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Works for me. Thanks, everybody!

Hi, friends! Between a surprise upgrade to a pair of RP-280Fs (many thanks to the man in PA who sold them at such a good price!) and the release of Star Fox Zero for Wii U, I'm starting to want to turn my 2.1 system into a 5.1. There are many hardships ahead. The Wii U doesn't have Dolby sound to go with any of the Adcom surround processors I'm looking at, so I'll need a converter. I'll need more amps (or one big, fat amp). But one thing I hope not to need is more speakers. I'm already planning to commit some sacrilege by using my old Synergy F-20s as surrounds, and I have a pair of Synergy B-10s that would then work as a center. While one would do the job, why not both? My question is whether this is a good idea (disregarding that they won't match the sound of the RP-280Fs very well,) and the best way to go about it. Daisy-chaining them into one amp channel would presumably result in a nominal 4-ohm load. I'm planning to stick with Adcom equipment, which shouldn't be too bothered by this, but I wouldn't be here asking if I was completely certain of that. The other option I can think of would be to split the signal to two separate amp channels and then run each speaker to the amp as normal. Would the change in resistance from splitting the signal from the preamp have any adverse effects? Of course, the long term plan is to eventually have all-matching speakers. But since I have enough speakers to piece a system together for now, I'm choosing the slower, more economic path. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the input! I'll have to give them all a shot. Being able to flatten out cabinet resonance and uneven bass response will be swell.

Coming out of the closet is never a shameful thing! I've found myself enjoying all sorts of music I never liked when hearing it reproduced properly.

I'm having a tough time deciding how I'd like to equalize on Windows. Both VLC and Windows Media Player have built in EQs, but neither is as fulfilling (i.e., particular) as I'd like. I also haven't had a lot of headway searching around for individual applications that can equalize the whole system. I'd really like to find something that would let me pinpoint on specific frequency bands. My big speakers would do well to shave off some treble, and my small ones are pretty resonant around 150hz. I know a good couple of people around here use their computers as a source, so what do you guys do?

So I've got my Sub-12, and it turns out that the manual lied about having a built-in crossover! Perhaps I interpreted it wrong, but the passthrough absolutely doesn't cut the speakers at 100hz. I also didn't realize that by not-full-range, you meant the sound would be of lower fidelity. I thought I might had been kidding myself when I believed the speakers sounded worse when passed through the sub, but certainly enough, using the sub's line in and plugging the speakers directly back into my amp brought things back in order tremendously. (The Craigslist seller also included a pair of beefy RCA cables with the sub, which didn't seem necessary, but I'd venture to say they might sound better than the cheap ones I used to plug my pre into my amp before) Even though I can't use a crossover to cut some of the low end to my speakers as I'd wanted, the sub pairs with them quite well. I've set the filter to 50hz and used my ears (and some sine waves) to blend it in and set the gain. The Sub-12 definitely doesn't play nice with small speakers (the seller tested them with his pair of Audioengine A5s, and the sub sounded very separate from the sound of the speakers), but it disappears well with the F-20 floorstanders. The spec sheet also lied about it hitting 24hz, but I'm happy enough with everything else it does to not mind so much. Not bad for a $100 Craigslist find! After hearing the effects of a weak link in the signal path, I'm not sure if I'll continue looking for extra equipment to filter the speakers. I might explore MiniDSP if I can find enough people saying good things about it, but we'll see. A crossover seems like the sort of thing more preamps should have built in, if you ask me! Either way, I'm quite pleased with the performance I'm getting with my new subwoofer. Thanks for the help!

I don't doubt that it will work that way! But part of the reason I want a subwoofer is so the speakers themselves won't need to produce nearly as much bass. Since they only have 6.5" drivers, it is no doubt some burden on the midrange to have to do so much. They do an excellent job, but when listening loudly, I think it would clean up the mids a bit more to separate some of those frequencies out. I think what I'll do is try it set up in different ways to see what sounds best. Perhaps if my preamp's tone control for bass doesn't reach too high, I can configure it that way without extra equipment. Worst case scenario, I'll just wire it parallel like I have with my bookshelf set. It'll sound good either way, but I think it would benefit both the sub and the mains to delegate. If everything goes according to plan when I meet the Craigslist guy on Saturday, I should have some results to post about!

Will that be an ideal way to go about it, or do you think there will be some phase issues where the speakers and sub overlap? As strong as the F-20s are for bass (surprisingly strong!), I was hoping to take some of the burden of their bottom frequencies off of them! My dad suggested getting a Behringer (or similar brand) rack mount crossover like he uses in his business (a dance studio), so I may go that route, though I'm a bit concerned that adding to the frequency path will come at a cost for a home hifi setup. Is this a legitimate concern? And as a matter of fact, I'm talking to someone about buying their Synergy Sub-12 right now. Should be a good match! Edit: It turns out the Sub-12's speaker passthrough actually has a high pass set at 100hz. This should be a good start, but I feel it'll be a bit high given the capabilities of both the speakers and the sub. Perhaps I should find a good graphic EQ and use that in conjunction with the sub's low pass to get the best results?

I have a pair of Synergy F-20s, with an Adcom GTP-500 pre and GFA-535 amp. At the moment, the primary usage is music, but they're occasionally used for video games as well. I definitely don't want to switch to an HT receiver; I understand they tend to have built in crossovers, but I'm very happy with how the Adcoms sound for music.

Hello everyone, I'm thinking I might shop for a subwoofer for my floorstanders, and before I go buying or looking at anything, I'm a bit uncertain about crossovers. Specifically, I'm not sure what kind of hardware to use for it. Should I be looking for a dedicated crossover unit, or should I be using a preamp that has a crossover built in? I understand some graphic EQs have crossovers, but I've also heard that some of these can diminish the overall sound quality. Web searches have been a bit inconclusive so far; there are plenty of guides on how to configure one's crossover frequency, but they don't speak very much about what kind of hardware is best for it. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Funny story about that, as a matter of fact. The first time I listened to Bang Bang (by Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, & Ariana Grande) after upgrading to a more appropriate amp and preamp, I realized just how empty-sounding the song is. It's a bit of an extreme example, but it goes to show just how much they engineer recordings for what the target demographic will listen to them with (mostly Beats headphones and car stereos). A good 2ch system can be a double-edged sword like that! (On the other hand, I listen to much more jazz and instrumental than ever nowadays)

Nice space, Steve_S! Shows off the electronics nicely, too. I'm going to post my system when it's not in a messy basement. On the bright side, it doubles as acoustic treatment! (For now, just imagine the stuff in my signature floating in a white void)

I'm thinking of getting one. I use the tone controls on my pre to take the edge off my system, but being able to be a bit more specific would be nice.

I have a friend who could never use the sub on his ProMedia 2.1s because it was always audible in his adjacent neighbor's livingroom (Though to be fair, it was also right on the shared wall). On the other hand, I lived in a condo at one point where I had a system set up in a room that didn't share walls with any neighbors, but did share the ceiling with the upstairs neighbor's floor. We even asked if they could hear bass, which they said they couldn't, so that was never an issue. His best bet might be to use a room that borders as few neighbors as possible, and then ask the nearest one if they can hear anything.

I'll have to start aggressively buying those insufferable "I'm a photographer!" t-shirts they advertise to me on facebook.

Sure am! Though I'm starting a new job next week, so I won't be completely full time after that.

Very interesting about tube amp feedback, there. Even though I was aware that speakers (at least typical moving-diaphragm speakers) and microphones (at least typical moving-diaphragm microphones!) work more or less the same way, I'd never considered how that could affect playback. It makes sense once it's put like that; very cool explanation.

Looks interesting! I need to do a bit of CD ripping myself. A long while back, I was super diligent about keeping everything in one spot on my old iTunes folder. Then I got a new computer, the folder got moved to an external drive, I uploaded everything to Google Play, some things are missing somehow, there are doubles and triples of other things, I got an iPad and started buying singles from both Apple and Google... These days, I listen to a lot of CDs just because I always know where they are. There's a lot of cleanup to do that I've just been putting off. So if this can integrate all of those individual messes into one big mess, that'd be great.

Contacted the seller, unfortunately they've already been sold. Oh well! The laws of irony suggest I would've found something even better right after buying them anyway, so maybe I'll come into something twice as good sometime soon. For the record, too, the F-20s are shaping up very nicely. I didn't realize what was missing from the midrange and lows listening to small speakers for so long, even really nice ones like my DefTechs. But I'm saving the lengthy love letter for when they're fully broken in. Thanks for the advisement, everybody!

It's more a matter of spotting this particular deal than a huge need to upgrade. The F20s aren't even fully broken in yet (and they're sounding nicer by the day!). My thinking was that if these would be enough improvement to justify the dropoff in lows, it might be worth it. So far, the consensus seems to be that it wouldn't be a tremendously substantial improvement. (Spec sheets also say that the F20s supposedly go 3KHz higher, too, which is interesting) I'm still a bit tempted to offer $100 and see what they say. I could always stow them away to use as rears in a thrifty 5.1 system, or something. The listing's been up for 18 days already, which suggests it either sold quick and hasn't been taken down, or they aren't selling.

Anyone who's gone on a Craigslist crawl knows how it goes. You think you're just looking, then you see something unexpectedly nice, and then you're out a bunch of money and in a cool new thing. Somebody a town over from me is offering a pair of RF15s for $140, which seems almost unrealistically good. Before I send an email and things get spendy, I thought I'd pop in and see what you guys think of making the upgrade. Now, I already know I'll be losing about 1.25" from each midrange driver, and the spec sheets agree that the low end will bottom out a bit higher. But it's also a step up in model tier. So what do you think; worthwhile upgrade, or would it be wiser to keep the money? Thanks!

I love how the LaScala was lit; it's definitely my favorite Heritage to look at. Great perspective on all of them too; great stuff!

I'd like to hear about it!

It's interesting to hear that the Khorn is in the running so far. I'm not surprised to hear that it beat out the RF-7ii, though I am a bit surprised it fared better than the Palladiums, since they're so much pricier. Says a lot about the integrity of Paul's design!

I bought the Adcoms! Edited everything into the first post so the question and answer can be in the same spot. Thanks so much, everyone, for all of your help! Edit: One last question. Do you guys think 16-gauge speaker wire is enough for this setup? It came to mind last night, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to run it by the pros.