But done correctly by using an active crossover you wouldn’t have the sub/s and mains covering the same range. If the subs are capable then why have the mains needlessly busting their guts when all things being equal the sub/s will deal with and reproduce the bottom two octaves of 20Hz-40Hz and 40Hz-80Hz far more effectively and reduce distortion in the mains.
Why send a boy to do a mans work. Sub bass is best left to a subwoofer.
Yes, you could do it the way you described but you are adding an active element to the chain and the electronic crossover has to be as good and transparent as the preamplifier you are using if you dont want to have the higher frequencies compromised.
Dynaudio recommends for their own Sub 6 a low pass filter frequency close to the -6 db speaker’s specified low frequency cut-off. The C2s frequency response is 28Hz-25Khz, +/- 3db…
I read the specs from the Dynaudio website. Anyway it doesn’t matter at all because specs are not relevant and what counts is what your ears tell you. Enjoy!
If I wanted a satellite sub system with an active crossover I would have bought one. But I didn’t. I bought full range speakers with stereo pair of REL subs. You are wrong that I have done this incorrectly. My system is setup according to REL’s guidance (not yours), setup with the help and guidance of my very experienced REL dealer, who I have dealt with and trusted for some 25 years, and my ears confirm that it sounds great.
My setup sounds as you described you think it should sound: integrated seamlessly, with the mains and subs “disappearing into the soundstage” with a “sharp, tight fisted, fast and punchy sub bass.” I trust that REL knows how their systems should be setup, I trust that my dealer knows what they are doing with REL setup, and I trust my ears. I will not be adding an active crossover to set this up.
I tried REL subs with my S40s. No matter how they were set up they were noticeable because the sound quality was not at the same level as the S40s.
Bass may have been extended but the overall sound quality was not as pleasing as the S40son their own.
I auditioned the RELs at my dealers and we tried numerous settings and positioning of the speakers but the end result was the same, a diminished overall sound quality.
It did however make me appreciate the quality of the S40s.
Stephan, I used to own a B&W sub on an Arcam system. It was ok but the problem I find is the sub’s sound quality doesn’t match the main speaker quality. Although I could hear more bass emphasis I would rather do without it and enjoy the better quality sound from theS40s.
I think eventually if I require more bass I’d go for say, Contour 60 floor stander rather than the sub route.
Halo, what REL model are you using? I have the same S40 as you but with Star and thinking to go for REL Carbon Limited. Are you using high level connection?
Hello Gents, here are my 2 Dynaudio setups. The 2-ch setup is a Naim Uniti Star driving Contour 20s and my HSU VTF-3 MK5 HP, and the other is DM2/6 & Focus 210C with a Marantz 5010. Forgive the mess we were still moving in when I took these photos.
Finally, I have taken delivery of my S40s. I know that they will take weeks to run in. Are there any specific rules? I am tempted to swap them with my home theatre front speakers so they get max play time in. Hopefully, they will just get better and better.
When I got my new speakers I put the HDX on random play and turned the sound down during the night, as long as they are moving that is most important part. They were running like that for 2 weeks and since stopping I can’t notice any further gain. I am sure you can do same thing if you stream (I dont so not sure functionality of streamers)
@Njb - When I got mine last December, my dealer advised me to start running the speakers in by putting them opposite one another, close together and with one speaker out of phase, and then having Radio 4 or a similar speech radio on, 24 hours a day for three or four days.
I was made fully aware of the fact that it would take up to six months for the S40s to fully break in, but those initial few days helped loosen up the drivers enough for the speakers to be pretty listenable.