Page 1 of Sub Woofer Question ?

I have lived quite happily with my main setup of Yamaha AX630, Pioneer DV454 and a eclectic mix of speakers:
Main : Kef Reference 104AB`s
Centre : Wharfedale Valdus
Rear : Aiwa SX800 ( very decent bookshelf speakers )

Question is with decent bass levels from the Kef`s at what cost level could I justify the Sub Woofer I have the notion to add ?

All recommendations gratefully accepted;-))

P.

This item was edited on Friday, 23rd May 2003, 20:13

Whatever you can afford.

Dont scrimp, but dont exceed your budget. As you havent got a sub at the moment, any one would be an improvement IMO

I disagree that any sub would be an improvement, but agree with the don`t scrimp. Cheap subs have no control, and just produce floppy low sounds. Phil, I know you`re a bit of an old school audio chap, so you`ll understand about "good" bass being better than lots of bass :o)

Lee31`s other advice was good though - don`t scrimp but don`t exceed.

Perhaps an idea of budget and room size would help.

I think the first "decent" sub is probably the KEF PSW1000 at around £150. I have the Celestion S80, which is basically a rebadged version of the same thing. Works quite nicely, underpinning rather than overpowering. However I`ve moved my system about, and my main speakers now go down lower than the sub (as I`m using my hifi`s speakers rather than the Mission M71s I used in the "AV" system, and the system is now in a huge room that needs more grunt). So I`m probably going to build a sub myself. Is that an option for you?

EDIT - One more thing - you`re nowhere near Hertford are you? - If you are, you`d be welcome to borrow the Celestion to see how that worked in your system.

Richard

This item was edited on Monday, 26th May 2003, 08:22

Rich
Thanks for the offer but I`m up in central Scotland so.....;-))

I was obviously way too vague in my first post, so to elaborate..

The room is 12ft x 22 ft with the Kefs on the short wall and the seating position almost at the opposite wall.
I was considering something like the Yamaha YSTSW305 which is now under £ 200 ( ideal budget max)
I have tried the sub from my other speaker setup ( Yamaha NS-P320 )
which being designed for a smaller room in truth made no real difference, prompting the question.
I do get deep reasonably tight bass from the Kefs which is why I wondered what price/performance level I would need to justify buying another Sub.
In other words if I need to spend £ 500 to hear any real improvement, I won`t bother.
I`m good with my hands ( ask the missus ) ;-) so building a sub would not be outwidth my abilities, although I hadn`t considered that path, but will do some costings, thanks for the idea.

P.

I picked up an exdemo KEF psw2000 for £150 and it is worth every penny. There are alot around as people upgrade the kef `egg` package. Phone around a few kef dealers and see if they have one that has been exchanged in.

Phil, had a feeling you were up North.

It`s possible to build a REL 100E a like for around £150 or so. Have a look on http://www.bkelec.com in the modules section. Then have a look at this thread http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59695 - I quote "if you use the BSBL12-100 plus a BSBP 100 and a 50 Litre enclosure you have the equivelent ofa Q100E"

BKElec used to do manufacturing for REL before they took it all in house. I understand they also do work for MJ Acoustics etc.

Rich ,
This home build project looks like a definate maybe ;-) what about the enclosure ? are you using a plan from a site or guestimating dimensions ?
I`m grateful for any further info.


Edit : I notice the Rel 100 is a sealed box system which makes the construction even easier ;-))
P.

This item was edited on Monday, 26th May 2003, 14:15

Sealed boxes will generally give you a much punchier bass as opposed to deep bass from a ported enclosure.

My uncle made a bass tube for his home cimema with great effect - may be worth a look.

Download yourself a copy of WinISD - a freeware speaker design tool. You`ll need to set up the Thiele/Small parameters of the driver you intend to use, then click away, and you`ll get a plot of the projected response of the driver, plus an ideal box size. You can then drag things around to alter the box size, and see how the curve changes. Drag around til you get a 50 litre size, then there`s a box dimensions button which will give you the sizes you need. They tend to recommend a rectangular (in 3d of course) shape, but that`s more for "general" speakers rather than subs, so alter the dimensions, then click on the label of the remaining dimension to get the required size.
The help file in WinISD is good, and will give some background.
Here`s some stuff I wrote in a thread on another forum (in the DIY forum of AVForums.com - http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=59 ) about sub building: http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77335

HTH!

Most interesting and informative, Rich you are a scholar and a gentleman.

Thanks for your help, now to work it all out ;-)

Cheers P.