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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
 
Problem seems much better when I make sure no stray wires from the cut RCA cable touch + to - (ugh, so stupid) and if I run a ground wire from the crown (it has +, -, gnd) to a screw on the chasis of my outlaw pre-amp.

The one thing I can't figure out is that the IOC light on the crown 800 keeps coming on, which supposedly happens when distortion goes too high.

In any case, subs are much better now. Thanks for all the replies! I don't have a reference for how these should sound, so if anyone has other ideas for improving quality, I'd be happy to try them out.

Thanks all.
sthomas12321
408 posts
 
A pro subs going to need a EQ system. Specially in a home. If you dont have one get one or you will never hear anything under 45HZ. Designed for ouput max volume.

Velodyne SMS1 would work.

Check your connections & loose any homade looking stray wire cables. Solder on connectors needed
dddrrreee OP
38 posts
 
I switched to using an outlaw pre-amp to send send the subwoofer output to the crown amp. The crossover is at 60hz --- you are saying even in this case the sub won't get sub 45hz? How does putting an eq system there fix this?

Thanks!
iimig
1 posts
 
When connecting an unbalanced RCA connection to pro gear that has a balanced input, only the + and shield is used. The poor sound you heard was because you used + and -. Rewire with + and shield and it will sound much better. Also bear in mind the unbalanced output from your receiver (-10db) cannot put out the same level signal the amplifier is looking for (+4db) however it will still work if you compensate for the lost gain.
rwwear
2,883 posts
 
Pro subs are designed for high output but not necessarily low bass. Your sub will go down to around 28hz but you may not get that in your room. The SMS-1 will come with a setup mic to tune the sub to your room. It will have video out to see the results and allow you to adjust for your room and give you the ability to have 5 different settings plus have remote control for the volume and different modes. Velodyne's DDS series has this built in.
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