What are subwoofers with roll off choice nowadays?

ramsden

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I am using humble vintage Kef C20 speakers with Corsair SP2500 subwoofer at the moment.
The SP2500 is simple thing with advantage of remote volume adjustment, it rolls off whatever it design is.
Looking for small subwoofer with speakers inputs the best, with more adjustments, like:
  • separate volume on it
  • bottom frequencies roll off
  • Higher crossover frequency, let’s say 200Hz

Actually SP2500 is nice, I just need two separate source output signals to feed the speakers and subwoofer, and is a little bigger.
I was thinking REL T Zero, because of the perfect size, just not sure about implementation.

Then I found old REL Q150E, that one has the roll off I like, but size wise a bit bigger.
Mostly the people think about deep bottom when evaluating the subwoofer, that is not my case. I really don’t like those window shaking frequencies, it is somehow harmful to my ears. It’s rather about enhancing top bass to make sound the bookshelfs like floorstanders and a bit deeper in addition when liked so.

I am curious what would be my choices. Thank you.
 

rdale

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I am using humble vintage Kef C20 speakers with Corsair SP2500 subwoofer at the moment.
The SP2500 is simple thing with advantage of remote volume adjustment, it rolls off whatever it design is.
Looking for small subwoofer with speakers inputs the best, with more adjustments, like:
  • separate volume on it
  • bottom frequencies roll off
  • Higher crossover frequency, let’s say 200Hz

Actually SP2500 is nice, I just need two separate source output signals to feed the speakers and subwoofer, and is a little bigger.
I was thinking REL T Zero, because of the perfect size, just not sure about implementation.

Then I found old REL Q150E, that one has the roll off I like, but size wise a bit bigger.
Mostly the people think about deep bottom when evaluating the subwoofer, that is not my case. I really don’t like those window shaking frequencies, it is somehow harmful to my ears. It’s rather about enhancing top bass to make sound the bookshelfs like floorstanders and a bit deeper in addition when liked so.

I am curious what would be my choices. Thank you.
I got a pair of REL T Zeroes in a system with Tandy LX5s and they sound great. The bass isn’t Home Theatre bass or sub-bass, but it is incredibly fast and ‘tuneful’ which makes for a really fun listen.
 
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MartinC

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  • bottom frequencies roll off
  • Higher crossover frequency, let’s say 200Hz
Could you explain a little clearer exactly what you have in mind here?

Basically any active subwoofer you can buy will have a low-pass filter that sets an upper limit on the frequencies it covers, although 200 Hz would be too high for this*. All subs will have a response that rolls off at the low frequency end as governed by their design. There isn't usually a high pass-filter to adjust this if you were asking for one? (My own sub does actually have a feature a little like this but it's unusual to do so.)

*70 Hz would be more like where you'd want it to be with your speakers.
 

Rayymondo

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Basically any active subwoofer you can buy will have a low-pass filter that sets an upper limit on the frequencies it covers, although 200 Hz would be too high for this. All subs will have a response that rolls off at the low frequency end as governed by their design.
As it happens my subwoofer does go up to 200 hz , although I tend to leave it at the lowest setting of 60hz
Lyngdorf BW-3 Frequency response: 27 to 200 Hz (using line in input), 27 to 800 Hz (using bypass input)
It's defined as a Description: Active high bandwidth subwoofer
I don't believe this is the norm - but does exist for those that require the higher setting crossovers
 

ramsden

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Could you explain a little clearer exactly what you have in mind here?

Basically any active subwoofer you can buy will have a low-pass filter that sets an upper limit on the frequencies it covers, although 200 Hz would be too high for this*. All subs will have a response that rolls off at the low frequency end as governed by their design. There isn't usually a high pass-filter to adjust this if you were asking for one? (My own sub does actually have a feature a little like this but it's unusual to do so.)

*70 Hz would be more like where you'd want it to be with your speakers.
Yes, I was thinking both high pass and low pass filters. Let’s say the speakers would go up to 70Hz, but the signal there is quite weak already, thus sub would boost that frequency range up to let’s say 200Hz, and when music louder, I could roll off bottom frequencies too, as room acoustics would interfere too much. So everything depends from more factors including music and quality of recording, volume, and subwoofer would be fully adjustable to support that.
 

MartinC

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As it happens my subwoofer does go up to 200 hz , although I tend to leave it at the lowest setting of 60hz
Lyngdorf BW-3 Frequency response: 27 to 200 Hz (using line in input), 27 to 800 Hz (using bypass input)
It's defined as a Description: Active high bandwidth subwoofer
I don't believe this is the norm - but does exist for those that require the higher setting crossovers

Sorry if I was unclear. My point was that it would be a bad idea to run a sub up to 200 Hz, not that it couldn't be done. Without filters the in-room response of my own sub doesn't fall of sharply until about 300 Hz.
 

MartinC

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Yes, I was thinking both high pass and low pass filters. Let’s say the speakers would go up to 70Hz, but the signal there is quite weak already, thus sub would boost that frequency range up to let’s say 200Hz, and when music louder, I could roll off bottom frequencies too, as room acoustics would interfere too much. So everything depends from more factors including music and quality of recording, volume, and subwoofer would be fully adjustable to support that.

To avoid confusion it's generally best to talk about main speakers going 'down to' rather than 'up to' 70 Hz.

Experiment by all means but I'd fully expect what you're describing in terms of trying to run a sub to 200 Hz to not sound good and would instead suggest using a crossover frequency in the 70-100 Hz range. There are two major reasons not to:
  1. Below around 100 Hz your ears/brain can't tell what direction low frequency sounds come from. As such, if a sub only operates in this range then you can put it anywhere in the room without you being conscious of any sound coming from it rather than your main speakers.
  2. In any large frequency range of overlap between sub and main speakers the sound you get will frankly be a mess, with the sound from each interfering in a way to make sound at some frequencies louder and others quieter. You won't simply get 'more' of each frequency in what you might consider a good way. If this is what you want then a form of tone control or digital EQ would be the way to achieve this.
I see no likely benefit to you of limiting how low a potential sub could go with a high-pass filter in your situation. You'll struggle to find any sub that does this, because it's not really needed. If you tried to limit your sub to a range where room acoustics weren't a factor you'd be as good to switch it off :) .
 
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MartinC

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I'd suggest you have a look at the range of subwoofers made by BK Electronics as a good value for money option. They come in a range of sizes, with the smaller options not going as low or as loud but may well suit what you have in mind.

https://www.bkelec.com/
 
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