Hi fi equipment question

[Alex66]

Meridian might still manufacture in the UK, their digital stuff was very good.

A hammer is the ideal tool to get good sound from a Bose speaker; whilst you smash it to bits you can get some good rhythmic sounds. Only time they will sound good. Bose stands for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

[markfiend]

Bose stands for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

[Alex66]

Bose stands for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

Alas I read it online before so can't claim authorship.

[Meat Whiplash]

Bass is the place.
A 15 year old Yamaha DSP-A5 AV amp with two sets of vintage Goodmans Mezzo SLs with a major fuck off KEF 1000.2 subwoofwer.
Bliss.

[million voices]

Amazingly I have a Yamaha DSP-A590. Donkeys years old wonderful sound and lots of output sockets so there is somewhere for that Laserdisc or the 2nd VCR

I have never bothered with a subwoofer. Do you just wire it through the rear speaker channels?

Sorry it's a dumb question it's just something I haven't thought of

[Pista]

Amazingly I have a Yamaha DSP-A590. Donkeys years old wonderful sound and lots of output sockets so there is somewhere for that Laserdisc or the 2nd VCR

I have never bothered with a subwoofer. Do you just wire it through the rear speaker channels?

There's a LOW PASS terminal on the back of the amp. That should connect to the input on the sub woofer's amp via an RCA cable

[million voices]

My word there is!

Many thanks for the speedy response, I may well give it a try

Now which sub-woofer shall I buy (races off to buy What Hi-Fi)

[Alex66]

REL had a great rep a few years ago might be able to find one at a decent price off the auction site.

[EvilBastard]

My word there is!

Many thanks for the speedy response, I may well give it a try

Now which sub-woofer shall I buy (races off to buy What Hi-Fi)

If you need a reliable subwoofer, We Recommend...

[Meat Whiplash]

Now which sub-woofer shall I buy (races off to buy What Hi-Fi)

I can only speak for my KEFs, first one was a mk.1 200 PSW, excellent snoud but short life. Second was a mk.2 200 PSW, still working and pumping out that big bass snoud I so love. The mk.2 has been sidelined since the nextdoor neighbour (every body needs good neighbours) does hi-fi installations and is apt to chuck me some gear he doesn't need, like a KEF 1000.2 subwoofwer. Now that really delivers the BASS! Yamaha DSPs have a subwoofer output so yr already to rock.

[Meat Whiplash]

Yamaha's have a subwoof out, how did you get on?

[markfiend]

snoud

You want to be careful with that sort of typo matey, you might get mistaken for someone else

[million voices]

SUBWOOFER (update)

I went in to Superfi and explained all to an extremely helpful young man and that I was keen to purchase a Subwoofer.

He didn't want to sell me one. He said I would be better off with a stereo amp rather than an AV amp and that I don't need a Subwoofer

He took me in to the Demonstration Room. I am not the youngest member of Heartland. He played me something by somebody called Eva Cassidy and I was trying to remember if she was in the Partridge Family.

He then played it again with a Subwoofer plugged in and although the bass line was brought to the fore the rest became something of a mush.

Now I do not know whether to stick with what I've got, buy a new amp, buy a subwoofer or buy a hearing aid

But I shall return to Superfi with my test CDs (Floodland and Electric Warrior) to try out Horror!! Chinese built Arcam amps

[Pista]

It all depends on what you mainly use your system for.
I'm assuming that as you have an AV amp, it's part of you overall home entertainment system which includes dvd/ blu ray player.
In which case, a subwoofer will be a handy addition, as typically dvds/ blu rays will be encoded so as to distribute audio channels through multiple routes.
A stereo music CD will use 2 channels & the AI of the AV amp will do the simulated splitting based on what it thinks is the best.
It's always possible to switch the AV amp into a direct stereo mode for regular music listening & the sub shouldn't muddy stuff up.
If you go back, take a good 5.1 channel dvd with you so you can see how the sub sounds with that.
Then go back to direct stereo for the music only sources
Oh, & before you start the audition, make sure the sales bod has actually calibrated the speaker outputs before you start. Active subs have their own gain control, so it's entirely possible some Herbert's cranked it up without telling anyone.

[Alex66]

What Pista says makes a lot of sense, for a 2 channel Hifi you want a sub that is either matched to the speakers or is able to come in bellow the main stereo speakers. There is a third way in having an active cross over between the pre and power amps so the signal is split between the two properly. A badly designed sub may work perfectly for movie use where you have the low frequencies as more of an effects channel than with music where you really want the sub to be tight and respond properly to the music. I am considering making a pair of subs but Im not looking to go mega low just 40Hz or so, part of the aim is to use smaller driver 8" max maybe 2 or more per side.

[robertzombie]

If you are going to purchase a stereo amplifier instead I advise you to audition as many as possible within your price point. The Arcam amps float around the £900 mark, so I'd also recommend you hear the Rega Elex-R and the new Audiolab 8300a at the very least. Those two amps were pitted against the Arcam A29 in the December 2015 issue of What HiFi. The Rega won.

When I was auditioning amplifiers last August I heard: Arcam A19, Arcam A29, Musical Fidelity M3si, Creek Evolution 50A, Roksan K3, and the Rega Elex-R (which I purchased). They all sound different and they all offer different pros and cons. Personally I shy away from sub-woofers in a musical set-up because they require a fair amount of tuning to get them truly operating correctly and I like to keep things simple!

Be aware that the speakers used in the audition, as well as the room itself and the source, will have a large affect on how the amp sounds. I found it useful to hear the same amps in different demo rooms so I could get an idea of the room's affect on the sound. Always demo with your own CD/records that you know inside out.

[Meat Whiplash]

Ultimately it all depends on the noise you enjoy.
I like it hard, heavy 'n' dirty!

A fantastic test album is King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic. Just play the first 7 minutes and you'll know.
srsly

[Alex66]

Mr Zombie is right test more amps and see if they will let you take one or two home to test in your system. I am a fan of simple with a system and don't like the way most retail subs integrate or work, I am sure that most are made for listening to a movie or stuff mixed in 5.1. Most music was originally mixed in 2 channels last thing you want is an amp making a guess as to where to send the music to the sub. Nor do you want a badly aligned sub where there is a massive bump in its output. There are good HiFi subs but they are very expensive, a reasonable 8" driver will cost £75+ usually you can multiply that by 5 at the least to get the cost of a finished product, mostly 10x though.

[Meat Whiplash]

Get Bent!

[Being645]

Get Bent!

[Meat Whiplash]

Get Bent!

Bart Simpson

[Being645]

Get Bent!

Bart Simpson

OK, that's beyond my horizon ... and I'm too lazy to google it now ... ...

[Bartek]

Get Bent!

Bart Simpson

James Blast