Good video. My 12” (CTSW12) B&W subwoofer is passive, (very uncommon) all the settings are done on the processor, it’s ace! The sub is sealed and the room is treated, so no EQ is needed but this isn’t true for most untreated rooms. 1000w is also required, not cheap to do but it sounds fantastic (mostly down to the room treatment).
Very interesting. Are you using the companion SA1000 amplifier? I would suspect there is some driver response tailoring and excursion limiting taking place in the external amp.
@@AxiomHomeTheaters no, I use a Chord SPA612 (opera house mono). I have 4, centre, left, right & sub all use the same type of mono amp. The processor does have “Bass Management” but I don’t use it as it limits the frequency response and the limits of excursion are beyond the volume I listen at. The only processing is the 65hz crossover set by the Meridian Pre. In room (heavily treated): +/- 10db 16hz - 200hz at the listening position... Flat @ 24 Hz F3 @ 23 Hz F6 @ 19 Hz F9 @ 16 Hz I have used dozens of subs in the space, admittedly all before treatment.
I'm building my home cinema system now. Only thing I need to finish it off is 2 overhead speakers and a subwoofer.ive got a 250 watt 10" active subwoofer on the way. Not sure if I'm gonna keep it tho. Rather than having one large sub I was thinking of maybe going with 2 mini subs. Earlier today I got the dB meter out and tested it with the 5 speakers so far and averaged around 70db with peaks of around 90db with my avr at around 40% volume. To put that in perspective for anyone reading, a jet engine at take off or music at a live concert peaks at around 120db so my shit is loud haha
Two subs will give you a flatter frequency response in the room and you have another degree of placement adjustment available. You could always try the single 10” sub and add another one later.
Active can be a lot more powerful and compact. I have 2 sealed: one with 1500 watts in a 9in+2 bass radiators, and one with 1200 watts in an 8in+2 bass radiators.
Currently using both type of subw’s on my 2channel audio system, basically for listening to turntable/cd/streamed music 🎶. The passive Paradigm SB80 gives more punch 🥊 than the active Elac1010 on very low frequencies... just a basic system, reconnecting with the hobbie, still can be very noticeable the difference.
Subwoofers used to have both line level inputs and speaker level inputs. The latter went away as more receivers came with sub and audio outs, but was there ever a technical reason why we don't see speaker level inputs anymore?
Basically there is no technical reason that they are becoming harder to find…it’s likely a cost-cutting function by the manufacturers as there are likely fewer customers today that require those inputs. There are companies that sell converter boxes if you fall in love with a sub without speaker level inputs.
I have a separate amp driving my sub. The adjustments come from my processor. This setup needs to be adjusted to the program material each time because this setup easily drives the driver past the Xmax. Sounds like a metal 55 gal trash can falling down a flight of stairs. I need to find a solution to this setup. Still learning!
Unfortunately you’ve found out first hand how important a good limiter can be in front of a subwoofer. It’s amazing to me that many people don’t think that there are a lot of different parts to designing a good subwoofer. Keep learning and enjoy the experience!
Active will always perform better, in my opinion, unless the passive subwoofer has a dedicated EQ and amplifier that is specifically designed to be used with it.
The ports on that sub look.... provocative....
Lol!
Thanks for all the info very helpful
Glad it was helpful, and thank you for taking the time to say so.
Good video. My 12” (CTSW12) B&W subwoofer is passive, (very uncommon) all the settings are done on the processor, it’s ace!
The sub is sealed and the room is treated, so no EQ is needed but this isn’t true for most untreated rooms. 1000w is also required, not cheap to do but it sounds fantastic (mostly down to the room treatment).
Very interesting. Are you using the companion SA1000 amplifier? I would suspect there is some driver response tailoring and excursion limiting taking place in the external amp.
@@AxiomHomeTheaters no, I use a Chord SPA612 (opera house mono).
I have 4, centre, left, right & sub all use the same type of mono amp.
The processor does have “Bass Management” but I don’t use it as it limits the frequency response and the limits of excursion are beyond the volume I listen at. The only processing is the 65hz crossover set by the Meridian Pre.
In room (heavily treated): +/- 10db 16hz - 200hz at the listening position...
Flat @ 24 Hz
F3 @ 23 Hz
F6 @ 19 Hz
F9 @ 16 Hz
I have used dozens of subs in the space, admittedly all before treatment.
I'm building my home cinema system now. Only thing I need to finish it off is 2 overhead speakers and a subwoofer.ive got a 250 watt 10" active subwoofer on the way. Not sure if I'm gonna keep it tho. Rather than having one large sub I was thinking of maybe going with 2 mini subs. Earlier today I got the dB meter out and tested it with the 5 speakers so far and averaged around 70db with peaks of around 90db with my avr at around 40% volume. To put that in perspective for anyone reading, a jet engine at take off or music at a live concert peaks at around 120db so my shit is loud haha
Two subs will give you a flatter frequency response in the room and you have another degree of placement adjustment available. You could always try the single 10” sub and add another one later.
Active can be a lot more powerful and compact. I have 2 sealed: one with 1500 watts in a 9in+2 bass radiators, and one with 1200 watts in an 8in+2 bass radiators.
Currently using both type of subw’s on my 2channel audio system, basically for listening to turntable/cd/streamed music 🎶. The passive Paradigm SB80 gives more punch 🥊 than the active Elac1010 on very low frequencies... just a basic system, reconnecting with the hobbie, still can be very noticeable the difference.
Certainly a good passive subwoofer can still perform well with a good amplifier driving it.
Subwoofers used to have both line level inputs and speaker level inputs. The latter went away as more receivers came with sub and audio outs, but was there ever a technical reason why we don't see speaker level inputs anymore?
Basically there is no technical reason that they are becoming harder to find…it’s likely a cost-cutting function by the manufacturers as there are likely fewer customers today that require those inputs. There are companies that sell converter boxes if you fall in love with a sub without speaker level inputs.
I have a separate amp driving my sub. The adjustments come from my processor. This setup needs to be adjusted to the program material each time because this setup easily drives the driver past the Xmax. Sounds like a metal 55 gal trash can falling down a flight of stairs. I need to find a solution to this setup. Still learning!
Unfortunately you’ve found out first hand how important a good limiter can be in front of a subwoofer. It’s amazing to me that many people don’t think that there are a lot of different parts to designing a good subwoofer. Keep learning and enjoy the experience!
Hello. Please do you know any passive subwoofer you can recommend?
Unfortunately I’m not aware of any within the consumer space. Maybe check pro audio?
1:57 lol the voice crack
Which best woofer passive or active pls tell me
Active will always perform better, in my opinion, unless the passive subwoofer has a dedicated EQ and amplifier that is specifically designed to be used with it.