Get away with a cheap sub?

  • Thread starter Thread starter chamelious
  • Start date Start date
C

chamelious

www.thesunexplodes.com
I've a pair of m-audio bx5a's which i like, but they've got very little, to no bass. Cant afford the matching sub, its hella expensive. Can you get away with a cheaper solution for sub bass?
 
You may want to watch for a used M-Audio "SBX" sub, the older version. It's a great 8" sub that features a bass-management system, allowing you to set the cut-off freq for your BX5s. I've been using one for a few years with good results.
 
chamelious said:
I've a pair of m-audio bx5a's which i like, but they've got very little, to no bass. Cant afford the matching sub, its hella expensive. Can you get away with a cheaper solution for sub bass?
Click to expand...

Here's what I did for a sub years ago and still use every day, it works for me and was cheap:

I made a nice heavy, sealed cabinet out of birch ply. The speaker is a no-name 12" dual coil subwoofer speaker. I bought an automotive crossover for $40, and I use an old Harmon Kardon 430 receiver to power it.

Works great, you can't tell it's on 'til you turn it off.

The crossover frequency is crucial. I had an automotive crossover that had a 60 Hz crossover frequency and that was no good - it sounded boomy. Another one had a 48KHz crossover and that sounded good and tight so I used that.

I've heard lots of store bought subwoofers and I'd say that this is better because the cabinet is real solid wood and the amp is better than average. The weak point is that I should be using a better adjustable crossover as I suspect the crossover frequency should be even lower than 48 KHz.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top