TommyC Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I am storing some Audio Equipment for my neighbor while his house is being painted. (not necessarily the best idea on his part!) One piece that I have been playing with is a Bass Equalizer that can be seen at the link below. It is the reason for all my questions about specs for my Heresies. Do any of you have any experience with one of these (or others like it)? I have actually been pretty impressed with it. So much so that I am planning on ordering the kit an building one of my own to play with. Anyway, it can be seen here: http://www.marchandelec.com/wm8.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Interesting Just make sure that the 20Db boost it is throwing in on the bass end does not drive your power amp into clipping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Woofer equalization has been around for quite a while. It basically provides a frequency dependent boost to the signal to level out the response curve as the woofer rolls off. The Marchand product is a good one. But you may not get the results you a looking for. First, the Heresy starts to roll off around 100 Hz and is down by 3 dB by about 65 Hz. and falls off rapidly after that. So even with equalization, you may not be able to get flat response as low as you would like. Second, equalization comes at a price. You are going to be operating closer to the mechanical and thermal limits of the woofer under all operating conditions. If you like to crank your system, this may not be a good idea. IMHO the best approach to dealing with the Heresy's limited bass is to use a good subwoofer. Interestingly, most powered subwoofers have similar equalization circuits built into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 The stock Heresy woofer has very limited x-max. An Eminence Delta 12LF will have about 6dB more output capability below 100hz and will drop in without any network changes. I gave the sealed system resonance and Qtc in another recent post about alternate Heresy replacement woofers. A 100W amp will be needed if you want to play loud. A real electronic crossover and a subwoofer might be a better choice. It will sound cleaner, go deeper, and play louder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyC Posted September 1, 2005 Author Share Posted September 1, 2005 I am actually in the process of building a pair of subwoofers for my system. This is just something that appeals to my gadget "thing." The guy who owns it has already warned me not to over do it due to the limitations of the Heresies, but it does improve the low end pretty noticeably, even at low volume levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Other units to consider that accomplish very similar function that you don't have to build yourself. DBX - 120, 120X, & 120X-DS - I use a 120X-DS and it is awesome Audio Control - Phase Coupled Activator (PCA), Richter Scale Cerwin Vega DB-10 There are others as well, keep in mind these units will place additional demands on your amplification and your speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 "Other units to consider that accomplish very similar function that you don't have to build yourself. DBX - 120, 120X, & 120X-DS - I use a 120X-DS and it is awesome Audio Control - Phase Coupled Activator (PCA), Richter Scale" Those are not even similar. They will destroy a Heresy woofer. "Cerwin Vega DB-10" Is just bass EQ, similar to the EV Interface EQ (I have a couple of these). The Marchand (also available assembled) is like a Linkwitz Transform. It can make the Heresy flat to 20hz, but not at any great volume. I have a MaxxBass 102, it is a lot easier on the Heresy than a DBX120 or Audio control PCA (I own all three units). http://www.maxxbass.com/ PPI sells a 12V unit that you can run at home with a wall plug, for about $70 less. It has better opamps in it too (I have one of these as well). These don't have the same 'feel' as a huge sub, but they have a real big sound, and they won't tear up your woofers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Question, Dennis... does the Maxxbass affect Dynamics ....???? i occasionally play w/ the dbx 120, but find it kills the dynamics while it samples the waveform.. if ya use the sub output, the sub is too slow ..... Cerwin Vega DB-10 ... haven't seen one of those little black boxes in years .....10 dB boost, at what ..?/ 40 hz .??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 djk, is this the ppi unit you are talking about? the MAXXBASS is this really better than the 102 home/pro version from wave? I assume this works like the Hughes SRS "TruBass" algorithim? that one tends to fuzz up a bit the detail in the bass IMHO....how´s this sound wise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Dennis, the Marchland unit must be some sort of Intelli-Q system to tweak the response of the woofer then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 "the Marchland unit must be some sort of Intelli-Q system to tweak the response of the woofer then." I basically is an adustable Linkwitz transform. For a given system you can build a fixed Linkwitz transform for not a lot of money. ESP sells the board at a reasonable price. "djk, is this the ppi unit you are talking about? the MAXXBASS is this really better than the 102 home/pro version from wave? I assume this works like the Hughes SRS "TruBass" algorithim? that one tends to fuzz up a bit the detail in the bass IMHO....how´s this sound wise?" Yes, it is about the same. The home unit uses TL072 opamps. The PPI unit uses LM837s, a quad version similar to the 5532 for sound. These both fuzz up the sound a bit due to the electrolytic caps in the signal path. Being SMD there is not much that can be done other than to tack a small film cap in parallel on the top side of the electrolytic. I haven't heard the Hughs SRS. These work well for the 'sound' of bass without a lot of feel, good for mobil home and apartment dwellers. It also works well for school and wedding dances where they don't want that feel either. For raves and college dances I always take at least a dozen 15s and several KW of power. The home/studio piece from MaxxBass both use the same PC board, they just change the jacks and add a rack plate for $120 more (such a deal). They are kind of fragile because of the multi-layer board with the pots and jacks soldered straight in. Any kind of vibration or shock will damage the unit. Lot of people complaining about this. For mobil use the PPI unit can be fixed on shock mounts in a rack, and the control knob at the mixer on the remote cable. I paid $109 for the PPI unit vs $300 for the studio rack mount one (that broke). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 I have been playing with the maxbass plugin for windows media player...it seems to be a midbass booster plus some kind of trick to add percieved depth. the two things I noticed with the plug in was that it indeed made everything sound warmer and fuller, but did not add any power to the bass, just a kind of warmth and that when the maxxbass was in line it was necessary to add treble (they have maxxtreble available in the plugin) to get a sound similar to the unprocessed sound. without the treble boost the result was a significant loss of air and sparkle. I also thought I heard some "pumping" artifacts. Overall the sound with maxxbass and a bit of maxxtreble was very pleasing with a variety of music. the million dollar question is whether the plugin has any relation to the hardware. I do not see a maxxtreble adjustment on the hardware version so I worry I will get the bass but losee the treble. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 The stock Heresy woofer has very limited x-max. An Eminence Delta 12LF will have about 6dB more output capability below 100hz and will drop in without any network changes. I gave the sealed system resonance and Qtc in another recent post about alternate Heresy replacement woofers. A 100W amp will be needed if you want to play loud. A real electronic crossover and a subwoofer might be a better choice. It will sound cleaner, go deeper, and play louder. djk, Your recommendation for a 100wpc amp... is this due to the Eminence Delta 12LF driver being less efficient than the K22. 6db is a pretty good improvement, I'd think. Is it readily noticable to the ear? I use Heresy's in a system with a receiver to drive them. The LOUDNESS circuit makes them sound very good. I'd suppose something like the Marchand or similar unit would be more controlled boosting targeted at particular frequencies, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 The Delta 12LF driver is a bit more efficient than a K22. I recommend more power if you intend to EQ the bass. The Marchand is just a fancy EQ. You can notch out the peak at resonance with it. NAD had a bass EQ on several of their units. It was designed for the typical small sealed box speaker. It worked pretty good. The larger x-max is not a big deal unless you use bass EQ or try and play it loud. l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfyr Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 ...The Marchand (EQ) is just a fancy EQ... l Hmmm... I must admit to being a bit confused by this post... Yes..... it IS an EQ. A high quality parametric EQ. But nevertheless just an EQ. Was anyone under the impression that it was not 'just an EQ'?[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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