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Vandersteen Sub woofers v Rythmik Subs

I really love the idea of the Vandersteen Subs where they are connected with the mains via extra speaker cable off right and left channels off the main amplifier, which is supposed to provide better bass transition from the mains while keeping the signature from the main amplifier. My question is with Vandersteen coming out with the SUB THREE and the price going significantly higher, I was wondering if there are other subs for less that you could integrate in the same way. (Most subs seem to rely on the line level input which is just a sub-woofer RCA going from the pre-amp to the amp on the sub). Can this same Vandersteen set-up be achieved with other subs?
I picked Rythmik since they are known (in the home theater community anyway) for being one of the best bang for the buck subs and the most "musical" of the bunch. (between Hsu, SVS, PSA).
And could I possibly achieve even greater sub-woofer nirvana since I could get an 18" for around $1500? Vandies only have 3 eight inchers.

I am a Vandersteen fanboy and I would like to support RV whenever I can, but don’t know much about my other sub-woofer options so looking for some feedback. Doesn’t even have to be related to Rythmik necessarily. If you know of other subs that can integrate the same way I want to know about it!

Thanks
bstatmeister
bondmanp
1,808 posts
 

The M5-HP is a battery biased active crossover designed for use with either Vandersteen speakers featuring built-in powered subs or Vandersteen 2W series subs.


They have internal jumpers that must be set to match the input impedance of your main amplifier(s).  They can be ordered either in balanced or single-ended versions.  As long as you don't switch from balanced to single-ended or vice-versa, these should work with almost any amp you might use now or in the future.  Note that the 9-volt battery must be soldered in, and if you use lithium 9-volt batteries, expect to do this about once every 10 years.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
easy the jumpers are actually DIP switches, just know with certainty the input impedence of your amp !

failing that you can use Vandertones and a Multi-meter to get it right !

m5 in single ended do come up used and Randy at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica always seems to have an extra used set, as will many Vandersteen dealers

try to get batteries with some years left and Audioquest Sky pigtails :)



mr_m
1,900 posts
 
Seems like the biggest differences in the M5-HP are the dip switches and pigtails. My pair have the Audioquest Fire pigtails.
bstatmeister OP
537 posts
 
What are the differences between the dip switches and the pig tails? Is there a default?
What about the M5-HP with balanced connections? As a nice monkey wrench, my current preamp situation is this:
preamp out with unbalanced RCA into a Samson S-convert, then outputted to my amp with balanced cables. (in this situation i could get the balanced M5-HP, no?)

Am I better off just taking the samosn s-convert out since it's just one more thing that breaks the signal, or am I better off using the samson with the balanced cables, since balanced, when all things considered is better than unbalanced? Thanks for the feedback. Learning lots!
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@bstatmeister  I'll try to answer your questions as clearly as I am able.  The "pigtail" is the interconnect cable coming out of the M5-HP.  You plug your preamp main out interconnect in the one side of the rectangular M5-HP and then the "pigtail" end plugs into the input jacks on the back of your power amplifier.  Before doing all of that plugging in, you need to open the crossover box and find the tiny "dip switches"  In my case my amp has a 100k ohm input impedance.  I have my M5-HP set at one setting below that which is 75k.  The manual suggests that you try to the actual input impedance setting of your amp and one below, I believe.  For me, that one step below gave me the most seamless integration of the subwoofers into my system.

Hope this helps!

PS  I would take the Samson out and use unbalanced cables.  If you need to purchase a good pair of cables, they are around including, of course, here on Audiogon.
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