HELP: Subwoofer for music

Hey Matchsticman, I'm working on the same project. Got all kinds of ideas going on. Like you i want a sub for music , not for HT purposes, not for movie sound effects. Natural (very low key) and subtle. Here's what i got going. I'm going to buy a sub cabinet from madisound, then get a carpenter to cut the hole for a Seas Excel W26. Instead of a sub amp(Hypex200), think i'll gamble on the Marchand XM9 xover, will carry 20-100HZ. I think the Hypex sub amp will deliver more bass than i really want. I'm looking for an intergrated bass. I get the feeling some folks are not happy with the intergration of the sub bass. I'm hoping the OUT on my Jadis intergrated is just for this purpose..??? Keep in touch.

Bigtree already said the magic "two words": Vandersteen 2Wq. Buy one -- or even better, buy two -- you won't regret it.

I use a VELODYNE HGS-12 Subwoofer ( servo. controlled )and would highly recommended them.
I think Velodyne is the Best out there. Detailed, Precise, and I believe the Lowest Distortion level out there for subs. See if you can audition some subs ( on your system )to see what is Best for you!
Go to these site : www.velodyne.com and www.audioreview.com
Good Luck and enjoy,
Thomas

I cured my problem 2 ways: I got a Janis sub amp/crossover and a passive sub which is installed between the pre and amp. It integrates better than any powered sub I've heard. It works wonders plus alleviates the strain on my SET amp.
I have also played with a pair of Nelson Reed Passive subs. They are big (the size of old Advents but heavier), have no appearant bottom limits and have unbelievable built in crossovers.
With either choice I can make mini monitors sound every bit as good as much larger speakers. Both the Janis and Nelson-Reeds are a fixed cut off of 100hz but have adjustable volume, phase and more. I may consider selling?

Hey Tweekerman,
I talked to Steve Deckert at Decware about having a tough time finding a subwoofer amp plate that would fit the WO32 and he said that it was one of the reasons they stopped selling the sub fully built. It was hard to find reliable amp plates, and when you found one, you had to do surgery on it and yadda, yadda, yadda...so, I told him about my idea of using an external amp with a crossover and he said that this would make for a better sound because most amps have more "balls" than subwoofer amp plates, too. I have done some research and AudioSource(www.audiosource.net) makes a 100w monoblock, couple this with a Paradigm X30 crossover and you are there. It would go like this: Source to preamp to crossover to solid state monoblock to subwoofer cabinet with binding posts(solid state makes a better amp for bass signals). Here is my problem...too much stuff in the path, but then we are talking about bass, (so not much signal loss) plus using this method would leave the high and mid part alone; source to tube amp to satelite speakers by themselves(semi bi-amp setup). I use DM602s and they go down to 52, so I need the crossover to start at 52 and go down from there. It seems, in theory, that it should work.

As for the Vandersteens. I am seriously thinking about that one, too, considering that by the time I get the subwoofer cabinet built, buy the drivers, amp, crossover and whatever else I need, the cost might be as high as buying one Vandersteen. But here is the thing; I have read that Vandersteen need a crossover up front(more stuff in front of the high end signal) and this crossover starts at 80 or so, and my DM602 are rated to start at 52, so that is about 30 points(80 - 52) or so that the DM602 will lose or not use. Am I right or wrong on this.

...set the music free!