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I have a small system that I'm contemplating adding a sub woofer to. It consists of a Yaqin Mc-10 tube integrated amp and a pair of Qual 11L speakers. It is a nice system but is seriously in need of a little help on the low end. Wondering if I can use a powered sub with the system. The amp has 4 ohm and 8 ohm speaker outs. Can I use a sub where I would run the speaker outputs into the sub and the sub back out to the main speakers. Any thoughts appreciated.
Follow Ups:
Look into adding a powered subwoofer.
ET
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936
These are all good suggestions but I would add: use a light touch with such quality speakers. This is probably not a "set and forget" operation.
Yes you can do this.
Wire as follows:
You need two sets of speaker cables.
For the first set, use what ever you would normally use for your speakers and run directly from amp to speaker.
For the second set, use a twisted pair of fine wire, between about 24 and 28 gauge. What I do for these types of wires is pull out the "guts" of a CAT5 cable and add additional twist using a drill. Or you can just use what they call "low voltage alarm wire" that is pre-twisted. Run the second set from the amp to the sub. This connection will handle almost zero current, but will be more susceptible to noise. Thus, twisting is far more important than gauge.
You do NOT need to run from the amp to the sub and then sub to speakers. This is NOT a current connection you're making but a parallel voltage connection - which is better done at the amp because it's a central location. (The sub amp is basically scaling down a speaker level signal and applying a low pass filter to it.)
Last, set the crossover point between 45 and 60 hertz and try to dial in the sub with your speakers natural low end rolloff. Why people use a lowpass on main speakers to get a sub to work at 80Hz is completely beyond me. This is stereo music, not a home theatre application.
The need to run subs between 80-120hz (I believe) is based on misinformation, psychological factors (biases) and the idea that a sub adds BASS to a system. If you want more bass, you have basically two choices. (1) Equalization aka parametric EQ or shelf filter or (2) use a sub at 60Hz but also stereo low frequency drivers (woofers) *under* or *beside* each main. These "stereo woofer" boxes can be crossed over considerably higher. Because they're stereo, they can be crossed as high as 120 or 150Hz.
The biggest trouble audiophiles get into when they add a sub is they believe they are going to get more bass. They don't, they just get sub bass. Then, they crank up the crossover point to 80hz or higher, then they get harmonic artefacts above the crossover point resulting in localisation of the sub. Then, said audiophile firmly believes "Subs are bad, M'kay?"
Do subs properly and you'll love subs.
If you need more bass, do that properly too, and you'll still love subs.
Not to be a butt head, but I've seen to many people walk away from sub addition or sub/satellite systems simply because of misapplication.
Cheers,
Presto
Good point! Also, subwoofers don't add more bass, they augment the bass! BTW, to OP I have a cheap Dayton sub with 100 watts in a small room & it sounds pretty good!
Hi, hscrs,
Yes, you can add a powered subwoofer using speaker leads. I've used an inexpensive Kenwood sub and an entry-level Velodyne sub with fairly good results. The speaker-level inputs didn't take advantage of the built-in crossover feature available with line-level leads so the main speakers were still running full range. But the subwoofer still made a big improvement in sound.
Polk Audio makes a couple of reasonably good active subs; $100 to $200 USD. I've been impressed with Polk's budget series of speakers and subs. Otherwise, I'm a fan of Velodyne but they're going to run you more money; $300 to $400 USD for their entry-level models. I'm sure you'll get a whole range of suggestions from other inmates.
Regards,
Tom
If your willing to spend more Rythmic.
No subs come with high pass filters for the mains anymore. You can build/buy one from Parts Express or run the mains full range (that's what I'm doing).
You won't regret adding bottom end.
Thanks for this information. I'll be getting on it this week.
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