Getting good bass into a home audio system is problematic. It can take a lot of space for big floorstanding speakers or powered subwoofers, it can cost a lot of money, and can screw up the virtues of your current bass-shy system. Without decent bass, however, the music lacks drive and musical involvement.
For more bass, you can either upgrade to bigger main speakers or you can add a subwoofer or two. But which subwoofer? There are so many in so many sizes with so many different designs and prices.
The picture on the far right is not Photoshopped. It's the Velodyne 1812, a 2-way sub with 18" and 12" drivers. It's 40" tall and weighs 450 lbs. The dual-woofer model in the middle picture is no slouch either--It's the JL Gotham 213 with two 13.5" drivers, 2600 watts internal power and it weighs 360 lbs.
We're going to concentrate today on something like the one on the left--a mini-sub. These are primarily for music, not home theater. They're designed to give more extension and dynamics to bass lines and kick drums. Given the precision engineering that goes into these, good mini-subs aren't so cheap either ... usually. The one pictured lists at $1K and sells for around $800. Then again, that 2x13 in the middle pic is $12,000.
HOWEVER ...
I just bought the two subwoofers shown below, the Mirage MM6 on the left for my neighbor's sat/sub system (he paid me back) and the MM8 on the right for the floorstanding speakers for my 2-channel music system. The one on the left is an 8" cube with an 800-watt amp powering a 6-1/2" dia. aluminum cone main driver with two same-sized aluminum cone passive radiators. It lists for $599 but can be had at Vann's for $250. The one on the right is a whopping 9" cube with 1200 watts powering an 8" driver and radiators. It lists at $799 but is available for $350. I lucked out and got an open box special for $269. For scale that's a regular bottle of wine between the subs, not a magnum.
These subs shine in a music-based system where you could use a little more heft in the bottom end and better drive to the rhythm. As "stealth" subwoofers, they don't call attention to themselves--visually or aurally. You won't notice loud, thundering bass, but you will notice that you are enjoying the music more, that it sounds fuller, more fleshed out, is more rhythmic and emotionally involving. And you wife may not notice them at all, but may also enjoy the music more.
These subs serve music well by being fast. The diaphragms are small, made of aluminum, and have special patented surrounds that enable them to start, stop, and make large excursions quickly. They won't lag behind your main speakers the way a cheap, underpowered, underdamped large (12" or more) subwoofer would. They integrate seamlessly with your mains, blend right in with your music and decor, and make your little speakers sound like they have deeper, fuller bass response while retaining their small speaker virtues.
Small speakers have an advantage when it comes to clarity and imaging. The small enclosures don't store and release energy the way large speakers tend to, and the small front baffle reduces diffraction distortion, the smearing that comes from the soundwaves bouncing from the drivers to the front baffle.
These two Mirage subs don't have any speaker-level inputs. They can take line level input, either as a mono LFE output as from an AV receiver or stereo preamp outputs. I have a separate line level preamp which has two pairs of outputs. One pair goes to my main amp and the other pair goes to the sub. My neighbor's Cambridge 640A integrated amp also has a pair of preamp outputs and that's what I used to connect his amp to the MM6 sub. However, my Onkyo A-9555 integrated amp doesn't have pre-outs so I'd be out of luck with that amp.
The subs do, however, have an ideal set of controls for blending the subwoofer with your main speakers. First, there is a volume knob so you can balance the mix of subwoofer with your main speakers. Next is a continuously variable phase knob with a range of 0 to 360 degrees. Unless you can position your sub in exactly the same plane as your main speakers, you'll have to adjust the phase so the sound from the sub and the mains hits your ears at the same time. Finally there is a continuously variable crossover knob ranging from 50 Hz to 200 Hz. You want to have this set as low as you can without creating a frequency response gap between the sat and the mains. For floorstanders, 50-70 Hz should be fine and for mini-monitors somewhere between 80 and 120 Hz should work well. Since I have floorstanders I have the crossover set somewhere around 50-60 Hz. My neighbor has small satellites, but they go surprisingly low and I didn't have to set the crossover very high for them either, probably around 70 Hz. Anything above that and the lower midrange started sounding murky and recessed.
Thanks to these controls, with some careful listening and tweaking, you can truly integrate these subs into your stereo. As quick and powerful as they are, they'll do the rest.
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JohnnyB
Getting good bass into a home audio system is problematic. It can take a lot of space for big floorstanding speakers or powered subwoofers, it can cost a lot of money, and can screw up the virtues of your current bass-shy system. Without decent bass, however, the music lacks drive and musical involvement.
For more bass, you can either upgrade to bigger main speakers or you can add a subwoofer or two. But which subwoofer? There are so many in so many sizes with so many different designs and prices.
The picture on the far right is not Photoshopped. It's the Velodyne 1812, a 2-way sub with 18" and 12" drivers. It's 40" tall and weighs 450 lbs. The dual-woofer model in the middle picture is no slouch either--It's the JL Gotham 213 with two 13.5" drivers, 2600 watts internal power and it weighs 360 lbs.
We're going to concentrate today on something like the one on the left--a mini-sub. These are primarily for music, not home theater. They're designed to give more extension and dynamics to bass lines and kick drums. Given the precision engineering that goes into these, good mini-subs aren't so cheap either ... usually. The one pictured lists at $1K and sells for around $800. Then again, that 2x13 in the middle pic is $12,000.
HOWEVER ...
I just bought the two subwoofers shown below, the Mirage MM6 on the left for my neighbor's sat/sub system (he paid me back) and the MM8 on the right for the floorstanding speakers for my 2-channel music system. The one on the left is an 8" cube with an 800-watt amp powering a 6-1/2" dia. aluminum cone main driver with two same-sized aluminum cone passive radiators. It lists for $599 but can be had at Vann's for $250. The one on the right is a whopping 9" cube with 1200 watts powering an 8" driver and radiators. It lists at $799 but is available for $350. I lucked out and got an open box special for $269. For scale that's a regular bottle of wine between the subs, not a magnum.
These subs shine in a music-based system where you could use a little more heft in the bottom end and better drive to the rhythm. As "stealth" subwoofers, they don't call attention to themselves--visually or aurally. You won't notice loud, thundering bass, but you will notice that you are enjoying the music more, that it sounds fuller, more fleshed out, is more rhythmic and emotionally involving. And you wife may not notice them at all, but may also enjoy the music more.
These subs serve music well by being fast. The diaphragms are small, made of aluminum, and have special patented surrounds that enable them to start, stop, and make large excursions quickly. They won't lag behind your main speakers the way a cheap, underpowered, underdamped large (12" or more) subwoofer would. They integrate seamlessly with your mains, blend right in with your music and decor, and make your little speakers sound like they have deeper, fuller bass response while retaining their small speaker virtues.
Small speakers have an advantage when it comes to clarity and imaging. The small enclosures don't store and release energy the way large speakers tend to, and the small front baffle reduces diffraction distortion, the smearing that comes from the soundwaves bouncing from the drivers to the front baffle.
These two Mirage subs don't have any speaker-level inputs. They can take line level input, either as a mono LFE output as from an AV receiver or stereo preamp outputs. I have a separate line level preamp which has two pairs of outputs. One pair goes to my main amp and the other pair goes to the sub. My neighbor's Cambridge 640A integrated amp also has a pair of preamp outputs and that's what I used to connect his amp to the MM6 sub. However, my Onkyo A-9555 integrated amp doesn't have pre-outs so I'd be out of luck with that amp.
The subs do, however, have an ideal set of controls for blending the subwoofer with your main speakers. First, there is a volume knob so you can balance the mix of subwoofer with your main speakers. Next is a continuously variable phase knob with a range of 0 to 360 degrees. Unless you can position your sub in exactly the same plane as your main speakers, you'll have to adjust the phase so the sound from the sub and the mains hits your ears at the same time. Finally there is a continuously variable crossover knob ranging from 50 Hz to 200 Hz. You want to have this set as low as you can without creating a frequency response gap between the sat and the mains. For floorstanders, 50-70 Hz should be fine and for mini-monitors somewhere between 80 and 120 Hz should work well. Since I have floorstanders I have the crossover set somewhere around 50-60 Hz. My neighbor has small satellites, but they go surprisingly low and I didn't have to set the crossover very high for them either, probably around 70 Hz. Anything above that and the lower midrange started sounding murky and recessed.
Thanks to these controls, with some careful listening and tweaking, you can truly integrate these subs into your stereo. As quick and powerful as they are, they'll do the rest.
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