Long time audiophile here, but new to the group. Great forum!
I am in consideration of a 21" Eminence subwoofer (https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/290-5662--eminence-nsw6021-6-spec-sheet.pdf) to augment my 4 other Dynaudio subs in a large basement setup (they are great, just not big enough). The speaker is 6 ohms and most are using large (at least on paper) Behringer or Crown type pro amps listed at 2000-3000watts, which is likely more like 800-1300watts rms. As a higher end HT guy, putting pro amps in my room seems a bit like sacrilege. I'm not really sure why to be honest, so I'm opening my horizons.
I don't know what amps are out there. I've been looking at Crowns mainly just because I know the name and they are USA made. If realistic, I'd like to spend around $500 - lower the better and I don't mind buying used. It seems like there are a lot of pro audio amps around and each year varies a bit w.r.t. functionality. I've been having trouble finding one that meets my exact needs:
-The Crown xls 802 has a 15hz high pass but alas it is not stable below 8ohm when bridged, nor does it have a remote turn on. The newer Crowns only have a 30hz high pass which is too high.
-The new Berhringers have good power and nice DAC's in them, but require a fan mod and have no 12v trigger
-Some of the QSC like the DCA3422 have the power and remote turn on capability but their high pass filter is only 30hz which is way too high.
I figure some of you pro audio guys out there know these amps backwards and forwards and can suggest another amp. I'm sure I'm missing some older models in my searching that may have the features I need. Its funny when I think about car audio sub amps, MANY of them have all of these features, but its a bit of a needle in a haystack exercise to get it in the home. I know I can get a smart outlet for the trigger and I know I can get a minidsp HD for the xover, but these are essentially Band-Aids - I'd love to have an amp that just does all that for me. Thanks.
I am in consideration of a 21" Eminence subwoofer (https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/290-5662--eminence-nsw6021-6-spec-sheet.pdf) to augment my 4 other Dynaudio subs in a large basement setup (they are great, just not big enough). The speaker is 6 ohms and most are using large (at least on paper) Behringer or Crown type pro amps listed at 2000-3000watts, which is likely more like 800-1300watts rms. As a higher end HT guy, putting pro amps in my room seems a bit like sacrilege. I'm not really sure why to be honest, so I'm opening my horizons.
I don't know what amps are out there. I've been looking at Crowns mainly just because I know the name and they are USA made. If realistic, I'd like to spend around $500 - lower the better and I don't mind buying used. It seems like there are a lot of pro audio amps around and each year varies a bit w.r.t. functionality. I've been having trouble finding one that meets my exact needs:
- 1000-2000watts rated power - higher the better, a bridged 2 channel is fine
- Supports 5-6 ohm load (sub is rated at 6 ohm, but it can dip a bit lower)
- Under $500 (used street price is ok)
- 12v Remote trigger capability (don't really want to use a smart power strip)
- 15-17hz high pass capability (to protect low end xmax/over-excursion its recommended for the Eminence sub - the ported enclosure is tuned for 20hz. I will use my avr to low pass it)
-The Crown xls 802 has a 15hz high pass but alas it is not stable below 8ohm when bridged, nor does it have a remote turn on. The newer Crowns only have a 30hz high pass which is too high.
-The new Berhringers have good power and nice DAC's in them, but require a fan mod and have no 12v trigger
-Some of the QSC like the DCA3422 have the power and remote turn on capability but their high pass filter is only 30hz which is way too high.
I figure some of you pro audio guys out there know these amps backwards and forwards and can suggest another amp. I'm sure I'm missing some older models in my searching that may have the features I need. Its funny when I think about car audio sub amps, MANY of them have all of these features, but its a bit of a needle in a haystack exercise to get it in the home. I know I can get a smart outlet for the trigger and I know I can get a minidsp HD for the xover, but these are essentially Band-Aids - I'd love to have an amp that just does all that for me. Thanks.
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No replies. so sad. 🙁 Where is the love?! 🙂
I've been doing more research. I think I've settled on the Crown xls 2502. Is this a good paring with the eminence NSW 21"? Sufficient power?
I've been doing more research. I think I've settled on the Crown xls 2502. Is this a good paring with the eminence NSW 21"? Sufficient power?
Required power is 99% a function of how loud you like to listen. Assuming you have the NSW21 in a reasonable box alignment that's not going to require a ton of additional power to overcome some strange power-hungry DSP EQing, it should be able to drive the woofer to vigorous levels. 🙂
The cheap Crown amps made today are not made in USA, nor do they put out full power at 20 Hz. Same is true for most other brands.
Assuming you have the NSW21 in a reasonable box alignment that's not going to require a ton of additional power to overcome some strange power-hungry DSP EQing, it should be able to drive the woofer to vigorous levels. 🙂
That driver does not natively tune down to HT low frequencies. Some sort of DSP boost and lots of power will be required to get it to x-max at 20 Hz. If you don’t have enough power to do it you may as well be using a less expensive woofer.