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Vinyl and subwoofers

I have a pair of Thiel 3.6 and a Thiel ss1 sub with the prescribed Thiel crossover. I have a pretty good vinyl rig with a Clearaudio performance se, Stradivari cartridge and a ARC PH8 phonostage. Although the Thiels go down to 20hz, an audiogon member  persuaded me that I was missing something without a subwoofer. What I have heard with the Thiel SS1 sub and prescribed crossover is an amplification of record imperfections I was not aware of without the sub. As well, the overall sound seems often muddied. Has anyone else had this problem with vinyl? Is this a problem with my setup? Any insights are very appreciated.
golferboy
oleschool's avatar
oleschool
722 posts
 
x2 and room is treated ? i take it .Bass traps do wonders in my set up 
erik_squires
16,046 posts
 
Bad setup. Acoustic treatment, and EQ are your Rx.

Unfortunately too many times (most of the time) buyers think subs are as easy to set up as their mains. They are not, they are an order or magnitude more difficult and takes specialized knowledge, which anyone can learn, but it takes time.


Contact GIK Acoustics, and either get an auto-calibrating EQ for your sub, or get some one to properly integrate it for you.

Best,

Erik
miner42
709 posts
 
KAB makes a rumble filter that may help your situation, especially if you witness an unusual amount of cone movement in your subwoofer.  It helped mine - a REL B1 and Sf Cremona Auditor M.  My sub bass system was set up by a trained professional.
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jwpstayman
399 posts
 
just a quick thought here.  Not being familiar with ARC phono stages, I am wondering IF the phono stage is inverting phase, which might account for the subwoofer's odd performance when playing vinyl vs the same sub working fine when playing other sources.  Not saying that it does, just something to consider....  good luck!
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