Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub a stupid idea ?

Heres the guts of it - I finally cleared off my old crappy bits of system to the back shed and forked out on some new gear. After much reading and sussing out a couple of shops I went with the following : NAD 325BEE amp, Monitor Audio BR2 speakers, Cambridge Audio 640P phono pre amp for my old technics turntable and am soon to replace my old sony carosel CD player with a 525BEE NAD to match the amp.

I have set up the system with good speaker cable, have the speakers roughly mounted at ear level (making stands this week) but am missing the bass of my older system. Admittedly my old JVC speakers were bigger in dimension and I was boosting the bass with a $10 second hand equaliser.

The new system has great mids and highs my the bass just seems not strong enough in the mix, even with the amps bass wound 3/4 up. The room it is in is about 7mx3m with suspended hardwood floors (probably not important but....) Now for the questions:

1) How can I get more 'quality' bass without going to floor standers as I just bought the BR2's

2) Is adding a sub woofer to a system like this a stupid idea (ie: are they for action movie surround sound people only) ?

3) Can I hook a sub into the NAD325BEE. It has 2 RCA pre-outs linked into the mains in. No actual sub input.

4) Are EQ's only for poor quality systems to attempt to get decent sound ( as I did with my crappy JVC speakers) ?

Any and all advice kindly accepted.

Regards

Richard

October 1, 2007 - 4:53am

59mga

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

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

October 1, 2007 - 11:53am

59mga

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

Quote:
Can I hook a sub into the NAD325BEE. It has 2 RCA pre-outs linked into the mains in. No actual sub input.

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.

October 1, 2007 - 5:47pm

wgriel

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

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

October 5, 2007 - 1:36pm

BillB

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

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.

October 7, 2007 - 5:55pm

Screamin

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

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

October 9, 2007 - 10:29am

greenelec

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Re: Help ! NAD325bee and Monitor Audio BR2's - Is adding a sub

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!

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