Do you think you need a subwoofer?

Hi Raul,

Believe it or not, I actually picked up a Pass Labs XVR1 crossover for a friend, but had to ship it back to him one day later. So, I never got to use it.

The Pass X-O is built like a 200wpc amp, it must weigh 40-50lbs.

I also did some reading about the Bryston 10b a few nights ago. One just sold here on Audiogon for $500 in under 8 hours.

I was hoping to find a cheap solution, but a good crossover is going to cost money. I guess the results will be worth it. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

Dear Darkmoebius: I think that the Pass is an expensive unit, very well made and I hope meet your targets.

The Bryston is a very good one too and with many user friendly options. Second hand: "inexpensive " too.

Yes, please let us know how it works.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Goatwuss: I'm sorry for my mistake about your REL question, the problem was not my english but my unknow REL concept about subs: but now I understand how the REL subs work.

I think that you can't run the RELs on true stereo fashion, but if exist that alternative it really does not help to a stereo sound reproduction because it dos not roll-off ( take-off ) the low bass from your main speakers.

The REL desing only cover one of the objectives of a subwoofer: better quality/quantity low end. Its use is more for HT than for a true stereo home aplications, it can't really help here.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Hi Doug: Do you think you need subwoofers? what is your opinion about?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Rauliruegas...It happens that I have a spectrum analyser in my system, and can therefore give sure answers about frequency response.

The Maggie 1.6 low end rolls off rapidly around 40 Hz, which is exactly what Magneplanar says. For most music their low end sounds better than you would expect because it is very smooth, and the planar format means that SPL is quite uniform throughout the room (at least in my room).

My SW systems exhibit flat SPL to 1250 Hz. (And they are flat to 20 Hz). This is when driving them with a full range white noise signal. However, if you drive them with a swept-frequency tone, distortion becomes evident around 400 Hz. So the SPL is there at 1000Hz, but some of it is harmonic distortion.

Advocates of small drivers may find it hard to believe that a 15" driver can do 400 Hz or higher. Actually it is not the size (mass) of the cone that matters, but rather the ratio of the motor power to the cone mass. My 15" driver has a 4" voice coil, and about 20 pounds of magnet, driven by 600 watts, so it is not at all surprising that it can perform well up to 400 Hz. I also have a set of JBL LE15A drivers (used in some of their classic top-of-the-line systems) and they are good for 800Hz (but they won't do much below 30 Hz).

About the 200 to 300 Hz crossover...this is just for certain types of music, most notably theatre organ, but also brass bands and massed choral music. There is no way that three MG1.6 can deliver the impact of six big cones.