oh, also, I saw this sub had 2 wire input clips on it as well - and the sales guy said it was compatible with my RCA system.
FWIW
FWIW
also -
I saw Best Buy has a money back 30 DayWarranty.
So, like, if it didn't work out or sounded like crap I could return it.... right?
I saw Best Buy has a money back 30 DayWarranty.
So, like, if it didn't work out or sounded like crap I could return it.... right?
Rob:
Let me give you some possible plusses and minuses:
A) One of the problems with popular priced ready-made subs is that they don't go that deep. They scrimp a little bit on the speaker, etc., and you can probably get a better sub if you build it yourself. I have seen many commercail subwoofers that only go down to 40 Hz,which any good, large regular speaker will go down to.
I don't know about this Sony spaker, but I would think you could do better if you build it yourself.
B) However, I would be shocked if you don't notice a dramatic improvement in bass in your roomwith this Sony sub. The sub might not go that deep, but it will be a competently designed sub with a decent sub amp. This is certain to be a substantial improvement over what your present sub is: a toy.
These all-in-one systems have to cut back somewhere, and that somewhere was clearly the sub. Otherwise, if tooks like you bought a pretty nice system for the money.
C) The Sony sub amp. I am definitely under the impression that there is really only one or two sub amp factories in the world, who make them for everyone else. They just change the brand name for whatever company puts in the order. I mean, they all look alike! So the Sony probably uses the same 150 watt amp everyone else does. Which is good.
D) I can assure you that you will have no problem hooking the Sony sub up to your RCA system. You can either hook it up by running the speaker wire into it, or using a special wire from the amp, if you have one. It's built for it. If you do run the speaker wire from your amp to the clips in the back of your subwoofer, don't worry-you will still be using the subwoofer amp. Your amp will not be driving the sub's 12 inch. The sub amp will probably have knobs that limit the sub's high frequency output at selectable frequencies so the sub can "fit in" with your other speakers.
E) Also, I am sure it is a misprint, but the RCA 2500 receiver Instruction Book I downloaded said that that receiver only went down to 40 Hz. If that is true for your receiver as well, then you did well to buy a subwoofer with it's own amp, which I guarantee will put out lower. Your other speakers do not even need to go down anywhere close to 40 Hz, so there is no concern there.
Electronic service people have written on this forum that AV receivers usually are incapable of putting out the stated power if all the spekers are driven at once-which is what usually happens. So maybe you did not really get 130 watts to drive your subwoofer. With the Sony sub, you should really get 150 wats of power.
F) A 150 watt subwoofer amp alone will cost you about $100 to $150 if you buy it separately. So you get the rest of your Sony sub-speaker, box-for something between $50 to $100 extra.
G) At some point, if you want to upgrade, you can replace Son's 12 inch int he same box with a different driver. There are many 12 inchers around. You might want to throw a brace into the box, though, to stiffen the walls, when you do.
All in all, I can't tell you what to do. I can only say that for $200, this Sony sub is likely to be a substantial upgrade for your system, but I do think you can do better if you build it yourself.
Let me give you some possible plusses and minuses:
A) One of the problems with popular priced ready-made subs is that they don't go that deep. They scrimp a little bit on the speaker, etc., and you can probably get a better sub if you build it yourself. I have seen many commercail subwoofers that only go down to 40 Hz,which any good, large regular speaker will go down to.
I don't know about this Sony spaker, but I would think you could do better if you build it yourself.
B) However, I would be shocked if you don't notice a dramatic improvement in bass in your roomwith this Sony sub. The sub might not go that deep, but it will be a competently designed sub with a decent sub amp. This is certain to be a substantial improvement over what your present sub is: a toy.
These all-in-one systems have to cut back somewhere, and that somewhere was clearly the sub. Otherwise, if tooks like you bought a pretty nice system for the money.
C) The Sony sub amp. I am definitely under the impression that there is really only one or two sub amp factories in the world, who make them for everyone else. They just change the brand name for whatever company puts in the order. I mean, they all look alike! So the Sony probably uses the same 150 watt amp everyone else does. Which is good.
D) I can assure you that you will have no problem hooking the Sony sub up to your RCA system. You can either hook it up by running the speaker wire into it, or using a special wire from the amp, if you have one. It's built for it. If you do run the speaker wire from your amp to the clips in the back of your subwoofer, don't worry-you will still be using the subwoofer amp. Your amp will not be driving the sub's 12 inch. The sub amp will probably have knobs that limit the sub's high frequency output at selectable frequencies so the sub can "fit in" with your other speakers.
E) Also, I am sure it is a misprint, but the RCA 2500 receiver Instruction Book I downloaded said that that receiver only went down to 40 Hz. If that is true for your receiver as well, then you did well to buy a subwoofer with it's own amp, which I guarantee will put out lower. Your other speakers do not even need to go down anywhere close to 40 Hz, so there is no concern there.
Electronic service people have written on this forum that AV receivers usually are incapable of putting out the stated power if all the spekers are driven at once-which is what usually happens. So maybe you did not really get 130 watts to drive your subwoofer. With the Sony sub, you should really get 150 wats of power.
F) A 150 watt subwoofer amp alone will cost you about $100 to $150 if you buy it separately. So you get the rest of your Sony sub-speaker, box-for something between $50 to $100 extra.
G) At some point, if you want to upgrade, you can replace Son's 12 inch int he same box with a different driver. There are many 12 inchers around. You might want to throw a brace into the box, though, to stiffen the walls, when you do.
All in all, I can't tell you what to do. I can only say that for $200, this Sony sub is likely to be a substantial upgrade for your system, but I do think you can do better if you build it yourself.
Thanks so much KW!
Now I have some assurance on this matter.
This is what I want to do for now, I think.
If I was a techie person I would go for the DIY approach.
However, my last cabinet looked somewhat sad and I have ZERO confidence in my electronics abilities.
Wish me luck on the purchase.
I am hoping 150 watts will get the job done...
Thanks Again.
Now I have some assurance on this matter.
This is what I want to do for now, I think.
If I was a techie person I would go for the DIY approach.
However, my last cabinet looked somewhat sad and I have ZERO confidence in my electronics abilities.
Wish me luck on the purchase.
I am hoping 150 watts will get the job done...
Thanks Again.
If you want really good deep bass and you dont want to DIY, you could check out an SVS sonotube and buy a cheap sub amp from apexjr. It would end up over $400, BUT, would give you about 10x the performance of a $200 sub.
RobAche,
You may have a problem using the Sony sub. Your RCA unit may not be happy driving the input of the Sony sub without the original RCA sub being in place. Also be very careful you get the polarity of the RCA sub out to the Sony sub in correct, if the Sony's input is grounded and you connect the positive RCA sub out to the negative Sony sub in, it would short out the RCA.
Sony sub installation instructions
You could probably leave the RCA sub in place, run another speaker wire from the RCA sub to the Sony sub, turn down the sub level on the RCA and turn up the level on the Sony. Hopefully the RCA would be happy with the load, the RCA sub would not distort, and the Sony would do what you are looking for.
The Sony subs are not all that great, and I am a Sony fan with a house full of Sony electronics. You could build a better sub for the $200 you spent on the Sony, or my local CompUSA now has an HSU STF-2 sub for $350 that would be much better.
--David
You may have a problem using the Sony sub. Your RCA unit may not be happy driving the input of the Sony sub without the original RCA sub being in place. Also be very careful you get the polarity of the RCA sub out to the Sony sub in correct, if the Sony's input is grounded and you connect the positive RCA sub out to the negative Sony sub in, it would short out the RCA.
Sony sub installation instructions
You could probably leave the RCA sub in place, run another speaker wire from the RCA sub to the Sony sub, turn down the sub level on the RCA and turn up the level on the Sony. Hopefully the RCA would be happy with the load, the RCA sub would not distort, and the Sony would do what you are looking for.
The Sony subs are not all that great, and I am a Sony fan with a house full of Sony electronics. You could build a better sub for the $200 you spent on the Sony, or my local CompUSA now has an HSU STF-2 sub for $350 that would be much better.
--David
Hi RA,
I can assure you it is an entirely different beast to your current
"subwoofer" but it will take you a while to get the settings correct.
Once again good advice from KC but I'd quibble the last 2 points 😉,
they may be true for KC .......
I've looked for some reviews and can't find any negative ones.
I bought my brother a small Sony sub and it was pretty good.
So in terms of cash versus hassle I'd say pay your money and
enjoy your Christmas.
🙂 /sreten.
quick update : ND's first point is IMO extremely unlikely period.
But a very good second point about ground connections.
The third points require the first to be true.
Yes you could do better somewhat if you knew what you were
doing, but its strange they suggest you spend nearly twice
as much, its not as if its a Starship Enterprise A/V system.
I can assure you it is an entirely different beast to your current
"subwoofer" but it will take you a while to get the settings correct.
Once again good advice from KC but I'd quibble the last 2 points 😉,
they may be true for KC .......
I've looked for some reviews and can't find any negative ones.
I bought my brother a small Sony sub and it was pretty good.
So in terms of cash versus hassle I'd say pay your money and
enjoy your Christmas.
🙂 /sreten.
quick update : ND's first point is IMO extremely unlikely period.
But a very good second point about ground connections.
The third points require the first to be true.
Yes you could do better somewhat if you knew what you were
doing, but its strange they suggest you spend nearly twice
as much, its not as if its a Starship Enterprise A/V system.
net-david said:
Thanks to all for the input.
This post spooked and intrigued me.
You say - To avoid damaging the receiver, I can/should send the signal thru the existing SUB?
So, in effect, I could use BOTH of them?
In other words, use the passive sub first and send the signal thru it to the powered sub, which generates it's own volume, right?
Will this work? - and thusly nearly double my sub output?
NOTE: My current sub has NO level adjustment other than +/- decibel settings.
And, if not, how the heck do I know it's correctly connected in contrast to the RCA?
Please forgive me for being dumb about this: that's why I'm here!
---------------------------------------
Also - should I sit the new sub on a board as opposed to carpet? Or does it even matter?
HO HO HO!
Thnx!
Rob
It just depends on what you want. The sony sub might be ok in producing better bass than the little bandpass, but what I look for in a sub is the true ability to produce substantial sub-bass (down in the 20s hz range), which is what you need if you REALLY want youre room to shake. As far as I know, HSU and SVS are about the only sub makers that produce TRUE subwoofers in the sub (?) 500 dollar range.
The sub specs at: Frequency Response 20-200Hz.
You reckon they're not being truthful?
Believe me, I would LOVE to have something alot better but for various reasons - I am doing good to get this one.
I just need to know if it will work, how it will work, and if it's worth the money.
Thanks!
You reckon they're not being truthful?
Believe me, I would LOVE to have something alot better but for various reasons - I am doing good to get this one.
I just need to know if it will work, how it will work, and if it's worth the money.
Thanks!
Well, as far as them being truthful, yes and no. The problem is, at what volume does the response go down to 20hz?? Some of these cheap some will produce a 20hz signal, but not at audible levels (20hz has to be very loud to be audible). The real question is, at what level can it reproduce a 20hz signal? I can pretty much assure you, not very loud. Believe me, im trying to think of the very very cheapest way for you to get real subbass. HSU and SVS sub can produce 100db in the 20-25hz range, which is better than many subs costing 3 times as much, let alone one costing half as much. You really might enjoy having the sony, it probably is much better than what youre replacing, but its just not going to be in same catagory as a "real" subwoofer. You can always buy it and upgrade later on, or you can try to save a little more money and go the route I suggested, you would not need or want a better sub for a very long time.
Thanks Kevjo.
I will go this route for now and someday when I have more "son is not in college and the credit card debt is paid down" finances I will, (with your scholarly knowlege), UPGRADE the Sony box.
Thank you good Sir.
I will go this route for now and someday when I have more "son is not in college and the credit card debt is paid down" finances I will, (with your scholarly knowlege), UPGRADE the Sony box.
Thank you good Sir.
Dual (dueling?) subs
Rob,
I think you could use both subs, although you may not get (or want to get) much out of the original RCA sub. I am supposing the RCA sub has a pair of spring loaded wire clip terminals. You would hook up the RCA as originally intended, then take a length of speaker wire and hook it in parallel at the RCA sub, positive to positive and negative to negative, then run that wire over to one of the inputs on the Sony sub, pick the right or the left. My reasoning for that is some amplifiers are not stable unless they see a load, in this case the RCA sub. The Sony sub's input would not provide the low impedance load that a passive speaker would. Turning the level down on the RCA would help prevent the RCA sub from distorting, and then compensate by turning up the level on the Sony.
--David
Rob,
I think you could use both subs, although you may not get (or want to get) much out of the original RCA sub. I am supposing the RCA sub has a pair of spring loaded wire clip terminals. You would hook up the RCA as originally intended, then take a length of speaker wire and hook it in parallel at the RCA sub, positive to positive and negative to negative, then run that wire over to one of the inputs on the Sony sub, pick the right or the left. My reasoning for that is some amplifiers are not stable unless they see a load, in this case the RCA sub. The Sony sub's input would not provide the low impedance load that a passive speaker would. Turning the level down on the RCA would help prevent the RCA sub from distorting, and then compensate by turning up the level on the Sony.
--David
Attachments
sounds like a plan. One FREE thing you can always do is to download some speaker box software and play with it to educate yourself on sub building in youre spare time. Its really kinda fun. then someday if you want to build youre own, you'll already have the know-how. also, go to www.diysubwoofers.org , lots of fun designes and links there, and apexjr. is by far the cheapest place to get good sub components i've found..... just for future reference. Bulding a sub is one of the most rewarding things i've done, and id encourage you to try it someday when you have the time and money (although not much money)
Re: Dual (dueling?) subs
David,
I cain't turn the level down on individual speakers.
I CAN adjust the decibel level on speakers though but I don't know what good that it does.
I am seeking an answer to this riddle as you read this...
But IF I ran the Sony sub thru the RCA sub - it would be at FULL THROTTLE.
net-david said:
David,
I cain't turn the level down on individual speakers.
I CAN adjust the decibel level on speakers though but I don't know what good that it does.
I am seeking an answer to this riddle as you read this...
But IF I ran the Sony sub thru the RCA sub - it would be at FULL THROTTLE.
Levels
Rob,
Doesn't the RCA receiver have some way of adjusting the level of the individual speakers?
My advice would be to turn the sub level all the way down on the RCA, crank up the Sony wide open and then adjust the RCA up until you get a nice balance and/or the desired amount of inanimate object animation 😎
If you can get down to 30Hz or so that should add the impact you are looking for in most movies.
--David
Rob,
Doesn't the RCA receiver have some way of adjusting the level of the individual speakers?
RobAche said:
My advice would be to turn the sub level all the way down on the RCA, crank up the Sony wide open and then adjust the RCA up until you get a nice balance and/or the desired amount of inanimate object animation 😎
If you can get down to 30Hz or so that should add the impact you are looking for in most movies.
--David
If that is a "volume" adjustment, then yes, they are adjustable.
But man oh man, I don't know what I'm doing.
So, you could run the RCA sub at it's regular level - same as before and send the signal to the Sony sub - and crank the Sony sub?
Is this so?
But man oh man, I don't know what I'm doing.
So, you could run the RCA sub at it's regular level - same as before and send the signal to the Sony sub - and crank the Sony sub?
Is this so?
Actually, turn down the RCA sub so that it doesn't overload, then turn up the Sony until you are satisfied.
You may not need the RCA sub in place. I just wanted to point out that you might. Some amplifiers just aren't happy without their expected load in place.
Besides, there is never Too Much Bass! (patent pending)😉
--David
You may not need the RCA sub in place. I just wanted to point out that you might. Some amplifiers just aren't happy without their expected load in place.
Besides, there is never Too Much Bass! (patent pending)😉
--David
With all due respect, folks, I am getting lost here.
First, I have never heard of any amp that runs into trouble when you run it into high impedance. The trouble with amps is when you run it into low impedance. Remember those receivers made in the seventies that blew when you hooked up a second pair of speakers to them, or when you tried to run 4 ohm speakers instead of 8 ohm speakers? Well, they blew because the second pair of speakers lowered the impedance down to 4 ohm, and the seventies receivers could not handle it. On the other hand, if you hooked the speakers up in series, the impedance got raised and everything was hunky-dory.
Low impedance=tough load
High impedance=easy load
Sony amp has nice, high impedance waiting for Rob's sub outputs.
Second, I do believe that just about all mass-fi AV receivers, (sorry Rob) are made from chips, and chips do not use the ground from the wall as the ground in the amp. Electronics folks please correct me if I am wrong, but every time I touch the ground of a receiver's speaker output I see no connection to the ground of the wall AC.
I do believe the large receivers of Fisher that appeared in the early sixties used the ground from the wall as the speaker ground, but we are talking decades in the past.
Inside the bandpass subwoofer of Rob's stock setup is a 5 inch toy woofer, because that is the only way Sony could give an AV surround sound setup at such a good price. Once he gets a good, decent subwoofer, I suggest he put the little popgun away somewhere.
I do not wish to appear brusque, but that Sony sub was designed to hook up to just about any commercial AV system, and the RCA is not exactly an exotic setup. All these manufacturers use the same chips inside anyway.
First, I have never heard of any amp that runs into trouble when you run it into high impedance. The trouble with amps is when you run it into low impedance. Remember those receivers made in the seventies that blew when you hooked up a second pair of speakers to them, or when you tried to run 4 ohm speakers instead of 8 ohm speakers? Well, they blew because the second pair of speakers lowered the impedance down to 4 ohm, and the seventies receivers could not handle it. On the other hand, if you hooked the speakers up in series, the impedance got raised and everything was hunky-dory.
Low impedance=tough load
High impedance=easy load
Sony amp has nice, high impedance waiting for Rob's sub outputs.
Second, I do believe that just about all mass-fi AV receivers, (sorry Rob) are made from chips, and chips do not use the ground from the wall as the ground in the amp. Electronics folks please correct me if I am wrong, but every time I touch the ground of a receiver's speaker output I see no connection to the ground of the wall AC.
I do believe the large receivers of Fisher that appeared in the early sixties used the ground from the wall as the speaker ground, but we are talking decades in the past.
Inside the bandpass subwoofer of Rob's stock setup is a 5 inch toy woofer, because that is the only way Sony could give an AV surround sound setup at such a good price. Once he gets a good, decent subwoofer, I suggest he put the little popgun away somewhere.
I do not wish to appear brusque, but that Sony sub was designed to hook up to just about any commercial AV system, and the RCA is not exactly an exotic setup. All these manufacturers use the same chips inside anyway.
Rob:
Does your receiver have a SUB OUT Jack as well as the SUB OUT speaker wires? I mean the one like to the SUB OUT jack in the lower left hand corner of the illustration, similar to the kind of output one would see on a single channel output of a CD player or cassette deck?
Does your receiver have a SUB OUT Jack as well as the SUB OUT speaker wires? I mean the one like to the SUB OUT jack in the lower left hand corner of the illustration, similar to the kind of output one would see on a single channel output of a CD player or cassette deck?
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