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Unimpressive sound from Tannoy B475 subwoofer?

I impulse bought two tannoy b475 18" pro subwoofers over the weekend for what seemed like a good price.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to manage to get decent sound out of them. Did I just make a mistake and buy subs that don't perform well, or is there possibly a problem with my setup?

They want 400w-800w. I've tried a crown 800 (bridged) and a jbl synthesis 400 (bridged) and neither made them sound all that hot. The sub signal is coming from a pioneer elite, which isn't the best setup, but seems to drive my mb quart vera sub fairly nicely. The tannoy sounds much worse.

One possible issue: the crown needs a + and - for input, but the sub output is RCA, so I cut the end off a RCA cable and got the +/- from that. Perhaps bad idea?
dddrrreee
dddrrreee OP
38 posts
 
Wow, thanks for all the responses!

ckoffend: I'm at work, so can't check the crown model, but I believe it's a ct800b: http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/legacy/ct800sm.pdf

It only has speaker wire inputs/outputs (they have +,-, and ground). It doesn't have 1/4.

I know the subs are pro. I was hoping for volume and not too much loss in precision. They came from SGI's theater room. The guy I bought them off of raved about them & he seemed like a very honest person. Perhaps he was not discerning about bass or perhaps (I'm hoping) I just have them hooked up wrong.

I know the overall quality of the "sound experience" of just having subs playing by themselves won't be great, but you should at least be able judge the quality of the sub output. E.g., distortion, chuffing, etc. Or am I off base?
dddrrreee OP
38 posts
 
Herman: sorry for the unclear description. Connection is:

[pioneer elite, RCA sub out] ----> [speaker wire in, crown] ----> tannoy

where the pioneer -> crown is an rca cable with the RCA connector cut off on the crown end and the two wires attached to the crown.

It didn't sound good full range, which is why I tried it alone.

In retrospect I should have gone w/ a velo or a triad, but this is what I (foolishly) pulled the trigger on so I would like to get it working if possible.

dddrrreee OP
38 posts
 
Rwwear: I have the extra amps (crowns) to drive them, so that's not a big deal. What cross over are you referring to? The pioneer receiver has a selectable crossover point, or do you mean something else?

The size of the b475s is a drawback in some sense (e.g., my gf isn't enthused) but it's kind of cool to have a couple of huge subs glowering on the sides of the room.
rwwear
2,867 posts
 
The Pioneer crossover should work.
dddrrreee OP
38 posts
 
Herman: sorry for the unclear description. Connection is:

[pioneer elite, RCA sub out] ----> [speaker wire in, crown] ----> tannoy

where the pioneer -> crown is an rca cable with the RCA connector cut off on the crown end and the two wires attached to the crown.

It didn't sound good full range, which is why I tried it alone.

In retrospect I should have gone w/ a velo or a triad, but this is what I (foolishly) pulled the trigger on so I would like to get it working if possible.

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