I'm curious about current plate amps now, I've been out of the audio loop for awhile, BrianG- got any good links for amps??

When I first read your post on setting up three subs, that was my number one concern. Yes, you'll have bass up the wazzzooo, but its all going to be out of phase and sound like crap unless you have crossovers (do plate amps have these built in?). If they dont, then you need to purchase them, and add them to the circuit. For your front subs - you can purchase a RCA "sub splitter jack" - basically allows for one in and two out. Run your sub out to it, then individual RCA's to each sub. (my M&K has "networking" built in for running subs in series or parrallel?) For the rear surround sub - I'd look for a plate amp that allows you to run both your R and L surround speaker wires into it, and has sub out, and R/L audio out. I dont have a clue if they even make such a thing, but in that scenario, your sub would be carrying the low bass for both the surrounds.

whoa, whoa, whoa, we're talking about a sony reciever in a "hang out" room here, not a stack of krell components in a classical music playing reference system. Unless he mixes up red for black the speakers wont be out of phase, a crossover would be nice, but he just wants more boom. I think he's on the right track and as his audio taste and knowledge grows, maybe then we can get into crossovers and timbre matching and speaker placement, but for a boombox in a gameroom how in depth do we have to get? I guess we should ask t-maxxracer. Hey t-maxxracer- do you want the best of the best in an audiophile style system, or do you just want more boom for you room? The sky is the limit when it comes to audio, makes r/c's seem cheap, I do miss my denon/b&w/martin logan home theatre setup, but the $10,000 was better used elsewhere!

Actually, multiple subs that are not colocated will not be in phase at the listening position.

PartsExpress is where I shop at for fairly inexpensive DIY parts. You might find cheaper stuff elsewhere so shop around. For plate amps, this is what they have.

Looks like the 240w version is about the max you'll get for a relatively low price of $100. It gets expensive for more power than that, and they don't have speaker in/out terminals. And usually, if the amp has speaker in/out terminals, it includes a crossover to limit the low frequencies to your main speakers. The 240w version is the output rating at 4 ohms. If using an 8 ohm sub, it's 170w. So impedance does play a role here, which is why it's important to know what you plan to run on the amp.

In case your sub is dual voice coil:
- If each coil is 2 ohms, hook them in series for 4 ohms total
- If each coil is 4 ohms, hook them in series for 8 ohms total. Hooking them in parallel gets you 2 ohms and that's too low for most amps and the amp would be unstable.
- If each coil is 8 ohms, hook them in parallel for 4 ohms total.

Hookup of a plate amp is as simple as cutting out an opening in your sub box, hooking up the sub's wires, screwing the plate into the hole, and hooking to 120v and to your system. If your receiver has sub RCA outputs, use those. If not, route your main speaker wire to the sub speaker inputs and then to your speakers.

And about the phasing issue: Yes, it can make a difference, but he's not running high end stuff to make a difference. Usually, simply using the phase reverse switch on the sub amp to adjust to 0* or 180* is adequate. Ideally, you'd want all your speakers to be mounted on the same vertical plane for proper phasing, but then your sub response might not be the best in that location. Higher-end sub amps have adjustable phase control for this, but those are more expensive and I'm sure cost is an issue here.

Check out partsexpress.com, they have got nice low-budget subs (diy)

I've got a REL upstairs in my hobbyroom, and i am using a 15" 800watts rms powered sub in the living room..

http://rc.stuurmijmail.nl/homemadesubs/6.JPG

If you want to build your own subwoofer, i can help you with designing the enclosure.

Before i was into RC i was into building speakers. Stepped away from it since it took too much of my time.. Now here i am...

phase is very important in a sub, and so is the cross-over. Don't use two cross-overs on one sub; if the amp has one and the sub, dissable one of both; they interfere and can cause nasty phase problems.

Unlike what most companies make you want to believe, a sub needs to be in the center of the speakers, otherwise it's pulling away the entire stereo image. odd but true.

Speaking of nice subs.. I used to have 360 liter large subs, playing 20hz at a 104db/1m/1w efficiency. (at 10W they where playing as loud as most subs could do at maximum power) the FS of the speaker in that cabinet was 14 hz. at 2X800W rms they could help you breath.. it was the most impressive bass i ever had.

skellyo- thanks for the schooling, phase coherence eludes me
BrianG- thanks for the link
Serum- that is a beuatiful speaker cabinet, you do fine work man
tmaxxracer- good luck
everybody- damn yous, damn yous all, i'm getting the audio bug AGAIN, I never visited parts express before, my money will be gone, my neighbors will hate me, i will get tinitus(ear damage) and all my lipos will probably blow up. But the s.p.l. will be amazing.......................................

my rich :yipi: friend has some canton karat speakers. I cant think of anything better. He also has a sub and center, but I dont want to do any more searching.

http://www.canton.de/en-produktdetai...karat795dc.htm