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How Screwed Am I?

Disclaimer: I'm a newb but I am aware I didn't make the best equipment choices when I bought this stuff. My only defense is it was five years ago, I was in a hurry, and I didn't spend much cash.

I've got a Sony STR-DE845 receiver and a Bose Acoustimass 6 Series II satellite system (it's got single cubes, not doubles, and a passive "bass module"). Please, any ranting against Bose will be preaching to the choir at this point. I will indeed upgrade my speakers...later.

I want to get some bass out of my system, and the Bose bass module is godawful. So I'm shopping for an inexpensive (<$300) active subwoofer. The problem is that the satellites run through the bass module, and the super-secret Bose crossover is apparently set around 280 Hz, which is way high. Too high to use an active subwoofer or the receiver as the crossover. The receiver will only crossover up to 180 Hz, and active subwoofers around 120 to 180. So not only would I lose 180-280 Hz, but I might damage the satellites. So it looks like I need to keep the Bose bass module just for its crossover utility.

Finally I figured, hey, I'll just leave the Bose system as is and plug the active subwoofer into the receiver's LFE jack. But I couldn't find any stats on what where the LFE crossover is for the receiver. I've seen reports of 70, 80, 100, and 120 Hz for various receivers, so I assume it's somewhere in that range. My plan had been to buy a subwoofer that went pretty high (some go up to 200Hz) to try and better match the satellites, but it looks like no matter what its range the sub would be limited by whatever the LFE output fed it.

It looks like my only option (assuming I can only afford a subwoofer at this point) is to buy an active subwoofer, plug it into the LFE, and deal with the fact that there'll be a big gap of about 180 Hz between the top of the LFE (around 100) and the bottom of the satellites (around 280).

Oh, and I have one more question. Is my LFE output only going to work as the .1 channel when I'm playing a DVD in 5.1? Or will LFE output work for regular stereo inputs as well?

Any constructive comments would be appreciated. Such as, are my assumptions correct? Are my conclusions correct? Does anyone have any alternate proposals on how to solve this? Is my only option one of sucktitude?

Thanks,

- G
sbrueckn54b7
sbrueckn54b7 OP
1 posts
 
Thanks for the responses; they're much appreciated.

I hadn't considered selling the Bose system; I've bought from ebay but never sold. I checked out other people's listings for an Acoustimass 6 Series II system and surprisingly it looks like I can get at least $300 for this old system! At least this time I've got the Bose reputation working in my favor. Plus I've got the white model, which I know drives the ladies crazy.

So my next step is planning for bigger and better things. I want the best of both worlds; i.e. good home theater and good music, but I've got a fairly small apartment. Is this possible? Is there someone who makes a satellites/sub combo that sounds great for music? Or would I need something bigger than satellites? Maybe mix and match, with good music speakers for front, a specialized center speaker, moderate satellites for the rear, and a decent sub? How do people get the best of both worlds?
pabelson
344 posts
 
No "micro" satellite is going to overcome the basic problem with the Bose system. The minimum acceptable music/HT system would be something like four Paradigm Atoms and matching center and sub. You're talking something like $1k for the set. If you want something a little better, replace the fronts and sub with units higher up the food chain.

If even $1k is too much for you right now, you'd be better off buying only part of a system now, rather than stretching your dollars to cover 6 speakers. A pair of Titans and a PDR-10 will run you $600 or so. Save your pennies, and add a center (first) and rears later.
gmarcotte8f97
66 posts
 
i agree with Pabelson, buy the best speakers you can affoed now. no sat-sub system will do what a good pair of full range speakers can do. just compair the bose accustmass 12 to a pair of bose full range speaker at half the cost. the full range sounds twice as good.
darrenlite
24 posts
 
You've been screwed real good by Dr. Bose and his marketing Minions......Sell the Bose and get some decent Paradigms, PSB's, B&W's etc........
lousyreeds1's avatar
lousyreeds1
286 posts
 
One thing about home theater: concentrate on making it sound -good- first, and concentrate on making it come from all directions later. You will be much happier putting your money into a nice 2-channel setup, then adding the other channels later as you can afford it. You could even just get two crappy speakers from a garage sale and use those for surrounds until you can get something better.
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