Opinion on adding subwoofer to my Stereo Setup

[mantu]

A brief of my Stereo Setup first. I have a dedicated room of 12 ft X 12 ft (there are few other stuff like single bed, book shelf etc). The chain is, NUC (Roon Core) -> DigiOne Signature -> Chord Qutest -> Karan Acoustics KA I 180 MK2 -> Spendor SA1. I bought these speakers in 2014 and since then it has really served me well. I really like these speakers and feel that for my room size they are perfect. Though, I do miss Bass a bit. From last few weeks, I have been researching about adding Subwoofers into my setup. I have also gone through few threads in this Forum, where people are seeing very good results with adding Subwoofer into their Stereo Setup with the similar kind of Speakers. I came across Graham Audio Sub 3 (Passive Subwoofers) which matches beautifully with Graham Audio LS 3/5 and LS 3/5 A speakers. My SA1 share the same design as these speakers. I think, these Sub should match with my speakers as well.

I seek opinion and advice from Audio Gurus here, whether this would be right thing to do.

Following are some of the links of the articles I referred.

Spendor SA1

Spendor SA1 loudspeaker

Two years ago, I embarked on a series of reviews of mostly state-of-the-art, mostly full-range floorstanding speakers: the Sonus Faber Cremona Elipsa (December 2007), KEF Reference 207/2 (February 2008), PSB Synchrony One (April 2008), Magico V3 (May 2008), Avalon NP Ev

www.stereophile.com

Graham Audio Sub 3

SUB3 - Graham Audio - British manufacturers of high quality loudspeaker systems

Graham Audio - UK manufacturers of high quality loudspeakers, including the BBC-licensed LS5/8 and LS5/9

www.grahamaudio.co.uk

Graham Audio LS3/5 and LS3/5A with SUB3

The LS3/5A a world-famous mini-monitor that is loved by many. But what not many may know is that this was not actually the first incarnation of the model. In this article, I will describe the audible differences between the LS3/5's and LS3/5A's. In addition, I will listen to the SUB3 stereo...

www.hifi-advice.com

Chartwell SUB3 subwoofer

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a pair of LS3/5a loudspeakers in good condition, must be in want of a bit more bass. OK, so my days as Jane

www.hifiplus.com

 

[Kannan]

it is a passive subwoofer which means you need to add a monoblock amplifier with inbuilt DSP to control crossover, slope and attenuation.
For your current need, an active subwoofer is a better solution, and one subwoofer should be enough.

Depending on the design, you can either take low level output from your chute or the record output from the amp ( which I think is just a paralleled output of the input section) or high level outputs from the amplifier to the active subwoofer inputs.
Crossover, attenuation etc can be set in the sub.

Some REL models are well received for music integration, there is also an Elac model with bluetooth-enabled auto room calibration in built.

Overall, I suggest taking the active route.

I am personally using a Wharfedale active sub with my bookshelves.

 

[mantu]

Thank you for your advice. Apparently, this subwoofer is to be connected with the existing Amp and sits in between Amp and Speakers. It has a crossover and it passes signal above 100Hz to the speakers.

But I agree, that active Sub is more successful addition to the Stereo chain.

 

[Kannan]

Thank you for your advice. Apparently, this subwoofer is to be connected with the existing Amp and sits in between Amp and Speakers. It has a crossover and it passes signal above 100Hz to the speakers.

That is good but to be fixed at 100hz could be a handicap for your setup. The crossover point should be adjustable from @atleast 45/50hz.

 

[mantu]

You are right about that.

 

[Beast_of_burden]

A brief of my Stereo Setup first. I have a dedicated room of 12 ft X 12 ft (there are few other stuff like single bed, book shelf etc). The chain is, NUC (Roon Core) -> DigiOne Signature -> Chord Qutest -> Karan Acoustics KA I 180 MK2 -> Spendor SA1. I bought these speakers in 2014 and since then it has really served me well. I really like these speakers and feel that for my room size they are perfect. Though, I do miss Bass a bit. From last few weeks, I have been researching about adding Subwoofers into my setup. I have also gone through few threads in this Forum, where people are seeing very good results with adding Subwoofer into their Stereo Setup with the similar kind of Speakers. I came across Graham Audio Sub 3 (Passive Subwoofers) which matches beautifully with Graham Audio LS 3/5 and LS 3/5 A speakers. My SA1 share the same design as these speakers. I think, these Sub should match with my speakers as well.

I seek opinion and advice from Audio Gurus here, whether this would be right thing to do.

Following are some of the links of the articles I referred.

Spendor SA1

Spendor SA1 loudspeaker

Two years ago, I embarked on a series of reviews of mostly state-of-the-art, mostly full-range floorstanding speakers: the Sonus Faber Cremona Elipsa (December 2007), KEF Reference 207/2 (February 2008), PSB Synchrony One (April 2008), Magico V3 (May 2008), Avalon NP Ev

www.stereophile.com

Graham Audio Sub 3

SUB3 - Graham Audio - British manufacturers of high quality loudspeaker systems

Graham Audio - UK manufacturers of high quality loudspeakers, including the BBC-licensed LS5/8 and LS5/9

www.grahamaudio.co.uk

Graham Audio LS3/5 and LS3/5A with SUB3

The LS3/5A a world-famous mini-monitor that is loved by many. But what not many may know is that this was not actually the first incarnation of the model. In this article, I will describe the audible differences between the LS3/5's and LS3/5A's. In addition, I will listen to the SUB3 stereo...

www.hifi-advice.com

Chartwell SUB3 subwoofer

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a pair of LS3/5a loudspeakers in good condition, must be in want of a bit more bass. OK, so my days as Jane

www.hifiplus.com

Those are bookshelf speakers with excellent pedigree. If your amp is not differential output or monoblocks, you should try a REL T sub. This sub is subtle and prioritises integration over amplitude and extension. Easy to integrate to bookshelf speakers and to your room.

Based on forum reviews, the ML 800 with DSP eq or Rhythmik should also be worthy of consideration.

 

[sidvee]

A brief of my Stereo Setup first. I have a dedicated room of 12 ft X 12 ft (there are few other stuff like single bed, book shelf etc). The chain is, NUC (Roon Core) -> DigiOne Signature -> Chord Qutest -> Karan Acoustics KA I 180 MK2 -> Spendor SA1. I bought these speakers in 2014 and since then it has really served me well. I really like these speakers and feel that for my room size they are perfect. Though, I do miss Bass a bit. From last few weeks, I have been researching about adding Subwoofers into my setup. I have also gone through few threads in this Forum, where people are seeing very good results with adding Subwoofer into their Stereo Setup with the similar kind of Speakers. I came across Graham Audio Sub 3 (Passive Subwoofers) which matches beautifully with Graham Audio LS 3/5 and LS 3/5 A speakers. My SA1 share the same design as these speakers. I think, these Sub should match with my speakers as well.

I seek opinion and advice from Audio Gurus here, whether this would be right thing to do.

Following are some of the links of the articles I referred.

Spendor SA1

Spendor SA1 loudspeaker

Two years ago, I embarked on a series of reviews of mostly state-of-the-art, mostly full-range floorstanding speakers: the Sonus Faber Cremona Elipsa (December 2007), KEF Reference 207/2 (February 2008), PSB Synchrony One (April 2008), Magico V3 (May 2008), Avalon NP Ev

www.stereophile.com

Graham Audio Sub 3

SUB3 - Graham Audio - British manufacturers of high quality loudspeaker systems

Graham Audio - UK manufacturers of high quality loudspeakers, including the BBC-licensed LS5/8 and LS5/9

www.grahamaudio.co.uk

Graham Audio LS3/5 and LS3/5A with SUB3

The LS3/5A a world-famous mini-monitor that is loved by many. But what not many may know is that this was not actually the first incarnation of the model. In this article, I will describe the audible differences between the LS3/5's and LS3/5A's. In addition, I will listen to the SUB3 stereo...

www.hifi-advice.com

Chartwell SUB3 subwoofer

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a pair of LS3/5a loudspeakers in good condition, must be in want of a bit more bass. OK, so my days as Jane

www.hifiplus.com

This sub is showing a new pricing of 1.8lac (in uk), and as I know pricing of graham in India it is likely to be in the 2.5-2.75 lac range. IMO it is absolutely not worth it regardless of what the manufacturer claims. I am running my spendor classic 3/5 with a single rythmik l12 through the rca connections (2nd output of my backert preamp) and it is integrating wonderfully. You can also check sealed SVS subs and REL as well as suggested by others. I preferred the rythmik due to direct servo design.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[mantu]

You are right about the pricing. Do I need to worry about Tonal quality matching and all in adding Active Subs?

 

[sidvee]

You are right about the pricing. Do I need to worry about Tonal quality matching and all in adding Active Subs?

This should not be an issue AFAIK. More important will be blending the subwoofer to your mains so that there are no nasty frequency peaks and the transition is smooth. If you have the independence of locating your sub. where it sounds best for music (usually at the ctr. of a wall dimension) rather than at a particular fixed point, then with the help of the sub. xover/volume control/phase, this can be accomplished quite well.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Beast_of_burden]

You are right about the pricing. Do I need to worry about Tonal quality matching and all in adding Active Subs?

With a REL the effect is so subtle and sub so unobtrusive you will be wondering for a while what the hell the sub is contributing.

 

[mantu]

This should not be an issue AFAIK. More important will be blending the subwoofer to your mains so that there are no nasty frequency peaks and the transition is smooth. If you have the independence of locating your sub. where it sounds best for music (usually at the ctr. of a wall dimension) rather than at a particular fixed point, then with the help of the sub. xover/volume control/phase, this can be accomplished quite well.
Cheers,
Sid

Thanks. Luckily I have the flexibility to keep Sub where I want in the room. This helps.

 

[ssf]

I have a query. How does one set the delay in a stereo setup if the sub is placed anywhere in the room. An AVR does that through it's built in software like Audyssey etc.

 

[Kannan]

I have a query. How does one set the delay in a stereo setup if the sub is placed anywhere in the room. An AVR does that through it's built in software like Audyssey etc.

The only way to kind of delay is by adjusting the phase on the subwoofer if there is no extensive DSP options. Most have fixed 0/180 while some offer you to vary between the two phases.

 

[rikhav]

I am no expert with subs either in HT or stereo but whole heartedly agree with what others have Suggested.

2.75 lacs is bit too much and even otherwise you will be better off with an active sub. Below 100 hz, matching tonal quality will be not very important and more important would be integration of sub and speakers

 

[Kannan]

Below 100 hz, matching tonal quality will be not very important and more important would be integration of sub and speakers

It does impact the lower mids and on little more sensitive mains, the mids also. But can be well integrated with a mix of positioning, xover point and attenuation. The biggest benefit in my opinion of adding a sub is to get low end details even at lower volumes which can sometimes be missed out.

 

[Hari Iyer]

I benefited using a H-frame OB sub mated with my OB mains. One thing I noticed with my sub design was keeping the crossover frequency below 80 Hz had much punch and deep / tight bass and better integration. My main OB goes till around 100 Hz with the Ahuja 12" woofer. Also I needed phase reversal on the SUB to be in- phase.

 

[mantu]

Thanks everyone for putting up your suggestions. For my room size (12 ft x 12 ft), would one Sub of 8” be enough or I should add 2 subs?

 

[rikhav]

Thanks everyone for putting up your suggestions. For my room size (12 ft x 12 ft), would one Sub of 8” be enough or I should add 2 subs?

Definitely try with one.
Experiment with it as much as possible.
And then if you want you can always add a seocnd one.
Also study the options how you can connect dual subs before commiting for a second one.

Question for others,
when we would use dual subs do we have only one channel per sub or both channels for both subs, probably by daisy chaining both subs?

 

[DB1989]

Thanks everyone for putting up your suggestions. For my room size (12 ft x 12 ft), would one Sub of 8” be enough or I should add 2 subs?

Depends on the sub but generally, One should be more than sufficient

 

[Nitin K]

Thanks everyone for putting up your suggestions. For my room size (12 ft x 12 ft), would one Sub of 8” be enough or I should add 2 subs?

I would suggest one 12 inch active sealed sub around 300 to 500 watts rms