hello. I have a Nova with Vienna acoustic beethoven baby. I got an SB SVS 1000 at a very good price. My question is whether to connect it to the output of the pre or to the Vienna terminals. The latter is what is recommended, but I don’t know if it lowers the impedance and the Viennas are already 4 ohms. someone knows? Thanks
Connect it to the back of the speakers. The amplifier won’t ‘see’ it so it makes no difference to the Nova. This is the way Naim recommend you do it.
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Never tried it with Naim kit, but I’ve always been wary of this method of connection since doing it with a Sony Home Cinema receiver and Wharfedale speakers / sub. It caused the protection to trip on the Sony amp after a few seconds. Not quite sure why, but clearly the Sony didn’t like it. So I would question the logic that the amp doesn’t ‘see’ the sub. However Naim do recommend it so I guess they know what they’re about.
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It’s fine to use either the high or low level connections to the sub as long as they are done correctly. Naim have traditionally suggested that best results may be achieved using high level, although that recommendation was largely based on their own N-Sub, now discontinued. With a Naim amp it’s usually best to connect to the loudspeakers rather than the amp in this case.
The low level connection can be taken from the DIN or RCA pre out on the Nova.
There may be some practical considerations that determine which connection method is best for you. It’s usually best to experiment with sub positioning, and try different locations around the room. I would recommend keeping an open mind on this as it can mean the difference between a greatly enhanced sound and a complete mess. Once you have found the best position then plan the best cable route to the sub from either amp or speakers.
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I have to say that I’ve never found subs very satisfactory. Getting them to integrate well is virtually impossible IME. Get them right at one volume setting or on a piece of music and they then sound totally wrong as soon as you alter the volume or play something different.
With such a lovely set of speakers I personally wouldn’t bother messing.
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I would agree that integrating a sub is not easy, and a poorly integrated sub is worse than no sub at all. Get it right, though, and the results can be magical.
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I forgot to ask one detail: the SB is active. Is it okay to connect it to the speaker output? since the amplification of the Nova + that of the SB would be added
Yes, as long as you connect to the high level (sometimes known as speaker level) input on the sub it’s fine.
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