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Please help with subwoofer.

I'm considering one new Velodyne HGS 18 Series II with a 1200 watt amp ....or two Velodyne F-1800 with 600 watt amps. My room is 22ft wide and 70 ft long with 22 ft high ceilings....carpeted concrete floors and concrete ceiling....the building was once a beer brewery and has been converted to live-in lofts. Will the one Velodyne HGS 18 do the trick or will the two less powerful F-1800's be better. The cost for one new HGS 18 is the same as two used F-1800's...$2000. I've never owned a sub before and I'd appreciate your input....thanks.....Mitch

Preamp..............Audio Research LS-10 solid state (no phono input)
Preamp..............Carver C-19 Tube (I have it connected to the AR LS-10 and use it for a phono preamp)
Main Speakers............Infinity Kappa 9 (bi-amped)
Amp.................Carver Silver 9-t monoblocks (low pass)
Amp.................Sunfire Signature (high pass)
Rear Speakers.......Infinity Kappa 7
Center Speaker......Infinity Kappa Series II center
Amp (rears).........Carver TFM 42
Amp (center)........Carver TFM 42
Phonograph..........Oracle Delphi Mk-I
Cartridge...........Grado Reference Platinum
CD Player...........Carver SDA/360 5 disc changer
Tuner...............Sansui TU-X1
Surround Processor....Technics SH-AC5000
Television............Sharp 32 inch
128x128mitch4t
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
How about using REL and hook it (them?) up for HT and two channel, gaining advantage for both systems. There is a REL Stadium for sale here on Audiogon for under 2K, it would definitely do the job.
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,611 posts
 
Albert....What is the relationship of woofer size and amplifier to bass production? I looked up the REL specs and the Stadium III is a 10 inch woofer with a 300 watt amp. The Velodynes that I'm considering offer an 18 inch woofer and a 600 watt amp for the F-1800 and a 1250 watt amp for the HGS 18....Are the REL's that prodigious in their bass output? A seller is offering a pair of Velodyne F-1800's for $2k. Will the 10 inch driver in the REL deliver the goods in a room my size?
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
There have been a number of threads posted on this subject. I have not made the test between these two but the general consensus is that the crossover is as (or more) important than the speaker itself.

You have a very good speaker in the Infinity Kappa. My idea was to cross the REL below the cutoff point of the Kappa for stereo and at THX crossover point for HT.

My understanding is the REL hooks up both ways at once and does double duty for those of us that have high end stereo but want HT too.

No doubt the Velodyne will produce terrific bass output, and perhaps the better of the two for HT. I don't think it can match the REL for integrating into the Infinity, so you may have to make a choice of which system to favor.

Others with more experience on this subject may offer an opinion. Perhaps the REL I suggested is one model below what would work best for you?
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,611 posts
 
Albert......for music, I'm content with the bass output of the Kappa's. The only reason that I'm even considering a sub or two is that when I use the Kappa 9's when playing dvd's....the bass onlslaught sounds like it is going to rip my speakers apart and I fear for the lives of my speakers..I'm talking about dvd's like 'Gladiator' and other dvd's that have that killer bass and gut wrenching explosions. So, integration for music is not an issue, this is strictly an HT thing. Right now I just want relief for my mains and fix the HT bass issue. I'm pretty new to HT. Maybe in a year or so when I get some more money, I'll start experimenting with subs to augment my 2 channel setup. Thanks Albert for your input. Anyone else here care to jump in?
rives
953 posts
 
I generally recommend 2 subs over 1. They are much easier to place and get a flat frequency response. For HT placing them mid way across a wall and the other on the opposite side of the room will give you the flattest frequency response. In addition to this I think the F series subwoofer sounds better than the HGS (I know many will disagree with me here, but the HGS sounds like a motor to me). If you go to our website, www.rivesaudio.com, and enter the listening room (it's throug acoustical issues), there is a button for speakers. Go to that page and there's a link that will give our methods for speaker placement, including subwoofers. We will be updating that paper in the upcoming weeks, but it's still very useful now.
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