seti Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 When I bought a pair of Belle's I also got a custom made isobaric subwoofer because he would not split them up. The sub was supposedly designed by someone who was a consultant for Cary Audio but I can't prove it and the cabinet was made buy a great woodworker in the Ozarks. It is made from walnut(pic attached) and even uses the same grill as the belles. All I know about the guts of this critter is that it has 2 12 inch peerless drivers. The problem is that it has no built in amp or crossover. I have a tube based system but for the sub I would prefer solid state. What would members of this forum recommend for this sub? Can I purchase an external unit that has crossover and amp in one unit? This is my first sub and I am just not sure what would be the best course of action. Any advice much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmyforte Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 not that it means a whole lot but judging by his use of Peerless drivers and that great looking cabinet, i'd say you got a pretty sweet sub there. i would suggest looking at a high powered studio type amp. like 800Watt Hafler, QSC, Crown, and the like. are these whats in the cabinet? http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=297-608&DID=7 http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/297-608.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Hello, I am new to this forum and saw your post.I run a Velodyne powered sub which has x-over built in.My cd player has 2 outputs.1 set to my amps and LaScala's 1 feeds my sub.If you have another amp and 2 outputs on your Preamp you can utilize that second out.Other members of this forum could help with how to roll off the high's in the signal,I know it can be done just not sure how.Or you could run a full range signal to it. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 22, 2004 Author Share Posted July 22, 2004 I believe that is it all he told me was that it had 2 12 inch peerless xls drivers but that could be it. He also said it will go down to 18cycles but I'm a newbie not really sure how low that is. Thanks for the opinion I was a little worried as I spent $1200 on the belle's and $400 on the sub. I will look at the amps suggested. Do those include crossovers? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmyforte Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 no, but any cheap sub crossover will do, shoot get one for a car and buy a step down transformer for a pretty cheap and effective unit. those drivers are pretty sweet puppies. it may play down to 18Hz but i wonder at what SPL level. i've never heard an 18Hz tone, but the average ear can only hear from 20Hz to 20KHz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 With Belles, I hardly think that you would even need a sub. Obviously this a 2-channel rig, and unless your into Pipe Organ music, there's no need to get down to 18 Hz. However if you're going to be persistant, you could look at plate amps to incorporate. Parts express has various wattage offerings that won't drain your wallet, and have all the features you'd find on an active sub. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-794&DID= Got an HT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 you may not need a crossover for your sub if you can set the cut off frequency for bass on your AVreceiver/amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmyforte Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 ---------------- On 7/23/2004 7:29:02 AM ironwoods wrote: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-794&DID= Got an HT? ---------------- if it were me i wouldn't throw any money at this plate amp. first its underpowered for those 2 drivers and secondly you will get a better quality sound and longivity out of a commercial power amp like i mentioned above. plus you can't use that plate amp for anything else other than a sub amp. but the big 2 channel jobbies can be used in numorous other fashions. i always like to think about exandability and other uses in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 23, 2004 Author Share Posted July 23, 2004 I'm not going to use this in a home theatre. The person I bought them from had the sub hooked up to a 200 watt nad and a seperate crossover. In retrospect I should have had him toss them in on the deal. He was using the sub to add some bass and go where the belles couldn't. It wasn't room rattling ht bass but rather just adding something you could tell on some tracks when it was turned off that something was diferent. I thought it was interesting and wanted to try a simnilar setup at home for further evaluation. I'm not sure after evaluation if I would love it or hate but I want to give it another chance. I don't mind buying a plate amp just for the sub and I also wouldn't mind picking up one of the amps listed. What I do care about is quality and clarity which would be the best route? a lower powered plate amp/crossover or a seperate amp and crossover? Thanks again for all the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scp53 Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 is price a concern. the plate amp will probably be cheaper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmyforte Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 for about $300-450 you could get a nice 2 channel amp and a subwoofer xover. that will sound worlds above what the plate amps will do. if you don't like it, you can always resell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 if it were me i wouldn't throw any money at this plate amp. first its underpowered for those 2 drivers ---------------- Hey, I did mention they had variuos wattages. Choose from the dropdown menu. However, a measly 1000w is the flagship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 The Parts Express plate amp would be fine for this application. Get one of the bigger ones if you do, I'd go for the 500 watter. If you go with a conventional power amp, you can use Harrison Labs F-Mods for crossovers. They are a passive, preamp level 12 db high or low pass crossover that will plug into the power amp. Use 70 Hz with the Belles. You might consider 60 or 80 Hz if your room is unusual. Belles definately need a sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 26, 2004 Author Share Posted July 26, 2004 _________________________ The Parts Express plate amp would be fine for this application. Get one of the bigger ones if you do, I'd go for the 500 watter. If you go with a conventional power amp, you can use Harrison Labs F-Mods for crossovers. They are a passive, preamp level 12 db high or low pass crossover that will plug into the power amp. Use 70 Hz with the Belles. You might consider 60 or 80 Hz if your room is unusual. _________________________ I was wondering about the crossover settings that was going to be my next question. Which would have the best sound quality? The 500 watt plate amp looks good. When I first heard this sub it was powered by a 200 watt nad so 500 watts should be enough. It's amusing to me that my klipsch are driven by 8 watt each yet the sub is 500 watt. Thanks again for the advice, Seti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 "It's amusing to me that my klipsch are driven by 8 watt each yet the sub is 500 watt." It IS amusing. The difference is due to both efficiency and the amount of energy in music at those deep frequencies. Your ears are lots less sensitive to low bass than to a flute, for instance. The make up the difference, the drummer strikes HARD, thus more energy. Plus, we like to feel the impact of a drum! You might bet by with less power, but you'd have less headroom and would be more likely to clip the amp. I find clipped bass to be more offensive that most any other distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Well I was trying to come in on budget but I've already heard the whooshing sound as it sailed past. I've already spent twice as much as expected so why stop now! I'll just get the 1000 watt amp over engineering is better than under engineering. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki Choi Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Seti: I have a passive sub in my HT set up with a Klipsch Belle doing a center channel duty. The sub is crossed over and powered by a Hsu Research's crossover/amp unit. You can also find various options for a reasonably priced external crossovers at http://www.marchandelec.com/ and get a used power amp such as Adcom 555 for around $300 or http://www.hsustore.com/500-watt-amp.html <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> is what I use. You can find the one on a used market for around $400. Ki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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