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Floorstanding speakers or Bookshelves w/ sub?


l1il

  

15 members have voted

  1. 1. Subs or no subs, that is the question

    • Bookshelves speakers with a sub, takes less spaces
      5
    • Large floorstanding speakers for more power
      8
    • Either one does the trick, as long as they are Hi-Fi
      1
    • Could you speak louder, I couldn't hear the question
      1
    • Give me Bose and I'll be fine with it!
      0


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Stefan, don't put much into the SPL db 1w/1m thing.  Or many of the other specs that manufacturers plain lie about, or can test under completely different conditions.  I've worked at a couple stereo shops and have tested this particular spec among others and found it to often be wrong.  JL Audio is pretty reputable car audio and they state right on their spec sheet that the 1w/1m sensitivity number is NOT an accurate indicator of a speakers capability and should not be used in comparison to other speakers to see which one is louder.  Also keep in mind that the size of the box + any port holes, etc, placement of all the speakers, size of the room, and things like this can and often are more important than the name brand or cost of the speakers or amplifiers.  Don't get me wrong though, no amount of these things will help very poor quality components, but sometimes people can or will just buy the best name or expensive set up and then get blown away when they hear a system at half the cost!

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Hi Fight, nice that you join our thread!

 

the SPL thingie was more in response to "what kind of amplifiers do you use". I do professional sound measurements of industrial equipment, and it is so easy to "cheat" those values.

Also, I never bought in the measurements, I prefer hearing the speaker, to how it sounds to me. Sounding "loud" is due to a lot of factors like you said, even your own hearing.

 

The performance / price is something I am aware of, which is the reason I put Bose in the poll (overrated and overpriced systems)

 

I am also pretty sure that the shop I went to managed to set up the room to make the speaker sound huge, and they "let" me sit in the middle seat. The acoustic seemed different, while we spoke I could notice. Plus I don't know how the amp / dsp / cd player cost, but it seemed to add up to a little fortune.

 

If you are looking for party sound or detailed sound, those are opposite markets. Party speakers are made to "shake the house", where detailed sounding ones tend to isolate the cabinet from everything.

 

Home theater and stereo systems are opposed as well, most won't get a 5 set of costly speakers and add a sub to it, compared to a stereo where you only need a pair.

 

While I agree with you on brands and quality, I must say that there are lots of product ranges. Your best bet is forums and reviews, which should help you get a good system. It is not the
absolute final answer on who's the best, but it is a general guideline.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My new amp doesn't seem to play to well with my subwoofer, my speakers for my home theater have adequate bass without it. I will miss it for action movies but it's not a big deal for me. 

 

As long as it sounds good, that all that matters. 

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My new amp doesn't seem to play to well with my subwoofer, my speakers for my home theater have adequate bass without it. I will miss it for action movies but it's not a big deal for me. 

 

As long as it sounds good, that all that matters. 

Than your not doing it right haha. A subwoofer is ment for the lows 120hz and down. I set my crossover for 100hz so that the subwoofer only really has to deal with the rumble. I always say a good bass is what you feel, not what you hear.

 

also for anyone not using lossless audio, it's pointless to invest money into a nice setup because half the time little crappy speakers are gonna sound just as good. no clarity and muddy sounds is what mp3s are for.

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My new amp doesn't seem to play to well with my subwoofer, my speakers for my home theater have adequate bass without it. I will miss it for action movies but it's not a big deal for me. 

 

As long as it sounds good, that all that matters. 

Than your not doing it right haha. A subwoofer is ment for the lows 120hz and down. I set my crossover for 100hz so that the subwoofer only really has to deal with the rumble. I always say a good bass is what you feel, not what you hear.

 

also for anyone not using lossless audio, it's pointless to invest money into a nice setup because half the time little crappy speakers are gonna sound just as good. no clarity and muddy sounds is what mp3s are for.

 

 

The amp (part of a an older HiFi stack, it's not a receiver) has an older dolby surround chip. It's a 5 channel amp without a subwoofer out. 135watts into 5 channels at 8ohms and is 4ohm stable. 

 

My sub is an active Klipshe that has a way to to receive an audio signal while while also setting the satellite speakers X-Over to a set 75hz at 12db per octave. I could explain it but it's easier to say that its magic.

For what ever reason my new(er) amp is too smart for this sub and goes into protection mode when I plug the speaker leads into it. I know it might sound dumb but I'm not doing anything wrong, if you say I am wrong about this, I promise I will get angry. The amp on the sub works in a similar way to this plate amp http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sa100-100w-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-802

 

I have (had) my x-over set to just under 75hz and it sounded very good, very smooth transition. The sub had very good sound and would easily rattle things in the next room with heavy LFE tracks. My living room though oddly shaped has is very accoustically neutral. My speakers are not particularly expensive but they sound good. I would prefer it if my X-over could be lower but it's a non-issue now. 

 

DVD quality audio might as well be lossless. And to be honest I anything over 500kps is overkill, unless you have some golden ears. I changed set up's intending to go from 2.1 to 5.1 but ended up with 5.0 due to unforeseen problems. I need to purchase a center speaker still but you get the idea. 

 

Maybe next time you wont insult someones intelligence for something YOU don't understand. 

Edited by GabrielTessin

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Hi!

 

Remember that a crossover point is at -3 dB, or for normal people, half power at this specific frequency. It is close to the top of the 12 dB per octave slope (if passive crossover). Setting this point at 120 Hz should actually make sense. If you are hearing voices (not in your head but out of the subwoofer) set the crossover point lower. You cannot compare two different subs points as they do not have the same frequency response and resonant frequency. Also, if you set a high-pass filter on the speakers at close the same frequency, that could help a lot for the sound.

 

Gabe, what do you mean the amp doesn't "play well" ? Does your amp supports the subwoofer impedance?

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Gabe, what do you mean the amp doesn't "play well" ? Does your amp supports the subwoofer impedance?

 

The amp is the receiver. Well it's not a receiver technically, as it doesn't have an FM tuner therefore it is a Integrated Amplifier not a receiver. I will just call it a receiver fror clarity. 

 

The subwoofer has it's own amplifier on it making it what is called an active subwoofer. Active subs can typically be ran via RCA input or Line Level Input. Line Level Input samples the frequency going to the left and right speaker typically and through the power of magic play only the bass and sub bass you tell it to. It is just as good as an RCA connection in most cases. Many, if not most active home theater subs can be ran this way.

 

For whatever reason though it has no reason not to work with this set up, the receiver simply refuses and goes to protection mode. 

 

I may have an old bit of wire stuck in the sub terminals causing a short which would explain why it is going straight to protection mode. I will have to take another look at it.

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Hi!

 

Ah OK, when I replied, I did not see the message you wrote 5 mins before me. I know what an active sub is, but in your first message, you did not describe it, and I haven't seen the second one.

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What have you tried so far for the issue?

 

Have you ever tried the subwoofer the way you are now, plugging both channels on a receiver, on another amp? What if you tried to put only one channel only, expecting that there must be some kind of fault with the Klipsch unit? Usually power signals cannot be combined because combining signals requires op-amps, which are made for line level signals. Take an ohmmeter and verify the resistance between the left black terminal and the right black terminal, I suspect them to be tied together. If you suspect a short between the red and black, well that's another thing.

 

What you could do, if you want to combine, is to use a Line-output converter, that goes from speaker level to Line, that you could use with the RCA inputs. You have to watch out for the signal level though, because this is simply a voltage divider with which you adjust the signal. If the divider is not set correctly, you can easily burn the inputs of the amplifier. Relying on distortion of the sub is not a good idea to find out what level you are at. Start low and increase in baby steps until the level seems satisfying.

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