Beer owing, should we ever meet in the same pub at the same time ...


Oli.