JL audio's CR-1 active crossover will do the trick. About $3500 new I think, tons of flexibility for crossover points for high and lows, dead silent and transparent, excellent reviews. Feed your pre amp out into it and then your "trimmed" high level output back to your amp input; run the "bass" output to your dedicated subwoofer.
Bass management--high/low pass filtering
A few days ago I posted to this forum seeking recommendations for a new subwoofer, and that discussion has turned out to be very enlightening, offering advice about subs and integrating them into my system. One reply mentioned the advantages of bass management for my main speakers (Ryan R-610 bookshelf speakers), but rather than sidetrack that discussion I thought I'd ask this separately:
It was suggested that I try cutting off the frequency response of the Ryans at 60 or 80Hz and letting the sub take over from there, thus relieving the mid/bass woofers of that substantial burden. On paper, this seems like a promising avenue to pursue, so I'm wondering if anybody has tried this and if there is a hardware device that can accomplish it. I'm certainly not an electrical engineer--far from it--so trying to design and build one is way beyond me.
My integrated amp is a Modwright KWI200 and my previous sub (which is now dead and not repairable) was connected via speakon (speaker level) cable, though the Modwright does have a pre-out that can also be used to connect to a sub.
While pretty much all active subwoofers have adjustable low-pass filters, it appears that this would entail a high-pass filter somewhere in the chain. Is this something I can buy as an add-on? Couldn't find anything online, so I'm hoping that somebody may have some suggestions. Thanks.
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A minidsp SHD (not the best quality perhaps, but your mileage may vary) can be used as a streamer with bass management, if you intend to keep the modwright in the chain. They also have other models in their product list. For a more polished/ turnkey 1 box solution, the Yamaha R-N2000A amp (w/ integrated bass management features) will do it really well. I got to measure this unit. Accuphase used to make some very high quality units etc Guys like @phusis may have suggestions on other items that can be used to achieve the above. |
@cooper52 -- I use subs in my setup that "meet up" with high-passed main speakers, but they’re all outboard actively configured via the same DSP/digital crossover, mains + subs, and thus high-passing the mains isn’t an extra measure per se. Rather it’s treating the mains + subs as a single 4-way speaker system per channel as an outset with a DSP unit that handles crossover duties for the entire speaker system (save for the "super tweeters" that are passively configured), and so the high-pass filter over the woofer/mids in the mains is just a natural measure on top of the other crossover points to have it all mesh nicely together with the separately housed subs. While I’d typically recommend high-passing the mains in conjunction with the use of subs, in your case with passively configured main speakers - and depending on how much you’re willing to invest, one way or the other - I might go with simply adding on a pair of active subs (not just one) and experiment with their built-in low-pass setting to best gel with the mains. Don’t be afraid to have the subs overlap a bit with the mains (this can be beneficial), and also try and find the best slope and not least phase setting. With regard to subs placement, as an outset I’d set them up flanking the mains symmetrically, one sub close to each main speaker. Or sidewall placement, again symmetrically. To me symmetry to the mains placement of subs is more important than diagonally or otherwise asymmetrically trying to optimize smoothness of frequency response, even when low-passing the subs below 80Hz, but to each their own. If you would do so anyway, try out a DBA with at least 3 subs. Experiment and see what you like best, and maybe you already do know. I haven’t used miniDSP iterations myself, but know people who do and have heard their active setups. From what I’ve been able to assess though the miniDSP doesn’t cut it for me, and so my recommendation would be for very high quality pro DSP units like ACX (previously named Xilica), XTA, LabGruppen or - even more expensive - DEQX. All of these are great, transparent digital crossovers, and somewhat more costly than the miniDSP’s. But again, that’s just me in the context of a fully active setup where I need an excellent DSP to handle crossover duties over the entire frequency spectrum of mains + subs. Nonetheless, in your case I’d either go all-in with a quality DSP unit to high-pass your mains and optionally low-pass passive (i.e.: sans both internal amps and XO’s) subs with outboard amps of your own choosing, OR forget about high-passing your mains, run them full-range and add on a pair of active subs with their built-in low-pass filter. |
Once again, this has been quite the education. Thanks to all for your suggestions and input on the subject. In the end, this seems like too many hoops to jump through to get the high-pass filtering to work in my system, and my previous experience with a sub (my late, lamented REL S/2) tells me that, as interesting as it would be to try, it's just not going to be practical. In particular, I'm not willing to invest $3K plus in JL Audio's CR-1 just to see what would happen. My room and my setup preclude using a pair of subs. I can only fit one in that space, and the REL sub filled things in admirably. For our listening tastes, at the volumes we are comfortable with, one sub is more than adequate. Still, I've learned quite a bit from all your responses, so again, thanks! |
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