home audio questions

[t-maxxracer32]

so much information in so little time.

i cannot handle it

anyways...

um i dont really knwo what to say.

im going to look into those plate amps...

[rschoi_75]

hey t-maxx, glad you got your set-up running. Sorry I wasn't around last weekend to help you out. Anyways, a powered sub does sound like a good route, but I'd choose a smaller 10" woofer for your room. Those larger 12" and 15" woofers are meant to fill extremely large rooms and home theaters (the real ones with movie seating and 600sq ft + of room). I'm sure one of the electrical engineers can explain it better, but it has to do with the low freq those larger subs operate at. They hit loudest at a distance of 15-20 feet away... or more. If your room is really that big, then... great! I feel sorry for your neighbors. lol.

Also, you should check out some different receivers for the future. The systems normally found in best buy are good for first time HT buyers since they are generally user friendly and bundled in "all-in-one" type set-ups. But as you become more of an audiophile, you'll want to look into Denon, Harmon Kardon, JBL, onkyo, nakamichi, mcintosh, and so on (without going over board on $$$). I started with a samsung system back in 1998. It was also my first, and I liked it a lot. I thought it was awesome until I bought a Denon component system a few years back. The difference was night and day.

[_paralyzed_]

you only need space to play low frequencies, no radio music has or any store bought cd's (except for bass specific cd's) play low enough to warrant that large of a room, however, a bigger woofer has a larger cone area and will play louder than a smaller woofer, he says he wants more bass than a single 12" with 285w gives him, so a smaller woofer is not the answer. A subwoofer is just a fancy air pump, move more air=more bass bigger woofer=more air moved. A plate amp is just an extra amp to only power the subwoofer. You'd still need a non-powered (passive) subwoofer. It's easier and cheaper to buy a powered subwoofer rather than an amp and a subwoofer.

[skellyo]

Not only is it easier to buy a powered subwoofer, it'll sound better as well. As good as some car audio subs are, they are nowhere near as good as those designed specifically for home theater/audio.

[_paralyzed_]

cabinet design has alot to do with that, i've built boxes for car sub use in a home and they sounded great. they are after all, just speakers and don't know wheter they are in a car or in a house. it's the downfall of many a speaker, not putting it in a proper enclosure.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by _paralyzed_

you only need space to play low frequencies, no radio music has or any store bought cd's (except for bass specific cd's) play low enough to warrant that large of a room, however, a bigger woofer has a larger cone area and will play louder than a smaller woofer, he says he wants more bass than a single 12" with 285w gives him, so a smaller woofer is not the answer. A subwoofer is just a fancy air pump, move more air=more bass bigger woofer=more air moved. A plate amp is just an extra amp to only power the subwoofer. You'd still need a non-powered (passive) subwoofer. It's easier and cheaper to buy a powered subwoofer rather than an amp and a subwoofer.

You are correct, he did say "More" - not "Better"......

Smaller woofers will give crisper, more accurate and cleaner sound, especially when driven by high power. The REL line http://www.rel.net/of subs is widely considered one of the best out there, and I dont believe they have any over 10", but they are running gobs of clean wattage (true rms values) in a small space. If you want your house to shake on a budget, then bigger with less power will do that. If you want to invest in the future (if that can even be considered with todays electronics market), get a smaller high powered one, then down the road, add a second or third sub to the system. My first one was a 1XX watt Yamaha Dual Driver sub, that actually did quite well. I picked it up at a demo sale for a little over 100 bucks. Its nothing compared to what I run now, but it was a great place to start and learn what I liked in my theater.

wow,def tec! remember the bp2000's with the built in 18" powered sub? awesome......

Yes, I almost went with the BP line, but I personally preferred the crisper sound of the Mythos Line - and they fit behind our couch better for the rears.

[t-maxxracer32]

so what are you guys saying?

dont buy that plate thing? buy a powerd sub?
idk

alot of what you said went right through my head because it made no sence.

[ICUBoy]

Hi t-maxxracer
Most of my audio stuff is very high-end but I built my subs, and they sound very good. They are designed to maximise quality not quantity but in you room they will be LOUD.
http://www.customanalogue.com/sub_index.htm is the place to start. Read first, and check out competing designs but these sound good to me. Have fun and don't believe anyone else's ears!

[_paralyzed_]

you only need the plate amp if you want a seperate amp and seperate sub, the powered sub is all in one and much easier and much cheaper, but if you are a millionaire and want a balls out setup, seperate components are the way to go.

[BrianG]

And the only reason I mentioned the plate amp is because it seemed like you wanted to use the kicker sub and box. Just adding an amp to that would be cheaper than an equivalent powered sub unit...

[t-maxxracer32]

Originally Posted by BrianG

And the only reason I mentioned the plate amp is because it seemed like you wanted to use the kicker sub and box. Just adding an amp to that would be cheaper than an equivalent powered sub unit...

fo sho!

that's really all im looking to buy

if I buy a 500 wattt one and my sub is 350 rms will that be fine?
or how's it work

[_paralyzed_]

I have no idea what the sony puts out for power, it says 285 watts to the sub, but is that rms, or is it peak, or is it downhill with a tailwind? Regardless, if you want "more bass" I don't think you will hear much of an increase by simply putting more power to the kicker. It would definately be cleaner sounding. But, with a plate amp you could run the kicker and put the sony back in using the sony power. That should add some volume. And yes, it's perfectly ok to drive a 350wrms sub with a 500w amp. It's always better to have extra power or "headroom", just be sure when you set the output level that there is no audible distortion and you'll be fine.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

fo sho!

that's really all im looking to buy

if I buy a 500 wattt one and my sub is 350 rms will that be fine?
or how's it work

Yes, as long as the signal is CLEAN! Audio should sound the same at all volumes, just louder. Any difference in how it sounds (other than volume) is distortion, and distortion kills.

Besides, you won't be running the sub at 500w constant anyway, unless you like listening to pure low frequency sine waves at full volume all day.

Normally, music is peaky, kinda like our BL systems. You'll draw 500w+ peaks for about 10% of the time, and maybe 100w the other 90% of the time. That's an average of 140w, which is wayy fine for that sub. I usually double the amp to speaker power ratio for this reason.

[JThiessen]

Does your reciever also have line level sub output? (that means its not sending any power - just a signal). You should know if you do or dont prior to selecting your amp - some only have inputs for line level.

[rschoi_75]

If they are all rms values, then you'll want to buy an amp that's at or below 350w rms. Buying a higher power amp could blow out the sub. Its going to be incredibly loud at 350w rms. I'm only running 150w rms (total) to my dual 10" Pheonix gold subs in my car, and its louder than I can handle.