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September 30, 2007 - 6:40am
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Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub a stupid idea ?
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Richard,
Welcome to the forum!
First off, you have some very nice equipment and I wouldn't alter its' output with an equalizer. You will need to leave the pre-main jumper in place, in order to drive your speakers. I would suggest using the "tape out" jacks, to feed the sub, but never having owned a sub I'm not sure if this will work. My preference would be to use a speaker with a tweeter, mid and bass...a sub woofer is just that, it is not a bass speaker (just my opinion). As you queried, a sub, to me, is for theatre.
Let us know what you decide.
Mike
It just dawned on me that you could use a Y-adaptor to connect the pre to main thus having a source for your sub woofer.
Hi Richard,
There are subs that can take your full range signal from the NAD, apply its crossover and route the lows to it's driver and pass the rest on to your speakers.
I probably didn't express that very well, but basically you run both L&R from the NAD to the sub, then hook your speakers to the subs 'out' binding posts.
You will have to experiment with the subs crossover (and possibly phase) to get a blend that works, but it is doable and can yield very pleasing results - I have a friend with a setup like that.
In my friend's case, he's got a sub from Hsu that has this ability, but I think it's fairly common.
Bill
Yes - adding a sub is a great idea. I have speakers that are NOT considered bass-shy; they're great but for years I missed the bass from my previous "cheaper" speakers. Then I finally got a sub. Hey, it's not just for home theater heathens! It's great, and musically valid and helpful!Having the sub supplement my bass is the best upgrade I've ever done. Go for it.
Thank you very much for your advice fellas. I will try and round up a decent sub off someone and give it a whirl as per your hook up advice. I'll let you know how it turns out. Regards Richard
Be very careful! There are subwoofers out there that are terrible! I have experience with at least 5 different brands. These have ranged from wonderful to crap. My experience has lead me to beleive that the best for the money are REL and Velodyne.
Both of these allow you to connect the sub at the speaker connections of your amp. This has many advantages IMO. First, you aren't adding any circuits to the sound signals, the signal to your speakers is not modified at all. Second, your subwoofer follows the same sig that is driving your speakers. I would not consider a sub that runs the signal fron the preamp to the sub and back to the amp.
Be ready for some trial and error to get the sound to dial in.
Good luck! Have Fun!