Small, passive sub?

[rhubarbe]

I have a BK XLS200, which is universally regarded as a fine sub, but my wife hates it. Therefore I have it turned so low that it's not worth having. Even my switching it on attracts her attention to its being there, in the corner of the lounge, looking untidy.

Now, I run just a 5.1 (sometimes ) setup, but I have a seven channel power amp. I was wondering whether, if I sourced a good but small passive sub and stowed it in the loft above the lounge (it's a bungalow), that I could have the best of both worlds: keep my sub but not advertise its presence. Nobody goes into the loft but me.

Does anybody know of a small passive sub that might fit my needs? My amp is rated at 100W RMS per channel into 8 Ohms and 200 WRMS per channel into 4 Ohms, so I have 100 to 200 Watts available depending upon the impedance of the "new" sub.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Ian J]

To be honest, if that is the sort of reaction that a BK XLS200 generates from your wife (and assuming that you are posting for AV advice and not marital) I wouldn't bother with a sub at all and try and get the bassiest speakers that you can instead.

 

[trailer]

Put a sub in the loft?

I'd put it under her chair.

 

[Member 96948]

What is it she doesn't like exactly? The look of it? The sound of it? Both?

Russell

 

[recruit]

I agree with Ian, if you're wife does not like the idea of a sub in any shape or form then try and get the best speakers you can which can handle some good bass, obviously a sub is the proper way to go but trying to cut corners will not yield good results.

 

[Nimby]

What utter nonsense!

It might seem harsh, but unless your wife is the sole provider for your happy home, I suggest you tell her to ignore your tiny little subwoofer.

In another dimension, which I call Nimbyland, my wife won't let me sell our huge cylindrical subwoofer because she prefers it to the 4 x 15" subwoofer I built into the wall! I'm quite happy for her to keep it even though I never use it myself.

Have a look at my signature if you want to see the terrifying evidence.

Marriage is a balance of equality and sharing. Not something you suffer from like a chronic disease.

If you can't get her to accept such a tiny little box subwoofer then start choosing which items of supposedly essential furniture which she can easily do without!

Stand up for yourself now or suffer a lifetime of henpecking!

 

[recruit]

What utter nonsense!

It might seem harsh, but unless your wife is the sole provider for your happy home, I suggest you tell her to ignore your tiny little subwoofer.

In another dimension, which I call Nimbyland, my wife won't let me sell our huge cylindrical subwoofer because she prefers it to the 4 x 15" subwoofer I built into the wall! I'm quite happy for her to keep it even though I never use it myself.

Have a look at my signature if you want to see the terrifying evidence.

Marriage is a balance of equality and sharing. Not something you suffer from like a chronic disease.

If you can't get her to accept such a tiny little box subwoofer then start choosing which items of supposedly essential furniture which she can easily do without!

Stand up for yourself now or suffer a lifetime of henpecking!

don't mince you're words hey Nimby !!

must try and visit Nimbyland one day

 

[Member 96948]

I was wondering whether, if I sourced a good but small passive sub and stowed it in the loft above the lounge (it's a bungalow), that I could have the best of both worlds: keep my sub but not advertise its presence. Nobody goes into the loft but me.

On second thoughts, you would seem an ideal candidate for one of these.

That should get Nimby's elderly juices flowing.

Russell

 

[Nimby]

don't mince you're words hey Nimby !!

My father was a music lover all of his life. He lived for Radio 3 and the Proms and had a large record and tape collection.

He was never allowed to turn up his system to a reasonable level let alone loud. I won't bore you with further details.

I couldn't live like that and wouldn't expect anyone else to do so. Equality and sharing are essential in any marriage. If you haven't got it now you'd better start working on it pronto or suffer the consequences for a lifetime!

 

[Nimby]

On second thoughts, you would seem an ideal candidate for one of these.

That should get Nimby's elderly juices flowing.

Russell

Well, I didn't have to go down the pup to drown my sorrows just because they didn't pick my "personal subwoofer"!

 

[Member 96948]

I don't need sorrows to excuse a trip to the pub. They've got Speckled Hen in at the moment and know how to keep it.

Anyway, unlike HCC I made the right choice. Although I'll admit the carpet cleaning abilities ot the T1 must soften the spousal approval part of the equation. I wonder if the OP of this thread may be suited by such a product.

I must be typing slow tonight, my second thoughts were evidently pre-empted by your self. I should have known. The words 'loft' and 'sub' appearing in the same sentence must drawn you from your after dinner pipe and back to the keyboard in a flash. Or at least with a dignified amount of haste.

Russell

 

[Nimby]

Haven't time to come up with a suitable answer.

Got a film on.

 

[rhubarbe]

Well, what a can of worms, eh?

TBH, I am not all that impressed with the XLS200, since I can only connect it with the phono leads and not the high level ones.

Frankly, I think it's really slow.

In my turn I did veto the wife's huge sunbed that used to live in the bedroom...

The idea for a passive sub was just so I could bung it in the loft and forget about it.

I might swap out my fronts for some beefier ones that I was saving for the new kitchen/sunlounge.....

 

[Nimby]

You can't go from "fine sub" to "really slow" within just a few off-topic rants.

That's not a can of worms it's a wormhole!

 

[rhubarbe]

OK, I have rephrased post #1.

I think it's slow, the wife doesn't like it. Any suggestions for faster, passive subs?

 

[Member 96948]

I apologise on behalf of the off-topic regulars.

To be honest, if you're finding an XLS-200 'slow', then you have one of two problems.

1. A sub will tend to slow if you've only been used to what a regular pair of speakers can deliver. Really low bass isn't fast, in comparrison to the facsimile of bass that most speakers deliver. It takes a bit of adjustment to get used to it.

2. It may sound slow and possibly 'boomy' if the subs positioning within the room is less than ideal. This will excite the rooms modes and lead to bloated and 'slow' sounding bass.

My considered recommendation is to get a hold of your balls and induge in some tuning. This means buying an SPL meter, using some of the freely available online resources and optimising the subs position to allow it to deliver it's performance. The movements involved may be as little as a couple of inches this way or that. It's got to be worth a punt.

If the positioning of the sub is to be dictated by a significant other, then your choices are limited. You can go the bassy speakers route, but as you'll be loosing the .1 channel, then you'll be missing most of the fun. Whatever you've been told, the .1 channel is not redistributed to the main speakers if the sub is absent.

The IB/in ceiling solution really could be your salvation and if you discount effort, could actually be one of the cheapest options going. It could result in awsome bass performance the likes of which no box sub could produce.

FWIW, Mrs russ.will hated the Monolith (much, much bigger than the XLS-200) when it arrived, but once she realised that vases etc could be placed on it, she now loves those window rattling moments it can deliver. Check my HT Piccies below for a sample of sympathetic placement plus spousal compromise.

Russell

 

[paulst10]

OK, I have rephrased post #1.

I think it's slow, the wife doesn't like it. Any suggestions for faster, passive subs?

hi, have you set the delay times for the sub & speakers correctly in your amp ... i find most subs that sound slow, are sometimes down to timing ... you will need a tape measure to measure the distance from each speaker including the sub .. to YOUR listening position & set your amps delay times to the given figures

may help a little

paul

 

[rhubarbe]

Thanks very much for those suggestions. When I said my wife hates it I didn't mean what it looks like: BK kindly sprayed it in medium oak so that it matches our decor, and hidden as it is away in a corner, under an occasional table, well, most of the time you wouldn't know it was there.

No, it's the rumbly, boomy, out of sync sound it makes that she doesn't like, and she sits on the opposite side of the room to me . It sounds OK but slow from where I sit.

I do have an SPL meter, so I'll try moving the occasional table around later on.

I have to say that she has been "got at" by the treehuggers and the little BK, with a 275W label on the back doesn't get the vote of confidence by this sorry, miserable bunch of killjoys.

Shove a passive thing like a Gallo MPC-1 in the loft connected to my amp just by a speaker wire, and well, I get the bass and the .1, she gets the space back under her table and the dogooders get that rosy sense of satisfaction that they must achieve for themselves knowing that they have b*ggered up somebody else's day.

It was just a thought.....

 

[Member 96948]

I have to say that she has been "got at" by the treehuggers and the little BK, with a 275W label on the back doesn't get the vote of confidence by this sorry, miserable bunch of killjoys.

LOL! You should point to the 3000w kettle and see if it puts her off any of her 'herbal' infusions. It won't of course because they'll be a 'necessity'.

FWIW, bass tuning is pretty much localised to one listening position, or area around it. If you're sitting on opposite sides of the room then you're never going to achieve a setup for both of you, what ever of where ever, the sub. Sitting against a wall is also a no no, as bass will be much stonger here than a couple of feet out into the room. Corners are worse still.

Best of luck,

Russell

 

[rhubarbe]

That's the end of the sub, then. The room isn't very large and if corners are to be avoided then we'll be tripping up over it every time we move.

You see, if I put a passive one in the loft it can go right in the middle of the lounge, only above the ceiling.

I get the feeling that guys on here don't go a bunch on passive subs.

Oh, and she doesn't drink tea, or coffee, just water, so it'd be another shot in the foot - I drink gallons of tea. Odd, isn't it: litres of tea just doesn't sound right, does it?

 

[Nimby]

Thou doth protest a little too much I think.

You should realise that we get dozens of posts from chaps suffering from henpecking about their hobby.

Endless posts from chaps who aren't allowed to have a sub in the living room. Or it's too big and what can they do to hide it. And can they put it in a cupboard 75 times the size as long as it doesn't look like a subwoofer. You get the drift.

If you want to put something in the ceiling then consider a real Infinite Baffle subwoofer manifold. It will make so much clean bass your partner won't be able to make herself heard.

On second thoughts.. don't and just follow your instincts.