Building a 2 Speaker System Based on a Sub

Discussion in 'Hi-Fi and General Audio' started by BWood54, Nov 19, 2015.

  1. BWood54

    BWood54

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    Hey all,

    I'm looking for some advice and/or guidance on putting together a small system consisting of two large speakers, a sub, and an amp/preamp. I already own the sub, but I would love some advice for specs (or specific models) to look for to set up a solid system.

    The purpose of the system is mainly for house parties, outdoor parties/cookouts, and some casual listening. I would prefer the system have the capabilities to get pretty loud, but I don't want to sacrifice too much quality to get there. The room this would be in is about 20'x30'. My budget is <$1000 combined for 2 speakers and an amp, but I'm willing to splurge a bit on a quality amp setup if it will last me a while.

    Currently I own a BIC America F12 active subwoofer:

    http://www.bicamerica.com/showpage.php?brand=2&type=8&spkrID=84

    My first question is how will attaching an amp to an active sub change the way it is operating? I am mainly concerned about potential damage when hooking up a powerful amp to a 150W continuous sub. If the external amp does change things, can I drop the volume of the sub via its internal amp controls and keep it at a reasonable level so that there is less risk of damage? I'm curious if the subwoofer is going to limit the capacity of the whole system if the speakers want more power (say, 400W rms), or, if because it is active, it won't matter what external amp it is hooked up to.

    As far as speakers go, I've been thinking about going for some lower end (~$200) PA speakers. Like I said I want to be able to crank it loud without worrying about damaging the speakers or getting distortion. Saw some Seismic Audio ones for good prices with good reviews, but I don't know much about the brand. I'm open to suggestions here!

    I would prefer a stereo receiver or an integrated amp as opposed to a power amp and preamp, but I realize if I want high power that might difficult. Maybe if there are many channels I can get a lot of power to my speakers if I only hook up two? Not sure how that math works to be honest (total watts = W/ch * # of channels?) I would be interested to know. I want the amp unit (and preamp if necessary) to be something I can keep for a while (maybe even use for a home theater system if it's a stereo receiver), so I'm not afraid to step up the price. That being said I would obviously prefer something cheaper if it can get the job done for my purposes.

    It would also be nice to get some justification on amp/speaker combos or a run down of matching amp and speaker specs to optimize the system. I've heard multiple conflicting views on matching power outputs and all that.

    I'm looking forward to hearing what you all have to say. Thanks in advance for any help!
     
    BWood54, Nov 19, 2015
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  2. BWood54

    Barry

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    You have asked some good questions. Unfortunately your sub does not have line level input so you are tied into connecting at speaker level. In an ideal world (!) the sub would decouple the input signal and hand this to its own amp, passing a 'clean' feed to the main pair of speakers. Your thoughts on overall power handling being set by the sub are true to some extent, you will only find acceptable results by experimenting as the efficiency of the sub will be different to that of the satellites, and this varies at different volume settings! They will not be courteous and follow each other in this respect. Options would be trade in the sub for a line level model (which would run off the tape loop and need to have volume set independently), purchase a second identical sub and run one on each channel (giving more oomph for parties and more chance of controlling things) or buy some serious full range speakers say three way with 15" drivers or twin 12" (faster) for the parties!!!
     
    Barry, Dec 2, 2015
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  3. BWood54

    Barry

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    Just noticed your sub has Dolby digital (ie line level) input, but this could have a restricted frequency response so if you use this option make sure there are not any gaps in the frequency response range of the set up. You would need to dig deeper with the manufacture as to the configuration of this input as the sub is not certified eg THX.
     
    Barry, Dec 2, 2015
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