How to prevent bass from going to main speakers

[ted10028]

building sub because mains are distorting bass but not sure how to prevent bass from going to mains and still producing the same distorted sounds. My amp does not have sub out just line out so all speakers are getting same signal I think. Do you have a specific product recommendation for a novice. Thanks

 

[AllenB]

What about a capacitor before the amps?

 

[ted10028]

beats me, would it work and do you have a specific recommendation? I had assumed there were virtually automatic ways to do this so your mains are not producing distorted bass. whats the point of having mains produce distorted bass and your sub producing clean bass?

 

[AllenB]

We'd need to know the input impedance of your amp and whether it is fixed, so maybe you need something else.

Does your amp have a bass tone control?

 

[ted10028]

yes it has tone control and 30 years ago was considered high quality. no idea about impedance. Thanks

 

[AllenB]

Then try it. No doubt your tone controls will reduce your excess bass. Can the sub fill in after that? (a question for you to find out).

 

[chrisb]

Ten: care to name the amp involved, and program sources? That might winnow the helpful advice to something actually useful.

 

[ted10028]

isn't there a simple inline crossover that I could put between amp and mains that would prevent all signals below a certain frequency from going to mains. I have a lot a burned CD's from all over with vastly different recording levels. I'd rather set it once and forget it rather than adjust bass control with each track and throughout each track . Thanks!

 

[ted10028]

its an Adcom power amp. don't know more at the moment

 

[6sX7]

would require a fairly large cap between the amp and speakers.

Easier solution is to put a cap on the inputs of the amplifiers. Just need to know the input impedance of the amp. Model number would make that a google search away.

 

[wiseoldtech]

And the speakers in question here are............ what?

Proper matching of an amp to speakers is relatively simple.

 

[ted10028]

if I cap out bass going to main amp then no bass signals will be available for the sub-right?

 

[rayma]

Right. With just one amp, you need a passive crossover at the amplifier output.
This would be (at minimum) one series nonpolar capacitor going to each of the small speakers.

Start with around 220uF nonpolar @ 50V or more, and experiment with the sub level.
https://www.parts-express.com/220uF-100V-Non-Polarized-Capacitor-027-368?quantity=1

 

[ted10028]

isn't this something everybody does or it just a problem for me because my ADCOM GF 5400 does not have a sub out?

a series non polar capacitor ?? chances of me getting that one right are 2%

 

[AllenB]

if I cap out bass going to main amp then no bass signals will be available for the sub-right?

No, on one side you will and the other you won't. It's complicated going into this without a plan and that means one step at a time. There are a hundred ways to do this so don't guess that we will just know.

Work slowly and first work out what speakers will get what signal. One amp for each or one amp for all? Where will the volume control be? Where will the crossovers be, before or after?

Later you can work out which components/connections/amps to use, and later still you can work out values.

 

[rayma]

a series non polar capacitor ?? chances of me getting that one right are 2%

Very easy. Order two of them. It's the size of a small battery.
Just wire one in series at the back of each small speaker.

You can even splice it somewhere in line with one of the speaker wires.
If you can build and wire the sub, you certainly can add the capacitor to a wire.

 

[ted10028]

100 ways is too many to sort through.

Seem to me there should be an off the shelf turnkey kind of solution since it is such a basic issue? Its simple. I don't want to send bass signals to my mains that they will distort

 

[ted10028]

by small speakers do you mean my mains?? My Magnapans are not small!

 

[planet10]

What about a capacitor before the amps?

Passive Line Level XO https://www.t-linespeakers.org/tech/filters/passiveHLxo.html

dave

 

[rayma]

by small speakers do you mean my mains?? My Magnapans are not small!

Ok, then call them full-range speakers. Same either way.