the perfect sub ! ???

[oopu]

iam into dub heavy music listening and production (dubstep/UK
garage/2-step/drum and bass/dub reggae, etc--) I got the money now to
splash out and add a sub - i have a pair of mackie 824s that iam
prettty happy with for now---- the obvious choice is the "matching"
mackie studio sub hrs120, but it seems really expensive, $1,100, i
mean relative to the 824s and their reputation for mid level stuff-----
Now i dont mind spending that kind of money BUT i want my moneys worth
- for example i can get a dynaudio, genelec, adam sub for the same
money and say the tannoy TS12 at 800$$ got the killer specs, ay
decisions! kind of makes my head spin- i like to hear the sub levels
more than just getting the boom, the modulation/warping (?) sounds are
really there in the latest dubstep stuff, its quite spectacular---

[Scott Dorsey]

oopu > wrote:
>iam into dub heavy music listening and production (dubstep/UK
>garage/2-step/drum and bass/dub reggae, etc--) I got the money now to
>splash out and add a sub - i have a pair of mackie 824s that iam
>prettty happy with for now---- the obvious choice is the "matching"
>mackie studio sub hrs120, but it seems really expensive, $1,100, i
>mean relative to the 824s and their reputation for mid level stuff-----
>Now i dont mind spending that kind of money BUT i want my moneys worth
>- for example i can get a dynaudio, genelec, adam sub for the same
>money and say the tannoy TS12 at 800$$ got the killer specs, ay
>decisions! kind of makes my head spin- i like to hear the sub levels
>more than just getting the boom, the modulation/warping (?) sounds are
>really there in the latest dubstep stuff, its quite spectacular---
>

What do you want the sub to sound like? Do you want a sub that goes
thump and sounds like a club system, so you can tell what the stuff is
going to sound like in a club, or do you want a sub that goes very,
very low and is very accurate, so you can tell what is going on in
the bottom corner?

You do realize that any room problems you might have are going to be made
a whole lot worse by the sub.

Note that the Mackie subwoofer is actually a subwoofer, amplifier AND a
crossover, and the crossover has a low-pass filter for the sub and a
high-pass filter for the mains. The crossover on the HRS120 is properly
set up for the 824s. With some other subs, you may need to use an external
crossover because the internal one isn't set up for the right frequency
or slope.

Note that the Mackie sub doesn't really go all that low... but if you
compare the price of the Mackie sub with a Hsu Research subwoofer, a
Hafler amp to drive it, and even a cheap Rane crossover, you'll find
thhat it's actually very cheap for what you're getting.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[oopu]

Hi, OK, thanks for the input, yea i am looking for an accurate sub
rather than a thumpin machine-
I am no expert but doesn't the 824 also have a crossover with a low and
high filter as well - my thinking was i could run a sub off the 824s
(with a corresponding/matching crossover on the sub) and that would
work-- again iam talking about a sub in the 900-1200$$ range, i just
like the idea of going outside of the obvious mackie choice (HRS120)
into more exotic brands--- (Dynaudio and ADAM are firsts on my lists)
the thought being its the first steps in moving up from the 824s---so
using a compatible ADAM or Dynaudio sub with the 824s and then
replacing the 824s with a 2.1 single brand system (P22As or BM15As :))
) iam on a budget so it just takes time to build it up, and i dont want
to move sideways (HRS120)-
Aloha!

[Scott Dorsey]

oopu > wrote:
>Hi, OK, thanks for the input, yea i am looking for an accurate sub
>rather than a thumpin machine-
>I am no expert but doesn't the 824 also have a crossover with a low and
>high filter as well

Well, it has one to split signal to the two drivers in the 824, but that
doesn't help you.

- my thinking was i could run a sub off the 824s
>(with a corresponding/matching crossover on the sub) and that would
>work-- again iam talking about a sub in the 900-1200$$ range,

You need a crossover on the sub that has a high-pass for the 824s, so
that the low end isn't going BOTH to the sub and to the mains.

Some people omit this when they are building a thump-box sub, but if you
are looking for accurate bass you should know that keeping the bass out of
the mains is much of the real reason to using a sub: lower bass distortion.

>i just
>like the idea of going outside of the obvious mackie choice (HRS120)
>into more exotic brands--- (Dynaudio and ADAM are firsts on my lists)
>the thought being its the first steps in moving up from the 824s---so
>using a compatible ADAM or Dynaudio sub with the 824s and then
>replacing the 824s with a 2.1 single brand system (P22As or BM15As :))

If you do this, though, you may need crossovers that are different than
the stock ones that come built into the sub, because the frequencies
and slopes won't be optimal for the HR824. This will mean an outboard
adjustable crossover.

>) iam on a budget so it just takes time to build it up, and i dont want
>to move sideways (HRS120)-

If you buy a general purpose subwoofer, say a Hafler amp, a Hsu Research
box, and a used Rane AC-22 crossover, you can make it work with a wide
variety of mains. But you need to expect to spend some time and effort
setting it up properly, much more than you would be spending with the
Mackie subs with the preset crossovers.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[oopu]

wow - THANK YOU for your help! I didnt realize how much i dont know!
Cheers!